What Should I Pick? A Social Media Post or A Spiritual Book?

WEBVTT

00:00:00.270 --> 00:00:07.469
Hello and welcome to the latest episode of The Bearded Mystic Podcast and I'm your host, Rahul N Singh.

00:00:08.189 --> 00:00:13.050
Thank you for joining today and for taking out the time to listen to this episode.

00:00:14.789 --> 00:00:27.500
Today, we're going to be talking about whether we should be reading spiritual texts, or should we be following social media posts, which may contain some lines from a spiritual text.

00:00:28.025 --> 00:00:35.155
Or they have memes, which emphasize spirituality, whether those are valuable.

00:00:35.515 --> 00:00:39.911
Or should we go back to reading spiritual texts?

00:00:40.180 --> 00:00:42.250
And this is something we're going to explore today.

00:00:42.250 --> 00:00:45.011
There's no hard right or wrong answer.

00:00:45.401 --> 00:00:47.350
It's all about my perspective on this.

00:00:47.411 --> 00:01:05.531
And also you can share with me what you think about this, whether you think social media plays a good part in enhancing spiritual understanding, or do you think we need to balance both spiritual texts reading, and also looking at social media?

00:01:05.861 --> 00:01:12.039
Or should we think with a more critical eye and actually focus more on the spiritual texts.

00:01:12.069 --> 00:01:18.938
And then occasionally just look at social media posts, but to verify if those quotes are true.

00:01:19.838 --> 00:01:27.849
There's quite a few things to unpack today, but we might not go through most of this, but I think it's definitely something we need to think about.

00:01:28.061 --> 00:01:32.909
With social media posts, the great thing is, is that they're bite size information.

00:01:32.909 --> 00:01:34.498
There's something you can consume.

00:01:34.858 --> 00:01:36.539
It's something that is soluble.

00:01:36.539 --> 00:01:46.765
It's something that you can think about a little bit, but with the added aspect of scrolling, I wonder how much of it we actually really do think about.

00:01:47.215 --> 00:01:52.885
If you do come across a quote, is it something you look at for a second and think, oh yeah, this is really great.

00:01:52.885 --> 00:01:54.534
I really liked what it said here.

00:01:55.194 --> 00:02:11.437
And then when it comes to the next second, you're scrolling again, looking for the next hit of spiritual wisdom, which will hopefully enlighten us, but doesn't end up enlightening us because we can't think about it for longer than a second.

00:02:11.828 --> 00:02:17.147
The positive in it being short and bite-sized is that you can take time to think about it.

00:02:17.302 --> 00:02:22.473
The problem with it being short and bite size is that yes, you may not lay importance to it.

00:02:22.473 --> 00:02:34.163
So basically an ad on social media may have your attention more than an actual spiritual post or a spiritual quote that you come across.

00:02:34.673 --> 00:02:38.282
Now, is that information easy to retain?

00:02:38.734 --> 00:02:47.063
I believe it isn't, I believe that this information isn't something that we think about for longer than it should be.

00:02:47.454 --> 00:02:48.563
We may save it.

00:02:48.593 --> 00:02:50.033
We may think about it.

00:02:50.084 --> 00:02:51.163
I do the same thing.

00:02:51.163 --> 00:02:52.514
I look at some posts.

00:02:52.514 --> 00:02:57.554
I go through them, I think'oh yeah, that's great.' And then I forget about it.

00:02:58.981 --> 00:03:04.352
It's important in the moment, but in the future do I think about it?

00:03:04.472 --> 00:03:05.132
No.

00:03:05.401 --> 00:03:13.981
There's been a few times when I've gone back to look at something because I wanted to revise my understanding of it and understand it more deeply.

00:03:14.472 --> 00:03:16.722
But it is rare.

00:03:16.842 --> 00:03:20.592
Now the other issue is information overload.

00:03:20.926 --> 00:03:22.546
We may look at information.

00:03:22.877 --> 00:03:26.836
We may see these posts and we see something like: live in the present moment.

00:03:26.866 --> 00:03:28.697
Be here and now! And we think, oh, wow.

00:03:28.697 --> 00:03:29.956
Yeah, this is amazing.

