While the Eastern mind lives in terror of offending God, the Western mind lives in terror that it can’t control God.

It isn’t the cultural appropriation that bothers me in western style spiritual materialism, it is the thinly disguised greed and manipulation that is sold in the guise of advanced consciousness. While the Eastern mind lives in terror of offending God, the Western mind lives in terror that it can’t control God.

While many will put figurines of Buddha and Kuan Yin as decor items, few actually get that Eastern religions mean sublimating physical and material desires for the service of God.

People obsessively get into Eastern spirituality and “manifesting” in order to get things ever since the book called The Secret came out. Unfortunately, people have sold workshops and spiritual modalities indiscriminately. Many raised in this culture can’t access any indigenous sense of spiritual roots because their ancestors destroyed indigenous and black cultures. Meditation was banned within Christianity, so there is no intuitive access point other than fantasy.

For those who care know the reason why aware people in the Eastern Buddhist traditions follow religion–it is about making peace with physical death and constant change, NOT about manifesting lottery tickets or boyfriends. It is about letting go of attachments to things, about surrendering to a higher power, not controlling God.

A spiritual person (whether bodhisattva or momin or yogi) dedicates themselves to the attainment of Enlightenment or favour of God. It is upto God to decide if God will give or not. This concept is translated as Divine Timing here. Without surrender, Divine Timing cannot start. In fact if there is no surrender, there is no God. The concept of Favor of God is the same idea. Surrender is the most joyous state. This is the enlightened state. Which is why the journey is emphasized rather than attainment. This is the real reason one follows a spiritual path. They say in the world I come from, that if this intention is missing, your prayer never starts, let alone anyone listening to it. If you are attached to your pain, to your suffering, to your victimhood, to your fears, you are NOT praying.

Also, the spiritual are prepared to undergo any hardship, and make any sacrifice, to achieve this. They don’t do this lightly. It is scary for anyone to relinquish the comforts of a normal life. They are motivated by a higher purpose, a spiritual purpose. Whether or not they get a boyfriend or make millions or get famous or have a following is NOT the main issue for them. They are healing their soul, their body and their mind.

Start practicing the rituals, the meditation, the self inquiry, the yoga, the prayer, and reading the original scriptures. Research. Educate.

Let’s not make spirituality into a delusional fantasy. Please. Stop. Destroying it.

Don’t be so lazy. Make an effort.