There are numerous spiritual traps awaiting those who dedicated their lives to spirituality, and finding who they are. Sooner or later, every serious spiritual seeker will encounter one or more of those traps, often disguised as shortcuts, improvements, accomplishments or goalposts indicative of the progress being made. Unaware, he or she will wholeheartedly embrace them, hoping that it shortens the path to enlightenment. As their spirituality grows, some seekers will realize the errors made. Yet nothing will bring back the time lost; with the weakening of their resolve being the testimony of the anguish and doubts that followed.

Here are the major spiritual traps waiting for the unaware seeker of enlightenment:

1. Following a guru and his/her teaching without reservations. Problem is that gurus realize in unique paths. Instead going in, student takes guru’s system and adopt as their own. But religion belongs to the teacher. It’s their, and it probably won’t work for you.
2. Taking on unique culture (Tibetan, Hindu, etc.). It becomes an act, a play, rather than going in, and discovering and discarding all your conditioning.
3. Joining a group, or a community, in order to find who you are. Communities have multiple distractions: hierarchy, functions, contacts, connections, privileges, etc. None of these will help you to find out who you are. Particularly strong warning signs should be: fees and dues payable to the leader/guru, ranks and functions available can be bought, reverence directed to the guru/teacher instead of the message/teaching.
4. Ultimately the words of your teacher become a distraction to finding who you are, prior to words, prior to consciousness. That’s why Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj said: “Forget me, forget my teachings. Stay in the consciousness, stay in your being and your own unique path will emerge.”
5. Spiritual experiences – having a vision, having a love, having a bliss, discovering a secret, seeing “blue light” etc. In the West, we tend to view them as some kind of a signpost, and associate a sense of achievement to them. The problem is they strengthen the “I”. Since the essence of spirituality (spiritual work) is going prior the “I am” or prior to the consciousness, one interprets these experiences as “I am getting somewhere.” Unfortunately what it does, it strengthens your “I” – the same “I” you want to discard as not you. Said Nisargadatta Maharaj: “You must give up the desire to change or improve yourself.” Why? Because your “I” should be seen as an object, not the subject.

Secrets Are Part of Spiritual Traps

In the 21st century, spiritual path is not the road followed by the masses. Those who embark on a long and treacherous trip need all the help they can get. Studying teachings of Dr David R Hawkins and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj will map your way to Truth. The rest is in God’s hands.