00:03:30.287 --> 00:03:39.076
And then next second we're thinking about the next dopamine hit and we've not even processed that we're after that dopamine hit.

00:03:39.151 --> 00:03:42.572
We've not processed that we're looking for the next hit of wisdom.

00:03:43.211 --> 00:03:44.711
We see so much information.

00:03:44.711 --> 00:03:46.271
How are we going to retain that?

00:03:46.722 --> 00:03:49.782
Our senses are constantly being in overdrive.

00:03:50.662 --> 00:03:52.132
It's hard for our brain.

00:03:52.201 --> 00:03:55.581
I'm only going by my own experience, it's hard for it to retain information.

00:03:56.556 --> 00:04:01.206
However, now I have changed my relationship with social media a little bit.

00:04:01.356 --> 00:04:02.947
I took some time away from it.

00:04:03.007 --> 00:04:15.711
I took a big break from it, I think for a good couple of months and I re evaluated what I thought was the best thing for me and for my social media use.

00:04:16.230 --> 00:04:25.547
The first thing was to make sure that whenever I read something, I'm reading it properly and digesting it before I moved to the next post.

00:04:25.906 --> 00:04:33.947
Some posts are, they are what they are, you know mindless crap, but you just have to cope with that.

00:04:34.547 --> 00:04:41.966
That's part of being in social media and sometimes to keep the social circle you have, you have to just keep those in your feed.

00:04:42.297 --> 00:04:47.107
Just remember, even though it's in your social media feed, you don't have to eat all of the information that's on there.

00:04:47.257 --> 00:04:50.166
You can choose what is going to take your time.

00:04:50.177 --> 00:04:57.427
I can normally tell within the second, if I want to keep looking at something or if I want to just scroll up or scroll down, whatever it is.

00:04:57.711 --> 00:05:03.440
Now I take that time to read a post and actually I like the ones with a lot more information on.

00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:10.697
A lot of people may look at things that just have a few words or it's picture or they have a long caption.

00:05:10.906 --> 00:05:16.666
I like the ones that have a long caption as well as a lot of information on the post.

00:05:17.146 --> 00:05:20.764
The reason for that is one that is looking for your attention.

00:05:21.716 --> 00:05:25.197
I always feel that it's not looking to grab your eyeballs straight away.

00:05:25.497 --> 00:05:27.980
It's looking to invite you in.

00:05:28.903 --> 00:05:46.329
Now, this is more important because when we see something that only has a few words or something that wants to grab our attention, I normally think that those ones are, they're trying to sell something, they're trying to sell an idea, sell a concept, sell a product.

00:05:46.685 --> 00:05:48.406
A lot of influencers do that.

00:05:48.831 --> 00:06:05.487
That are on Instagram or TikTok or any social media platform, but the ones that really want to engage, they look for longer form and it's pretty obvious that longer form now linked to, they want to genuinely educate you.

00:06:05.536 --> 00:06:14.637
Obviously someone can write a long caption or a long post, but have they thought about what they'd been writing and does it really reflect their behavior?

00:06:14.966 --> 00:06:22.581
And that's the great thing about social media is that you can kind of now tell who is just lying through their teeth.

00:06:22.882 --> 00:06:30.632
They may say one thing on social media, but you kind of feel that there might be inauthentic and you can grasp that now.

00:06:31.031 --> 00:06:37.072
We can tell who we want to keep engaged with and who we don't want to be engaged with.

00:06:37.692 --> 00:06:43.442
You may not unfollow someone or unfriend someone or unsubscribed to something.

00:06:43.725 --> 00:06:48.889
You may keep it there with the respect that things may improve.

00:06:50.168 --> 00:06:52.838
Social media posts, they have their value.

00:06:53.319 --> 00:06:54.999
I think they're very important.

00:06:55.478 --> 00:07:01.168
Some of them link to better information and they look to educate us.

00:07:01.939 --> 00:07:08.298
If you're after spiritual development, then you want to go for the longer form and not for the shorter form.

00:07:08.838 --> 00:07:22.192
The reason for the longer form is even though the truth can be said in seconds, maybe even less than a second, but the value is in when it's explained to you and then you grab the essence.

00:07:22.411 --> 00:07:24.331
Social media posts has it's value.

00:07:25.591 --> 00:07:26.461
It's good.

