discerning the value of spiritual practices

the "new age circus," as spiritual teacher david hawkins refers to it, offers an endless parade of so-called spiritual practices that seem to appeal more to our sense of adventure and need for entertainment than to address the reality of spiritual development. today's spiritual marketplace resembles in large part the secular commercial environment that so pervades our society: both seem to promise the attainment of perfection, the banishment of all problems and challenges - an experience of unbroken pleasure and satisfaction.

we're familiar enough with how products are idealized through the media to turn a profit; how a simple object can be presented - and perceived - as the answer to all our troubles. when it comes to spiritual products, however, we're still quite naïve. this is understandable really, since spiritually speaking western culture has long remained unsophisticated as a whole. our sudden interest in eastern wisdom traditions throghout the twentieth century (particularly strong in the latter half) brought the concept of spirituality as separate from religion to the surface of common awareness and sparked the beginnings of a spiritual marketplace that has only recently taken on the proportions of a veritable wildfire. today we see innumerable spiritual teachers, products and methods peddled over the internet; once exotic spiritual concepts seeping into popular and even corporate culture; super-celebrities such as oprah winfrey touting the teachings of profound spiritual masters like eckhart tolle.

this popularization of spirituality is almost certainly a positive trend in human development, but with increased spiritual currency comes increased need for discernment; the need for something akin to the product reviews and consumer reports that form such an integral part of more traditional consumer markets. if our goal is that of genuine spiritual development and not merely to entertain ourselves by chasing the latest fantasy, we have to understand that everything labelled "spiritual" is not necessarily going to take us closer to truth-realization.

we have to learn to separate the crap from the good stuff. because - within the context of actual spiritual awakening - many (and probably most) of the products hyped on the spiritual marketplace represent either a potential distraction from, or a more serious detriment to genuine growth. so how do we discern, and whose promises should we trust? while ultimately this must obviously be a personal call, it is said the buddha himself - normally considered a pretty nice and genuine guy - offered a simple yardstick with which to judge not only the value of any spiritual teaching but the effectiveness of any mode of living with relation to spiritual development.

the buddha is attributed as having said something along these lines: "do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. do not believe in traditions merely because they have been handed down for many generations."

so what the hell should we believe in, and on what basis? basically, the buddha espoused a very practical approach: to rely on our own experience and logic, to critically analyze things for ourselves, arrive at our own conclusions, and live in accordance with what we have found to be conducive to qualities such as happinness, peace, balance, compassion, love, understanding. it goes without saying that in order to practice this effectively a high level of self-honesty is required - not exactly the commonest of traits among humans, but certainly something that can be developed and refined with practice.

using this simple method of analysis, we can learn to keep away from the things that bring out the worst in us (greed, envy, anger, discontent) and develop an affinity for that which brings out the best in us and makes our experience of living more joyful and fulfilling. but, again, self-honesty is essential here - the kind of honesty required, for example, to acknowledge that while degrading others in the name of self-inflation may provide a certain perverse sense of satisfaction, it ultimately brings us suffering by alienating us from ourselves and others. the kind of honesty necessary to understand the pursuit of selfish pleasure and self-glorification as an imbalanced effort to repair a dysfunctional self-relationship, or the manifestation of any form of aggression as a desperate act of self-violence.