I dreamt of fruit going bad last night, so I wonder… are spiritual teachings best ‘consumed’ fresh? What do you all think… are classic spiritual books for instance of the same value as say the fresh teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, Eckhart Tolle and the Dalai Lama?
Comment Zen:
I’m not asking for dream analysis here. I’m just asking you all a question and wondering at your answers.
Truth is beyond time, there is no fresh or stale.
I associate the fruit with the transient, not so much things going lost.
Truth is timeless but words are contemporary. Tolle’s words feel simpler than Krishanmurti’s; Krishnamurti’s words are simpler than the Upanishads.
I think ‘perennial philosophy’ is of the highest value so classics are of the highest value. I do not agree with Kaushik that Krishnamurti is simpler than the upanishads, at least if one considers the mahavakyas (great statements.) One cannot get much simpler than those. If one reads current spiritual texts but not ancient primary sources (or even the earlier modern _The Secret Doctrine_) one may not really understand what the current texts are talking about.
Hi Katinka, I really enjoy your blog and always learn something new. As a New Thought enthusiast I am always amazed how many of our spiritual concepts come directly out of the Upanishads. Although I love to read Tolle’s and Thich Nhat Hahn’s approach to Mindfulness it is always a learning experience to return to the source documents. George Bryant- Notes On Enlightenment – Finding God On The Train
Katinka, I ate books on so called “Truth” for many years and then I started reading “I Am That” by a little known 20th century sage (for lack of a better word). I started reading this book about 3 months ago and haven’t finished it and may never finish. Why? Because now the inner teacher has taken over and I am so grateful to Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj for revealing the trurh in such a clear and precise manner. FREEDOM is what we all seek whether we know it or not. So buy a copy of “I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta
” and become FREE.
I have been seeking the TRUTH for many years and as a result I had to meditate on very little of this book to understand what Nisargadatta was teaching. My point is this: IF YOU ARE SINCERE and you meditate on what you don’t understand in this book it will come to you. Just be patient and stay focused in a relaxed way.
Hope this helps Katinka and take care.
John
Hi! That’s actually a good question. I’ve wondered about it a few times myself. And what I reasoned out is sometimes spiritual teachings are best consumed fresh.
I do not believe in absolute truth. Truth yes, absolute truth no. Spiritual teachings discuss truths that most consider enlightening for that period of time. But as time progress, so does truth. I like to compare it to how we once believed the planet was flat. But with the advent of technology and the evolution of thought we found something different. And in a million years from now we may find that the planet is not flat or circular, but triangular or many shapes simultaneously.
This is not to say that spiritual teachings today are more evolved. I actually don’t believe so. I think alot of what is on the market currently is repetition. Alot of teachers, myself including, have just taken the teachings of the past and rephrased them so that the everyday mary and jo can understand them. How many people have the patience and ability to read the Upanishads or even Alice Bailey?
At the same time, if you’ve really gone deep into spiritual reading, focusing a lot of time on the classics, it is hard to read the watered-down version of many new teachings. At least I find that true for me. I think E. Tolle has written some truly inspirational books, but they don’t interest me at all because i’ve read better, the classics (pure torture but more profound and encompassing).
So, I think the key is to find that one teacher whose truth is more evolved than that of the teachers of the past. But that is of course hard to find. How many publishers want to gamble money on theories that the ordinary would find crazy? I also think many of the higher-enlightened ones are not looking to play the celebrity, host workshops, and collect worshippers. And I am not trying to degrade that form of teaching. Earth needs all forms of teaching and all types of teachers because students come in every form with all types of needs. Some people love workshops and so they need teachers willing to host workshops.
What I found is if you have read through the classics and some of the new stuff, then you are knowledgeable enough to dig into your self, higher-self, akashic record or talk to God for fresh truth. I also found some good stuff coming from the channeling of the Ascended Masters. In these cases, I look at the teachings and not the names. Names have a way distracting you.
So, to end my longggg reply (sorry), reading the classics is good because the information is still enlighteneing for this period we are living in. But if you have already read them and current repetitions, then finding a new teacher whose thoughts suprass those of the past (and today) is better for all the obvious reasons.