Institutional Religion to Applied Spirituality: A dimensional shift
I need to stop investing energy in (constantly) evaluating others.
Who is a sinner…
Who is a great tapasvi…
Who is spiritually elevated…
Who is fallen…
None of this is truly my concern.
Karma system will take care of everyone according to their causes and conditions.
My real responsibility is "myself".
If I observe honestly, I am still serving a "false identity" almost 24x7.
“I” the body.
“I” the image.
“I” the role.
“I” the achiever.
“I” the hurt one.
“I” the spiritual seeker.
“I” the knowledgeable one.
“I” the devotee.
And as long as I continue serving this false construct, how can I expect liberation?
I do not want to become merely a dry intellectual, nor do I want to remain trapped in mechanical kriya as in the rituals without understanding / the right focus.
Because even spirituality itself can become nourishment for ego.
Knowledge can inflate identity.
Tap can create subtle pride.
Bhakti can become emotional dependence.
Kriya can become routine.
Even puṇya can become another transaction for future comfort and security.
And if I observe carefully, almost the entire structure of Sansaar revolves around Puṇya and Paap.
Even the definitions of Puṇya and Paap are often interpreted conveniently according to worldly comfort.
Parigrah (Widely, all types of accumulation) itself is counted among the five Maha-paaps.
Yet if someone accumulates enormous wealth, influence, possessions, and status, society often responds with admiration, praise, respect, felicitation, and expectations of donation.
Very rarely do I pause and reflect upon the attachment, possessiveness, violence, falsehood, deceit, anxiety, and ego that may also be woven into such accumulation.
Instead, the world mostly evaluates outcomes externally.
And honestly, even spirituality can become trapped in the same framework.
Who accumulated more Puṇya?
Who performed greater Tap?
Who appears more Religious?
Who receives more Praise?
Who is considered Spiritually advanced?
So whether worldly or religious, my mind remains revolving within puṇya and paap itself.
And if I speak honestly to myself, I also know this:
As long as transcendence has not genuinely awakened within me, puṇya is certainly better than paap.
Compassion is better than cruelty.
Restraint is better than indulgence.
Humility is better than arrogance.
So I cannot misuse “being beyond puṇya-paap” as an excuse for carelessness or irresponsibility.
But my problem is subtler.
I quietly convert this understanding into consolation.
I begin settling inside puṇya.
Whenever paap happens, I either justify it internally, minimize it psychologically, or try to compensate for it through puṇya.
And then, instead of turning toward transcendence, I postpone it.
I assume the path of purity (shuddhata) is too difficult, too distant, too impractical, or meant only for extraordinary beings.
And that assumption itself becomes bondage.
Because deep within, I already know:
“Moksh kahyo nij shuddhata,
te paame te panth.”
Liberation is called the purity of the Self.
Who attains that purity alone walks the path.
Then what exactly should matter to me?
“Kaam ek Aatmaarth nu…”
My real work is only that which serves the soul.
“Chetan jo Nijbhaan maa…”
Can I remain aware of my true nature even briefly and honestly?
“Vrutti vahi Nijbhaav maa…”
Can my inner tendencies slowly begin flowing toward the Self instead of endlessly flowing outward?
“Jyaan tyaan thi raag-dwesh rahit thavu…”
Can I gradually reduce attachment and aversion amidst all situations?
Because if anything in my life (worldly or spiritual) genuinely helps move me toward these, then it has value.
Otherwise, however impressive it appears externally, it largely remains an expansion of the Sansaar itself.
And therefore I need to repeatedly ask myself:
What am I serving right now?
Moh or the Self?
Attachment or awareness?
Identity or truth?
Bondage or Shuddhata?
I need to stop using religion merely for emotional comfort.
I need to stop glorifying unnecessary complexity.
I need to stop feeding endless distractions, comparisons, ego battles, validation-seeking, emotional drama, and useless mental noise.
So much of life is simply unnecessary “soap” continuously running in the mind.
And meanwhile time passes.
Bhav (Life....most precious Human Birth) passes.
Awareness weakens.
Then what exactly is my work?
I need to become clearer every day about:
what increases moha,
what weakens moh,
what strengthens identification,
what brings awareness,
what inflames raag-dwesh,
what softens raag-dwesh,
what deepens bondage,
and what slowly turns attention (awareness, focus) toward Shuddhata.
This itself is an enormous and accurate Purusharth (effort)
Not performance.
Not appearing spiritual.
Not image-building.
But genuine reduction of impurity.
And perhaps the path is not as complicated as my mind makes it appear.
Difficult? Yes.
Demanding? Absolutely.
But structurally simple.
Again and again: become aware,
reduce negligence,
observe moh,
withdraw identification,
reduce raag-dwesh,
remember the Self,
walk toward Shuddhata.
And then continue walking.
Quietly.
Regularly.
Without drama.
Without performance.
Without demanding quick results.
I will fall into negligence many times.
Moh will overpower me repeatedly.
Old conditioning (of Anant Kaal, the beginningless time) will return again and again.
But even then, my work remains the same:
To return.
To become aware again.
To reduce carelessness again.
To weaken attachment again.
To remember the Self again.
Not for recognition.
Not to become “someone spiritual.”
Not to decorate bondage with religious identity.
But because liberation matters more than maintaining a false identity.
And this path probably cannot be crossed through intensity alone.
I need steadiness.
Consistency.
Long-term sincerity.
Walk… walk… walk…
For a long, long time if needed.
But Not Stop.
Because whether today or after countless struggles, liberation belongs only to the one who continues walking toward the Real.
