11th September 2016,
I've been doing the devotional service transformative practice for about 3 months now since I developed it. The devotional Service transformative practice or DTP, is a moderation of the integral life practice based on post-integral theory and insights from the Gaudiya Vaishnava bhakti yoga tradition. The practice is really a joy to do, and the more I did it, the more I came to realise that all human acticities reflect the DTP but in an untransformed version. All activities can be divided into spiritual or material, likewise there is a spiritual world and a material world. For each one of these activities there can be the untransformed version or the transformed version. Taking for instance, work as an example - working for results in ones work or fruitive work, is the untransformed version of conscious working or karma yoga. Similarly things like relationships with other people can be in an untransformed, dysfunctional state based on what Prabhupada would call bodily relations, or they can be relationships formed around a spiritual bond. The devotional path can be very hard at times, Im currently going through a dark night of the soul and nothing could have prepared me for that. Also as I have come to be more evolved and conscious Ive found that fewer and fewer people were willing to relate to me - mainly because I am only seeking conscious relationship not just wasting time. Typically, this trend is seen in Vaidhi Bhakti when one goes through the harsh process of separating from non-devotees and possibly having to go through the disapproval of parents etc for becoming a devotee. Its hard to find good relationships but not impossible. Luckily with integral theory we can make more informed decisions on the state of consciousness of the people around us and whether they are going to be healthy relationships or not. Of course in one sense, a devotee should relate to all living beings in a loving mood but in some cases its more like tough-love as opposed to really deep spiritual communions with our brothers and sisters. Really relationships is a bhakti core practice, and in some ways getting relationships with our neighbours right can take just as much effort as Our relationship with Radha and Krishna. But really it is worth it. It is really, just very important - no man is an island and a spiritual practice that doesn't include relationships in it is not going to have as gooder result as just say chanting all day or something. Not to mention the social-intelligence line that shows us that the more we relate to each other, the better we get at it. Ive been working away at this relationship thing for a while now and starting to get some results, I'll be making more posts on this blog regarding my progress in the DTP and other topics related to devotional service and spiritual philosophy. Thanks for reading :)
