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Kamalanātha, ‘The King of Lotuses’, a 15th-century poet and yogi, gifted us a timeless treasure: Dharma Śūnya, the Path of Emptiness.
In this masterpiece, he crystallized the sacred teachings of his guru into an exquisite aesthetic form, an invaluable record of the contemplative practices of his era. It unveils the yoga they practised, their vision of reality, and, most profoundly, the means to transcend it.
The spiritual journey is a voyage to discover what many call ‘the ultimate reality.’ Kamalanātha was one such seeker, dedicating his life to this quest. Yet, he realized that this ultimate reality cannot be found in the scriptures, nor by wandering from mountain to mountain, nor through rigid diets or relentless practices.
The King of Lotuses offers us a way. He never promised it would be easy or without peril. His path is an intricate inner pilgrimage, step by step, lotus by lotus, guiding us to an inner sanctuary where we can retreat eternally, finding solace amid the clamor of life.
His message resonates deeply in our age of secular spirituality, where spirituality has become a commodity in our capitalist era. Many such offerings are mere maps leading us astray from the eternal joy within our hearts.
Decades ago, on the other side of the world, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung warned us of the impending madness and how Eastern Spirituality, once robbed of its life-transforming and mind-transcending potential, would offer solace.
Jung was right. Kamalanātha was right.
Yet, we humans still yearn to taste that non-dual reality beyond our limited existence of mind and body. This parched life leaves us dry, desperate to taste the nectar of joy beyond the superficiality of material pleasure.
The summum bonum calls to us, a perplexing call we cannot seem to answer, no matter how intensely we desire to.
We seek answers, we strive to respond to this call, but Kamalanātha reminds us, “It is not found because you seek it!”
Jung would likely agree with Kamalanātha’s conclusion. We have overdeveloped our conscious minds, becoming too mechanical, alienating ourselves from the intuitive part of our being—the part where the path truly lies.
We desire it, we seek it. We want it, we work towards it. But soon, spiritual practices become “another thing to do” and teachings become “another dogma to hold.” And even after straying so far off course, we fail to recognize it.
This writing is an invitation, not an essay, so I will pause here.
In the coming days, I will host a Zoom webinar titled “The Yogic Psychology of Dharma Śūnya” to delve deeper into this topic.
Not because I have found the way, let alone arrived. I simply wish to share the teachings of Dharma Śūnya and explore how they might quench our spiritual thirst.
Thank you.