Sat Nam and Namaste!

I received the following response to the Deeksha event email subtitled
'Love and Peace are Your Birthright' and I wanted to share this and the
response:

------------The Email------
Many thanks for the sentiment, it gives me an opportunity to share a
thought As a Pagan I do not believe it is our birthright to be happy and loved.
Pagans take their lessons from Nature. Nature shows us that good and bad,
happiness and sorrow are just the human perception of balanced opposites,
opposites that are equally necessary. it is our birthright to expect
IMPARTIALITY from the forces in our lives. when 'bad' things happen it is not
punishment or victimization. where as Buddhism teaches that suffering is an
illusion caused by desire for the unattainable. I believe that contentment is
accepting that both happiness and sadness are real.
Blessings!
-------------------------------

Response:

Thanks for your email. It's always great to get response and feedback. Yes,
actually I absolutely agree with you (except that I think Buddhism doesn't deny
the reality of suffering, only state that it is caused by illusions). Nature is
in a sense impartial to us, and embracing happiness and sadness is essential if
we want to be content. Sometimes with language we trip up, and it is actually
very difficult to be precise without constantly defining what we mean with each
word - which would make for very slow communication.

For example, in this case, you and I are using the word 'happiness' in different
ways. Allow me to clarify my position on happiness and love as a birthright. By
'happiness' I am referring to an overall experience of being glad to be alive,
not a moment to moment denial of anything 'unpleasant'.

Through meditation, Deeksha and other 'spiritual' practises, it is possible to
reach a sense of connection (and we can debate exactly what is connected to
what, or even if 'connection' is the best word to use), whereby there is peace
and acceptance and contentment with experiencing both the highs and lows of
life. I think this expanded state (and I use this description because for me
there is with it a definable sense of space), is our natural state. A state
that for many of us much of the time is lost through conditioning, neurosis and
attempts to avoid full experience (eg of pain).

I say 'love is our birthright', rather than 'to be loved is our birthright'.
This is because in my experience when you return to the state to which I was
referring that is what you find there - love. Love of the self, love of others,
love for all things. This does not mean that everybody we meet is going to
'love' us. It does
mean that we are open to experience a flow whereby we can feel loved and feel
love for others. Some people may still hate us or treat us badly.

In fact history/scriptures record (eg with Jesus) just how much hate and cruelty
people who are loving can receive. I absolutely believe this to be true, because
there are times in my life (which happily are
becoming more frequent) when this is how I experience the world. But
even more so, because I have been around some amazing peopl (especially when on
retreat in India), who exude this quality of love and peace and contentment
24/7, even when they have had almost no sleep and are juggling lots of tasks
simultaneously.

Returning to the theme of impartiality. There are forces and events that can be
seen as outside of ourselves, and nothing to do with us, and yet they impact on
our lives. However there is also a very definite sense in which we create our
external reality based on our internal state(s).

For example, if I am very angry all the time I'll probably annoy a lot of
people, cause a lot of conflict, experience a lot of conflict, and continue to
believe the world is a battleground. In short I'll constantly have things to be
angry about. If I feel very blessed all the time, I keep looking for ways in
which the universe is blessing me, I spend a lot of time rejoicing and being
happy, etc.. I have seen again and again in the counselling room how people
re-create in their environment problems and issues that they haven't resolved.
For example, somebody who has been abused will often keep trying to relate to
people who will abuse them. Somebody who has been betrayed will often find
themselves in situations where they will feel betrayed again. They may even
engineer this.

Gosh, think that's enough for now. Thanks again for your reply.
Love and light
Fateh

(PS directions for Sukmani Centre, Cambridge: From Newmarket Rd
roundabout turn into Elizabeth Way. Immediately at bottom of bridge
turn left into Cutters Ferry. Instead of following the road round to
the left almost straight in front is a dirt/private road servicing the
back of Humberstone Rd. Sukmani Centre is no.68).