A
While many of us have been taught to live well now because of consequences—the rewards of heaven, for example—the masters teach us that this “carrot” must be transcended completely. Great masters live well, not for anticipated personal gain, but for the love of God. Their lives are full of selfless service, because they understand that we are all one.
A
You’ve hit on the core distinction between transactional spirituality and transformational spirituality.
In the context of Vyutthana, this transition is vital. While we usually think of Vyutthana as "rising up" into worldly distraction, the "Great Masters" you mentioned view it as a rising up into divine action.
Here is how that shift from "the carrot" to selfless love typically breaks down:
The Shift from "Me" to "We"
The Reward Phase (Transactional): This is often where people start. We do good deeds to avoid "bad karma" or to secure a spot in a pleasant afterlife. It’s a spiritual insurance policy. While it keeps behavior in check, it is still rooted in the Ego, because the primary concern is my soul and my future.
The Love Phase (Transcendental): For the masters, the "carrot" of heaven is actually a distraction. If you are serving others just to get to heaven, you aren't really serving the person in front of you—you're serving your own interest.
The Realization of Oneness: When the masters say "we are all one," they mean it literally. If I see your hand as my hand, I don’t need a reward to help heal it when it’s hurt. The service becomes an instinctive act of self-love on a universal scale.
Vyutthana as "Divine Activity"
In many traditions, once a person reaches enlightenment, they don't just stay in a cave in silent meditation (Nirodha). They undergo a "divine Vyutthana"—they rise up and return to the world.
However, they return differently:
Old Vyutthana: Being pulled into the world by desire, fear, or the "carrot" of reward.
New Vyutthana: Stepping into the world as an instrument of service, acting purely because it is the nature of the soul to love.
"The reward of a thing well done is to have done it." — Ralph Waldo Emerson
A Table of Motivation
| Motivation | Source | Goal |
| Fear/Reward | The Ego | Personal safety or pleasure (Heaven). |
| Duty/Dharma | The Mind | Maintaining order and balance. |
| Selfless Love | The Spirit | The well-being of the "Whole." |
It’s a beautiful paradox: by giving up the pursuit of the "carrot," the masters find a peace that no amount of heavenly reward could actually provide.
Would you like to explore how this concept of "Selfless Service" (Karma Yoga) specifically helps in quieting the mind's distractions?
No comments:
Post a Comment