Transcript:
0:00
Hi everyone, this Acyuta-bhava from Nightlight Astrology, and today I am fielding a question that came in from one of you in the audience. I'm going to be sharing my response to this question because it is a question that I get probably a few times a year and I've never made a video in response to it. I've typically responded to people privately and I thought, you know, this is actually a really good one that I'd like to do a video about now. So I'm going to read that question out loud and talk through my response to it. The other thing that I want to mention right away is that if you ever have any questions that you'd like me to cover, you can feel free to leave them in the chat boxes of these videos or email me privately info@nightlight astrology.com. Alright, so here's today's question.
0:48
"Acyuta, I myself used to tune out when people use the word God or started talking about religion and the divine. listening to you has helped me release those presumptions and allowed me to have a more open conversation about it. However, I'm not sure how to communicate the way astrology displays divine order to people in a way that they too will not judge or tune out, especially in a short time like a reading. For example, I run into issues when trying to explain the ninth house eternal souls in relation to source and how astrology can show you divine order at any recommendations how I can do so concisely."
1:23
So first of all, I love this question, really awesome, really, really thoughtful question and one that I've personally had to work through myself so I can really kind of empathise with where this question is coming from. For starters, let me just say that, also that if people are listening to my channel, and gradually becoming more comfortable with spiritual philosophy, and conversation about God and the soul, that is fantastic. That, you know, I think that that's definitely like a like a small mission accomplished, then you know, so I'm glad that you feel that way. And hopefully, other people feel like you have a safe, comfortable space within which to talk about these subjects. In bhakti, yoga, one of the things that we talk about is the most important ingredient to advancing in our yogic practice, so to speak, is what's called Krishna katha, which means we talk about God, we talk about Krishna. And when you do that regularly, when you have a regular intake of talking about spiritual matters in your life, when the sound vibrations come into your ear, they act like medicine. And they slowly start transforming your heart and your mind and your priorities. And it's really good to do so. When people listen to my channel, I get messages people all the time saying, at first, it was a little difficult for me. But then later, I realised that this was bringing something back or awaken me that felt like it had gone quiet for a while. I think most of us are deeply spiritual beings, but it becomes so intensely private and personal, because a lot of the times, you know, we're wounded.
3:06
Anyway, I'm jumping the gun here, I want to talk about why people are not comfortable talking about God, generally speaking, and then talk about some of the ways in which we can approach that subject in a way that doesn't harm others. So these are just some initial thoughts. I'm always evolving in these kinds of questions, right? So just like you guys are, I'm sure, too. So first of all, why are people not comfortable when the word God comes up? And sometimes it's not just the word God, it could be another word, but God in particular tends to be a triggering word. In fact, a lot of the times you hear people use words like universe or the divine or things like that, specifically, because the word God is more loaded and like complicated for people, it's a heavier word for a lot of people. So the first reason that I think that people aren't comfortable talking about God, is that the word has been used frequently by people who would injure, condemn shame, or harm others. And when that's done in the name of God, then there is a real aversion that starts developing that people have to hearing that word, when it's weaponized. So that is completely understandable. And that is something that we need to honour and, you know, try to have compassion for rather than, well, I'm comfortable with it and so you should go and get comfortable with it, too. You know what I mean? So understanding that that's how people might feel and being very gentle and sensitive, and the way that we use that word, and the timing that we pick to talk about it is going to be important too - more than a minute.