00:07:26.461 --> 00:07:29.732
It's bite size, but you have to spend time with it.

00:07:29.851 --> 00:07:33.451
You have to spend giving your attention and focus to it.

00:07:33.752 --> 00:07:37.942
Otherwise, it's not really adding anything to your life.

00:07:38.242 --> 00:07:43.732
That's my view on social media posts and its importance.

00:07:43.942 --> 00:07:45.052
I hope that's fair.

00:07:44.906 --> 00:07:51.776
If you think differently to me, let me know, you can contact me on social media and let me know what you think.

00:07:51.877 --> 00:08:06.427
Now, when it comes to spiritual texts, this is for me, the important thing, when I say spiritual texts, I mean any texts which engages you on the spiritual level, so I'm talking about scriptures.

00:08:06.646 --> 00:08:28.187
I'm talking about The Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, Tao Te Ching, Ashtavakra Gita, The Gospel of Thomas or the writings of Meister Eckhart, Rumi's poetry, The Guru Granth Sahib, Kabir Ji's poetry, Tukaram Ji's poetry, The Heart Sutra or Hsin Hsin Ming.

00:08:28.966 --> 00:08:37.461
Any one of those I consider it to be a spiritual text and I say spiritual texts, why I didn't say religious, there's a reason.

00:08:37.942 --> 00:08:45.273
With religious, we may just read it for recitation purposes, but spiritual texts we read for deep insight.

00:08:45.460 --> 00:08:49.450
It's not just about chanting something or just reciting it.

00:08:49.570 --> 00:08:54.639
No, I'm talking about something that makes you contemplate and makes you think deeper.

00:08:55.159 --> 00:08:56.149
It can be anything.

00:08:56.419 --> 00:08:58.330
It can be any book, . It can be a novel.

00:08:59.230 --> 00:09:09.730
All I'm talking about is that it's got to engage you to think about the higher purpose of spirituality, which is to attain or to realize that one is Brahman.

00:09:10.389 --> 00:09:14.325
That one is the Ultimate Reality and that it points towards that.

00:09:15.075 --> 00:09:17.924
That's the main thing you want to look for in this spiritual text.

00:09:18.164 --> 00:09:25.245
If it doesn't get you to have that perspective, if it still creates a duality, then you don't want to keep that.

00:09:25.615 --> 00:09:29.418
That I consider a religious text or just a book of fiction.

00:09:30.097 --> 00:09:39.625
The importance of spiritual texts are this, that it completely guides you to understand spiritual concepts so you can engage with it.

00:09:39.904 --> 00:09:49.418
For example, when we talk about Sat Chit Ananda, there's a book that will go into it, there may be a chapter on it.With karma, there's a chapter on it, so it does a deep dive.

00:09:50.633 --> 00:10:00.222
Or we look at Gyana Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita or we read Mandukya Upanishad and we contemplate upon those things.

00:10:00.346 --> 00:10:09.407
Those are the texts that we look at for deep spiritual insight and not spiritual insight in terms of just seeing it and it's 'WOW'.

00:10:09.736 --> 00:10:12.772
No, it's got to be something that takes your breath away really.

00:10:13.201 --> 00:10:19.231
When you have that moment, when you read something and you're like, whoa, I need to take a look at that again.

00:10:19.892 --> 00:10:21.211
That's what I'm talking about.

00:10:21.841 --> 00:10:25.052
It's that one thing that gives you the moment to reflect.

00:10:26.201 --> 00:10:30.611
You read a line and you're like, I need to read this again.

00:10:31.211 --> 00:10:32.892
I need to really understand it.

00:10:33.557 --> 00:10:36.837
That for me is the highest purpose of a spiritual text.

00:10:37.812 --> 00:10:43.182
If you focus on spiritual texts and that is your main source of information, that's how you get your knowledge.

00:10:43.211 --> 00:10:44.532
That's how you get your wisdom.

00:10:44.739 --> 00:10:45.879
This is a better way.

00:10:46.058 --> 00:10:47.918
If you read a spiritual text as a whole.

00:10:48.109 --> 00:10:50.629
You also understand the context fully.

