10. Spiritual Greed 2014 © – Matt Sharpe

   10. Spiritual Greed 2014 © – Matt Sharpe

  

In the world today, one quality that seems to have no end is that of spiritual greed. It is not a new activity as it has existed for nearly as long as human civilization has existed, but it seems now to have reached previously unknown heights of activity. Spiritual greed is a thing that happens when a person begins what they term as a spiritual endeavor, but their motivation for doing so is purely for personal and monetary gain. It matters not if this is done knowingly or unknowingly as it is always the individual’s responsibility to discern whether a pursuit or goal is accurate, truthful and effective, or if it is a form of self-deception that misleads to acquire a gain from the victim. Whether or not that course of action will stand in the way of Soul’s development or aid It in moving forward.

 

    One of the more recent variations of this is what is termed “DNA activation.” The sellers of this purported action have not only a lack of a complete understanding of DNA, but also an obvious lack of spiritual experience. The theory is that by having the DNA activated by numerous methods, this activation will enable the individual to “ascend” to a higher state of being. This goes along with the belief that there is a new earth that is about to be manifested only in a different dimension that only activated persons would be able to go to. Most often this is stated to be able to happen because the DNA activation will allow them to move permanently into a light body. Often a large sum of money is charged for these sessions. In Eckankar the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master, will never promise any such useless or fraudulent action since the teachings make very clear how consciousness works and manifests on each plane. The reality is that every individual is always already in their own light body (the Astral Body). And the only way to ascend is to raise the state of consciousness which enables one to be aware in the Astral Body and to bring back the memory of the experiences in that area. Therefore I say that those who offer these activations have no spiritual experience and are obviously unaware of this factor.

 

    DNA is only to be found in the physical body, and it in no way dictates the ability of one to consciously leave the body. The entire concept is a delusion based on fantasy, such as that created by Guy Ballard and his “I AM” and “Ascended Master” teachings. With the idea of ascension, factors such as DNA upgrading were added in later, along with inaccurate historical translations, specifically those of Zecharia Sitchin of the Sumerian cuneiform tablets. These so-called translations have never found another proponent that was actually trained in the field of translating ancient scripts, thus the use of italics around the word historical. After the Ballard’s died (and ascended) what had begun as their channeled teachings were carried on by others who expanded the ideas to include the physical universes and many races of alien beings. From this entered the idea that DNA upgrading and activation could enable humans with so called super powers and the ability to manifest a light body on the Physical Plane. DNA has no way to give an ability to enter a light body, just as there is no light body on the physical plane. Some speak of upgrading the physical body to one of crystal, but if you research you will find not one individual anywhere that is able to show anyone this crystal body and thus prove the concept. It all sounds feasible to the imagination, but the idea has no basis in reality, and this in itself demonstrates very clearly that there is no actual experience with the ideas of this nature that are being sold to the public. A little common sense can go a long way. There is nothing wrong with critical analysis just as there is nothing wrong with having an opened heart. A balance between both is the most advantageous and honest way to go about things.

 

    For any fraudulent persons who knowingly deceive others to collect profits for their personal gain, their actions demonstrate very clearly how spiritually bankrupt that individual truly is. It makes little difference what deceptions they may be guilty of while plying their trade. It also matters little if one claims things, they are not capable of, or have no actual experience with. The price for such actions will absolutely come due despite the many attempts made to deny any such situations having ever taken place. And the lessons abound on every side of the issue. Many times, the so called victims of such are equally involved with the perpetrator and the crime when speaking of the karmic sense of things happening. And while past karmas are involved, the situation is also going to be full of tests for each of the individuals, that can only progress according to the choices made by each in each specific situation. Things are often not quite what they might seem to be at first glance. And no one is truly innocent.

 

    One more form of spiritual greed that manifests itself quite often on earth and throughout all time periods, is religious fundamentalism. It wears a mask that tries to convince all observers that it is righteous. It uses a righteous anger to persecute its perceived enemies, and often persuades its followers to have an unshakable and unquestioning observance of its standards in a particular land and amongst a culture. It can be very hard to defy what is purported to be a spiritual authority that judges one for the crimes this group perceives to have been committed. Such groups of people gather often, throughout all differing cultures, religious paths and time periods. When one finally observes its true face, it will invariably be named spiritual or religious intolerance. Often those in a religious group who start it, do so after an apparent crisis amongst that group, sometimes this may begin in an righteous manner, but it always devolves into judgment that has little or no tolerance for the ways of other religious or spiritual groups. In Eckankar we maintain that our teachings support all other spiritual paths. Despite any differences in opinion or teaching we seek only to uplift other spiritual groups and their teachings rather than oppose them.

