The conundrums of the material world
It’s been a while since I’ve written a Substack post on spirituality. I don’t know exactly why I’ve been holding off, but I guess things happen in their own time for a reason.
Where am I now?
As I’m reaching the end of my journey as a Master’s student, graduating in December, I’ve found myself returning to my spiritual aspirations. It felt like I had forgotten those for a while. I was enjoying myself, engaging in many different activities as I met a lot of people. People, especially here in Gainesville, have been awfully nice.
But then life brought me back to the spiritual path. I began to experience a true sense of communion whenever I met people in different religious/spiritual circles: at Krishna House, at Gator Christian Life, All Friends Friendship Group, Salt Co International, and lately InterVarsity. Communion with the divine.
I won’t say I’m anywhere close to “achieving enlightenment”. Far from it. I’m just another former skeptic that is “starting to see the way”. Enlightenment is not a destination: it’s a journey as a spiritual being resting within a human body.
I still fail miserably with meditation. Currently, I love using Calm, listening to the Daily Jay and Daily Calm, but I can’t go beyond the guided meditations to quieten the mind and listen to the voice of the soul - that source of innate wisdom present within each individual that stems from the divine. But I do feel in the same headspace when I reason about spirituality as I was in 2022 when I wrote most of my posts here on Substack.
What got me thinking about this topic?
As an individual, I have just as many “low brow” tastes as I do “high brow” tastes. I enjoy listening to songs like Satyanaas on loop, but also Hindustani classical music, Ghazals, and Sufi Music.
I heartily laugh along to shows like FIR, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, and Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai but also listen to edifying podcasts like Empire by Anita Anand and William Dalrymple or The Ranveer Show.
I am bitten by the misanthropic bug from time to time, feeling as though humanity will know no respite as it continues to torment itself, but I also know that love is the universal cure for all maladies and that we all live in realities of our own.
I want to ascend to my “highest spiritual self” but I am also held back by material desires.
As I find myself being “called” to explore metaphysical realities from time to time, I end up asking LLMs questions that hint at such dualities as they appear in the metaphysical realm, even as I ask a lot of other random and mundane questions.
Final thoughts
I think that these dualities, these conundrums, are inevitable as I analyze the material world deeply and seek to dive into the “spiritual realm”. When I just started, I found myself fazed by these dualities. But just as “growing up” means embracing the grayness of existence and dropping the binary lens with which I would view the world as a child, I have come to realize that I am getting more comfortable with the contradictions that present themselves as I engage with these dualities.
To my fellow beings on their spiritual journeys, I wish you all the best. Stay strong and keep going! Feel free to DM me on Substack, or any of the alternate social media platforms if you feel like this resonated with you. If you disagree, it’s also fine to share these with me, just as long as you share them in a civil manner.
I’ll end this post by sharing my gratitude for a few of those countless people who have inspired me along the way:
Major Khushboo Patani explaining meditation for beginners (quite a surprise knowing she’s Disha Patani’s sister)