For anyone interested in higher consciousness, this is a principle worth understanding. It shows how darkness and the struggle against it are essential elements in creation, enlightenment, and in living a worthwhile life. This principle of the Churning of the Milky Ocean is illustrated in the ancient Hindu text the Mahabharata.
Whoever wishes to be part of the forces of light and good in the world, and whoever wishes to bring the light of consciousness within themselves will face opposition.
Instead of seeing opposition simply as a detriment to spiritual growth, it’s more realistic to see it as an essential element of spiritual growth.
By understanding the principle of the churning of the milky ocean we learn to use darkness to generate light.
If there was only light there would be nothing to learn, it would be a form of blindness, its only darkness that gives shadow and allows form to be manifest and therefore visible.
This is an excerpt from the article, read the full article here.
Very inspired your article! It has a dynamic that pushes me to move forward, when even I don’t feel it.
I can uderstand better that everything even the worst sotuation, the enemies, the bad, the betray has something to gives you .
It is easy to agree with that, but how difficult is to make it to work and continuesly move forward and keep the success without returning back!!
“I can uderstand better that everything even the worst sotuation, the enemies, the bad, the betray has something to gives you .
It is easy to agree with that, but how difficult is to make it to work and continuesly move forward and keep the success without returning back!”
that is very well said Seraphim, I totally agree and feel the same way!
thank you Belsebuub for such an enlightening article, thank you for sharing your infinite knowledge with us. thank you for letting us share in the wisdom that you have discovered along your long, painful but very fruitful path.
Thank you Belsebuub. This article sheds light and understanding on this principle which motivates me to struggle against the darkness for the light.
I remember I used to always want everyone to get along, to have everyone like me, even bad people, in fear of conflict and trying to avoid it. Internally I used to often run away from any discomforts. Basically I didn’t want to feel any suffering, any pain. But in doing this nothing changes and I’m letting myself, truth and the world (for as far as my actions upon it influence it) be carried away, downward.
I don’t want to be in the ego states. Feeding pleasures is not going to help because after a while the opposite of that is going to come too, and the pleasure is not what I want anyway. Running away from the ego’s altogether like a permanent time-off from any external circumstances that might stir ego’s, like a mountain hermit is not going to help either. Because the ego’s will still be there and peace within won’t grow, after 10 years the amount of peace experienced by the consciousness would still be the same. I’ve come to realise more and more that we have to face the darkness inside, to overcome it, in order to really achieve something of worth. To learn from life, to make use of life and the short time we have here. To allows us to truly free ourselves from the ego states. I feel that to be able to face the inner darkness the Divine Mother’s help is essential.
I agree with Shane. These pearls of guidance light the urge of the revolutionary within.
Studying resistance is proving to be such an interesting & difficult thing. On the one hand I find myself interested in changing, longing for certain aspects to be destroyed and for others to be created. On the other hand I cringe when the littlest resistance comes up at certain times. I can certainly see the appeal of a more passive approach to spirituality, but can also see that each time I run away from difficulties nothing is achieved – one step forward, two steps back. I’ve also been noticing how sometimes I try and go through difficulties as an idea, just putting up with the “pain” of certain situations or reacting to them in a lower way but yet accepting that the situation is for my own good, etc., rather than using those moments as an actual opportunity for change and self-study. It is such a delicate thing to understand how to really use resistance properly in each situation so that it acts as a force to move someone forward. The way you put it has been helpful – definitely simplifies any ideas the mind tried to apply to this.
It’s too bad that history is rigged such that the very figures we should be looking up to so we can find “the way” have had their image and teachings so altered. It’s a good thing though that some of the spiritual qualities within these teachings remained and shine through, so that “kindred spirits” (for lack of a better description :) ) can have a spark of longing for truth kindled within, so that even if history and religion are altered, the spiritual path can still be found.
I really appreciate this article. There are a lot of things discussed in it that I have been contemplating recently, especially in terms of dealing with resistance, why it’s essential, and how to overcome it, so to see it explained here was refreshing.
One of the main things that I noticed or was trying to deal with is how the churning of events in life brings up all sorts of things inside of you that you haven’t seen before. I understood the idea of this already, but what I found difficult to deal with recently is how things can be brought up that run very deep and you know are wrong. Sometimes when going through that kind of stuff, it’s hard to remember that it’s necessary to experience/ face it so that you can get rid of it…or even that you may have to act in life, but the negativity that’s revealed inside you is a separate thing from any actions you may need to take to correct things. I guess it’s just been interesting to see how inner states latch onto any ideas you have about what’s right and wrong, and then create their own form of resistance that you have to deal with.
