Common Pitfalls of Spiritual Path And How to Overcome Them

We all seek spirituality and follow the spiritual path when we try to seek answers to the questions that we find difficult to answer. We begin with great enthusiasm but get lost as we face challenges and we wonder whether we are on the right track or not. Often lack of support and guidance are also reasons why we feel lost and frustrated. I have outlined a few pointers which may help one find clarity and insight. Hope this helps you as much as it has helped me. 

1 Ignoring physical health.

As one develops insight about the nonphysical nature of the self, there is a possibility that the interest in the physical aspect of the self/identity diminishes and the focus shifts to the nonphysical aspect of the self but we fail to see that we live in the mind-body-soul complex and our existence in this reality is in the body and hence we need to take care of it. We may not want our identity to be associated with the body but still it is the vehicle that we need in order to be on the journey of life in this reality hence it needs to be in a good condition. Many people seeking spiritual knowledge fall in this trap and begin to hate their body or ignore its needs. Most go from having too much attachment from the body to having total disinterest in the body. This may be due to misinterpretation of the knowledge or simply may be part of conditioning. When we realise that we cannot separate mind, body and soul and that the body is the temple where the spirit resides and it is the precious gift from God, we learn to value and respect and honour it by taking care of it. We realise that the life that we live in this body is the precious chance to realise all our goals including spiritual goals, we then learn to treat it sacredly and not abuse with neglect or overindulgence of any kind.

2. Misinterpretation of knowledge.

Although knowledge is pure, perfect and accurate in its original form, misinterpretation can change the essence of it. Often the person who is teaching the knowledge can be ridden by their own beliefs and conditioning which can change the meaning. On top of it, the student also comes with their own set of beliefs and perceptions which can cloud the accurate interpretation of the knowledge and that can be a hindrance in the overall progress of the person. This can be very damaging for the student as interpretation can lead to confusion, delay as well as possibility of getting deviated from the path and going in the wrong direction which can again delay the progress and may lead to more frustration and total disinterest due to the wastage of time and confusion. It is vital to learn from trusted sources and use your own insight and judgement while choosing the guru. Once we have the right guru then it is easier to navigate the path. For that to happen, one has to have pure intention and strong belief in their own purpose and deep interest in the subject as well as deep honesty.

3.  Developing a wrong identity.

Most spiritual knowledge is focused on dissolving identity but sometimes the students get associated with the identity of the spiritual seeker or start to see himself/herself as a spiritual being and begin to protect the identity and get attached to it. To some degree this newly found identity can also cause hindrance as the person can feel attacked if it is challenged or questioned. This can lead to the person getting more delusional and getting lost. To combat this issue, it is important to seek guidance from people who have already walked the path and achieved the level where they can guide you properly and who are absolutely honest and transparent with their knowledge. The main goal of spirituality is to dissolve all the identity and experience oneness with everyone where the ego dissolves but if one gets attached to the identity then one needs to introspect where he/she may be going wrong.

4.  Getting too immersed in knowledge.

Spiritual knowledge can be very fascinating and captivating and it can very easily grip the person to the extent that it can give rise to more curiosity and desire to know more. Although this may sound like a perfect plan but often this can lead to the person becoming too much involved in the variety of knowledge which can be very confusing and without any direction and systematic approach to understand the knowledge, one can waste time as the focus is more on accumulating knowledge rather than implementing knowledge. Spiritual knowledge needs to be incorporated in our day-to-day life and hence it needs practice, persistence and patience but if one gets too involved in just learning and not spending enough time in implementing, then the whole point of learning the knowledge becomes meaningless.

5.  Clouded by doubts and insecurities

It is very common for a spiritual student to get doubts about their own path and that can lead to delay in the progress. Doubts are sometimes part of learning and they also help the students to understand the knowledge in a much better way with different angles but having too many doubts of the subject or the path itself creates confusion and hence one can get deviated from the path and can get lost in that process. As one grows awareness through practices and introspection, one can understand that these are just clouds that will disperse over time and one must learn to move past them without getting stuck.

6.  Temptation to pull others in your path.

When one seeks knowledge and attains it to some degree and incorporates in life, one sees remarkable changes and realise the power of the knowledge and hence it becomes very tempting to spread the news to others as one is filled with benevolence and wants everyone to experience the same benefits hence one tries to pull people to the new path; especially family members but we fail to realise that everyone has their own journey and their own choices as well as free will and hence you cannot force anyone to choose their path as everyone has their own lessons that needs to be learnt and everyone has to go through certain experiences in order to progress in life or sometimes, it can also be part of their own life path and journey of self-discovery which may be different from yours hence one should stay away from pulling others to the path and let your new version be the catalyst for other people to seek knowledge rather than forcing them to be on the path. Focusing on your own journey and becoming a better version of yourself each day will have far greater impact than pulling others to the path. 

7. Feeling of loneliness

As your awareness grow and you explore different ways to living, being and functioning, you may feel that other people are not able to understand you and may question or even worry about you and doubt whether you are doing the right thing or not. As your mind expands and sees reality in different ways, you may feel more and more alienated, to the point that it can often result in feeling lost and depressed which may make you doubt the path altogether. It is important to be with likeminded people who are walking on the same path and get guidance from an appropriate guru so that you can pass this phase smoothly and your journey is not stopped altogether.

8.   Having a spiritual ego.

Sometimes knowledge, when not learnt in the right way, and not leant in depth can lead to spiritual ego. A person can often view others, who are not on any spiritual path, as “nonspiritual” and feels a sense of knowing more than others. This is nothing but the ego which can be very damaging for everyone around. This can make people want to avoid you and also can lead to you getting lost from your path. Spiritual journey is very delicate and that needs constant evaluation of self and constant awareness of how ego can throw you off track as the earthly illusions can be very powerful. The main purpose of the knowledge is to dissolve all the ego and that can be quite challenging. Viewing others as inferior is also part of ego protecting itself and that needs to be carefully managed. We have to remember that there is nobody in the world more spiritual or less spiritual. We all are spiritual beings with lesser or more degrees of awareness. Your goal is to only focus on your own journey and if the knowledge is not making you non-judgmental then you need to dig deeper for any blockages that can be a hindrance to your progress.

True knowledge makes one grounded, see everyone as equal and have non-judgmental acceptance towards everyone and if you are not getting there, you need more practice, more introspection and deeper knowledge and brutal honesty with yourself and others. Spiritual path can be hard as one is pitched against their own ego, identity and illusions of the reality and the knowledge makes one question everything and there are numerous hurdles that can prevent one from progressing but persistence, right guidance, right environment, right company and divine grace and sense of surrender can create wonders and miracle where one becomes unstoppable in their path and reaches the stage of self-realisation. Until then one has to keep faith and keep going.