Spiritual Materialism

So many spiritual seekers start on the wrong footing, so many spiritual teachings pander to the ego. If your main aim on the spiritual path is to gain super-powers, be permanently in a state of heightened bliss or to be the next great spiritual teacher, then you are primarily interested in accumulation and possession and perhaps not as deeply interested in truth as you may think. You should know this is the ego’s desire, and the spiritual path you walk is not a genuine one.

So, first, ask yourself honestly – do you want truth or pleasure? You may want both, but which one do you want more? If your perception is distorted by ego and desire, then the spiritual path you are attracted to will be similarly distorted. We get the spiritual teachings we deserve.

There is nothing wrong with seeking happiness, of course. It is through suffering and seeking an end to suffering that most of us become spiritually inclined in the first place. But if our desires and insecurities cloud us, then we become susceptible to false beliefs, magical thinking, exploitation and corrupt spiritual teachings. This is spiritual materialism or hedonism but in a different guise: the ego is still at play.

If you can see all of this, then you already know that you are apart from it. What is it that sees? Who are you at your innermost core? All that you have accumulated will pass away: pleasure, pain, psychic powers, fame, charisma and transcendental experiences. All are finite and transient. None of them are the Eternal. The Eternal already is. Nothing is not It.