The Return from India

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY ONWARDS – Snippet 3 Part 1 #90SecondDigest

*this article is a continuation from Snippet 2, which you can read?here*

The host, Sina, went on to ask me:

"How it was like coming back to the UK after that first India experience?"

I quickly realised there was a huge advantage that I had when I returned. Because I went on this 2-week India trip, to Mayapur, with a group of friends (13 of us in total) who were on the same wavelength as me, it meant that I didn’t have the feeling of leaving one ‘world’ and going back to another.

The POWER of ASSOCIATION

One of the key takeaways I had from my time in India was just how well I could apply the key lessons I learnt directly to many other aspects of our life that I was already familiar with...

You help keep each other in check, and keep each other consistent with striving for those same goals that brought you together in the first place.

So just like in your workplace, your community, or in your sports team if you have one - it becomes very important to have that support network if you really want to improve and advance. You help keep each other in check, and keep each other consistent with striving for those same goals that brought you together in the first place. This isn't just the role of the manager or leader.

Many people have a mentor or coach, or they’re looking to find one that can help them improve. But what I had formed here was more of a peer support network – people who I regarded as friends, some that I only grew close to during our time in India, who had a genuine interest in how my spiritual journey was going. And in return, I provided the same for them, because the chances are that they would be going through a similar process of the ups and downs that I was.

For me.. the best bit about all this was there was no judgement. I know people commonly say 'everyone is on their own journey', but it becomes very easy to judge someone by their successes or setbacks. And actually I was very guilty of that too (more on this in a later snippet). So before I go on to answer Sina's question, I just wanted to highlight something I've learnt that I try and apply to all areas of my character and behaviour:

The Vedas refers to three types of intelligence (there is also a fourth, but for the purpose of what I’m speaking about, I’m referring to the three that commonly define the way we behave in relation to our daily life).

1. The first is the ability to learn by hearing or observing... by absorbing the information from what you see / hear / read and then draw conclusions and act accordingly. An obvious example being if you’re told that stealing is wrong and you’d end up in prison, you won’t steal, even if the opportunity presents itself.
2. The second is the ability to learn through experience. Back to the stealing example, you hear that it is illegal, but are still overwhelmed by temptation and do it anyway. Until you get caught and face the consequences. The second type of intelligence will lead you to learning from the regretful experience of your actions, and in turn make wiser choices in the future. While this is far more common (and I’m sure you can think of examples in your own life), there is a danger here of relying on trial & error rather than exercising judgement.

Before moving on to the third… I’ve always liked seeing where the Vedic teachings I’d learnt also present themselves in what’s been said elsewhere. As a Roman proverb goes “Only the foolish learn from experience – the wise learn from the experience of others” – which directly mirrors what I’ve outlined above.

1. As for the third type of intelligence (or lack of) – this is when we recurrently act contrary to our well being and fail to learn despite personal experience. The reasons why people do this may differ, but as another common phrase goes: ‘insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’ (contrary to popular belief, this ‘famous line of Einstein’ may not have actually been said by him). Someone may continue to act in the same way, such as steal again after already being punished for it, because they believe they can ‘beat the system’, or the value of acting immorally is worth more than the possible consequence, or in some cases because they strongly believe they have no other choice.

I’ve found it incredibly useful (and humbling) to look at my own behaviour and actions; to see which form of intelligence I apply to the things I do or say; and then look at how I can move up the intelligence ladder so to speak. Not always easy, and sometimes hard to accept… but I’d highly recommend giving it a go.

In Part 2 of this snippet, I’ll more directly answer the question Sina asked me, including the role of meditation during my journey.

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???You can listen to the full conversation?here, which also has links to listen on Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts and Spotify.

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