00:10:51.109 --> 00:11:01.698
Now, when you read a quote, it can be kind of misguiding because it can just be showing you one perspective and someone can manipulate it to their understanding.

00:11:02.119 --> 00:11:10.788
But if you look at the text itself, the whole chapter or the whole verse, it may be completely different when you read it as a whole piece.

00:11:11.089 --> 00:11:15.708
Even though two lines in the quote that you read on social media may have an impact upon you.

00:11:16.578 --> 00:11:25.609
The greater impact is if you read the whole verse, because then you fully understand what it means, not through the lens of another, because we can cherry pick quotes, right?

00:11:25.969 --> 00:11:36.259
And by cherry picking quotes, we can prove our points, but we gotta look at something in the whole context and that's more important.

00:11:37.168 --> 00:11:38.499
That's got to be the focus.

00:11:38.676 --> 00:11:41.645
Then it's all about retaining the essence.

00:11:41.725 --> 00:11:45.441
A lot of people may read a spiritual text or even the religious text.

00:11:45.884 --> 00:11:52.313
They may be able to recite passages from the Bible, The Qu'ran, the Bhagavad Gita, The Upanishads.

00:11:52.403 --> 00:12:01.267
They may be able to line by line, quote massive passages, but that's just retaining information, not the essence.

00:12:01.836 --> 00:12:03.907
Does that mean that somebody understands something?

00:12:04.076 --> 00:12:12.448
There's a popular, I don't know if I want to call the person a scholar, he can apparently quote any scripture and he's remembered all of them.

00:12:12.528 --> 00:12:21.109
What's funny is when you listen to him, it's obvious that he doesn't understand the real concepts in those texts that he's talking about.

00:12:21.741 --> 00:12:23.422
And again, he's cherry picking.

00:12:23.961 --> 00:12:24.981
Now this one person.

00:12:24.981 --> 00:12:29.331
Some of you may have guessed him on about is popular on TV.

00:12:29.392 --> 00:12:42.741
I won't say what religion he is, but he's got a whole TV channel where he likes to cherry pick things from different religions and to prove that his religion is the better religion.

00:12:44.672 --> 00:12:46.961
Now in my opinion, that person is just a parrot.

00:12:47.412 --> 00:12:49.091
They're not really an intellectual.

00:12:49.142 --> 00:12:50.731
They don't really have intelligence.

00:12:51.152 --> 00:12:53.792
They're just someone that can parrrot information.

00:12:54.961 --> 00:12:55.932
That's nice.

00:12:56.272 --> 00:12:56.831
That's good.

00:12:57.701 --> 00:13:04.937
If you want that type of thing, but if you're someone that's really after spirituality, you want someone who understands the essence.

00:13:05.506 --> 00:13:08.657
Now someone may not be able to quote the scriptures.

00:13:09.317 --> 00:13:24.106
They may not be able to quote a whole chapter of something, or they may not be able to even quote one line from a text, but if they can understand the essence of the text, they're more likely to implement it in their life.

00:13:24.647 --> 00:13:30.677
And by implementing into their life, you see that their life speaks sip, and this is more important.

00:13:31.517 --> 00:13:33.017
This has a lot more value.

00:13:33.647 --> 00:13:36.291
This has a lot more engagement.

00:13:37.581 --> 00:13:42.831
For me, when you read a spiritual text, it's all about how much you retain the essence.

00:13:42.831 --> 00:13:50.650
You may read some thing, you may spend time for an hour reading something, but it's all about what you retain afterwards.

00:13:51.100 --> 00:13:53.441
And normally you tend to think about what you read more.

00:13:53.441 --> 00:13:58.870
When you read a book, there's a different feeling to it, to when you're looking at a social media post.

00:13:59.260 --> 00:14:04.150
I think when you're reading a book, you're looking to be educated, you looking to learn.

00:14:04.870 --> 00:14:06.191
And that's the difference.

00:14:06.461 --> 00:14:17.221
I know that when I read the Upanishads, or the poetry of Rumi or poetry of Kabir ji.

00:14:17.910 --> 00:14:25.291
When I look upon those words, I know that I am thinking about in my own mind what they mean.

00:14:26.041 --> 00:14:29.581
I try to then understand what did they mean in their context?

00:14:29.971 --> 00:14:33.471
So in the context of the poem, what did these three lines mean?