4:47
The second reason is that the word is intensely private. It is a deeply mysterious word, and sacred. And, you know, if people were to say, Yeah, tell me about your intimacy with your wife, or if someone were to ask you to tell you about your deepest, most intimate moments with your child or something like that. It's hard to talk about. And in fact, not only is it hard to talk about, but there's a reticence to talk about those things. There's a feeling of that I might ruin something or desecrate something sacred or holy or fragile. Spirituality for as strong and mighty and powerful and vast as God a word like God is, the truth is that, um, I don't think we really like to relate to God on that level. For example, in the Bhagavad Gita, there's this great portion of the Gita where Arjuna who's like best friends with Krishna, who's God says, Look, I want to see your universal form, I want to see the big you know, the big mothership here, show it to me. So Krishna, like, reveals his universal form and Arjuna is like, it's so vast, terrifying and beautiful all at once that Arjuna is like, No, no, no, I can't handle it, please come back to the form that I know and love the one that is like my friend. But in the process, he also says, so many times, you know, I've like basically sat on the couch with you and just hung out. And I didn't, I didn't know that you were this great, huge, almighty, powerful, vast being, I didn't know, and I'm sorry, I was disrespectful. But throughout the Gita, of course, Krishna, his response throughout the whole Gita is that what God prefers most is that intimacy, that familiarity, that God prefers having a closeness to us, and not this like vast, all overwhelming kind of vibe. People don't like that aspect of God. And so if we talk about God in a manner that invokes this kind of high and mighty thing, people don't like that, because we don't like to relate to high and mighty things we'd like to relate to each other with love, and the kind of simple everyday affection and tenderness. We're fragile, we're gentle beings inside and when people start getting like that, it's scary and it does not invoke an image of God that is, that feels inviting a lot of the times. On the other hand, I think that people get averse to the word God because we all we don't want to talk about something and build it into some big thing that exists outside of us that is distant or far away, because it when we start talking about God like that, the sacredness starts to vanish from the interior space in the heart. You know, the funny thing is that our our, our heart is like a temple that houses God in bhakti yoga, we call it the Paramatma God that lives in the heart, because the the Holy Spirit and Christianity. And there's a sense that I have to be very careful, because the way that I talk about God affects the quality of that inner sanctuary. And if I'm not careful, then it's possible that I could disturb the peaceful resting dwelling of God in the heart. And so people are often careful not to speak about God, specifically, because they don't want to disturb that. And that's a sensitivity that we should also really appreciate in people. So these are the reasons why but also, we have to understand why people have these aversions and really respect and appreciate that.
8:45
Now, the other thing is that the word God implies a personal being with whom one has a personal relationship. God implies a being, and we are beings and so the natural question is, well, what's the relationship between myself and this source of all beings, this being of all beings. Because we live in a human world, where so much of the pain of our world is rooted in power struggles, competition, and dominance hierarchies, who's better than who, who ranks where, comparisons and judgments between people and qualities that people possess. As soon as a person says the word God, others will potentially hear a word that injects this feeling of, Oh, you think you're better than me because you know, a being that's the best of all beings. So God gets brought into the hierarchies of our world and of nature and of competition and survival and dominance and, you know, fear and all of this stuff. And so people, when you say the word God can naturally start to feel like your comfort or your comfort or ease talking about this Supreme Being is like a statement. It's like you're making kind of like an ego statement like I'm better than you are, I'm holier than you are, I'm more sacred, or I'm closer to something than you are. And it can do so for anyone, even people who, you know, go to the same church. I saw this growing up in the church, start people talk about God. God is very easily weaponized into ego power competitions between egos. You know what I mean? So, for all of those reasons, people naturally have an aversion to talking about God. And there probably are more too, but those are some of them that came to my mind when I sat down and reflected on this in response to your question.
10:53
So here are the antidotes that I've learned so far. I can speak a little bit to my own realisation. This is also what my teachers have taught me, and what the sacred scriptures of yoga and the sacred tradition that flows down from teacher to student throughout the generations in the yogic tradition through things like the Bhagavad Gita, or the Puranas, or the Upanishads and things like that, as well as what ancient Western philosophers said, the esoteric philosophy like the Hermeticists, the Platonists, the Pythagoreans. So these are the antidotes as far as I can tell, in order to become comfortable talking about God and to know the right way to do it, so that you're not harming anyone or, you know, turning people off unnecessarily. The number one thing that I've learned, is that if you're not comfortable talking to God, personally, you won't be comfortable talking about God to others. It's very simple. I'll just give you an example. My, my wife's grandmother is, you know, devout, Catholic, but pretty, mystical, Catholic. And she has had a, an active, reflective, deep prayer life for many, many years. And I'm sure her heart is in that inner sanctuary, sweeping up walking around, sitting down, praying, listening, talking, she is such a sweet soul. And when I'm around her, and I hear her talk about God, and she's very careful about who and where and how she does that. But when she does talk about God, I feel completely comfortable. I feel at ease because of the ease and simplicity with which she talks about God. There's no airs, there's no pretension. It's just a simple woman who spent a lot of her life, you know, hanging out with God in prayer. And that is what really puts us at ease is knowing that when a person is like that, they have a way of not holding God over you in any way. But also talking about God in a familiar manner that makes you realise, like, yeah, I talk to God too, or Yeah, God's in my heart too. And it invites you in rather than makes you feeling like you're set apart. I don't know how we get there in life and my guru is like that, all of my gurus, my initiating guru, one of my instructing gurus, they are like that, they have a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience spiritually. And so there's a familiarity in talking to God that comes out in the way that they talk about God. And you can just feel it with people, you just know that they're the real deal. If you've ever if you've ever spent time with someone who is a daily meditator for, you know, decades of their life, and you talk to them about meditation, it's the same thing. There's just an ease with which they talk about it that does not make you feel like this pretentious, competitive, I'm such so enlightened, and you're not kind of energy surrounding the word meditation.
