July 9th, 2009
From “It’s Here Now: Are You?” by Bhagavan Das, pp.82-83:
The spiritual path gives you a choice to use your power for either good or evil. Many are tempted to use it for evil — that’s human nature. We must overcome this temptation. This is why the spiritual life is called the razor’s edge. The more realization you receive, the more power you’re given. But if you don’t remain humble and compassionate, you may find yourself slipping into some very deep, dark spaces. And kindness is essential.
The Lord’s Prayer says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Jesus wouldn’t have put that into the most famous prayer in the world if he hadn’t known that a hundred times a day we need to let go, we need to forgive. When we do, the next moment arises fresh and clean. There’s no victim; no one did anything to anyone. And most important of all, one must forgive oneself, too.
The nature of human existence is stuck in time, and we are constantly given new moments. With every minute that passes there is another minute ahead of us. That’s why there’s never any cause for despair, ever. There’s always a new moment.
You might blow it one hundred thousand times. But if you get it the next time, who cares how many times you blew it? It’s important to remember this in spiritual practice and to learn from your mistakes and strive for the greater good.
You might think that you’re getting higher and higher when, before you know it, you’re doing business with demons. Once they give you power, they want something for it. You have to pay for it — nothing is free. It’s like an inner realm Mafioso saying to you, “Okay, we’re going to make you famous, we’re going to give you psychic powers, we’ll make all the girls adore you, but we do want a little something in return — your soul.”
It’s better to always go for love as you constantly let go of the power. I don’t care what you’re promised, keep laying down any spiritual gift you may receive with humility. Let your kindness to others be your power.
Love is so effortless to give and is so much of who we are. It’s amazing how wonderful and simple it is and how often we overlook this spiritual power, which we are all born with. It’s the one spiritual power we can use ceaselessly without worrying about it leading to a downfall. We all want to be so profound and so big and so great that we don’t realize that love is the only way.
This is what tantra is — when the mundane and the spiritual are completely woven together. Then there’s nothing to lose, nowhere to go, because you’re always there. The moment is the present.
Seizing each moment means you’re fully aware and present in the now. When the presence fills you, you can truly come from a place of compassion. It’s no longer “What can I get?” It’s “What can I give?”
Don’t filter your feelings through mindsets about how you want thing to be or how you think things should be. However you think it is, that’s how it is for you. Knowing this is important because it enables you to function compassionately. That’s what I was learning in India: how to be a kind person.