In truth, to attain to interior peace, one must be willing to pass through the contrary to peace. Such is the teaching of the Sages. -- Swami Brahmananda from Eknath Easwaran, November 26
We are taught that great love and great suffering form the path to God.
I feel a certain trepidation for friends who are so filled with their "rightness" of spirituality, lovingkindness, positive thinking, affirmations, et al., that they believe suffering is backsliding. The trepidation is my sorrow of their egoic pain in never realizing that suffer they must as they trudge the path toward unknowing, or peace of mind.
Attempting to avoid suffering is the great leveler...meds, drugs, alcohol, and, face it, positive thinking and affirmations when used purely to avoid suffering. They are all self-determined fixes for failure...even when they work, self fails. Ah, alone again naturally.
Comes the flash, and the door opens to the reality of transformative spirituality. We become willing to pass through the contrary to peace. The great suffering which we seek to avoid, brings the great love we pray to get.
We cannot know great love without knowing great suffering. Resist not...welcome.
Thank you.
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