14:10
So that's the only way in my experience thus far to become more comfortable talking to others about God is to become more comfortable in yourself talking to God. And again, I use the word God, some people will be more comfortable with the word, the divine or something more abstract, perhaps like the universe, and then some people will be more specific, it'll be Jesus or it'll be Muhammad or, you know, in bhakti, it's Krishna. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says that he has innumerable forms, but that he is a personal being, and that he is not pure formlessness just pure white, lighter energy, that's an aspect of God that the God is also a personal being. And so God is also going to relate to each of us very, very personally and just like anything else, in life. You know I found out not long ago that you know, someone that lives around me is very successful at their craft, something that they do for a living. And, you know, the ease with which this individual can probably talk about their craft and their trade. And what they do for a living is probably one of the main reasons that people would spend a lot of money to sit in a classroom with such a person, you know, they go to go to like a master one of those master classes, they have now, right. Why would you go to take a master class, what's appealing about it? What's appealing is hearing someone talk about something from the space of having a lot of experience with it, not having a lot of head knowledge about it. But being able to speak very personally about something. So it's very hard to talk to other people about God unless you personally have cultivated that relationship very regularly over a long period of time, consistently, meaning a daily prayer practice, a daily, you know, chanting practice some some way of tuning into the God dwelling in the heart. So, you know, that's the first thing is it, don't try to push anything, if you're not already at a space of being familiar. Otherwise, you're going to be talking from head knowledge and not lived in embodied knowledge.
16:22
Two: We shouldn't make talking about with God with others and agenda unless they are aware that it is an agenda of ours, and are interested in the conversation or have an option to walk away. And this goes for reading charts for other people to write. So for example, my YouTube channel, people who come to my YouTube channel know very well what I talk about. And they and I also do a little bit of compartmentalising, I often do videos there, it's just straight up talking about the karmic weather and how to navigate it, and very human terms. And that's it. And then other videos, I'm very much more overt about spirituality, and talking about God, and talking about the soul and spiritual practice and the need to cultivate one and I, I have my sermons from the stars, and people know very clearly when they come, this is part of my agenda, this is what I do. This is what I talk about, and I try to do so in a way that's respectful and uplifting and interesting. But this is clearly where I'm going, this is why I'm doing it. You'll find that people who are interested will naturally come toward you if you're very clear about it, and that if people aren't interested, they'll walk away in the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna also says that it's very important that we don't talk to people about God who are not actively interested in hearing because that can accrue bad karma. So we have to be very careful about not making God the object of a kind of covert agenda. That it is, if we're going to talk about it, it should be you know, out in the open and it's very good thing to talk about God for people who are, you know, in spiritual community, going back to this idea of Krishna katha in Bhakti, talking about God is like a medicine. philosophising, talking about the scriptures, talking about the soul talking about, you know, anything involving spiritual subject matters, is something that really makes us happy. And you know, if you're the kind of person listening to this, this kind of material makes you happy, it's because spiritual content makes us happy, even if it's just, you know, information, taking in things that we already know, but hearing them in a slightly different way from a different person who has a different embodied realisation of such information. Those things make us feel really good. So, but for some people, they won't, and you have to be aware of the difference and you can't think to yourself, well, they should be comfortable, or they should want this or they, they need it, and so I'm going to find a way of getting it to them. That kind of thing is usually what also turns people off.
18:49
Am I saying anything that you guys don't already know? Probably not. So the next one is we should be familiar with spiritual philosophy and the philosophy of astrology, but we should point to our sources and not pretend to be the source of the philosophy itself. So, for example, you know, something that I do very regularly as you guys know, is I cite the Bhagavad Gita or the Bhagavata Purana. Or I cite my teachers or I cite ancient astrologers. I mention an author that said something, because when we give all respect to the teachers and teachings that come down through the ages, or from great thinkers, from from teacher to student, and so forth, it's harder for people to get turned off because they're there thinking that, oh, we think that somehow we are the original sage that received all of these insights. So you have to be very careful not to get into like this stage act where it's like, well, I know all the answers because I just know all because I'm just like realised. Most of the time the truth is that if someone is espousing spiritual information, it's because they heard it somewhere and they may have really good ability to recall and articulate what they've heard. That alone is an admirable virtue but not if you're not citing your sources and where things are coming from. Spiritually speaking, this is another way to help people not feel turned off by you, if you are going to talk about such subject matters.