 

    Often those who support the intolerant view are those within a religious group that tends towards a fundamentalist view of their chosen religion. Obviously, this can cause those within it to adopt a prejudiced view of others outside of their group. It is a good idea to use a greater amount of patience with such people, should one meet any, regardless of the faith they practice. Much of the trouble that can arise from this sort of attitude could easily be detected by any group of people that is in possession of a willingness to be honest with themselves and ask if they are an example of love in the way they view other differing groups of people. How the word love is defined is of great importance since love is such an expansive concept. The definition ought to include honesty, patience, a calm detachment, gratitude, forgiveness, and tolerance. If a fundamentalist group were living by the example of the teachings they promote, how could these qualities not be a part of them? Note the word tolerance. In Eckankar there is also a fundamentalism that has been known to exist, but all members are encouraged to practice tolerance instead as well as forgiveness, as these are the ways of love.

 

  

    Many spiritual paths over time adopt rules that become known as dogma, which are a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true. Such can exist, but it is of tantamount importance for the individual to gain their own direct experiences with those founding principles so that they can develop the awareness to be able to interpret them accurately. When a path sets out its dogmas in a way that makes them a set of rules that can never be questioned, it becomes impossible to gain any actual experience with them, and spiritually speaking, that religion dies from closing off the place where the divine can enter them. This is usually because the powers that be have constricted the ways of interpretation so that only a very limited range can be accepted or applied. Whether this is a good or more negative factor is a matter of opinion, but it can truly vary from path to path. It is important that the individual develop their own ability to go within consciously and to be able to experience, learn, and interpret what they have experienced. This makes possible an understanding of many levels interpretation that may not have been apparent to an individual at first sight.

 

    From this expanse of various circumstances and experiences one may glean a great many meanings and interpretations that can widen and deepen any great truth into realms that hadn’t been considered previously. From these experiences a teaching can develop and reach much further than anyone could have guessed at. It is this purpose that a living Master or Guru is meant to serve in his time. This does not necessarily mean that they are teaching different truths than any that came before them, but rather that they are re-interpreting the applications of the same truths in a way that people of that time period can easily understand and work with. In this way teachings can be brought from the inner to the outer life and worked with and progressed through in a meaningful way. This evolution and development is necessary for a teaching to be a living teaching. It must live. To do so it must also have the ability to evolve in a number of ways and must always be presented by a living Master to the Physical Plane who can also offer them inwardly in a balanced fashion. This has always been the chief means of spiritual education from humankind’s beginning. The first known living teachers were always shamans, usually in a localized tribal setting. But these shamans were visited by the Adepts who were necessarily alive in the body and were thus able to teach and demonstrate the application of the teachings in the daily lives of the people. There were also those no longer alive in the body that may have even been recognized in various other spiritual paths around the globe. A Spiritual Master is not owned by any religious tradition, regardless of what any of these might claim in their dogmas.

 

    There is no shortage of persons who purport Eckankar to be one they see as being chiefly founded on fraud. The usual reason is a claimed spiritual greed in the form of monetary gain. However there has never been shown any actual evidence of this other than a person’s purported claims, founded on memory alone, which has been proven in court to be highly changeable and totally unreliable. When asked for written and signed proofs of these claims none have ever yet been able to provide any, which leaves each individual free to make the choice that they see fit to make. Inner experience is proof enough, if the teachings of Eckankar work for one, what more proof is needed? Based on these I maintain the verity and authenticity of both the Masters of the Vairagi Order and the teachings of Eckankar as standing outside of the confines of any form of spiritual greed. Whether or not a person agrees with this is a thing they will have to arrive at their own decision on, and each is entitled to their own opinion.

 

    Another form of spiritual greed is expressed in many cases by the people that fall into that previous group, former chelas of Eckankar who have left for whichever reason. At some point after they decide they are finished with these teachings they may join groups with other former students to discuss what they consider to be evils perpetrated by the Eckankar Organization. While no student of Eckankar is necessarily perfect and cannot always be expected to act in the best manner, it is still most beneficial to view things from an objective viewpoint. Some ECKists may think, speak or act in ways that are simply not good, but this is to be expected of anyone, regardless of the belief system or spiritual path they happen to be on. It is a common thing as Soul goes through varied experiences designed by Its need to learn certain lessons and this is an ongoing process. On the other side of the aisle, the former students seem to often head into the exact same place as far as sets of ideas about their former path and the imagined motivations behind what they consider to be wrongs committed.

