Title: The Flute, the Ego, and the Dance of Life
When you listen to the ancient sound of the flute playing in the wind, its tunes floating through the forest and valleys, don’t you feel like you are Lord Krishna? Surrounded by the beautiful Gopis, drawn to your music, your presence. You entertain them, soothing their souls from the trappings of Mara, the shadow.
When asked how it came to be so blessed, the humble flute answered:
“I am but a hollow reed. The Lord blows His breath through me to entertain Himself—while keeping an eye over existence itself.”
Life is a dance, a play, a divine performance. Each of us plays a role, from the cradle to the grave. Life is God’s own masterpiece, a grand illusion, a cosmic game of hide and seek. What else can God do, being all alone in His totality? Humanity is both His battlefield and His garden of paradise—His killing fields and His land of milk and honey. Heaven and hell are all part of the play.
Where I stand today is at the edge of knowing—beginning to grasp how near or far I am from the truth. I’m learning to discern what is real and what is not, what is eternal and what fades, what is form and what is the formless. This is what I understand—to the best of my humble estimation.
Yet as the song by Pink Floyd goes: “The show must go on.” And so long as I breathe in and out, this particular show of mine will go on, in its own time and space. We each play our roles, making the movie of life happen collectively.
We hear it more and more now—this planet is sick, and so are its inhabitants. Humanity needs healing. Spiritually aligned people are beginning to come together, recognizing that sustainable spiritual growth must stand side-by-side with material development. There must be a balance, a sacred check between what is and is not permissible in the evolving code of human values.
We have to fully emerge from our shells, not just sneak a glance when it's safe. We need to pull our heads out of the sand, to see how we are slowly self-destructing—taking the planet with us. Humanity is a self-fulfilling creature. We love our tragedies. We are proud of our painful histories and turn them into epic tales. We brag about them, sing about them, teach them to our grandchildren.
Where were you during the Second World War?
Where were you on May 13, 1969?
Where were you during the COVID-19 pandemic?
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once said that mankind must fight two wars. The greater Jihad is the second—the battle against the self, against the nafs, the ego. Your shadow, your pain, your anger—these are all weapons your ego turns against you. The ego isn’t easily removed. It is, after all, the very thing we ourselves have created over a lifetime.
The ego is the story you tell yourself about who you are—this body, this name, this voice in your head. And yet, someone once said: to be a great artist, or to master anything, a small spark of ego is needed.
Without any ego at all, perhaps we wander this earth in limbo—between heaven and hell, light and shadow, earth and sky. There are saints, perhaps prophets. But the Perfect Human—Al-Insan al-Kamil—emerges rarely. Maybe once every few thousand years. Maybe not until the next Yuga.
We must return to the timeless spiritual teachings of all traditions, and find common ground—a spiritual force that unites us. Perhaps only then will we evolve beyond our cycles of destruction.
The egoless man was the Buddha—Shakyamuni Gautama. After countless eons, legend tells, he returned one last time to walk as a human being and uncover the truth of birth, life, death, and rebirth.
Why?
That is the question the ego continues to ask.
And it will never rest until it is satisfied.
But maybe the answer cannot be spoken—only lived.
And maybe, that’s what we’re here to do.
#LordKrishna #BuddhaShakyamuni #TheGreaterJihad #CosmicDance #SpiritualAwakening #PlanetaryHealing #EgoVsSoul #Covid19Reflections #AlInsanAlKamil #SufiWisdom #HideAndSeekWithGod #MayaAndMoksha
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