Anything that contributes towards spiritual awakening and salvation. By this definition many things that are called good are not and some that are thought of as bad are, in fact, good. What is good is what is good in the long term (the term of eternity, you might even say) and from the perspective of spiritual advancement. What is not good is what obscures spiritual intelligence and the awakening of the soul.
Looking at the matter in this way shows that a culture that rejects transcendence, as ours does, has rejected goodness and is therefore bad. But obviously we can't admit to this so we invent a false goodness and condemn those who don't abide by the new rules. This has the dual effect of, on the one hand, corrupting the weakly spiritual whose inner connection to the soul is feebler than their obedience to outer authority, as in society's conventions, and, on the other, leading people away from true goodness into a flattened down version that relates only to the fulfilment of human beings as they appear to be in this world.
Good and bad can only be understood in a spiritual context and in relation to the higher world. To be sure, you can have subsidiary good relating to this world but if that conflicts with the higher good it then becomes evil. That was the lesson that Judas failed to learn when he criticised the woman who anointed Jesus's feet with oil. Just like us he was putting material goodness above spiritual. Just like us he failed to understand what is good.
What is good? It may challenge our preconceptions of goodness. It may reject our hopes and confirm our fears. It may include pain and suffering. It is what leads to joy rather than happiness.
6 comments:
Hey, William. I recently bumped in your vlog and find it really full with interesting ideas and experiences of yours. I have one question though regarding material things and ego. Don't you think it's okay to moderately enjoy material aspects of life? I'd find this way even more complete since, at the end of the day all of it is God's creation so it would make sense to engage in earthly activities since we do have egos and material world does exist, so, in my opinion such activities, although not as important as spiritual, should not be ignored or denied.
Yes, the material is part of life and so should not be rejected. "God looked at creation and saw that it was good." At the same time we have to get our priorities right so the spiritual should come before the material and if there is a conflict, as there can be when sex is involved, for instance, we have see things in terms of the whole with the spiritual at the apex and the material at the base.
Thanks for your answer, William. I only recently started my journey in the spiritual world and not sure if it will suit me well. I have a lot of mental issues, so perhaps I should resolve them first? By the way, do you necessary see ego as a bad thing? Isn’t there any ways to grow spiritually and at the same time preserve it? At the end of the day, as you said, we have to have a sense of self for love to flow. But that does indeed mean some sort of seperation exists, right?
Since I don't know you I can't say whether the spiritual journey will suit you or not. What I can say is that everyone has a spiritual duty in this life and you should pursue that in the way that you think best. Simple prayer and remembrance of God is enough.
Regarding the mental issues you say you have, I don't know what you mean by that or the extent of them but, in a way, everyone has mental issues. It's part of having a mind! But, yes, you should try to resolve them. Perhaps they can be resolved through a spiritual path of some sort and the acceptance that there is a higher power that looks after you though not always in the way your earthly self might want or expect. But it is there and it knows best.
The ego can mean different things. If it is just the sense of your individual self, you should try to make that the strongest you can, but if it is the self-centred part of you then that has to go though this is a long process that we all have to work on for many years if not the whole of our lives.
Thanks for responding. I have few questions still left though:
1. How do you pray/have some sort of techniques of praying?
2. I’ve read a bit of Jung yesterday and the concept of shadow caught my eye. He said we should integrate and embrace it. What’s your opinion about that?
There's no technique for praying as it should really come from the heart. Just try talking to God or you could use some of the traditional Christian prayers such as the Lord's Prayer. But the important thing is to try to imagine God is really there and you are speaking to him.
I think Jung is wrong. We are not meant to integrate the dark side but to turn completely to the light. I see what he is trying to say in that we should not deny or repress any natural part of us but if we accept that mankind has fallen then the shadow is part of that fall and should not be integrated but transcended by turning wholly to the good and the true. The devil always wants to justify himself and pretend he is essential to the whole but that is just not true.
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