When is “letting go” a harmonious way of living, and when, on the opposite side, does it lead to stagnation and inertia? We will try to find an answer to this question in the following article.
What Are the Two Sides of Letting Go?
On the one hand, letting go or “letting it be” can come from an egoistic inertia and laziness, manifesting as an indifference to life events, people, ourselves, etc. In this case, letting go can be associated with laziness of the heart. It means not acting when you are supposed to act. It means not following one’s Dharma, or life path.
On the other hand, letting go can coexist with complete faith in the Universe, through the Universe, and through oneself. Regardless of whether “letting it be” requires great effort and sacrifice, or it is just a normal day at work, it is done through the Self and the whole being. It is “let it be” with the absence of inertia, and the presence of intuition. It means surrendering to the Supreme and allowing It, without any limit, to manifest through you at this very moment.
What are the Parallels of These Sides in Western Culture?
The viewpoint of the Western culture is very often a mixture between what Christianity brought and what the Greek tradition brought. These two streams of ideas, the Christian stream and the Greek stream, combined into one model of understanding of what Vice and Virtue are.
In Christianity, the idea is described as Capital Sin and Capital Virtue. Capital Sin is when one does terrible wrong with one’s actions and does a lot of sinful things. This can lead one to hell, the hell that eats you up from the inside. Capital Virtue is when, with the same tendencies inside, and the same inner nature of one’s being, you make virtuous choices. You then end up with wonderful gifts within your heart which you can share generously.
Indifferent Letting Go Versus the Profound Faithful Letting Go
From the Christian viewpoint, the idea of indifference and a kind of fake “letting go” that does not lead to depth of purpose is considered the mother of all sins. Christians call it the laziness of the heart and consider it the worst poison within the being. The Christian sin is a kind of “letting go” whilst the heart is not pumping, is not challenging itself, is not seeking meaning, is not alive, and is not doing what it is meant to do.
An indifferent “letting go” appears while letting go of all the things that are disturbing to the ego, and, at the same time, holding on to silly things that are important to the ego. As an example, it can be letting go of the practice tonight, while spending this time on Netflix. It seems easy to let go of healthy food and practice, but it is not actually easy to let go of the important meaningful things.
The profound, faithful letting go happens together with a realization of the fundamental wish and need within one’s heart; the need for peace. The need for peace is the same in both cases, but there is a choice to ignore and calm it with the fake letting go, or to use it and to work with it towards a purposeful life through the faithful letting go.
The Christian system of virtues treats the profound peace of the heart as a very active, very purposeful, very dynamic peace filled with depth and meaning.
How to Cure Laziness of the Heart
If one has noticed they are having a fake “letting go”, then the important thing to do is to look and explore it very attentively. It is recommended to internally probe the following questions:
- What am I trying to get from this?
- What am I trying to get when I say “whatever”?
- “I’m not doing my spiritual practice today, but then I find myself at 3 in the morning doomscrolling through the internet” – Where is that coming from?
- “Maybe there is something inside of me that is searching for lasting peace?”
The search for peace is an actual virtue. It is important to look at this need for peace over, and over, and over again. To study it, to seek peace consciously. When one has that peace, one will be able to act profoundly and faithfully, being very detached, and letting go of all the disturbing things of the ego. You will disappear into the profound meaning and purpose discovered in peace, and become a perfectly integrated part of the Universe.
This article was transcribed and edited by Tony from the following video: