Reflections
of India -
Observations of Spirituality from My Three Month Visit
Though
the popularity of Eastern mysticism is relatively new in the West,
in India it has been lively for thousands of years. In India,
it seemed to be widely recognized that true spiritual knowledge
is delicate and readily lost. They also seem to know that prevalent
interpretations of the ancient scriptures are not wholly accurate.
I
felt humbled to have the opportunity to address people with such
a rich ancient heritage. Admittedly at first, I even felt a little
shy to try to tell them about Vedic knowledge. Yet when I went
into the subtle distinctions between popular understanding and
the purity of the knowledge, their jaws dropped and their eyes
opened wide. It was as if they were thinking, “We knew something
was off. We just didn’t know how to sort it out. Now, it’s
beginning to make sense.”
I
think this is the direction spirituality is moving throughout
the world. More and more people desire the knowledge in its purity.
I find this to be extremely encouraging. After all, it is my passion—to
bring out spiritual knowledge in its purity, free of emotional
and intellectual distortions.
In
India, I was overwhelmed with offers to give lectures, interviews,
release my books, receive awards, make a movie, and even have
my own international TV show! International television anchors,
directors, media moguls, and Bollywood heavyweights cleared their
schedules to meet with me. Plans are in the works for me to return
to India this fall for these projects. A group of people in India
are currently creating The Michael Mamas Institute. And none of
this was even initiated by me. They heard my message and responded.
It was amazing.
As
I traveled through India, I was really surprised by the spiritual
practices that are most popular. Much of what’s done seems
to be oriented towards having a good time or moving experience
instead of truly evolving. I don’t believe even the practitioners
take it completely seriously. Of course, having a good time is
fine, provided you don’t mistake it for a viable path to
enlightenment. I remember when Jyotish Pundit Sanjay Rath and
I were visiting a temple in South India. It was a temple focused
on moksha (enlightenment). There were very few people there. Sanjay
made an interesting comment, “This is Kali Yuga. Very few
people are actually looking for enlightenment. Temples promising
wealth and worldly success are packed. This one is empty.”
But
I left India encouraged. It was clear to me that when the people
there heard what I had to say, they knew, on a very deep level,
it was true and they wanted more.
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