According to yoga philosophy, the harsh realisation that the material world is irretrievably enshittified is the beginning of the serious spiritual quest. No one can deny there is suffering in the world, but until we also realise there is no prospect of happiness here, we won’t fully dedicate ourselves to the spiritual path. If we think there is happiness to be found, we will naturally pursue it.
Most of our activity in this world is aimed at avoiding suffering. But a compassionate person can’t be satisfied with an exemption for themselves when all around them others are suffering. This is the first insight in the yoga path, you can't avoid suffering in this world. When that insight irrevocably awakens in us, we are ready to look for alternatives.
Yoga means to yoke, it’s a method to union. It’s not the world and it’s creatures we seek union with, it’s God. No change of political or social system can achieve this, it’s not something that emerges from any arrangement of matter. It’s not ours to take, it descends.
From this viewpoint, your current spiritual angst isn’t a bad thing, it’s a blessing. It may be uncomfortable but how much worse would it be if you were living comfortably in a world like this? What would that say about the kind of person you had become?
The reason to go on living is there is so much work to do. When you awaken to the realisation you’re on a battlefield, what would you do? People talk endlessly about the problem of evil, but what is needed is to discover the solution to it.
According to yoga philosophy, the harsh realisation that the material world is irretrievably enshittified is the beginning of the serious spiritual quest. No one can deny there is suffering in the world, but until we also realise there is no prospect of happiness here, we won’t fully dedicate ourselves to the spiritual path. If we think there is happiness to be found, we will naturally pursue it.
Most of our activity in this world is aimed at avoiding suffering. But a compassionate person can’t be satisfied with an exemption for themselves when all around them others are suffering. This is the first insight in the yoga path, you can't avoid suffering in this world. When that insight irrevocably awakens in us, we are ready to look for alternatives.
Yoga means to yoke, it’s a method to union. It’s not the world and it’s creatures we seek union with, it’s God. No change of political or social system can achieve this, it’s not something that emerges from any arrangement of matter. It’s not ours to take, it descends.
From this viewpoint, your current spiritual angst isn’t a bad thing, it’s a blessing. It may be uncomfortable but how much worse would it be if you were living comfortably in a world like this? What would that say about the kind of person you had become?
The reason to go on living is there is so much work to do. When you awaken to the realisation you’re on a battlefield, what would you do? People talk endlessly about the problem of evil, but what is needed is to discover the solution to it.