Why Solve Problems? A Devotees Perspective

Andrew Harvey told a very moving story about his personal growth towards sacred service and devotion. He had been a clever, pompous man who had written many clever books and had done many clever spiritual practices. He had decided that he deserved to celebrate his greatness by walking around a sacred mountain in India at night.

As he began his walk he was approached by a army of poor, starving, sick, and suffering people calling out to him for help. Warning – graphic material ahead.

What did it was an epileptic man with no arms or legs, tired to a piece of board, laying in a muddy puddle, screaming out in anguish into the night for help.

It was like the glass walls that had always protected and separated Andrew shattered and his heart was fully broken open to the suffering of the world. Andrew returned to his hotel room and cried for three days. He knew that his heart would forever remain broken open. http://www.myss.com/CMED/media/index.asp?Sub=9

He could have tried to cover this over by his return to his former comforting addictive activities including egotism, materialism, and intellectualism but instead he committed himself to sacred service.

If we do true spiritual practices these practices are designed to break down separations and boundaries. No Boundaries. This would include the boundary that shields us from the suffering of the World. Ken Wilber teaches us that if we get to the point where we need to express something like sacred service and then turn back we may get unhealthy. If we are willing to open our eyes we may be able to see this unheathyness inside our self and inside our integral community.

A healing, a cure may come from expressing the sacred service that is within us waiting to be more fully expressed. To make things even worse from the egos perspective is that we may need to serve in the ways that God wants us to serve. Knowing this I would have to say that if a person wanted to begin a true spiritual path for selfish purposes I would have to advise this person that this just will not work for his intended purposes.

For those of us that have been on the path for some time it seems that there might be no turning back. Our best choice might be move forward towards ever more and more sacred service. This might be our best chance to transform the terror and anguish we are carrying into something more positive like compassion, empathy, and selfless service.

And oh yea, another reason to serve is to provide practical and useful help to suffering beings and a suffering planet in need but we can come back to this one another day.

Andrew translated this poem by Rumi and has it taped to his refrigerator to remind him why he is alive in this time and what he must always live to represent in this time. Shall we joint in with him?

Loves Horse Will Carry You Home (Partial)

The whole world could be chocked with thorns

A lover’s heart will stay a rose garden.

The wheel of heaven could wind to a halt

The world of lovers will go on turning

Even if every being grew sad, a lovers soul

Will stay fresh, vibrant, light.

Are all the candles out? Hand them to a lover –

A lover shoots out a hundred thousand fires.

Wherever you find a lover on a bed of pain

You find the Beloved right by his bedside.

Mount the stallion of love and do not fear the path –

Love’s stallion knows the way exactly

With one leap love’s horse will carry you home

However black with obstacles the path may be

The soul of a real lover shuns all animal fodder

Only in the wine of bliss can his soul find peace.

Through the grace of Shans –ud Din of Tabriz, you will possess

A heart at once drunk and supremely lucid.