Obedience to this insight strengthens the soul

The Perfect Way is only difficult for those who pick and choose; Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear. Make a hairbreadth difference, and Heaven and Earth are set apart.

-Seng-Ts'an

Sri Easwaran reminds us: "Happiness and sorrow, good and bad, pleasure and pain - these are the very texture of life on the superficial level. The less you are bound by these dualities, the more clearly you will be able to see the core of purity and selflessness that is the real Self in everyone, even in people who cause trouble".

Easwaran tells of his grandmother, who was his spiritual director, who had a pungent phrase for difficult people: she referred to them as "a lash in the eye."

We all know from experience how an eyelash in the eye can be so irritating that we just cannot think about anything else. That is exactly how difficult people affect those around them, so naturally most of us try to avoid such people. I have experienced this most pointedly in my church relationships. Some folks are naturally hard to deal with--always complaining, always haranguing...so dislike, criticism and avoidance is my natural response. How do I become more accepting, more forgiving, more, er uh, loving? Can I be open enough to see that by avoiding and judging them, I am becoming like them?

But this "lash in the eye" is an opportunity for learning the skills that matter most in life: patience, forgiveness, and freedom from likes and dislikes. Sri Easwaran reminds us that it is only the spiritually mature person who can go and put his arm around someone who has given him a really difficult time, and say sincerely, "Without you, how could I ever have learned to be patient? How could I have learned to forgive?"

Isn't that out of the ordinary? I confess, I have never done that. I have simply always sought to avoid those objectionable types of people and then run them down to other friends who have felt that same "lash in the eye" from the same source! Do you do this?

This avoidance and "running others down behind their backs" practice is directly disobedient to Christ who commanded us to "not judge"...in doing so, I have repeatedly sinned and caused my soul to be diminished, not grown or strengthened. This is not a formative practice, but a destructive one.

What is good for the soul is ultimately the best for me as a growing maturing being, who remains and abides within the consciousness of Christ. This is Essential, this is beneficial to my essential self's development and maturation.

O life giving Master, teach me to become truly discerning of my own thoughts and reactions, truly instruct me to moment by moment become forgiving and guide me not to act as a judge who acts out of pride. I hear you repeating--that you oppose the proud, and give your Grace only to the humble. I see the lesson, Lord, teach me how obedience builds up and fosters your life in me. Fill me with Yourself, for Your Spirit is my only inner strength!