Dear James,
Thank you for your clear and comforting words. You point to something essential: that the path to harmony is not a one-sided approach, but an integration of all yogas – karma, bhakti, jnana, and the understanding of the three gunas.
I acknowledge that my understanding and application of this is still limited and fragmented. Perhaps because there is still a clinging to the idea of personal control or fear of full surrender. What strikes me in what you say is the invitation to truly take responsibility for my liberation – without dependency,
James: Yes, but you can’t get rid of dependency all at once. You need to transfer it to Isvara. This is called devotion to God. God is our primary relationship. Family, job, etc. comes afterwards. You need to love God because it gives the results of your actions and it provides all the talents and abilities to succeed in the world. In the case of people who don’t appreciate themselves as they are, it supplies a teacher and an impersonal teaching which will correct the problem.
Andy:…. without shifting the burden to a teacher, therapist, or external authority. The implicit call to grow up in self-knowledge and to take the path seriously, regardless of the difficulties, now resonates more deeply.
James: Yes, Vedanta only works if you are committed long term.
Love
Andy: Why don’t I fully love myself as I am?
Perhaps because there is still identification with the limited, with the lacking, with the transient.
Vedanta teaches that I am already free – not as a person, but as the Self, as pure awareness.
But actually living from that insight is something different from understanding it intellectually.
James: It’s an intellectual conclusion based on unreliable sources that you are lacking, inadequate and incomplete in the first place. You believed what you were told when you were ignorant. No blame. You know better now. It is the idea, “I am unworthy.” in your intellect that is causing the uncomfortable emotions. If you replace the negative idea that makes you “feel” unlovable, with the truth, you will come to love yourself. Of course, you need to pray constantly in the form of karma yoga to get God’s attention. Then Isvara will answer your prayers in the form of positive self-love. It takes time until you feel good about yourself, but it all starts with the intellectual resolution (sankalpa) to do the work. Don’t ask how long it takes. It takes as long as it takes. Just keep your head down and soldier on.
Andy: That’s where the real practice lies. I accept your invitation to seriously inquire into these questions and to remain faithful to the path, even when it’s uncomfortable or confronting. Not because you say so, but because I sense that it’s true. And perhaps that is the beginning of real faith – trust based on clarity, not on hope.
James: That’s the best reason. Good for you. It shows a lot of maturity. With that attitude you will succeed. I think that it is best if you sign up for the YouTube membership. It is very cheap, helps shiningworld, signals your commitment to stay the course, and provides materials that we don’t share with the public. Come to the Sunday night satsang.
Thank you again for your honesty and sharpness.
You’re welcome, Andy.
