"Perceiving Truth In A World of Delusion"

These are some of the most interesting times we are living in. It seems every time we look at a news channel from the television, radio or the internet, we see and hear about all the chaos and divisiveness going on around the world from politics to race to everyday belief systems. It seems we are under attack from these electronic mediums. Sadly, we are. 

With all this delusive content streaming into our minds and hearts 24/7, it's easy to get caught up in the maya or darkness of the current yuga we are living in. For those who may not know, maya in Sanskrit means illusion. It's also easy to let our perception of life get tainted if we are not careful. When this happens, it's like having a wonderful sunny day while being at the beach and suddenly, the dark clouds seem to come out of nowhere. As we watch with bewildered eyes, the dark clouds continue to build until the beautiful rays of the sun are blotted out from our vision. 

With life, maya-delusion happens much the same but is usually harder to spot as its nature is very tricky like the magician. If we aren't centered in our true nature of peace and joy each day, we can slowly become off balance and overwhelmed by these storms of confusion and delusion. Once we are off center and caught up in the "muck of emotion and the illusion of Maya" our perception becomes distorted and twisted over time until we don't see ourselves, our loved ones, our work or this world as it really is. Than our happiness, clarity and joy flee like bandits in the night. 

Being off balance is not only unpleasant, it opens us up for a host of other troubles such as past negative karmic seeds, accidents and other misfortunes as we are not in harmony and seeing things clearly as God intended for us. I recall a wonderful saying from the movie “Minority Report” that stuck with me. “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king”. My interpretation of this saying is “the person who only uses his or her two physical eyes is blind compared to the wise soul who uses the inner spiritual eye of infinite wisdom”. For this eye is naught else but divine and all seeing and can transcend the laws of matter and illusion. All the great saints over the millennia have lived by this inner vision as it wavers not regardless of the Yuga we are living in. 

Whether you’re new to the spiritual path or have been on it for many years, the power of Maya-illusion can sweep us off our center if were not careful each now. “The writer can confirm this to be true from his own humbling experiences with life”! This path is compared to walking on a razors edge. If we are to be truly victorious in life, which is what God wants for us, we need to make sure our perception of truth is clear. God is the only truth and reality in this dream of life. 

So, how do we go about perceiving truth in a world of delusion? 

First, it matters not if we have lived in the darkness of delusion for a day, a year or 80 years. What matters most is what we do today, right now with the free choice God gave us. The sure fire way that has been proven by the Saints of all ages is to calm our mind and heart through proper breathing, silence, prayer and meditation. God’s infinite mercy and light are like the rays of the sun. They are always shining down upon us, trying to enter our minds and hearts. It is we who have shut off the divine light through misuse of our free will by identifying with the “things of world, matter, and ego” and not Spirit. Since all true religions seem to be on the same page in that God is universal light, love, truth and joy, we need to make sure we clearly understand this not only in mind, but in our heart of hearts. 

It’s easy for the delusive ego to convince us that we are “doomed or failures” because of the mountain of past mistakes we have made. Since God is pure unconditional love, all we need to do is sincerely surrender ourselves and our past misdeeds to Him asking for the rains of his mercy and love to wash away the mud of delusion from our mind and heart. 

Secondly, by practicing daily prayer and meditation, we can learn to separate truth from fiction, which is “our doing from our being” until the clarity of His presence and truth are felt within. Once we feel this calm clarity or “knowingness”, we can go about our lives flowing with God’s will of harmony and goodness for us and all who cross our path. 

Being clear and in tune with God provides so many advantages over the self-deluded ego, which promises instant happiness but only gives sorrow in return. As we see life through our new perception of truth and clarity, we can help by seeing others as they are and better know how to help them. 

As my Great Guru liked to say, “God’s rays of light and love shine equally on the diamond and the piece of coal. The diamond is able to reflect the light whereas the coal is filled with impurities and can’t reflect the light”. God made each one of us as diamonds so that we could ideally reflect his light of perfection and goodness within His creation. 

Since He gave us free will and free choice, it’s up to each of us to reflect his light or wallow in the darkness of despair and poor perception. I pray everyone will give God a chance to work through them so we can see His infinite wonders within and without and know that we are truly one beautiful family and children of Spirit. When this happens, we can start to behold heaven on earth and enjoy each now as the joyous perfection that it is. 

About Steven Boyd: Steven is a yogi and writer. He has been practicing yoga and meditation daily for over 30 years.  He follows the spiritual path of Self Realization Fellowship that was founded by the great Yogi-Guru Paramahansa Yogananda in 1920.