I have often wondered why a person, even if they have experienced very high spiritual ecstatic states that revealed to them the higher meaning of existence, later, after some time, chooses earthly pleasures over them. By earthly pleasures, I mean not only money or material possessions but also sex, attention from people, recognition, fame, and power. They will sell, in one form or another, the knowledge they gained there to exchange it for quite tangible benefits here. I’m not talking about religious hypocrites who have never had any ecstatic experience, nor am I referring to intellectualizing people who, of course, also sell the products of their intellectual labor.
I am talking about those few who have truly experienced prolonged states of merging with higher consciousness, who have spent extended periods in deep meditation with a silent mind, and who, after going through an inner transformation, became different. They changed. A new life began for them. They clearly have something to share with people. But here lies the catch. You start sharing. You have to show that it’s valuable. And you end up on the market! All the most famous spiritual teachers in the known millennia of history have ended up on this market. You could avoid the market and keep your experience to yourself. But that seems somewhat selfish. Compassion and empathy toward people drive you to share. Otherwise, you deprive many of the chance to connect with something higher through you. Or, on the contrary, is it vanity that drives you to share? A rhetorical question.
Personally, I find such an exchange natural. I have never considered the desire for earthly pleasures as something shameful. We live in this world on Earth. Here, there is a set of temporary values we can possess. You could say that this is the game offered to all of us in this world. We can take something, play with it, and then return it when we leave. You might even remain in history for a while. But that too is temporary, and, moreover, the thought of it will only please you while you’re still here!
Wisdom lies in remembering what is temporary and what is eternal, as well as clearly understanding which of the temporary values are more fleeting and which are more enduring, and based on this understanding, setting life priorities accordingly.
