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False awakening is false peace is false service || Acharya Prashant (2019)
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5 years ago
Spiritual Awakening
The Real
Ego
Service
Delusion
Inquiry
Truth
Mortality
Description

Acharya Prashant begins by stating that there is no such thing as an episodic spiritual awakening or a period of spiritual awakening. He explains that all periods are associated only with the body, whereas the soul does not have periods. If a feeling of bliss has come and gone, it should be considered gone for good, and one should be grateful because it was never real in the first place. There is no need to cherish the memory of something that was not authentic. The Real cannot go away; what is seen cannot be unseen, and what is understood cannot be un-understood. Using an analogy, he compares the sky to the Real and clouds to temporary experiences. Clouds, day, and night are ephemeral phenomena, but the fundamental nature of the sky remains unchanged. Similarly, if something has come and gone, it was related to something ephemeral, corporeal, and worldly. It did not deserve to be eternal, which is why it disappeared. Only the Truth is immortal; we are mortal, so we go away. Actions and decisions made in a fit of so-called spiritual awakening will not add up and will leave one lost because they did not start from a right foundation. A movement that starts rightly can never truly stop. It might change course, deviate, rise, or fall, but it cannot end as such. Its ending would only come with the end of the one who started the movement. If the movement is real, the mover will live and die with it. The current situation is a valuable opportunity to question the very foundations of one's beliefs and the supposed awakening. This inquiry is crucial to avoid repeating mistakes and to be spared from the mistaken entity itself. The speaker advises that the energy and passion for service must be directed correctly. Before rushing into action, one must ruthlessly ask, "Who within me wants to serve?" and "Who would receive the service?" These two questions are two ends of the same inquiry. One cannot serve the right one from the wrong center. If the service comes from the right center, the one being served is bound to be the right one. The ego finds immense gratification in the feeling of having "arrived" spiritually, which makes one reluctant to question it. However, this questioning is essential.