LIVING INTO THE DEPTH

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LIVING INTO THE DEPTH

By Richard Foster

Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant

satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need

today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted

people, but for deep people. The classical Disciplines of the

spiritual life call us to move beyond surface living into the

depths. They invite us to explore the inner caverns of the

spiritual realm.

 

We must not be led to believe that the Disciplines are only for

spiritual giants and hence beyond our reach, or only for

contemplatives who devote all their time to prayer and meditation.

Far from it. Neither should we think of Spiritual Disciplines as

some dull drudgery aimed at exterminating laughter from the face of

the earth. Joy is the keynote of all the Disciplines. The purpose of

the Disciplines is liberation from the stifling slavery to self-

interest and fear. When the inner spirit is liberated from all that

weighs it down, it can hardly be described as dull drudgery.

 

The Spiritual Disciplines such as, fasting, prayer, worship, and

meditation are an inward reality, and the inner attitude of the

heart is far more crucial than the mechanics for coming into the

reality of the spiritual life. In our enthusiasm to practice the

Disciplines, we may fail to practice discipline. We have to

experience a life of relationship and intimacy with the Divine.

 

prof laxmi narain (prof_narain)

 

Source and courtesy: Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad

This article was published in Sri Ramana Jyothi,

monthly magazine of the Kendram.