Creating And Nurturing Environments For Spiritual Growth
Many of us are seeking spiritual growth. We are seeking enlightenment
We are seeking that state of Spiritual Awakening and we want to find those sacred places, the environment that can nurture spiritual growth. But where is that place, that heaven on earth? Where is the space, in which we can be spiritually awakened? The irony, the most amusing fact is that that space is within us, while we are searching for it everywhere. Many of us are trying to find peace of mind. Peace, you don't have to find. Peace is within. You just have to still the mind. How is peace connected to Spiritual Awakening?
If we want Enlightenment, first, we have to still the mind and kill the mind. Only then, we can nurture spiritual growth. Who stops us from realizing, ‘Who am I and why am I here?’ It is the mind. A mind that we cannot find. But unfortunately, the truth is left behind because the mind is nothing but a bundle of toxic thoughts and this mind stops us from attaining Spiritual Awakening and Enlightenment. So, the sacred space that we seek for spiritual growth is inside us. The challenge is to go on an inner voyage. So, how do we go within?
How can we go within, on an inner voyage to find the sacred space for spiritual growth leading to Enlightenment? We can. Our mind takes us outside in the world. It makes us sink in the world of pleasures, people and possessions and it makes us a prisoner of our passions. Unfortunately, we think that the mind is a friend and we try to control it but we don’t realize that it is the mind that controls us. It behaves like a King, when in reality, it is the cause of all suffering.
When will we realize that it is in a state of Mindfulness, when the mind is empty and the state of Thoughtlessness or Awareness, known as Consciousness, that we will progress in our spiritual growth towards the ultimate Spiritual Awakening? It is in a state of consciousness that one can be Spiritually Awakened. In this state of Consciousness, our intellect shines. And then, we lock the mind, block the mind and do not let the mind, which is a bundle of thoughts, pour like rain, pushing us down the drain and making us suffer, again and again. We have to consciously make an effort to lock and block the mind, still and kill the mind because the mind doesn't knock at our door. It comes uninvited and pushes us on the floor. We must learn to shut the mind out and lock the door until the mind, the barrage of thoughts knock, no more. When we have locked our door and our mind is no more, in that State of Consciousness, we have created a sacred space to nurture our spiritual growth and attain Spiritual Awakening.
Why do we find saints and the sages, living in the mountains and forests and meditating under trees? It is because they are able to tame their senses. Our five senses – sight, touch, hearing, smelling and tasting, become like five horses driven by the wild mind, creating desires and passions and obsessions with the physical, material world but when we still the mind, we reach a state of Consciousness, where there are no desires. We will then live a life of acceptance and surrender. We will realize that nothing is ours and nobody is ours. We come alone in this world and we will go alone from this world, one day. In this state of Consciousness, we are able to use our intellect and discriminate between right and wrong and make correct decisions for our spiritual nourishment and growth.
We discover that I am not the body-mind-ego complex. I am the Divine Soul, a Spark Of Unique Life. This is a Spiritual Awakening. This is Enlightenment and it can be felt only when we go on a quest, an inner voyage, deep within, when the mind is still.
Are you seeking that space, that inner journey of Awakening and Enlightenment? You can. Every human being has a birth right to be Enlightened but we don't have to search in the mountains. We don't have to retreat into the forests. We have to retreat into our inner sanctum, that inner sacred sanctuary of peace. We have to be able to be in a state of Consciousness and destroy the illusory mind that seems to exist but in reality, is nothing but our ignorance. Therefore, that sacred space to be awakened comes with the overcoming of the darkness of ignorance. It's just like the room that has no light. You can't eliminate the darkness from a room with a broom. You need a light. You have to switch on the light.
Similarly, we can sweep away all our ignorance with Enlightenment and Spiritual Awakening. For this, the sacred space is not anywhere else but within us. The most difficult journey is going within us to reach our inner sanctum of peace, the state of Consciousness – the true scared space that has an environment that will nurture our spiritual growth and help us reach the highest stage of Spiritual Awakening. To reach our inner sacred space, we need the help of a Guru, a Spiritual Master. We need silence and meditation. We need contemplation. We need to stop the outer worldly noise, so that we can hear the Divine Voice. And once we reach this inner sacred space, we will be in an environment that will nourish and nurture our spiritual growth and lead us to Enlightenment.
