Stop Worshipping the Past. The Divine Is Here, Now.
The past can point toward truth, but only the present can be lived and discovered.
The problem with India right now is precisely this: we believe in worshipping others more than understanding the power inside us.
We like to live in the past when the past has already gone. It's dead, it has dried up, and all we really have is now, the present.
And if God existed in the past then he sure exists now because if he doesn't then that's a fake god.
I can only pray to the God present in front of me, inside me and everywhere around me.
Osho, Buddha, Mahavira, Krishna, Shiva—all the great philosophers and spiritual teachers can only point in the direction of truth. It ultimately comes down to the single person to contemplate it, understand it and walk upon the path laid out.
You can worship the greatest guru in the history of humanity, read every scripture, memorize every verse, but what good is that knowledge if it never transforms your existence?
Truth ultimately is singular, it is one. But in order for the masses to truly understand and comprehend the truth you have to modify the way you express it, make it simpler. That takes immense understanding on the part of the individual.
Every enlightened or liberated person propagated truth in their own light. If you observe carefully, if you comprehend the patterns carefully, you will find one thing: all of them are pointing in one direction only.
But a direction is not the destination.
We knew the path to the moon but it was not until we landed on it that we got to know its properties.
Spirituality is no different in this sense. You have to experience it for yourself.
This is also why I believe there is a grave need for a cultural renaissance in India.
Not merely remembering what our ancestors achieved, but discovering what we ourselves are capable of achieving.
Not merely worshipping Vivekananda, but understanding his call for strength, fearlessness and action.
Not merely celebrating our scriptures, but contemplating them, experimenting with their methods and experiencing whatever truth they may reveal to us.
The past is gone my friend.
The divine, if it is truly eternal, must be discoverable here and now.
And the most beautiful thing is that every individual has the opportunity to begin that discovery within themselves.