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Becoming Transcendental
From the book Spiritual Warrior II
By HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami
Submitted by Manoj
Becoming Transcendental:
When we genuinely serve another person with unconditional love, we are surrendering to the will of God. We are setting our personal interests aside and doing the necessary, no matter what the cost. Because of our love, we do not react even when someone is critical or angry. We just find a more tactful way to accomplish our service. We go on being humble, which means being concerned about others and making even better arrangements for them than we would for ourselves, because we love them even more than ourselves. That is genuine unconditional love.
Such steadfast behavior means that we are becoming transcendental instead of remaining merely sentimental. We are sentimental when we are attached to feeling good, to maintaining peace at all costs or to tolerating the misdeeds of others in order to avoid their displeasure. This is a form of sense enjoyment that is a hindrance in spiritual life. As we have seen, real love is not based on wanting to feel good, mentally, psychologically or physically. The focus of such a superficial approach is egocentric, because we are just using a relationship, even with God, to get what we want.
We become transcendental when we rise above the material state of affairs and the platform of everyday mediocrity. We elevate ourselves by keeping our focus clear, persevering in our spiritual practices and passing our daily tests. We do not allow obstacles, such as our own senses or those of other people, to stand in the way.
Love does not always mean that we maintain contact with another person, or that we are gentle and kind. Sometimes we must go away or speak harsh words. But such actions are soft to the heart, because the motivation is selfless. If we are capable of real love, we do not stop loving others even if we decide to be abrupt or stop associating with them. Despite appearances, our first priority should always be their highest good.
As spiritual warriors, we should always seek to raise the energy level around us. When we practice upgrading our surroundings, we progress quickly because we are radiating divinity and love wherever we go. According to the law of karma, whatever we give to others we will receive back in kind. Therefore, the more love we give, the more we will experience.
This brings us to the subject of empowerment. Although we may want to help others, we may not believe that we have sufficient love to give. In such situations, the Lord dwelling in our hearts can respond to our call, empowering us to serve beyond our normal capacities. Indeed, highly spiritual people do not rely solely upon their own intelligence or their normal understanding. Their deep, genuine commitment brings unlimited love, knowledge and realization beyond their own personal limitations. That is why, when we become receptive to the Lord's help, miracles start happening.
Daily Life Is a Training Ground:
The sages and yogis at the gathering described in the Srimad Bhagavatam understood, by the mercy of Suta Goswami, that love was based on unmotivated service to God. They realized that genuine spirituality meant becoming servants of everyone. The same is true for us. In everyday life, our relationships with one another are practice for the divine relationships we will eventually experience. The quality of our interactions indicates how well we are preparing ourselves for association with the Supreme Lord. That is why association with others who are serious about spiritual life is so important. Through these experiences, we are learning to love and serve the Supreme.
The highest level of the spiritual world is a realm of eternal spiritual romance and of selfless, loving exchanges. To enter the realm of pure love, we must begin here and now in the material world to become pure, unmotivated servants. Any egocentric motivation disqualifies us, because to experience divine love we must feel joy in denying our own appetites for the pleasure of the loved one. We do not lose our own identity in the process. On the contrary, our true identity expands as we render service, and each expression of selflessness intensifies our capacity to experience ever more vast dimensions of love. When we are motivated by genuine love to act so selflessly, even more love is available to us.
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"Simplicity means no duplicity. Simplicity means no personal ambitions. Simplicity means just a honest simple life, for the pleasure of Krishna, Guru and the Vaisnavas. That is simple living, high thinking." - HH Radhanath Swami
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