Over the last few days, I engaged in a series of spiritual discussions, and watched personalities like Sam Harris, Deepak Chopra Bill Maher and Bill O’Reilly exchange points-of-view that were interesting, but really didn’t get anywhere except exchange some ugly sentiments.
Sure, it sharpens the sword. Sure, it has a place…but they weren’t fulfilling dialogs. They were bitter debates, with egos trying to prove points. People appealed to reason during the discussion. One might posit they are transcendent egos trying to prove transcendent points, but these dialogs were still unpalatable on a soul level.
I came to an epiphany soon after — it’s not mere truth that people respond to, or that nourishes their soul…it’s love. Spiritual debates often tend to identify the highest truth, at the expense of love. Beyond truth, however, is love. The true winner of a spiritual debate is not the one who explains or witnesses the highest Truth. The true ‘winner’ is the one who is able to stay in Love, and express Love.
Truth is a subset of Love…not the other way around. It became crystal clear, looking back at all my experience, that it is Love, more than naked Truth, that helps me progress through difficult situations. Where I focused on Truth as the highest goal, I flustered. Where I focused on Love, I prospered.
We’ll never be able to capture the highest Truth. And even if we do, it is a hollow victory. But we are able to express the highest Love.
Buddha is said to have had a tear in his eye after Enlightenment. The peak of Nirvana is lonely. Once the appeal of the highest truth loses its luster, we deal with an even greater longing — communion with others. Ultimately, we all descend into community and communion…we fall into Love.
Ranjeeth Thunga
rkt@perspectivemapper.com
@pov_mapper