00:14:34.471 --> 00:14:37.015
Or in the text, what does this mean?

00:14:37.676 --> 00:14:40.255
And then look at how can I implement it in my life?

00:14:40.635 --> 00:14:42.975
Is it something that I can adapt to my life?

00:14:43.216 --> 00:14:49.966
Or is it something that's unrealistic and something that is more cultural of the time, rather than something that is relevant today?

00:14:50.655 --> 00:15:02.530
That's why I think there's more power in understanding something than remembering line by line, a book or a chapter or something.

00:15:02.878 --> 00:15:21.437
When we look at both of those things, spiritual texts, the whole book or social media posts, the main thing that we have to focus upon and the one thing I'm going to conclude with this podcast is it's really important that it's the one that allows you to retain the essence afterwards.

00:15:21.662 --> 00:15:29.912
Something that you're able to focus upon, and that brings your attention back to either yourself in terms of where you need to improve.

00:15:30.111 --> 00:15:31.317
I do that constantly.

00:15:31.587 --> 00:15:35.577
I look at something and I think about how I can implement it in my life.

00:15:36.648 --> 00:15:45.768
If I can't implement it, if I find it's logically just not possible, then I will say it's logically not possible for me at that moment.

00:15:45.898 --> 00:16:14.039
Something I read five years ago and something I read today, like I read the Upanishads more or less every two years, I will at least look back at them and each time I look at it differently because one that I may have gained more experience, two I've gone through different experiences and three, I may have developed more intellectually, which allows more room for intelligence.

00:16:14.177 --> 00:16:17.147
In spirituality and there's going to be a podcast about this.

00:16:18.917 --> 00:16:22.966
For me, knowledge is the highest pursuit in spirituality.

00:16:23.312 --> 00:16:25.090
Wisdom is the highest pursuit.

00:16:25.649 --> 00:16:34.383
Things like devotion - bhakti, or karma - selfless service or dhyana - meditation.

00:16:35.763 --> 00:16:41.913
These are all tools that help you to gain knowledge, that opens a room for knowledge.

00:16:42.393 --> 00:16:47.993
Without knowledge, there's no way you're going to advance further.

00:16:48.503 --> 00:17:01.756
For example, we may listen to something that says that there is only Brahman, now devotion and meditation and selfless service may help us to understand those concepts.

00:17:01.937 --> 00:17:15.700
But until we hear and think and do vichar - inquiry into'there is only Brahman', only then are we ready for knowledge or wisdom.

00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:20.869
The most important thing is what is getting you to the highest purpose.

00:17:21.410 --> 00:17:23.930
For some of you, it may be social media posts.

00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:27.170
For me, it's spiritual texts.

00:17:27.170 --> 00:17:36.009
When I spend time, I use a Kindle because I have like a thousand books, probably more now, I wouldn't be able to keep a thousand books in my home.

00:17:36.548 --> 00:17:44.719
The great thing about having a Kindle is it's all downloadable and you're saving the environment in terms of cutting down trees.

00:17:46.148 --> 00:17:52.568
The important thing is for me is that when I read something, I've got to think about it.

00:17:52.568 --> 00:17:57.708
I've got to contemplate upon it and I've gotta allow myself to advance spiritually.

00:17:58.758 --> 00:18:00.258
That's the main focus.

00:18:00.571 --> 00:18:16.231
We've got to think about what is getting us closer to understanding that Brahman, this Ultimate Reality is the only thing that's real and that everything else is just in appearance, is just transactional reality.

00:18:17.207 --> 00:18:30.640
It has a relevance to our body and mind, but we ultimately know that this is all transient and it's something that we have to transcend eventually.

00:18:32.289 --> 00:18:35.619
While we transcend it, we still have to be involved in it.

00:18:36.369 --> 00:18:54.500
That's the whole crux of spiritual practice is finding that way in which we can both understand the transient and transcend the transient, yet remain involved and yet detached with life, with the transactional reality that we live in.

00:18:55.400 --> 00:19:00.589
Because we still have a family, we still have our work.

00:19:00.859 --> 00:19:05.029
We still have to live in the world and engage with the world.

00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:08.329
It's our choice how we choose to engage with it.

