I read that "Realization, enlightenment, or awakening, does not necessarily make one kinder, more compassionate, more caring, more truthful, more saintly, more open, more noble, more ethical or more religious."
That's true, realization is no guarantee of virtues. However, there is a tendency towards less reactivity, less projection, and less egoic concern, resulting in a more peaceful disposition with less concern. Grieve not for the living or the dead,' begins to make sense.
So the trend upon realization is good, but the results vary. Anomalies abound.
Even Jesus said, "Why do you call me good? No one is good--except God alone."
My own pursuit of realization was never about being good, or being saintly. My only concern was for the Truth. My devotion was to Truth. I believe this helped me stay clear of lousy half-baked teachings and guru worship. I always knew the guru was just the messenger. I never put a teacher above my own head.
Lastly, realizing "I am That," does not automatically make you different. It stops your seeking, and your mind quiets down, but you don't just become saintly because of the knowledge. I think the current talk in spiritual circles about embodiment and actualization reflect the fact that after realization there must follow a lifelong unfolding of what that implies.
That's true, realization is no guarantee of virtues. However, there is a tendency towards less reactivity, less projection, and less egoic concern, resulting in a more peaceful disposition with less concern. Grieve not for the living or the dead,' begins to make sense.
So the trend upon realization is good, but the results vary. Anomalies abound.
Even Jesus said, "Why do you call me good? No one is good--except God alone."
My own pursuit of realization was never about being good, or being saintly. My only concern was for the Truth. My devotion was to Truth. I believe this helped me stay clear of lousy half-baked teachings and guru worship. I always knew the guru was just the messenger. I never put a teacher above my own head.
Lastly, realizing "I am That," does not automatically make you different. It stops your seeking, and your mind quiets down, but you don't just become saintly because of the knowledge. I think the current talk in spiritual circles about embodiment and actualization reflect the fact that after realization there must follow a lifelong unfolding of what that implies.
3 comments:
Interesting point. Do you believe we can acknowledge the inverse: that some of the saints did not Realize Truth?
Nice to hear from you Ted. Absolutely, most saints are not enlightened. We're talking about different things. Saints are great servants of the people, but usually restricted to their particular church. Being a kind wonderful person that everybody loves is saintly, but that does not mean they have realized they are the Self. In fact, many realizers were excommunicated by the church. Meister Eckart was certainly a realized person, but the church brought him to trial and told him to stop his teaching. The stress of the trial killed him. It should be clear that sainthood does not equal realization.
Thanks for this clarification. It seems sainthood is a karmic disposition that doesn't require the recognition of Reality. And this makes sense: I've known some saintly people in my life that had no orientation towards Realization. They were precious individuals nonetheless.
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