Spiritual people often want unconditional support and understanding
from their friends, family, and mates, but all too often seem blind to
their own shortcomings when it comes to the amount of unconditional
support and understanding that they give to others. I have seen many
spiritual people become obsessed with how unspiritual others are and
assume an arrogant and superior attitude while completely missing the
fact that they themselves are not nearly as spiritually enlightened as
they would like to think they are.
Enlightenment can be measured by how compassionately and wisely you
interact with others—with all others, not just those who support you in
the way that you want. How you interact with those who do not support
you shows how enlightened you really are.
As long as you perceive that anyone is holding you back, you have not
taken full responsibility for your own liberation. Liberation means
that you stand free of making demands on others and life to make you
happy. When you discover yourself to be nothing but Freedom, you stop
setting up conditions and requirements that need to be satisfied in
order for you to be happy.
It is in the absolute surrender of all conditions and requirements
that Liberation is discovered to be who and what you are. Then the love
and wisdom that flows out of you has a liberating effect on others. The
biggest challenge for most spiritual seekers is to surrender their self
importance, and see the emptiness of their own personal story. It is
your personal story that you need to awaken from in order to be free.
To give up being either ignorant or enlightened is the mark of
liberation and allows you to treat others as your Self. What I am
describing is the birth of true Love.
© 1998 by Adyashanti. All rights reserved.
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