Polish Vs Paint
Many of today's self help themes seem to be concerned with painting rather than polishing. What does this mean? We are all jewels of God. We are all made with a core of gold. As babies and young children our core is out on display, visible for the world. We are what we are, period. We recognize a need and ask in our own way for it to be taken care of. We are pure, raw, open. Then things happen- we experience pain. We tend to prefer not to feel pain, so we learn to adapt. We learn coping mechanisms in order to get what we need from those who can provide it and avoid getting what we do not want- pain from another's frustration, anger, or rage. Each of these coping mechanisms is another layer of protection from the pain placed upon our jewel, our gold, our treasure. Then as we get more mature, we tend to have so many layers that we forget what is at the core. Ramana compared this to a woman who had "lost" a necklace she was wearing, became despondent, asked for help in finding it, finally had a friend point out she was wearing it, then became happy again. Other friends ask if her lost necklace had been found and she would reply yes- even though it was never actually lost, just overlooked and forgotten.
We obscure our treasure to the point where we forget we have it, feel a lack, and seek externally to fill it, even if we are not even sure what it is we are looking for. We see the external world and the trappings of success and achievement. We see people that our culture and society have told us have made it- some of these people end up completely insane- think Howard Hughes- yet we forget about those examples. Not acknowledging the fact that if that path truly led to fulfillment, there would not be a straight jacket waiting at the end. To achieve those ends there are so many teachers, gurus, and guides ready and waiting to teach you how to paint over your obscured and forgotten treasure (it is how they are painting over their own) the idea seems to be find the best shades, hues, finishes, and paint yourself perfectly and the world will love you. It sells a lot of books, courses, retreats, and programs, but it is a path to no where. There is no coat that can be created that will truly make the treasure that is you as beautiful as what is natural within it, it's own inherent beauty, any more than there is a way to paint a gold bar and make it more valuable and attractive.
Pain causes us to cover our treasure, but somewhere along the way we become more identified with the protective layers than what is underneath.
There is another approach however. That is the approach of polishing. There are people that some refer to as gurus, some refer to as teachers, some refer to as sages, however in reality they are no more than reminders. They are penetrating mirrors than can reflect the treasure through the obscuring layers. They do not have lessons to teach, because what is imparted is already known at your core. The truth is beyond words however and that is why the many varying ways of describing it are so valuable. Some people find chocolate palatable, some prefer vanilla, some strawberry, some peanut butter, etc. These sages do not teach methods of painting, their goal is not to help craft a brilliant facade. Rather they are like the sculptors that view the hard shell of marble created by the layers of coping mechanisms around your treasure and offer you a chisel. They see your gold lacking its luster and offer a rag and some polish. Their method is not a building up, rather a tearing down. Diamonds and gold that are buffed and polished are more brilliant than any color and finish of paint that could cover them. And you are the same. Stop looking outside for what you should be or become. Look inside and tune in to what you truly are.
