Call it the Razor’s Edge

You may get motivated to pursue the spiritual path due to various reasons: maybe you were hurt by your loved one or you failed to achieve what you strived for. It is possible that you turned to spirituality to fill the void that appeared on realising that you, me or anyone is doing nothing extraordinary. This may lead to disillusionment with the materialistic world and relationships. In such times, the adage ‘world is mithya’ seems to start making sense. Some others are driven by the curiosity to know Truth or Reality, to understand Creation. Is there a common denominator driving these disparate groups? Yes, it’s ananda. Don’t most spiritual paths and sermons promise that the way to end suffering and to experience pure and unbounded joy is to look within? Many of us believe that meditation and spiritual practice would bring elation to a mundane existence. If one is very dejected, meditation or spirituality alone might not help in the short run. Counselling, medication, lifestyle changes and communicating with the person involved to heal the hurt might be necessary. Once committed to a particular spiritual path or master, most inquirers do not expect pitfalls or sufferings. Somerset Maugham’s work titled The Razor’s Edge was inspired by the Upanishads that state that the path to salvation is as difficult as passing over the razor’s edge. However, many spiritual paths refrain from forewarning prospective seekers that there might be phases along the journey, when they might feel worse than when they had started out.

Source: Economic Times, 5/02/2019