Closing Reflections

Everyone wants love, yet few know how to find it. The world-view of modern culture is an incomplete one, because it fails to see beyond this physical universe and the external phenomena that apparently give our lives meaning. If we consider ourselves to be merely physical creatures who must manipulate our surroundings to survive or to experience any semblance of pleasure, life becomes an endless struggle. Succumbing to our desires, competing for dominance, exploiting one another and our surroundings, trying desperately to grasp as much pleasure as we can-is it any wonder we find life difficult?

Of course we cannot be happy living this way, because we are attempting the impossible. The irony of human existence is that we long for unconditional love, constant bliss, eternal life and total safety while living in an environment that is indifferent, painful, transitory and dangerous. We cannot gain lasting pleasure, security and peace from circumstances that are inherently incapable of providing what we want. Why, then, are we so blind to these realities, so persistent in our misdirected quest?

It is not that we must give up our longings. On the contrary, they are legitimate indications that we are meant for something higher and more enduring. Beneath our material coverings, we all know that we are spiritual beings; otherwise we would not seek conditions so apparently unattainable. We are just looking for them in the wrong direction. Lust is what keeps us bound to this constantly unfulfilled search for lasting pleasure in the material world. Otherwise, we could easily comprehend our situation and make an about-face. Since this is not the case, we must seek help to release ourselves from the illusions that lure us over and over again into the tangled mass of our egocentric desires and deprive us of the eternal love that is our birthright.

Lust is far more than the self-centered desire for sexual pleasure, and sexuality is far broader than the experience of attraction to another person or of physical union. Subtle sex, in which our lust manifests as an all-pervasive desire for adoration, distinction or profit, lies at the very core of modern society. Without it, would we be so driven to compete against our peers for recognition, manipulate others for financial gain, fight wars to secure control of resources, cover our aging bodies with expensive cosmetics, buy the newest products to keep up with the latest technology, and generally exploit the Earth in support of our wasteful habits?

The ravages of lust are visible everywhere today, and the planet can no longer tolerate the damage. We must find another way. In a very urgent sense, our collective destiny depends upon our ability to transform lust into love. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, true civilization is not based upon the multiplication of our wants, but in their voluntary restriction. Only then are we free to love and serve one another without selfishness. Simple living and high thinking should be our motto.

In order to restrict our wants willingly, we must believe that giving up our habitual patterns of self-gratification will not deprive us of anything valuable. To get to this point, we must have help. That is why a spiritual support system is so important. Scriptures, spiritual mentors and daily practices can teach us how to substitute higher, spiritual pleasures for the lower ones that have caused us, and so many others, such intense suffering. As we develop love for God and for all the beings with whom we share this planet, our material desires will gradually fall away by themselves as we experience ever-deepening levels of joy and fulfillment.

Love is an answer to the problems of the world. But it must be love in action, love that offers selfless service to others. The measure of love’s sincerity and depth is to be found in our state of consciousness and in our behavior, not in our words or beliefs. As spiritual warriors, we must learn to be available at all times and in all circumstances to say a kind word, defuse a conflict, offer help and humbly radiate the love that is our growing inner reality.

To be of genuine service, we must be willing to do the necessary inner spiritual work to free ourselves from even the most subtle influences of lust. We cannot give what we do not have, and who we are communicates far more loudly than what we do. If we are to share love with others, we must experience it ourselves. We must become living alternatives to the fearful, competitive mood of society today. As spiritual warriors, we are called upon to uplift the consciousness of all living beings everywhere.

Will you join us, dear reader, in helping to create a culture of love?