Why Spiritual Pub Is Not a Community?
Written by Naren on October 29, 2008
I recall visiting my mother's house in the village when I was a small child – maybe around eight or nine years old. Just before sunset, the villagers, including my grandfather, my uncles, and other relatives would gather around a big fig tree and talk. Fig trees have a great importance in the East. Bhagwan Buddha became enlightened while meditating underneath a fig tree.
I still remember the beauty of those gatherings -- the blowing of the cool breeze, the beautiful sunset across the hills, and the countenances of these innocent villagers radiating with an inner contentment. This was the only way to relax after a hard day of work. It was a poor village, in a very remote district of eastern Nepal, so these villagers didn’t have any other modes of entertaining themselves. In fact, by looking at them, they didn’t even desire for the false grandeur of big cities.
My family was living in Kathmandu by then, and I used to love going to the villages to visit my relatives. I always loved the peacefulness and the beauty of the villages. Those gatherings were so immensely peaceful. There were no obligations and everybody seemed utterly free and relaxed. There was no stress, no anxiety, and no worry on the villagers' faces. The gathering seemed like a garden full of flowers in full blossom. There was an atmosphere of fragrance and calmness all around. Sometimes, these people would even gather in the night under the full moon. The village was so under developed there was no electricity; and still under the magnificence of the moonlight the villagers’ faces displayed utmost innocence and deep satisfaction.
I have always loved being in the village, in the beatitude of nature and amidst those gatherings where people would laugh, talk, and dance in love. It was like a celebration.
Recently, communities have grown like mushrooms in the web world. It has become a sort of fashion. Every website preaches about building a better community in the society. I don’t agree with this notion. False hopes and promises given to innocent and miserable people are an easy lure to take advantage of their circumstances. Remember, a miserable person can be easily deceived. He/She is so fragile that they are ready to give up anytime. All you need is to give them a small ray of hope, and they will follow you in a heartbeat. Then, you can manipulate them whichever way you want. It’s a dirty business, where everyone is eyeing profit. Community is an imprisonment --just like a cage where animals are kept against their will for the pleasure of the owner. The lion is meant to live in freedom in the jungle, not inside an iron cage. The lion cannot be the king of animals inside a cage. Likewise, it is our intrinsic nature to be free. The moment you are assigned to some group or community, you lose your freedom, because you will be then bound by that group’s ideology and values. You will no longer be your true self.
Community is like signing a treaty. I give you this, and in return you give me back something. It’s a deal. It’s like signing a rental agreement lease – a contract. Immediately, you are under pressure. Immediately, you feel like someone has forced something upon you. Immediately, you feel like your wings have been clipped. How many of you want to get out from your rental lease? I would be the first to raise my hand.
Spiritual Pub is thus not a community, and can never be a community. Spiritual Pub is as free as an individual. The idea of a gathering came from my reminiscences of the village gatherings. And, I simply adore it. In a gathering, there are no obligations, however in community there are always obligations. Now, one might argue with me and say that I am trying to escape from my responsibility. Here is my answer: My responsibility in life is to live life in full awareness and ultimate freedom.
In a gathering, there is freedom, community sounds like bondage to me. In a community, I am in fear. In a gathering I roam fearlessly – like a lion roams around in the jungle. A gathering is totally undemanding. There are no pressures and demands. You are as free as you are. A gathering is a profoundly spiritual experience – you are there with a group of people, but still you are alone; and yet there is a presence of harmony. No ideologies, no philosophy, no conditions, no treaties, no contracts are imposed upon you; instead everyone is respectful of each other’s freedom. You are not tied into any kind of phony relationships. You are not bound by anything that you don’t like. You are absolutely free. Hence, a gathering is beautiful, joyful, and immensely spiritual.
Thus, Spiritual Pub is:
- A simple get-together of courageous individuals who are in search of truth and freedom.
- A spiritual hang-out of those rebellious souls who want to enjoy life in its totality, not in bondage.
- A playground of all the unique individuals who want to be playful again and celebrate life.
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