What is the essence of spirituality for you? Spirituality for me is an adventure in finding the limits of my own consciousness. On this adventurous path, I hope to go though the limiting boundaries set by the body genetics, culture, my own emotions and the physical world of sense perception and even rationality, to experience the unifying consciousness that holds this universe together as universal love or god. How do you set yourself free of the tyranny of conditionings? The tyranny of conditioning is based on the fear of god and in the absence of love of god and nature. The internal tyranny of conflicting thoughts and emotions can be replaced by love, through unselfish effort as an expression of love. The same unselfish love and courage or karmayoga, can also be used as a kshatriya dharma to fight the external tyranny of disrespectful, intolerant religious, financial and political organizations that have destroyed and continue to destroy nature, other peaceful religions, nations and cultures. Can you share a personal story that illustrates the essence of spirituality? When I was comfortably set in the luxury of the west, I ignored my responsibility as a world citizen. I focused on the pretensions of spirituality and ignored the reality of organized violence and poverty, caused by greed and competition for limited resources, control and power, by political and religious institutions. When I woke up from my pretensions of ‘sameness in religions’ to reality of ‘sameness in spirituality’, my first job was to support mutual respect (and not just tolerance) among religions and also, freedom, and democracy in spirituality, where multiple paths and gods provide fundamental human spiritual rights and freedom, by fighting dictatorial religions that limit freedom of thought through fear, intimidation and other corrupt practices in the name of their exclusive, egoistic, violent god and religion. We now live in a world that is partly democratic in politics and mostly dictatorial in religion.
On Dec 26, 2012 Narendra wrote :