What is Destruction?

We tend to see change as a loss, partly because the ego likes to feel in control. It’s also disturbing tamas, our inertia.

And yet, the cycle of growth requires change: balance, disintegration, growth, integration, and repeat.

Without disintegration, there is no growth, no transformation. Life is inherently change. Our very life depends on the transformation of food, water, and breath.

And if we look around us we see that change is the order of the day. In fact, the world around us is being recreated in every moment. The only reason it doesn’t completely change every time is because it’s guided by laws of nature working from deep blueprints called Veda. Intelligence is embedded in everything we experience.

So there is constant renewing along with dharma sustaining what is here. But that renewal allows for astonishing possibilities for growth.

Physics tells us that energy is neither created not destroyed. It simply changes form. Once we’re established in the unchanging within, we recognize that change isn’t loss. It’s an opportunity for growth and adventure.

In the east, Shiva is seen as the god of destruction. But what else? He is consciousness, the observer.

Just consider the process of inner healing. When we discover a contraction within, all we have to do is bring it the light of consciousness, Shiva, and it is released and dissolves naturally. It is “destroyed” just as darkness is destroyed when you turn on the light. The contraction is released and with it, the energy it contained and the energy it took to keep it contained. It is really transformation.

Ignorance is the same way. Ignorance is shadow, lack of light. When we bring light, it automatically brings with it intelligence. Intelligence is embedded in the very process of experience. When we truly see, the shadows vanish.

Inversely, when we withdraw our attention from things we don’t wish to grow, they can fall away from our lives. Without attention, they dissolve from experience.

Of course, if we have remaining contractions around such things, they’re still being held. That old partner you’re still angry with? You still carry them with you. Experiences will continue to arise in our lives to facilitate that resolution. Resisting what we don’t want is ironically another form of attention that sustains it.

When we build up stress (contraction) within, it’s not really within. That energy affects those around us and the environment. If the community is not resolving such build-up, the environment will release the stress in the form of storms, earthquakes, riots, or war. This is purification on a large scale and points to the importance of peace being cultured.

In a group of people who feel stressed, a small group can incite crowds into violence. In my hometown, we had a riot after a team lost a major game. Upset people got caught up in mob mentality and did things they’d never have done normally. And yet during the Olympics in the same place, there was a mood of excitement and joy. A group tried to incite a riot and failed. Instead, bystanders called police and righted things that had been pushed over. The difference was a war zone vs a celebration zone.

Each of us contributes. We add to the stress or we add to the peace. A smile and simple acts of kindness can make another’s day. Usually, we have little knowledge of the impact we have on others, but it counts. This is our responsibility in our community.

You can see the obvious relationship with karma. Karma is a re-balancing in the field of action. Destroying imbalance is restoring balance. Released contractions restores sama, evenness.

When we’re able to take a step back and let go of the contractions, we can resolve build-ups before they express into our lives. And we can support our community.

If the karma is more major and still shows up, we can handle what arises without the level of trauma it might otherwise have. It is resolved in short order.

When enough people are awake in a community, the entire tone will shift as the build-up settles.

We’re in this together. There is no other.
Davidya