From the Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad is a passage (on page 135 in the leather bound version), that states the following:

The wise never give thought for the dead, nor for the living, in sentimental emotions. that which belongs to matter, heat and cold, pain and pleasure, and the values of beauty and ugliness, is impermanent. They come and they go, and nothing shall halt them, for these are the elements of the Kal, the negative power. The man who believes they are the core of his life shall suffer rebirth and death century after century until the day comes when he is able to cast the scales from his eyes and recognize the Living ECK Master. then shall he see and know that the dweller of this world is vulnerable to the traps of the Kal. Only Soul is free and cannot be forever held to the world of physical matter.

This is a core truth that many deny in their respective faiths. Jesus said something similar, “let the dead bury the dead.” It is a reference to the seeker’s view of life. We are here for a reason, but if we attach to the pleasurable things, we will lose the true reason for our engagement with this world. We are here to grow, to learn, to resolve karmic debt.

The Tao Te Ching has a similar sentiment, regarding the “real” world and it’s duality. How “high” and “low” beget each other. That duality is an illusion of the real thing.

It may seem too impersonal, or too cruel to lack sentiment for the dead and the living. To understand this, a person has to look behind the look and feel of the world. When I was a Buddhist my lama asked each student to find an image of two people in conflict. Not choosing sides, or bias, we were to look at one person in conflict and say, “where did this person come from, karmically?” After analysis, to repeat the same question and answer on the other person in the conflict. I learned very much regarding that… and yet I have routinely slipped back into the world, taking sides and protesting that which I disagree with.

Waking up, and staying awake are different states and both are very important. Waking up to reality is powerful. But staying awake is even more powerful.

I hope to stay awake longer, finding the neutrality in the understanding of karma and how it is rendering each and every event in my life and the lives of others.