The
New Year arrived dramatically, with a real test for all of us as
humanity. Can we rise to the occasion and past this new test? The giant
earthquake and tsunami hit not only dozens of countries in the East, but
also hit each of our hearts. The timing--during the Christmas
holidays--was extremely significant and a powerful wake-up call for us in
the West. We sat cozily around our Christmas trees or Hanukah lights with
an over abundance of material gifts, while watching the suffering of the
injured and homeless in Asia on TV--people who had so little to begin
with.
This
stark contrast was underlined by the initially meager offer of American
aid by our president--until shaming by the world community resulted in a
tenfold increase. Since the majority of people in
Indonesia are Muslim, this
disaster provides Americans with an opportunity to redeem some negative
karma by giving generously to them. Perhaps the message of this crisis is
saying that the poverty and suffering in this part of the world is where
the real terror lies. And while some American Christians were angrily
confronting others at Christmas for not publicly honoring Christian
religious beliefs, people of all faiths in
India and
Indonesia were helping each
other and working cooperatively after the tsunami. The irony was that
non-Christians in the East were demonstrating the true spirit of Christmas
while many Americans were debating the outer, superficial forms—whether
department store clerks should say “Merry Christmas” or whether Nativity
scenes should be placed in town squares, etc.
The
earthquake created giant waves that rippled out and brought destruction to
over a dozen countries. But rest assured that in the Divine scheme of
things, there is always a deeper purpose, even if our human minds can’t
perceive it clearly. At least everyone is now asking a meaningful
question, “Why did this happen, God?” Each religion has a different
answer. But it might be useful to ponder on the idea that the destruction
of forms is far better than the enslavement of the human spirit within
those forms. We as humans often seem to evolve fastest through pain and
suffering—but it need not be so, if compassion awakens our hearts. The
good news is that millions of people worldwide are helping the victims of
the crisis and giving of their time and money.
The
tsunami symbolized our deep interconnection—how each thing in the world
affects everything else--an earthquake in one country created tidal waves
in a dozen other countries. The
water symbolized a major purification of so many lands, and a hope that
new life may grow from this terrible destruction.
Lines
from the traditional holiday carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem” kept
reverberating in my head last week: “Yet in thy dark streets shineth, the
everlasting light.” Regardless of the darkness we feel all around us, the
disasters, fear and violence constantly portrayed in our media, the light
of compassion shines forth eternally.
Many
of us long for real inspiration and goodness, yet it so often seems
lacking in the media, politics, business and popular culture in our world
today. The glorification of greed, deceit and violence seems to give
everyone a rationalization to indulge their own worse tendencies. Where
can we turn for upliftment in this vast wasteland?
The
lure and magnetic pull of materialistic life can only be challenged and
transcended by a greater magnetic pull towards the inner life of the
soul. When this magnetic draw inward begins, all the old attractions fade
and a new focus on discovering our inner self begins. If pursued with
enough rigor, this quest eventually leads us to an enlightened view of
ourselves and all life.
In
order to experience the good, the true, the beautiful—even in the midst of
this crisis-- we must shift our intention and refocus our attention. Then
we’ll recognize the genuine leaders, teachers and healers in every race,
religion and culture who mirror back to us the essential goodness and
light in our own souls. Their work can give us a new evolutionary
perspective as they are points of light and stability amidst the growing
crisis all around us. They embody the seeds of a new world and offer
solutions to every problem facing us today. Many of these true heroes are
working today to help the crisis in Asia, both from the recent tsunami,
and the continuing poverty, corruption and violence in that part of the
world.
Two spiritual groups that we
know personally which are doing great work to help with the tsunami
disaster are Auroville (www.auroville.org/crisis.htm,
an international spiritual community in India started by Sri Aurobindo
which is caring for 7,000 local villagers made homeless) and Sarvodaya (www.sarvodaya.lk,
a Buddhist network of 11,000 traditional villages in Sri Lanka, based on
loving kindness and self-help started by Dr. Ariyaratne). If you have not
yet done so, and would like to send donations to grassroots spiritual
groups rather than to large charities with big overheads which are aiding
the victims of the tsunamii, consider sending a secure on-line donation to
either of these groups.