20:17
We should be very careful and very sensitive about how, why and when we talk about God or the divine, in order to preserve our own inner sanctuary and its peacefulness. It is, after all, where God lives, at least within us. And so remember that there's also a selfish part of this, you want to be very careful about how you talk about these things, because talking about them in a manner that's cavalier will, you know, in some ways it makes the sanctuary uninhabitable and that soft, gentle Spirit of God just bolts. And it will come back if we make it peaceful and invite God back in. But there's this weird way in which, you know, God's always with us. But that's the feeling of God's presence will vanish and we can suddenly feel very dry spiritually, the well can feel sort of dried up. So number one reason to be sensitive also is to preserve the habitat of God in our own psyche, in our own soul. We should also know that in this world, people will tend to react competitively when hearing about God, until they actually start cultivating a relationship with God. This is true, because until people start cultivating their own personal relationship with God in the heart, then one of the things that happens is that people again, tend to interpret anyone else talking about God through the lens of human stuff, especially competition and power struggles. And the good news is that once a person starts cultivating a relationship with source within the heart, that what happens is we start to realise that each souls, each being each sentient being in creation, has an infinitely unique and infinitely perfect relationship with God. And so the competition thing starts to go out the window, and we start becoming better and better at our appreciating capacity is something my guru likes to say. Our appreciating capacity, meaning our ability to appreciate the unique relationship that God has, with all things that the unique presence of God within all beings. And so the more you cultivate a relationship with God, the more that particular way of understanding relationship in general starts to go away. But for people who are not cultivating that relationship, at the outset, one of the big blocks is that they interpret the language of, you know, hearing about God, or the name of God or spiritual things through the lens of human competition, and then they say, Yeah, you're using this to try to be better than me or holier than me or sort more something than me. And I don't like it. Understandable. And some people actually, as we said, earlier, we'll misuse spiritual things in order to do that. But we shouldn't be afraid of talking about God, just because there are always going to be some people who will hear any mention of God as an affront to their ego. That is, like basic yoga one on one, that one of the main reasons that the soul doesn't turn to God is that it does, it wants to be the master of all things. And when you turn to God, there's an element of surrender. You know, I'm not the measure of all things that's kind of at the beginning of the relationship with God. But the more that we get to know God, the more that questions of power differentials vanish, and the more that the question about service, love, intimacy, compassion, and humility grow, and they become the source of our happiness, not the source of our suspicion towards one another, or something like that.
23:58
As you go along, and as the person starts to approach that inner sanctuary, and they learn that they have this infinitely perfect and unique relationship with God, it also becomes a little easier to talk about God because you're not seeing the presence of God in the world or in relationship to other beings in terms of a competition between yourself and others. When that vanishes in us, it becomes easier to talk about, and we become more tolerant of people getting really agitated or irritated. And, and and like that, that the name of God feeds into their own ego reaction, which is normal, and that there's always going to be something or you know, someone who's responding in that way. Sometimes those responses are also a call for us to check and make sure that we're not talking about God in a way that's weaponized. And so yeah, all of those things are really important.
24:52
Anyway, so finally, in readings, you mentioned astrological readings in your question. First of all, don't make it an agenda to talk about God in a reading. A lot of people come to astrology, specifically, because they're interested in karma, which is to say they're interested in what's going to happen or where the energy is moving, or how it's flowing along, and so forth. We can talk about that exclusively, as I do in many of my videos without feeling too bad about it. In the Vedic tradition, what is said about why karma kanda, this this study aspect of the Vedas that are devoted to the study of manipulating karma on a certain level to get results that you want, or to avoid things that you don't want, which is essentially reflected in how people interact with astrology. On a certain level, people come to astrology, because they want to know what's going to happen. They want things they want to avoid certain things. And you know, they're invested on that level. And there's this question, the sage raises basically saying, hey, look, so why is it that the Vedas, these holy texts that are really all about, you know, God would have this section that's all about, like, you know, karma and sort of like, interacting with the karmic world and sort of encouraging people in science? It seems like it's encouraging people in some way? And the answer that's given us this is basically, Well, that's like, it's basically like sugar, sugar coated medicine. So for example, in an astrological reading, and this is very similar to the explanation that's given about the karma kanda section of the Vedas. If you if people come into a reading, and they say, you know, how do I? Or what's going to happen to my money? Or what's going to happen to my career or something like that? And you tell them, and you give them the ups and downs of it? Someone could say, well, aren't you just going to get them more attached to karma by doing that? And the answer to that is no. Because what happens is when the soul goes on, and ends up experiencing that karma that the astrological session predicts or talks about or discusses, two things happen. One: the person becomes aware of the fact that there is such a thing as karma, that there is fate and destiny, that there is a divine order at work in the universe. And so they become, they become more comfortable with the reality of those things by virtue of going out and experiencing them. Two: the second thing is that they will then start to ask questions about who is the one experiencing them? And what kinds of results are the best kinds of results. In other words, people will see that karma is real, that there's universal divine intelligence, because astrology turns out is real. And then they'll come back and they'll say, Who am I in relation to it? And what is my highest destiny or my highest happiness?