 

    In the way these individuals often act, they demonstrate clear tendencies towards a sort of fundamentalism that is very closed and limited. One sure sign is a person that refuses to admit the possibility of any other factor, condition, or motivation than the one they have decided is the fact of the matter. Any individual certainly has the freedom to have their own opinion, even if others do not agree or like it. But when one decides they have discovered the truth of a thing it might be a better course of action to go ahead and test it out, search for direct evidence or to even debunk that course of thought, or honestly try to which demonstrates an ability to keep the mind and heart opened to learning more about a thing. A thing may seem to be the obvious case in a particular matter, but if the individual who committed it has left the physical life, they can no longer be so easily asked detailed questions about why they did a certain thing, and that most often leads to rampant speculation which can tend to form walls within one’s consciousness, walls that the individual can be very unwilling to look beyond. And of course, that requires the closing of the various pathways of perception. When challenged the persons purporting a specific thing might jump to calling names rather than providing solid evidence of the situation, they claim to have evidence of.

 

    When another suggests a different possibility of explanation for that situation or factor, often you might find some without the necessary education trying to diagnose another’s mental condition, which of course is simply a defensive mechanism created in the attempt to support that person’s egoic tendencies. Some simply refuse to be wrong, which demonstrates that limited way of thinking and closing off of the ability to learn, generally having to do with some condition of the pride. One who is less under the control of the egoic-self has no trouble allowing others to have opinions that oppose their own. Those within the firm grasp of the egoic-self do not tend to offer this freedom to others that do not hold the same opinions as they do, as they lack the ability to hold a different view and remain comfortable by themselves in it. In this way it demonstrates itself as a weakness and a form of spiritual greed that is every bit as bad as any religious or spiritual group has ever been in the fundamentalist sense, in history choosing self-preservation over even the slightest degree of spiritual liberty.

 

    It becomes an essential piece of experience and learning for anyone, especially an ECK chela, to not only forgive and allow that non agreeing party to hold their own views, but at the same time it is equally as important that one remain steadfast in their own views and their ability to continue gaining direct experience and learning. This process never stops, regardless of the lifestyle or spiritual choices an individual makes. Just as each are responsible for the thoughts, words, judgments and actions they take against another, so also must one constantly examine their own motivations to be certain to not allow the lower or egoic-self to assert control over the conscious choices made. Where necessary an individual might also need to be strong enough to hold their own center in the face of being challenged. One should never be afraid to stand for the principles they have accepted, despite the challenges that others might at times present them with. The spiritual journey is never an easy one, and it is without doubt filled with a great many challenges, ones that may send the weak at heart running in fear. Fear has no place in the life of those who seek to achieve the highest levels of spiritual attainment and consciousness, for by overcoming said fears an ever-greater degree of strength and fortitude are born, as well as the ever growing levels of patience, experience and freedom.

 

    While one allows another their own space and freedom, another potential pitfall of attitude can impose itself upon him. Another form of spiritual greed, the judgment of others for the path they choose to take and regarding oneself as being higher, better, or more spiritually evolved than another because of the path of their choice, be it Eckankar, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam or any other, is nothing more than a manifestation of pride. This quality seeks to boost the self above others by a means that does not in reality exist. Religious pride is a form of spiritual greed in that it attempts to take all of the benefit for one’s self by deciding that that he is taking a more righteous way and is thus far ahead of any others that take another way. This is always an illusion and for that reason one must remain aware and keep a watch for it. When found it must be gotten rid of, it cannot remain as it will throw the individual off balance. The attention must always be kept on oneself to identify bad habits such as this and remove them.

 

    Spiritual greed is simply greed, one of the five passions of the mind, despite the separating of this specific form of greed. Let there be no mistaking the reality of greed and its ability to hold Soul in these lower realms. The effects are the same regardless of the type of greed, but spiritual greed had need of being mentioned and having attention brought to it being that it is a far-reaching temptation that many fall prey to. This quality must be discerned wherever possible, and there is a great need of individuals being able to recognize it whether it be a trait of another or if it be a quality that one discovers within their own self. Many times, a thing such as this can exist habitually within one’s personality by virtue of its never having been recognized as what it truly is. The realization of finding it is one that is never pleasant but is necessary. For this reason, the qualities of self-honesty and humility are very important as they act in a way that brings these unrecognized qualities to the attention of the conscious self that one may choose to make the conscious effort to change it. Never be satisfied to simply recognize the existence of such a thing, instead seek to add a plus one factor to it by conquering it and removing it from the self.

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