August 25, 2008
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Sorting out Life and Wisdom
Does anyone ever really get “it” figured out?
Sure, we have gurus who sit on their mountain tops in their diapers, dispensing “wisdom” about life and the Universe, but do they really have everything figured out? One of my Teachers once told me about his own Teacher’s Teacher… and how he was a man of great enlightenment and an evolved spirit… yet he could not survive daily life without a group of followers from his inner circle bringing him food and clean clothes and feeding him. And not because he was ill and weak, but because he was so far dissociated from the practicalities of daily life that he would most likely have died, without “handlers” to tend to his needs.
Did he have “it” figured out?
Is that what “enlightened” looks like?
A cynical part of me thinks that he was certainly “clever” enough to become a person of wisdom, very specifically including the “wisdom” of how to “farm out” getting his basic needs taken care of, by others.
I’m no guru, of course. However, as an observer of people and their personal spiritual evolution, I find that I have far more respect for the “guru” who plunges his/her own toilet in the morning, and then philosophizes about the meaning of the the Universe in the afternoon. S/he may have cosmic wisdom, but can also be found down at the grocery saying “The brussels sprouts look good, today!” I’m not even sure if “respect” is the right word. Maybe it’s just a matter of relating… and I find that I relate best to someone who is both “OF the world” and “IN the world,” at the same time.
When I pause to ponder, I also realize that my own perception (and associated filtering) of ostensible “greatness” is perhaps tainted by having grown up in Denmark, in the shadow of the “Jante Law” (a sort of Scandinavian variation of the “tall poppy syndrome”) which– however impractical in “real” terms– runs as a pervasive cultural/sociological subtext through the core values of Scandinavian culture. You can read up on that on your own– the relevance for me is an innate suspicion of anyone claiming to be “better” than anyone else… especially if the “saying” of better is not matched by a practical “demonstration” of better.
“Figuring it out” is an interesting “beast,” for me. As an observer of the human condition, it at least feels infinitely preferable to wandering through life in a state of oblivion. Perhaps people “in oblivion” have a simple way to live, but I have seen very few signs that the absence of self-awareness leads anyone to contentment… and the “collateral damage” (from addictive behaviors to violence and abuse) of ignorance strikes me as far more unpleasant than the potential existential depression that might result from excessive navel-gazing.
The fun thing about “figgering” is that what you come up with as a “feeling of rightness” will– in all likelihood– be completely different from what I come up with. And out of that (at least for me) rises the quest to find those elusive “other members of my tribe.”
And sometimes you get lucky, and find a perfect overlap between two “feelings of rightness….”
Comments (11)
And sometimes along the way, we find what we want, what feels right, changes and new horizons beckon.
And not all gurus are reclusives as such, though I agree it seems mighty rare. If you look deeper into it, you would probably find that the followers feel blessed to be able to be so close and helpful – to free up the time of their guru – because the guru (a legit one anyway) regularly helps the follower attain to states s/he couldn’t otherwise acheive on their own, at leat not as quickly. It’s all very suspect, no doubt. But experience is the best teacher, and a guru can provide that. Otherwise wandering around aimlessly… well it sucks.
It’s occurred to me (again and again) the “figuring it out” and “the pursuit of happiness” in the USA constitution really are nearly one and the same. The idea that it’s a “pursuit” is central, though. We arrive at the point we’ve identified, and spy another point somewhere on the horizon that’s just opened up for us. Always moving, always changing, yet it almost always seems to be an expansion or an elaboration of what we began looking for at the outset. Like finding the thread of an idea and following it carefully, painstakingly, refusing to let it slip from our grasp or fade from our thoughts … and THEN … there’s another thread, and another, and another, and … suddenly those threads appear to have led us to a corner of something much larger. Perhaps this is only the opening of doors and windows, portals to more vistas that lead us in the directions we want to go.
Thanks for the visit. Thanks for this post!
What a good post. I am glad that I was distracted by it. I must admit that I will have to revisit it. Today was my first day of my last semester of school (maybe). Currently processing a ton of information. Anyway, I can relate with getting it and really getting it. Not many stop and think about “how” the guru got to the state of needing to be cared for. I am glad you shared this concept with me and fellow readers.
I tend to believe that the happiest people are those who stop trying to figure it out and just flow as it unfolds.
Fantastic post. I don’t know about that one guru, but I think taking care of one’s self counts as wisdom. Well, at least in my book.
perhaps it isn’t to be figured out. perhaps it is only to be…
I’m a diehard “chop wood, carry water” person – and regardless of how “enlightened” one becomes, s/he is still in a body on this very dense and physical plane and there’s a reason for that.
Somehow, dependence on others for ANYTHING, especially simple daily needs, doesn’t seem very “enlightened” to me.
But what do I know? I’m not enlightened.
Peter: Thanks for visiting my site…otherwise I wouldn’t have found yours for awhile…it was probably the empath in both of us. Your post touched me…I will be back.
Nina
I rarely have anything to add comment on your posts because I try to avoid the cliche lines like “life’s the journey not the destination,” but these things are cliche for a reason. A good post to read before going to work
there is something to be said for being a bit laid-back about things. sure sometimes worrying is useful cos it helps you be more careful and mindful, but sometimes it adds extra obstacles. not sure if that just made sense there.
thanks for your comment on my US homeland security post…
Interesting “tall poppy syndrome.” I admit I’d never heard of the term, but the concept is fairly ubiquitous, and such desires to keep all the lobsters in the pot always stem from inherent weakness. I’m suspicious of the motives of one preaching ”a level playing field.” The term is usually a euphimism for “let’s share everything you have and nothing that I have.”