00:19:08.710 --> 00:19:13.339
Spiritual practice is what helps our response to engaging with the world.

00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:28.490
Nobody should be thinking that because you've gained the understanding of Brahman, or the Formless, or God, just because you've gained that understanding doesn't mean that you disassociate yourself with the world.

00:19:28.962 --> 00:19:29.363
No.

00:19:29.730 --> 00:19:35.069
If you think that everything is Brahman, everything is the Ultimate Reality.

00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:42.960
Then you would also know that this appearance that we see, this transactional reality is all in front of Brahman.

00:19:43.829 --> 00:19:46.376
Therefore you will not discredit it.

00:19:47.606 --> 00:19:50.336
This has been my understanding from the spiritual texts.

00:19:50.787 --> 00:19:54.807
You see social media posts will not be able to tell me about this.

00:19:55.971 --> 00:20:00.892
But spiritual texts does allow me to think about those things.

00:20:01.162 --> 00:20:06.112
You have to make that choice what's right for you and how are you looking at things more mindfully?

00:20:06.491 --> 00:20:09.622
How are things engaging with you, where you can meditate upon them?

00:20:09.692 --> 00:20:16.122
For example, if I read in the text that you need to be an ascetic, I can't do that.

00:20:16.781 --> 00:20:19.332
I have a wife, I have a job.

00:20:19.932 --> 00:20:22.392
I have a family, an extended family.

00:20:23.172 --> 00:20:24.162
I have friends.

00:20:25.152 --> 00:20:26.951
Now I can't leave the world.

00:20:27.230 --> 00:20:33.500
I may not have to leave the world, but I can become detached from the world and still have a healthy relationship with the world.

00:20:33.829 --> 00:20:35.720
And that's something I've got think about.

00:20:36.740 --> 00:20:41.210
By thinking about it, I can find a solution that works for me.

00:20:41.779 --> 00:20:43.130
That is intelligence.

00:20:43.160 --> 00:20:44.119
That is wisdom.

00:20:46.289 --> 00:20:55.069
That's what we get when we read spiritual texts is because they open our mind to understanding new things.

00:20:55.460 --> 00:21:04.220
And on top of that at the same time, when you read a spiritual text, it's connecting you to Brahman, it's connecting you to the ultimate reality.

00:21:04.470 --> 00:21:09.700
Taking the transactional reality away from the ego and more towards Brahman.

00:21:10.650 --> 00:21:12.750
That's also the journey that goes on.

00:21:13.299 --> 00:21:16.849
That's why I find spiritual texts to be more effective in my opinion.

00:21:16.849 --> 00:21:19.630
It may not be the same thing for everybody.

00:21:19.660 --> 00:21:24.490
So I respect that but let me know what do you find is more engaging when you read the whole scripture?

00:21:24.490 --> 00:21:31.049
When you sit down with the text for 30 minutes, an hour every day or every couple of days, or once a week.

00:21:31.799 --> 00:21:39.119
Or is what you look at social media more engaging for you and something that you do vichar upon, that you inquire upon, that you think about?

00:21:39.950 --> 00:21:42.119
Let me know what's best for you.

00:21:43.299 --> 00:21:53.526
Thank you for listening to this episode of The Bearded Mystic Podcast, please do remember to follow or subscribe to this channel and do leave a review for this podcast.

00:21:53.526 --> 00:21:55.476
I'd really appreciate knowing what you think.

00:21:55.576 --> 00:22:00.686
If you would like to support this podcast, you can do so on Patreon.

00:22:00.707 --> 00:22:01.906
You can support the show.

00:22:02.386 --> 00:22:06.192
The link is in the description below, in the show notes below.

00:22:06.502 --> 00:22:08.032
Please do take a look at that.

00:22:08.032 --> 00:22:13.232
There is extra content on there for you to look at, so do sign up.

00:22:13.349 --> 00:22:19.410
You can follow me on social media and I will leave the links below to each of those accounts.

00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:23.490
I do share small clips on there that you can share with friends and family.

00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:29.220
And if you feel that anyone in your friends and family circle would love this podcast do share it with them.

00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:36.440
A new episode is uploaded every Sunday and Thursday until next time, take care.

00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:37.549
See you again soon.