Anyways, there are so many layers and valuable topics that you’ve addressed in the article, so I’m very thankful to have this pertinent, timely teaching available to learn from.
Thanks a lot Belsebuub, for the information and the example you provide.
Hi Dara
What you said here is so true “Sometimes when going through that kind of stuff, it’s hard to remember that it’s necessary to experience/ face it so that you can get rid of it…” and remembering seems to me to require a wanting and understanding that that is what we are here for. Abd to live life for that purpose; any other purpose(s) is a tangent which seem to make the real purpose a side issue, rather than the crux of our existance.
I’ve seen how by pulling for the light in the churning of the milky ocean, how one can begin to fortify that understanding within themselves. The pulling itself seems to gear one’s whole purpose in all actions towards that.
Thanks for bringing up that valuable point, to me its a matter of action and the right type of action within and in how we use this life.
To say thank you Belsebuub, is not enough. You have brought this to us through the bitterness that you have endured and we would never have had this precious work revealed to us in such a magnificent way, if had not been for the reality of the churning of the milky ocean. The bitterness has revealed the nectar.
I would never have thought that a fight for the truth would have come to be such a precise method for learning and changing within and yet I am so relieved that it is, because now I can see where I am at, what is really within me, and to lift my standards in the struggle with darkness and facing opposition both inside and outside. What good would it be to me to live my life in isolation of the real events of life and the real place of this work, what a waste of this precious life and the incredibly rare events that have arisen for anyone wishing to really take up the path.
I have come to realise and so dearly appreciate that the spiritual work is in life, and more so than ever before. Without darkness, opposition and struggle there is no way that anyone can really hope to change, let alone attain enlightenment. The churning of the milky ocean shows where we are and where the spiritual work really is. It is only through your work and through your struggle that this has been revealed and it’s clear where the real work lies. If the forces of light and darkness is pulling then we need to understand that that is going on nevertheless, and what we do through our actions or non actions will determine where we are at within. We either get in and fight, struggle and oppose the darkness or be churned through the events of life.
What you have endured for so many years is immensely heart-rending, none of us can really imagine what it has been like and yet here we are being given the fruits of your labour on a golden platter.
Eternally Grateful with all my heart for everything you do!
This article really struck me too the other day when I first read it, very enlightening and inspiring.
Thank you Belsebuub for explaining all this, you hit the nail so clearly on the head as usual and with uncanny timing too as usual. Seems like a whole bunch of us are finding it that way too.
Of recent times I’ve been noticing this resistance and its consequences and messages have come through in different ways to teach/remind me about that which is a good wake-up call.
Also recently been contemplating the role of darkness since someone recently posted on the forums about it.
I’ve heard it said that darkness is another form of light and of course the saying that we extract the light from the darkness and recently when reading an article by a neurosurgeon’s near-death experience he says “God is a luminous darkness” in reference to his experience. There is also something of the role of the opposition between light and darkness displayed in the Full Consciousness diagram in the book The Flight of the Feathered Serpent. And Judas refers to the perception of form in his explanation of that diagram.
I also find this article relates to being active in standing up for one’s rights which is obviously very relevant for us all in these times of defamation and religious vilification. I draw much strength from this article in that regard.
So for me this article pulls all these different threads I’ve been noticing lately together and explains it clearly and succinctly and it is very inspiring so thank you again Belsebuub.
It has also been great to read all the comments to this article.
It seems like we still have an esoteric school going on for those who want to be a part of it, even though TGM may have been closed down by the attacks against it. As Shane said in the Secret Quest documentary, “people still find a way” despite persecution or being driven underground.
Thank you for still finding a way Belsebuub.
Thank you for this article Belsebuub. I’ve seen many times in the past how when I’ve avoided conflicts or difficult moments, which is a form of avoiding dealing with what’s within me really, that wrongdoing from myself or others has just gone on unopposed. it’s those times of not taking part internally and externally with churning the milky ocean for the forces of light that I haven’t made use of my life to really change or to help others, and gone passively with the flow of time instead while other forces decide my future and the future of humanity.
This has been a very timely and helpful article for me, and I want to thank you for all of your efforts to share it with us.
Thank you very much for illuminating this Belsebuub with such depth and clarity. The way light and darkness interact and oppose each other in creation, and the purpose of this struggle, is such a profound and vast thing to try to contemplate, but its also something we can explore and experience in life for ourselves. With the way things are in the world, it also seems pretty important that we do try to understand and undertake this struggle for our own sake and for the sake of others.
