The volume and intensity of sense stimulation in the information age is far beyond anything previous generations had to contend with. If traditions over the centuries struggled to keep pace with cultural and technological innovation, the pace of change in the digital 21st century has accelerated beyond all imagining. Never at any time in human history have the six senses been so outwardly drawn:
Because your outlook has been outward bent, it has lost sight of the Self and your vision is external. The Self is not found in external objects. Turn your look within and plunge down[3]… [True] pleasure consists in turning and keeping the mind within; pain in sending it outward. There is only [true] pleasure. Absence of pleasure is called pain. One’s nature is Bliss (Ananda). [4]
Turning our attention inward means taking stock of conditions within and without. Making ourselves fit vessels to receive all that Bhagavan is offering us means figuring out how to be less aversive toward self and other, learning how to identify unwholesome impulses within and avoiding pretending they are not there. Here we look closely and allow the light of awareness to shine on them. If we see that the intentions undergirding our actions and words are at variance with what we want others to believe about us, we also take notice of the inclination to conceal them altogether.
We take up this task avoiding every hint of self-blame, judgementalism or moralistic self-criticism. We call on Bhagavan to help us be patient with ourselves as we undertake this sensitive work.
If till now we had assumed that inner cleansing required some pre-existing purity from former births, we now accept that progress on the path can only come about through intentional efforts in the present. If formerly we thought good conduct hinged on keeping up appearances, now we see that it begins by taking stock of all that is not complete within us. We begin to see the advantages of abandoning our vanity projects and learn to ferret out the impulse to embroider our self-image. In short, we look for the merest inclination to appear as more than what we are and instead, learn to accept ourselves as we are, imperfect, no doubt, but nevertheless sincere in our intentions. —
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