How Social Media Drowns me in the “Wisdom Ennui”

Between WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest – any normal human seems to be bombarded with wisdom, “truths”, half-truths, moral statements and idioms that seem set to make every sender seem like God itself.  But are all those Aunts, Cousins, Uncles and Siblings who send you those sometimes wonderfully worded messages, really thinking through them as well?  Buddha and Rumi have been attributed so many sayings and words of wisdom that one wonders if they are the poster boys of every half-truth conjured up by some college-level poet with good intentions but no understanding of Spirituality.

And, that is where the rub is.  Spirituality is supposed to be some kind of “Goodness business”.  There are enough idiots out there who say they “Aren’t Religious but Spiritual”.  Little realizing that if they were what they think they are asserting, they would actually not be saying it at all.  For, Spirituality is NOT a belief.  Religion is.  It is not a choice.  It is a state of being.  When you are really in that state where you are “connected”, asserting anything becomes meaningless.  Buddha is not an inspiration anymore.  He is a tool.  Like a rope left by the mountaineer gone before you to the top of the Everest for you to follow.  Respect and love is not something that you have to do, it is your being.  You are so straight with yourself that you know you don’t matter, nor does anything else.  Or everything does.  Take your pick.  Put another way, if Buddha were to speak of himself would he even say he is “Spiritual”?  That would be nonsense.

Nothing has distorted a Spiritual pursuit of a true seeker than the half-truths peddled as wisdom by poets and writers of good command on the language but none over silence.  Their words explain in heartfelt ways, the plight of the deck on the Titanic, but are completely unaware of the ship’s fate itself.  Their words on the state of the deck is exactly what makes them so dangerous.  For, they lull you into a position where you can’t see the tragedy coming.  No, tragedy is not your death, unlike of those on the ship that night.  Death is not a tragedy, it is an opportunity.  Tragedy is that you will die and not have met yourself even once.  For, you were constantly under the fog of borrowed, half-baked and deck-of-the-Titanic level wisdom.

These pretentious ways of the social media mavericks is what has pushed me to a peculiar “Wisdom Ennui”.  As if pastors, speakers, religious teachers, sermonizing orators weren’t enough for everyone to be diverted from looking their own selves straight inside.  Now, spiritual hallucination has become a mass-production industry where Buddha seems to mouthing words that can unlock the very secrets of existence to stuff that would make an honest rookie on the spiritual path want to hide his face with utter embarrassment.  Buddha and Rumi have become a spiritual joke.  How I wish they would have remained silent more than they did.  As for Jesus.  Well not even God can save him from the depths he has been consigned to by overzealous “believers”.  He is the biggest spiritual joke on the planet today.  Along with Buddha and Rumi of course.

Connections between over a billion humans is no small joke.  It is a great event.  But if what is being exponentially shared is our collective lying, then is it any wonder that this is becoming a rather paranoid generation?  If I know that I am not one who holds all relationships above all, but if I share messages that seem to suggest so, then am I sharing my dream or my nightmare?  For, if I were to value my least favorite relatives then would it not pull out the pain I have hidden way down in the mental dungeons… making it a nightmare?  Am I sharing what I am or what I want the world to think I am?  Either way the social world is only succeeding in multiplying our worst facades.  Leaving us buried even deeper in our ignorance.  Sadly, a depth from where even The Buddha can’t save us really.

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