When society presumes to measure merit in terms of outward material or social contribution, it misses the point. Perhaps conditioned by the extroverted Judeo-Christian and Protestant “work ethic” of outward busyness and material contribution, the real and hidden impact of spirituality is concealed and denied. Or perhaps it is just plain capitalism’s obsessive-compulsive ethos of productivity ad infinatum — which arguably descended from the Protestant “work ethic” as Weber would call it.
Spiritual and contemplative souls are not into outward shows of productivity and camera-ready exhibitionism. They are quiet like a deep river flowing into the ocean. They are cool as autumn and warm as spring. All that comes forth from them comes quietly, like the four seasons (as Zhuangzi would say and I would agree). When our notions of spirituality are colonized by Anglocentric religiosity and ideology, we prematurely truncate the spiritual to dictate how they should or should not manifest.
When society is mature enough, it will be able to recognize and honour such unobtrusive spiritual contemplatives in ways that are just and fair. Until then, markers and indicators of who are deemed “meritorious” persons, and who should or should not become citizens of a country will remain tethered to gross proxy measures of external accomplishments, be they of money or position or even social volunteerism.
Such volunteerism may or may not be genuine outflows of inner spirituality. For the spiritual need not always express itself in external works that make for good selfies or nice numbers. Spiritual contemplatives leave behind deep imprints in the hearts of people and upon environments invisible to the fleshly eye. But for the inwardly sensitive, these become as apparent and clear as day.
May we think on these things. And grow. And evolve into inwardly sensitive beings.
Image credit: Rupert Spira.
