Spiritual desire

What is a spiritual desire? Some of us may feel or think that it is impossible to generate desire on a spiritual level, but let's check up. It is indeed very possible, and it may be happening to us right now, without us even being aware of it!

Spiritual desires come in ways that we do not expect it to come, and it can happen due to a lack of mindfulness. When we are not constantly checking up on the mind, observing the mind, it can easily get carried away. Let's discuss!

The ego and its ways

The ego, which is the idea or the illusion of a separate self, is very very sneaky. It is also very subtle. Extremely subtle. It is present in even the most defined or sensitive states of meditation or contemplation.

For example, we may meditate on emptiness. Then, we may feel that we have reached a point where we have realized the emptiness of the mind, and the thought comes up "I have realized emptiness". See, right there, this "I" - that is still the ego, because who is there to realize emptiness? 

On the surface, a spiritual desire may seem pure and selfless, but when we investigate, we shall find that this desire is arising from the ego. Let's use an example.

Let's say, we have once meditated and went into a blissful state of samadhi. Then, we want this again, we desire this again because it was so blissful. We may feel that we just want to return to this state and remain in this state, because it is so blissful in comparison to the rest of the mundane activities we participate in.

Eventually, we end up meditating with an expectation, the expectation to return to this state again. Our expectations lead to frustration, to disappointment, and the suffering just goes on and on. We also meditate with the intention of returning to this state, so that "I" can enjoy this again... placing peace or happiness on something that we are not already right now, placing our happiness in the illusion of a future time. We all know where this leads to...

There is no need to desire

As we have mentioned before, desires arise from the ego-mind because the ego-mind feels unfulfilled. Additionally, we have said many times, we are not the minds and we are definitely not the ego, as we are not this illusion of a separate self. What we are, is fulfillment itself.

How do we know this?

When we read the Christian Bible, it says that we are created in God's image. What does this mean? It can of course be misunderstood when we consider God to be a person. We can easily have the idea that God is a person with two arms, two legs, and a face, and therefore we are made in God's image. This, in the author's humble opinion, is a complete misunderstanding.

When we consider God to be Loving Awareness, to be non-discrimination, non-judgemental, to be peace and fulfillment itself, then we can definitely see how we are created in God's image. Just like God, we have Her peace residing within us. We have Her love and compassion residing within us, never separate from us.

Actually, when we dissolve the ego-mind, dissolve all the false identities we have, we come to the realization that all along, we have been nothing apart from Loving Awareness. We, at our most purest form, our most Basic Nature, we are Loving Awareness. We always have been. 

When we know ourSelf, we know that we have never ever been anything separate from God. We are made in God's image, and we are nothing separate. 

In Buddhism, it also speaks of how our Buddha Nature is always there, just like the blue sky, and even when the sky is cloudy, the blue sky remains behind it. It means that even when our minds are polluted and confused, our True Nature still remains, it is always there.

The veil is on us, and never on the Truth. As long as there is a separate "I" seeking, the Truth seems to be obscured, but when there is nobody seeking, the Truth is clearly exposed.

Renouncing the desires

When we know that fulfillment, peace, and absence of suffering is our True Nature, then even our spiritual desires fall away. Our desire to attain enlightenment, our desire to meet God, or our desire to attain realizations, they all dissolve. We realize that we already are what we have been seeking all along. 

There is no need to look any further, no need to grasp at any object, be this a holy object, a physical object, or an object of thought. We can call off the search. 

Being free from desires, even desires in their most subtle sense, gives us real freedom. Freedom to participate in this world with extreme passion and joy, because we have nothing to lose, we have nothing to seek. We are fulfilled in the most deepest sense!

Just as the blue sky remains behind the clouds, God's Loving Presence is always there, even when our minds are polluted and cloudy. 

Similar articles on this blog:

Spiritual Attachment - 24 May, 2020
Having a spiritual or religious practice - 19 April, 2020
Going beyond the mind - 12 May, 2020