Nectar #34

Book excerpt: In order to dwell within and enjoy the bliss of Nonduality, Peace of Mind is required. This abiding Peace is predicated upon the attainment of equanimity and contentment, and both of those are dependant upon fulfilling one’s desires in the dharma. But there is one onerous presence that can, almost effortlessly, undo the practitioner’s crucial spiritual practice and spoil a sincere aspirant’s bid for Peace leading to Enlightenment, and that is the insinuation of work, or action. According to Swami Vivekananda, “Work is the midday sun that is burning the very vitals of humanity. It is necessary for a time, but in the end is a morbid dream.” This is even more true in today’s humming multiple marketplaces and office buildings, whose teeming masses rush, like a raging springtime river in spate, to gain everything that the world can offer — all of it empty and unfulfilling in the end. Activity can never bring about liberation either, but is more often the cause for bondage of the soul to matter and nature. As Shankara has reminded us, “Moksha can never be gained by thousands of asanas, or by hundreds and thousands of breathing exercises, nor by millions of acts; nor does wealth and progeny bring it.”