Hello and welcome to episode 82 of The Ask Sri Vishwanath Show. Today I want to talk about spiritual kicks and how others can try to put you down.
Today’s question comes from Jim and he says “I don’t see any changes in people’s attitude towards me because of my meditation. People curse and yell at me more frequently. Why is that?”
Thanks for the question Jim it made me smile. I am sure I can help you out with this problem.
A great spiritual author used to tell me that just because people come out of a church does not mean they should be treated differently, in a good way or a bad way. It all has to do with people’s perception and attitude. People tend to make up their own minds about things like this.
Personal
Prayer and meditation is a personal relationship between you and God. This is why Christ says you should close your closet and “pray to thy father in silence”. You should not pray or meditate just because you want people to see you doing it. It is a personal relationship with god so no one else matters in this case.
I know you are frustrated but I want you to know something. People, including close friends, do not give a damn about your spirituality. The world does not care if you have prayed for one hour or ten hours or even ten years because this is the nature of the world. Those people only worship material things such as money, wealth and power. If you could heal people through touch people would flock to you but unfortunately that’s not how it works. People do not appreciate high energy and vibrations.
Stones
Spiritual people have always had stones thrown at them. It’s always been that way. All you have to do is read through some history to see it. Ram Krishna Paramhansa was called a mad man for most of his life and now people worship him. Hindsight is a great thing. Men and women of god come to this earth but often they are not appreciated until many years after they die.
Krishna says “fools deride me when I take human form but are not aware of my transcendent nature.” People do not care for men and women of God. Throughout history most of the great spiritual people have been treated appallingly. Like Christ who was whipped and then nailed to a cross. So when we think of what these great people went through I think it’s not much for us to take a little name calling. We need to brush it off and not give it any attention because it is not worth our attention. Think of it as a small personal sacrifice.
When Vivekananda went to the US to preach he had no money for food or clothing so he sent a telegraph to an organisation asking for some help. The organisation told them to let the rascal die of cold. He was such a great man who spent his entire life devoted to spreading the word of God. No one has been able to produce literature like him. He has studied all religions in depth and presented them beautifully in his writing. Even this spiritual organisation wouldn’t help him.
People will only worship someone if they have an institute where people can stay and possibly get food and have some comforts. Then people will worship you. The same person without all of this will be ridiculed and no one will care about them because socially that person is useless to them because they have no wealth.
Vivekananda wrote a poem about it:
What though thy bed be frozen earth,
Thy cloak the chilling blast;
What though no mate to clear thy path,
Thy sky with gloom o’ercast —
What though of love itself doth fail,
Thy fragrance strewed in vain;
What though if bad o’er good prevail,
And vice o’er virtue reign —
Change not thy nature, gentle bloom,
Thou violet, sweet and pure,
But ever pour thy sweet perfume
Unasked, unstinted, sure !
Nature
So even if people cut you to pieces you cannot change your nature. Remember, that sugar, even when stretched does not loose its sweetness. You should not change even when the world tries to crush you. The more sugar is crushed, the sweeter it gets.
From my personal experience I can tell you I spent 6 hours a day in prayer then I would get harassed for it and I couldn’t really handle it but when my energy was high I could. Now I understand things better and I know that I should never try to change my nature. These spiritual kicks can be a good thing because they send you back to your consciousness.
So people don’t really care. They visit churches just as a show and they are not interested in seeing the god within. I can tell you this because I have 15 years of experience. Don’t worry about other people just concentrate on trying to see God. When people try to get close to god others try to persuade them not too. But those people will never be able to see God in their lives. You should not let these people make you feel bad. They cannot change their nature and you cannot change it for them either.
The world worships money, power position and beauty. These four things rule the world from the start of the day to the end. Money, power position and beauty. Technology can evolve and become greater and greater but the nature of a person will always stay the same. The moment we enter this world its nature dominates us.
Give to God
My friend John shared something powerful with me. During the time of Jesus Cesar was a king. The disciples of Jesus were concerned about all the taxes people were having to pay. They were more than what was necessary. They went to Jesus and he told them to give him a note and explain whose face was on it. They told him that they picture on the note was Cesar. He told them to give to Cesar what is his and give to God what is Gods’. God is only concerned with your consciousness.
Krishna says “to the single minded yogin in perpetual communion with me I am easily accessible.” The great ones are only concerned with consciousness and nothing else. Everything is maya, an illusion. Your relationship with god is personal, one on one. Your consciousness is your connection to god and that’s the only thing that you should be worried about.
So screw the world and praise God. When you feel those kicks, be happy. It will bring you closer to God.
I hope I answered your question. Remember you keep asking questions and I’ll keep answering them.