Lesson 88: Review of:
Lesson 75: The light has come, and
Lesson 76: I am under no laws but God’s.
For as much as I like to think myself a rebel, I really am a rule-follower. I may violate the laws of fashion on a regular basis, but when it comes to other laws, I am careful not to run afoul of them – with the usual exception of the speed limit, which everyone seems to take as a mere suggestion anyway.
I never liked getting into trouble and have never been keen on taking too many risks. The laws we have set up in the bodily world can be harsh and the last place I ever wanted to end up was in handcuffs, having crossed some societal line between “legal” and “illegal.”
Our ego pats us on the back for this kind of behavior, convincing us we have “integrity” and “values,” but in reality, I’m just scared of having someone put my body in a jail for some transgression. Good rules make for good behavior among those who fear some manner of bodily consequence.
Today’s lesson is not asking us to transgress the laws we have put into place to seek an orderly and civilized society – speeding aside, of course. Instead, it’s asking us to follow a higher law – one that is not based on fear, or has any concern of what might happen to our bodies, since they’re not who we are anyway.
When we understand we are under no laws but God’s, we realize that while we live in this world, we must do so fully engaged in a spirit of Love instead of a spirit of fear. It is this fear that keeps us from questioning the validity of some of the bodily world’s laws and obeying them blindly.
When we embrace God’s laws, however, we can see through the illusion of these bodily laws and bring Love to bear upon them. This is what Martin Luther King Jr. did when he opposed Jim Crow laws. It’s what Nelson Mandela did when he opposed apartheid. It’s what Gandhi did when he opposed British rule of his country. They put their bodies on the line to bring more Love into the world and move us from the ego’s belief in separation back to our true state of unity.
When we realize that the light has come – that Love can arrive in this world if we’re willing to be a channel for it – then no other law but the law of Love will satisfy us. No longer are we looking to attack or air our grievances. Instead, we approach the world with a spirit of Love that transforms us all from the inside out.
Our true, Divine Self is like a fine spice, Hafiz says, adding the flavor of Love the world.
He writes:
“What
soup could resist being affected by the attributes of fine spice,
“especially if it were added by the hand of an excellent cook?
“Friends might say hmmmm … you taste better, what happened?”
Photo by hue12 photography on Unsplash