A path of effortlessness - Part two

This is the second part of our two-part article. If we haven't read the first article yet, it is strongly recommended to take a look at it here, before continuing with this article. The first article sets the foundation for this one.

To quickly recap on our previous article, we said that living a virtuous life or taking on a spiritual path or practice usually starts with a lot of effort. It feels like an effort to meditate for a few minutes each day, it feels like an effort to be kind to others, to be compassionate. We may find it extremely hard not to gossip or to say or do hurtful things to others. 

However, as we continually check up, as we put effort into investigating this idea of a separate self, we slowly start to dissolve this false identity and at the same time, our hearts start to open more to others. As kindness and compassion flow from our hearts more naturally, we also start to feel much more at peace. We start to understand what true happiness means.

As we continue down this spiritual 'path', at some point all effort will cease. 
Let's discuss this in more detail.

Becoming Clear

As we peel away the layers of false identities and beliefs, we come to the understanding that we were never the individual 'me' that we believed to be. Ideally, our spiritual practice should help us to dissolve this idea of a separate self, and eventually merging the 'practice' and the 'practitioner'. Another way to look at this, is that at some point, the 'practitioner' completely dissolves, and what remains is pure selflessness.

One way of doing this, is through Self-inquiry. We have spoken about Self-inquiry numerous times in previous articles, so we shall not go through this whole process again, but as we investigate ourselves deeply, we realize that all along we were cherishing an illusion.

Through investigation and realization, we become aware of our True Nature. When we know who we truly are, we know that we share the same Being with each and every living entity. When we know this, it becomes obvious that when we hurt 'others' we are actually just hurting ourselves.

See, when we create suffering for 'others' we also experience suffering in return, or Karma as it is also known. We realize this connection quite clearly.

Digging Deeper

As we investigate our own Being even deeper, we come to the clear knowing that the world has never been separate from us. We realize that the world appears within us, through us, and therefore the world is 'not two'. 

With this knowing, virtue happens effortlessly, spontaneously. There is not even a speck of doubt about our interconnectedness to the whole Universe. The more we investigate and confirm this, the more obvious it becomes to us.

At this point, interconnectedness or togetherness is no longer an intellectual concept that we live by, but it becomes our reality. This means that we feel intimately connected to our whole Universe, we feel the Oneness of all things. It becomes self-evident that separation was merely an illusion, and we have shattered this illusion.

This leads to undiscriminating virtue, effortless compassion, and kindness. As mentioned, this is not a mere mental concept. It becomes our reality, we feel this, and the way that we feel this, is the feeling we call Love.

The sun sets effortlessly down the path. In the same way, once we are aware of our True Nature, knowing that we all share the same Being, virtue happens effortlessly.

Related articles on this blog:

A path of effortlessness, Part one - 15 May, 2021
A Path of Devotion - 30 April 2021
Removing the space, Part one - 06 May, 2021