PERPETUAL FRUSTRATION

Among the images of Hell in Medieval art is that of a man with a huge belly and a tiny mouth.  Gluttony is his offense.  He is famished but can only eat a tiny morsel at a time, and therefore is forever miserable.

Perpetual frustration is familiar to all us.  We all are frustrated because we never get enough of, you name it, wealth, power, and prestige, in the larger way, but also, on the smaller scale, the new car, the latest IPhone, the promotion at work. 

Even in the moments when we appear to have enough of what we want, it is not.  Our apparent satisfaction, satiety, is fleeting because what we have acquired is fleeting.  

Everything in this world of form is time-bound and therefore is changing, is quickly becoming something other than what we at first gained.  Things deteriorate, no less so than our perception of them and interest in them.

Concerning spirituality, many of us work very hard at establishing and maintaining our faith, even though, again, with time, it may flag.  Even for those whose faith is unshakable, nuns, monks, and priests, there is still frustration.  We all want more.  We want God face-to-face.  We want to be overwhelmed by God.

Death is no guarantee either.  Death is, for all we know, oblivion, annihilation, the Buddhist view.  There may be no God, after all, no paradise, only reincarnation that takes forever to end.   

The optimistic perspective is that of Vedanta, which teaches that there is God, that there is paradise, that, yes, there is reincarnation, but it has a purpose, the evolution of God’s spirit in us, Atman, which inevitably will merge with its source, Brahman, putting an end to our perpetual frustration.