Reflections of India
Observations of Spirituality from My Three Month
Visit
Though the popularity of Eastern mysticism is
relatively new in the West, in India it has been lively
for thousands of years. In India, it seemed to be widely
recognized that true spiritual knowledge is delicate
and readily lost. They also seem to know that prevalent
interpretations of the ancient scriptures are not wholly
accurate.
I felt humbled to have the opportunity
to address people with such a rich ancient heritage.
Admittedly at first, I even felt a little shy to try
to tell them about Vedic knowledge. Yet when I went
into the subtle distinctions between popular understanding
and the purity of the knowledge, their jaws dropped
and their eyes opened wide. It was as if they were thinking,
“We knew something was off. We just didn’t
know how to sort it out. Now, it’s beginning to
make sense.”
I think this is the direction spirituality
is moving throughout the world. More and more people
desire the knowledge in its purity. I find this to be
extremely encouraging. After all, it is my passion—to
bring out spiritual knowledge in its purity, free of
emotional and intellectual distortions.
In India, I was overwhelmed with offers
to give lectures, interviews, release my books, receive
awards, make a movie, and even have my own international
TV show! International television anchors, directors,
media moguls, and Bollywood heavyweights cleared their
schedules to meet with me. Plans are in the works for
me to return to India this fall for these projects.
A group of people in India are currently creating The
Michael Mamas Institute. And none of this was even initiated
by me. They heard my message and responded. It was amazing.
As I traveled through India, I was
really surprised by the spiritual practices that are
most popular. Much of what’s done seems to be
oriented towards having a good time or moving experience
instead of truly evolving. I don’t believe even
the practitioners take it completely seriously. Of course,
having a good time is fine, provided you don’t
mistake it for a viable path to enlightenment. I remember
when Jyotish Pundit Sanjay Rath and I were visiting
a temple in South India. It was a temple focused on
moksha (enlightenment). There were very few people there.
Sanjay made an interesting comment, “This is Kali
Yuga. Very few people are actually looking for enlightenment.
Temples promising wealth and worldly success are packed.
This one is empty.”
But I left India encouraged. It was
clear to me that when the people there heard what I
had to say, they knew, on a very deep level, it was
true and they wanted more.
© Michael Mamas, 5/06 |
