Religious materialism

8/24/07, concerning news about Mother Teresa's inner emptiness while serving:

This is very significant. This shows, among other things, that just doing service does not bring the love of God into your heart (don't get me started!). Let's talk about this. This news has profound implications and reveals a universal trend, I believe, which is swept under the rug in the name of projecting an image of godliness without having a genuine connection with the Holy Spirit. The rationalization goes: well who cares about the Holy Spirit as long as you get the work done! What is the work, my friend, but sharing the love of God with others so in their hearts they feel a deep consolation which is sanctified from this world? Food for thought. Hey, I'm not saying don't do worldly and material work. I'm saying without the love of God, this world is materialistic and meaningless, but don't take my word for it, read it in the Scriptures of all the religions.

And often doing work in the world makes it harder to feel the love of God in your heart, because you have to create a shell in order to be around people, and that shell veils you from experiencing a deep and transcendent feeling of connection with God. You might feel a connection with another person, though, but it is attachment to this world, via the other person. I didn't say don't do work in the world, I just said it makes it harder to feel the presence of God when you're around people who don't consider the spiritual reality.

Let me clarify a little. These are all ideas-in-process, and are open to revision. My 'gripe' is not with good action, service, and work, which necessarily creates an external appearance of godliness or accomplishment. The problem is the contradiction with our own inner state in terms of our happiness. Often our source of happiness comes from the validation and approval we receive from others or give to ourselves for these acts of service or accomplishment, instead of deriving our sense of value, worth, joy and peace from the only source of joy and value--the love of God for us and His acceptance of us, which is a constant. Our actions become a kind of 'religious' materialism. Also, when we give approval and validation to others for the appearance of accomplishment or godliness without knowing their inner state, we are propagating the cycle of illusory attachment to the external world as the source of happiness and love. This also supports the idea that eventually we need to relate more honestly and openly with each other. But that's another conversation!

The love and acceptance we receive from God comes through our spiritual practice (which includes service) and sincere prayers, and the path of self-purification and detachment. This path is often relegated to secondary status, due to our materialistic conditioning and lack of education about the importance of an inner spiritual life, as well as a lack of understanding of what exactly an inner spiritual life is. These issues are often overlooked by many religious leaders today, so that an appearance of godliness and unity can instead prevail. Often appearance is given more importance than inner reality. This is again because security and comfort is being sought in the approval and acceptance of others, or in external accomplishment, rather than in our trust in God. It is indeed difficult and understandably threatening to expose and resolve these issues, but can't we begin an honest dialogue for the sake of healing ourselves and the world?

Here is a strong verse, but not to be taken too literally (obviously it is not saying that it is harmful to help an injured person if you don't happen to have the transcendent feeling of the love of God in your heart at that very moment!):

"All things are beneficial if joined with the love of God; and without this love, all things are harmful, and act as a veil between man and the lord of the kingdom." --'Abdu'l-Baha

In His service,
Bob Charnes