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SWAMI SHANKARANANDA
S. SHANK: All right, if you live well. The key is to realize that we are immortal beings. That we are spiritual, immortal beings having mortal experiences. We are nonphysical beings having physical experiences—by choice. We are also beings who bring judgment into our life. And that is what creates misery.
L.M.: Judgment and desire.
S. SHANK: False desire, selfish desire. There is also desire in its pure state. L.M.: Good desire.
S. SHANK: The desire for self-enlightenment, the desire to be an instrument of peace, and the desire to live in peace-the desire to grow in joy and wisdom, and love and understanding. That is a pure desire.
L.M.: Yes, right desire.
S. SHANK: And the desire to know the truth, the desire to be free-the desire to realize our oneness with all. Those are noble desires. You and I have the opportunity in our generation, in our time, to be an instrument of healing. Through right understanding, right realization, right service; through right livelihood, and through right sharing. By right, I mean what is in harmony with our inner being. It is possible in the midst of life's joy and sorrow to identify with that which promotes joy and reduces sorrow.
L.M.: Do you think that this way of meditation is at the root of all religions?
S. SHANK: I think that is where we are all at one, in terms of the different paths and religions. At the root of all the religions is the belief that man can have a better way of life than the one he is living now. That there is this one source of power, this one source called God, or it is called by various other names. And that is the source of our well-being.
Where the differences arise are in the means proposed by the various schools of thought, religions, and philosophies. This where all the quarrelling occurs--concerning the ways and means to achieve bliss or reunion with God. All agree that we come from God.
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