There seems to be a lot of misconceptions abounding about spirituality being a purely passive thing, and I feel your clarification is really needed in the modern day. Facing opposition or injustice with intelligent action, rather than being passive, is not something that gets much emphasis in popular forms of spirituality and is even frowned upon, as if doing nothing and never confronting darkness is nobler. And when texts do talk about the duty to face darkness, like the Bhagavad-Gita, I think most people tend to look at it as a purely internal thing divorced from society and others, but when looking at stories like the Mahabharata I get the distinct sense it encompasses the eternal struggle with darkness as an internal as well as an external confrontation for those who live by the truth. I also think it relates to another point you have made before about nothing existing in isolation in creation, so to me it makes sense that this struggle happens within as well as externally for those striving to awaken consciousness.
It is really helpful and inspiring to contemplate how the story of the churning of the milky ocean depicts this struggle, and how this is part of the fabric of life. Soon after the article about the Spring Equinox was posted, I was lucky enough to see the churning of the milky ocean depicted in an Indian TV series. It showed how when the demigods were churning, it produced a terrible overpowering poison with noxious fumes. Shiva had to swallow the bitter poison to enable the churning to continue and for the demigods to get to the riches and eventually the nectar of immortality. To me, that seems to speak of the need to endure the bitterness that comes with the struggle. Later when the churning had finished, Vishnu declared that it would now be the responsibility of every man to carry out this churning within their lives. Having understood the deeper meaning from your article, I find this story very inspiring, and it is wonderful that it has survived the passage of time and still gets told today, and that you are able to explain it.
Thank you for this article Belsebuub.
I feel it will help me a lot to stop my inner nagging when things don’t go the way I want them and make better use of difficult situations instead of wasting valuable opportunities.
Thank you for the article; your words and message always revive my spiritual yearning.
Thank you! This article has been really helpful for me. It gave me inspiration, understanding, and was just what I needed right now for many reasons.
An inspiration to go understand and face opposition. Very helpful to know that this is just the way it is, but it makes perfect sense. For every effort there is a resistance, and that if we truly want spiritual change we need lots of consistent effort.
I can’t thank you enough for this incredible article. It is just the ‘elixir’ I so very much need at this moment.
I find it very sad to listen to so many people who are content to settle for beliefs that they are constantly evolving and will eventually, with little effort, awaken. At the same time I feel so incredibly privileged to have found these teachings.
I would like to echo Shane’s wonderful words too as well as to also thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity and perseverance in sharing your wisdom with us and for the depth of your compassion and care. I’m sure this article will inspire many to keep up the fight when things appear so dark.
Thank you so much for presenting this in such clear
language. The depth and clarity certainly makes me shake
to the core and lift a virtually dead heartbeat back to life.
Life is full of paradox, but your words and wisdom cut
through the confusion and breathe life into the living dead,
for those who have ears to hear. Thankyou again for your endurance,
patience and care. ‘Saving the hat from the drowned man’.
When all things seem lost your wisdom gives hope.
may indeed, all heartbeats come back to life.
Thank you for this wonderful article. It is simple, articulate, inspiring and most importantly, informative.
I remember the first time I watched the movie “Jesus of Nazareth” the scene where Jesus sort of confronts one of the Pharisees and Judas then questions Jesus about it right afterwards as to why he would treat the Pharisee that way when, “he has one of the most open minds in the Sanhedrin.” I was thinking similarly, like “well he didn’t have to do that, stir things up, etc.” and so on. But obviously if you look deeper and from the perspective of the esoteric teaching, you see events like that were so necessary to bring to a head the hypocrisy and misleading ways of the general establishment of Pharisees (with a few exceptions) at the time.
Then in so many situations in front of my eyes I’ve seen people who are practising and/or aiming at spirituality sometimes say things or act in ways that seem to make things a bit tense – it really brings to the surface what’s underneath in people. But again, this is so valuable and necessary in so many ways. As the article mentions, being silent or going along with things, etc. when necessary has it’s place, but it’s interesting how inner states of fear and laziness can often make one do nothing when really one should speak up or challenge things, whereas pride and anger/agressiveness can make one speak up or act brashly when one should be silent and stay in the background!
Thanks very much for posting this article.
I know what you mean, Jordan. Although I personally didn’t have that reaction, I have heard from several people how they were surprised that Jesus acted that way – they’ve just never heard of it or contemplated those parts of the Bible. I think, at least in part that type of a reaction comes from the very things discussed in the article – how this image is painted of passivity and non-action in the face of difficulties, with people often quoting “turn the other cheek” as a model for action, which I think when applied through an idea or rather literally can be misleading or out of place. It’s a bit surprising though that the idea of passivity can be accepted so easily, when besides “the turning of the cheek” or “those who live by the sword die by the sword”, etc. (parts that are often emphasized in society or by religious authorities) the rest of the Bible is filled with warfare, often at the command of God, and so on. That is so for other religious texts too.