27:54
I have clients who come in frequently, just like people that come into the YouTube channel. At first, it's difficult to hear about spiritual things, you feel adverse to it, just tell me what's going to happen in the astrology and please shut up otherwise, you know, and probably lots of people listen to my channel, they like that kind of content, they just shut me off when I'm, you know, turn the volume off when I talk about this kind of stuff, because they find it annoying. But it's very similar that in time people, like this person did in your letter, they'll say, you know, over time, I started to feel more comfortable with it. Well, in time, if you pay attention to the karmic ups and downs through astrology, and you are going to start warming up to the feeling that you live in a karmic reality, and you're going to start questioning more deeply, Well, what's the purpose or point of it, who's behind it? Who am I in relationship to it? And those things start leading you to the reality of the soul, and to God who is the source behind this world. So to talk to people in a reading about karma, just about what's going on their life and just meet them on the level is medicine, you're doing your work, you don't have to do anything more than that. Astrology, is a medicine, in and of itself, that will do the work so long as you're not, you know, encouraging people flat out to go and become, you know, for us to be going become bigger karmic divas than we already are. You know, you know what I mean?
29:17
The second thing that I would say is, if people do ask you a question about spirituality, or if there is an appropriate opening to talk about such things, remember, don't talk beyond where you're at. Talk from the space of what you've learned or what you've understood and be humble in how you talk about those things. Remember, it's your familiarity that will allow you to comfortably talk about it with others. If you try to speak beyond what you're comfortable talking about, it will be noticed and people will not, not receive anything that you have to give. And try to cite your sources if you're going to talk to people about the source or God or whatever, you know, be able to tell them where these ideas are coming from. So you need to have a familiarity with the philosophy as well. You can't just recite things that you've heard you have to penetrate into the roots more deeply and let these philosophical concepts become more deeply familiar to you. It's that familiarity, and that ability to cite where they're coming from, that will also really leave a lasting impression on people that you work with, if you are doing charts for people. But again, I would start with keeping it simple, there's no need to like go in and make a session into a time to proselytise to people, sometimes the opportunity will come up. But, you know, you don't want a person to feel cornered by a spiritual agenda within the context of a reading, when many people are coming to a reading specifically because of their, they just want to understand what's happening in the karmic dimension of their life. And it's totally okay for people to have those questions and to have concerns about those things. If we meet them there with compassion, and just simply model for them that we live a spiritual life. And especially when people are asking for how to deal with the best way, if you want to work it into a session is when someone says, Well, how do I deal with this or that struggle? You just step back and say, Well, do you have a spiritual practice? And if you have one, then you'll have something to suggest for someone else, what's working for you. But if you don't, and people ask for help, all the philosophy in the world isn't going to help. So I guess that's what I have to say at this point.
31:33
Thank you for this really great question. Also, if you found this interesting, you know, my class Ancient Astrology for the Modern Mystic starts in the middle of November on the 14th. We spend a lot of time talking about the bedrock spiritual philosophy of astrology. Why do we do this? How does it help the soul? And we talk about all of the ancient concepts and methodologies and theory and then eventually we put it into practice with live clients in the classroom. There's 30 classes on the year. They're held by webinar, but you can also watch them remotely if you can't make it live. There is optional homework reading, bonus material quizzes, you know, discussion forums, breakout tutoring sessions that we have in small in a smaller group, and a lot more 12 guest speakers on the year. There are payment plans if you need it. There's a need based option for people who are struggling. I don't like people to be priced out if you really want to study astrology and then there's an early bird rate as well. We've saved $500 off so great, great opportunity to dive deeper into astrology. If you are interested. Check it out on my website nightlightastrology.com. It starts on November 14. And if you have any questions you'd like me to answer in future videos, you can leave them in the chat box. Also leave your reflections in the chat box. I'd love to hear what you guys are thinking and feel free to email me anytime info@nightlightastrology.com. All right. Take it easy, everyone. Bye
Leave a Reply