The spiritual teachings of enlightened beings such as Buddha, Mohammed, and Jesus have been the guiding light for humanity for centuries. These teachings, however, were not about dictating what is right or wrong, but rather about fostering awareness and encouraging the act of witnessing. They did not preach about moral absolites, but instead emphasized the importance of being conscious of our thoughts, our primal instincts, and our propensity to judge.
Consider the analogy of a river. Our thoughts, emotions, and instincts are like the flowing water, constantly moving, changing, and evolving. The act of witnessing is like standing on the riverbank, observing the water’s flow without trying to control or change it. The riverbank is a place of stillness and peace, a vantage point from which we can observe the river without being swept away by its current. This is the essence of spiritual awareness: observing our thoughts and emotions without judgment or resistance, allowing them to flow naturally while maintaining our inner peace and equanimity.
However, over time, these teachings have been misinterpreted and distorted by those who followed. Pastors, monks, and priests have imposed their own moralities and created divisions among people. They have conditioned us to judge, rather than to observe and understand our thoughts. The parables in religious texts like the Bible and the Quran are meant to reflect our psyche and help us become aware of the nature of our minds. Yet, these stories have often been used to instill fear and obedience, rather than to promote self-awareness and understanding.
Imagine a group of people standing on the riverbank, each with their own idea of how the river should flow. Some believe the river should flow faster, others believe it should flow slower. Some want to change the river’s course, others want to build dams to control its flow. These are the dogmas and ideologies that have been imposed on us, the judgments and expectations that prevent us from truly witnessing the river’s flow. They create conflict and division, turning the peaceful riverbank into a battleground.
This misinterpretation of spiritual teachings has led to the creation of ideologies that have caused more harm than good. They have resulted in a society that is divided and filled with fear, hatred, and violence. Instead of uniting people, these ideologies have driven them apart. They have been used as tools of domination and control, rather than instruments of enlightenment and liberation.
Religion, when misused in this way, can indeed be dangerous. When it attempts to establish a community based on dogma and ideology, it risks brainwashing its followers and perpetuating division and conflict. This is not the true purpose of religion or spirituality. The true purpose is to foster awareness, to encourage the act of witnessing, and to promote understanding and compassion.
In the river analogy, this would be like trying to control the river’s flow with dams and levees, imposing our will on the river instead of respecting its natural flow. This not only disrupts the river’s ecosystem, but also creates a false sense of control and superiority. It leads to conflict and division, as different groups fight over the river’s resources and the right to control its flow.
It is crucial for us to return to the essence of spiritual teachings: awareness and witnessing. We must strive to be conscious of our thoughts, to understand our primal instincts, and to observe our propensity to judge, rather than blindly following dogmas and ideologies. Only then can we hope to transcend the divisions and conflicts that plague our society and achieve true spiritual enlightenment.
Just as we must respect the river’s natural flow, we must also respect the natural flow of our thoughts and emotions. We must learn to observe them without judgment or resistance, to witnessthem without trying to control or change them. This is the path to true spiritual awareness and enlightenment, the path that leads us away from division and conflict and towards unity and peace.
The river of our consciousness is vast and deep, filled with currents of thoughts, emotions, and instincts. It is a river that flows through all of us, connecting us in ways that transcend our physical boundaries and our societal divisions. When we stand on the riverbank and witness its flow, we realize that we are not separate from the river, but a part of it. We realize that our thoughts and emotions are not isolated phenomena, but part of a larger, interconnected whole.
This realization can be both liberating and humbling. It liberates us from the confines of our individual egos and the divisions they create. It humbles us by reminding us of our interconnectedness and our shared humanity. It is a realization that can lead to profound compassion and understanding, qualities that are sorely needed in our divided and conflict-ridden society.
Yet, this realization is not easy to come by. It requires us to let go of our judgments and expectations, our desires for control and certainty. It requires us to embrace uncertainty and ambiguity, to accept the impermanence and fluidity of our thoughts and emotions. It requires us to be present and attentive, to be fully engaged in the act of witnessing.
This is the challenge that spiritual teachings present to us: the challenge of awareness and witnessing. It is a challenge that requires courage and perseverance, patience and humility. It is a challenge that invites us to transcend our individual egos and to embrace our shared humanity.
In the face of this challenge, dogmas and ideologies can seem appealing. They offer certainty and control, clear rules and guidelines. But they also limit our awareness and hinder our ability to witness. They impose rigid structures on the fluidity of our consciousness, stifling its natural flow and creating divisions and conflicts.
To transcend these limitations, we must return to the essence of spiritual teachings: awareness and witnessing. We must learn to observe our thoughts and emotions without judgment or resistance, to witness our consciousness without trying to control or change it. We must learn to stand on the riverbank and watch the river flow, appreciating its beauty and complexity, its constant change and evolution.
This is the path to true spiritual awareness and enlightenment, the path that leads us away from division and conflict and towards unity and peace. It is a path that requires courage and perseverance, patience and humility. But it is also a path that offers profound rewards: the rewards of understanding and compassion, of interconnectedness and shared humanity.
So let us embark on this journey together, standing on the riverbank and witnessing the flow of our consciousness. Let us transcend the dogmas and ideologies that divide us, and embrace the awareness and witnessing that unite us. Let us celebrate our shared humanity and our shared journey towards spiritual awareness and enlightenment.
