Dispassion and enthusiasm - anything but opposites

 

What is enthusiasm? Enthusiasm means to be connected to God within. When you are with your source, you can only be enthusiastic and you cannot be anything but enthusiastic when your mind is totally in the present moment. 

Apathy is when you are away from the source of life. You should know that dispassion is not apathy; it is simply a broader perspective of reality. Dispassion is moving towards the source. Dispassion simply means the way back home. It is the journey towards the source, which is a reservoir of enthusiasm.

When dispassion and enthusiasm co-exist, that is the secret of perennial enthusiasm and profound dispassion. Though they appear to be opposite, they are actually complementary.

Sanyas means what? “I am nothing and I want nothing,” or “I am everything and I have everything.” It is being either colorless or multicolored.

Do not misuse knowledge

 

Do not use dispassion to push away the fire of longing for the Divine or for satsang. There is a little fire in you that propels you toward knowledge, sadhana, devotion and service but sometimes you use knowledge to put out that fire.

So-called dispassionate people are often morose and unenthusiastic. Often you will hear people say, “Oh, never mind, God is everywhere, Guruji is in my heart, I can do satsang anywhere. My seva is my sadhana, so there is no need to meditate. Anyway I am doing sadhana twenty-four hours a day. When God wills, He will call me to satsang and Advanced Courses again.” 

Such excuses should not be justified as dispassion. When you want to do some service, the mind says, “Oh, it is all maya anyway; everything is an illusion. It is all just happening. Things will happen when the time comes.” In this way knowledge gets misused and is quoted out of context to suit one’s convenience or laziness. 

When you use knowledge like this you miss a lot. This is when dispassion is detrimental. In the name of dispassion do not lose that spark of enthusiasm and interest. Keep alive the fire of longing for the Divine and for service to society.