Dry

An early blip today. Have a busy day ahead.

Have been reading this book about Himalayan ascetics, which talks about Sadhus living in remote caves to meditate for years living a life that leads to enlightment. It is interesting if one can be open-minded to try and understand a philosophy and its applicability though it may seem a bit far fetched compared to our day to day existence.

There's one bit of it that I liked where the author says:

"Even spiritual people become preoccupied with blaming the world for their lack of progress. This weakness is significant in creating obstacles. For lack of sincerity, honesty, faithfulness and truthfulness we do not realize that which we are. We project our weaknesses and think that the objects of the world are the source of our obstacles."

But their is another small anecdote about the importance of practicing honesty which is contradictory to the fabric of spirituality the book talks about. It's about a railway official, who meets a spiritual leader, and is advised to be honest for a period of three months. This man does so, confesses to having accepted bribes, lands up in jail, is abandoned by his family, shunned by his colleagues, fired from his job and left all alone to suffer punishment. However, the judge turns out to be a disciple of the same spiritual leader and grants him a mild punishment. And when he is free, he finds out that his father owned land which had been wrongly confiscated by the government who were willing to pay him a large amount of compensation for their lapses! So, this man becomes richer and happier than before. Even his family returns to him and predictably he decides to practice the path of honesty for the rest of his life.

The idea of miracles promising materialistic gain is nothing more than an escape. It creates a false sense of hope that one might achieve a goal without having to do the only thing necessary - hard work. It is a superficial appeal to what is weak in us, and nothing more than a mere short-cut. This story, about honesty miraculously leading to material wealth appeals to what even the book refers to as "baser" needs in a worldly existence, and despite dissuading the reader from believing in miracles. It also appeals to people who are not willing to think for themselves. The importance of honesty can be discussed even without including miracles like these.

The temple in Hyderabad that makes the most amount of money is dedicated to a "Visa God." If one prays in a particular way and offers money, one will be blessed with a Visa to go to the West! The irony here is that most people I come across who are drawn to religion, astrology and suchlike are motivated by fallacies like these.