Twenty years ago, I lived in a small and simple ashram with fellow bhakti-yoga practitioners. I used to talk for hours with a friend, a deep and soft person, about philosophy, life, spiritual practice, and the fine tuning of our thoughts, words, and actions. I recall a discussion about the difference between being right and being true. To be right is like ringing the victory bell while being true is a call to the higher self, a calling to the Divine. Krishna explains that we lose when we act on our whims, which are based on ego. While being right indulges the ego, being true cuts it. Therefore, it is more difficult to be true. Trueness comes from God. He is the Absolute Truth, and the discovery of this Absolute Truth is the way to enlightenment.
“Make no mistake about it — enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth. It’s seeing through the facade of pretense. It’s the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true.” Adyashanti from The End of Your World.
Even though the blanket of lies keeps us warm in this world, it is an illusion. And that is the painful truth. The blanket is soft and snug and comfortable, making the quest for enlightenment the path less travelled. The true practitioner of bhakti-yoga — the yoga of love and devotion — becomes a happy and a better person as a natural result of following the enlightened path. Krishna encourages us in this quest by assuring us that in the beginning, it is like poison, but in the end, that same poison becomes nectar. His truth shall set us free!
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Hare Krishna