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PITFALLS ON THE PATH OF DEVOTION
Finding God's Love - Chapter Preview
Negative Thoughts
It is hoped that in reading this section on negative thoughts, we will gain a clearer understanding of how negative thoughts operate in the mind, that they all have the I-thought as their root, and that they are all the opposite of love.
When the fire of our love begins to burn brightly enough, negative thoughts will be consumed automatically. Paul expresses this idea:
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10, NIV
However, until we reach the point of combustion, it will be important for us to make an effort to recognize and remove negative thinking. Negative thoughts and emotions cause the light and love in the heart to recoil and retreat like a crawdad that has just been poked with a stick. When these negatives occupy our mind, God will be far away. They are like holes in the cauldron of our devotion that cause our love to leak away. Thus it becomes difficult to make progress because we cannot contain enough intensity in our love and devotion. We are constantly distracted by these afflictions. They make the heart hard, small, and dark. Love simply cannot exist in the atmosphere of these negative tendencies in the same way that grass will not grow under a rock. Negative emotions are caused by our desires for the objects of our senses - persons, places, and things. We refer to the presence of these desires as worldliness.
The mind soaked in worldliness may be compared to a wet match-stick. You won't get a spark, however much you may rub it. Sri Ramakrishna, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 242
Question: Is it possible to know God for those of us who are ordinary people?
Mother: Children, God is also ordinary at all times and therefore not difficult to know. But there is one thing. The ignorant ones who are drowning themselves in worldliness cannot know the Truth. Whoever it may be, he who has sincere interest can know and see God. Ammachi, Awaken Children, vol. 1, p. 37
Jesus also comments on being worldly:
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-17, NIV
The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes says:
"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." Ecclesiastes 1:2, NIV
I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 1:14, NIV
These scriptures advise us to see all worldly endeavors that are conscripted for one's own pleasure or indulgence as meaningless. In contrast, the only meaningful personal human pursuit is love and the only meaningful relationship to the world is to express compassion and relieve the suffering of others. If we move away from worldliness we will move away from negative emotions.
If we look closely at these spoilers of happiness, we will find that they are all dependent on the I-thought for their existence. They are the fruit of the ego. It is the I-thought that gives rise to its lieutenants who are:
1. Desire
2. Anger
3. Greed
4. Jealousy
5. Attachment
6. Pride
Available in a 80 page 6"x 9" paperback February 1, 2004 for $13.95 + Shipping.
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