In Buddhism, one of the main antagonists of the Buddha is the demon Mara. During his entire life, Mara would revisit him. And she never came alone. On every visit she would bring an army, a new strategy so vivid that it was almost impossible not to see through the density of delusion. But the Buddha’s response would always be: “I see you Mara, care for a cup of tea?” Just like the Buddha, Jesus had its major antagonist archetype: Satan. The prince of darkness, the devil from the underworld. He would seduce Jesus, promise him all the kingdoms of the world:
“And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” - Matthew 4:9 - King James version
But as most of us have been taught over the years, one does not make deals with the devil. Why then, does the current state of humanity feel like Mara and Satan teamed up, merging to become the supreme God of Delusion?
Ever since I wrote this post, mentioning the scent of crisis hanging in the air, it seems as if primal forces of chaos have been speeding up significantly. Since the upload date, the world has given us:
Ever higher inflation, leading to price appreciation
Global stock market crashes
Multiple countries erupting into chaos (Ecuador, Sri Lanka, Pakistan)
Food and fuel shortages
A major backlash of Europe’s green energy transition leading to many countries having to fire up the coal plants once again
An ending of the constitutional right of abortion in the US
Just to name a few. Although there always is a local crisis happening in the world in every moment, the multitude of significant disruptions is remarkable. It is almost as if we are punished by some greater force, but for what?
Next to all these events, a general theme has been becoming ever more significant, possibly even signifying a strong relationship to all that is occuring in the world right now. Mara and Satan have been working in the shadows, lurking us into the direction of ever greater identification. Not only with the belief that we are separate human beings, defined by our bodies and characters, which perhaps is one of the most subtle tricks in their playbook, but also with a tremendous amount of other concepts, and even opinions. Thereby distracting us from the ordinary but so significant truth that is now hidden in the density of darkness: The universe is alive and we are part of it.
Nowadays, we cannot trust our own experience unless it is proven by science, which could well be the great religion of our time. And science is unfortunately based on the notion that the world as we know it is a soulless, liveless collection of objects and that we as humans created after the image of God have to give meaning to both our own lives and the world. With our rational minds of course. Which, unfortunately, is the domain of both Mara and Satan. This is where they rule. This is their playing field, only to be be overcome by the recognition of what we truly are: Conscious, not definable, connected to the living whole. So while the supreme God of Delusion strenghtened her grip, leading us to identifying with ever more concepts like nationalities, genders, political ideologies, religions, traditions, sports club teams, and even humanity itself, we perhaps lost the most significant treasure ever known to humanity.
It’s human to have an opinion, it possibly differentiates us from other animals, but to hold the opinion as important or even based on truth is the definition of making a deal with the devil. It is stating that I, separate being in full control in this chaotic and disorderly world, hold my opinion in such regard that the rest of the world has to bow to my truth. If not, I will separate myself from you, because you are clearly not comparable to me by any means and therefore are to be regarded as other. In the background, while sipping a cup of tea, Mara can’t resist to whisper “Checkmate”, celebrating yet another subtle identification and therefore further separation from recognizing what we are.
So we discuss. So we go to war, believing that another nation is by no means comparable to us, using labels as Good, Bad and Ugly. Not trusting that there is a greater intelligent force at play, guiding us, whispering to us that perhaps, the time has come to recognize our essence. That we perhaps are not definable by these silly labels. That it might be a dream, created by the intelligent tricksters of delusion. If we would feel the pervasive soul of the universe in ourselves, recognizing each other to be a manifestation of it, would we then still go to war? Would we have absurd discussions about concepts, labels and opinions that are by no means based upon truth. Would we then fight reality as we do, ever trying to provoke linear progress in a universe that works in a cyclical manner of death-rebirth? Would we then consume the vast amounts that we do, knowing that which we consume is part of us?
The real epidemic is not Covid. It is the incredible grip that the delusion demons hold over us. Which obviously is just my opinion, so unfortunately no truths to find here. The next time Mara or Satan come to visit you, please send my regards. They’re friends of mine, as long as they don’t come to visit me.
Thank you for reading this post. If you like it, do let me know:) Mara likes validation.