Number four in our things to avoid on the spiritual search is: the Jesus complex. Yeah… you are not going to become enlightened and save the world. It’s not going to happen. It’s never happened before, and you’re not going to be the first one to do it either. Nothing happens in a vacuum, nothing happens by itself.
Yes… I’m being a bit snarky here. The reason that I call this the Jesus complex is to challenge a story, a worldview, that simply isn’t true. We’ve been given this story that one guy appears in humanity, does something amazing and changes the world, and so we all want to be that guy, right?
Jesus is our best example. Of course we have the whole Son of God thing. The story is that Jesus came down, he was the Son of God, he changed the world. Or perhaps you want to believe that Jesus wasn’t God. He was just a guy. He said really amazing things. He was the most fabulous teacher that ever existed, and so his word spread through the world… and he changed the world.
Neither of those things happened. Maybe one of those stories is true, maybe the other one is true… but it doesn’t matter. Even if the actual Son of God did come down it wasn’t him that changed everything. It took all the people there to bring the word to everybody else.
Christianity is all about that anyway, right? A driving part of the faith is bringing the word to everyone. It’s all the Christians who participated in Christianity that made Christianity what it is and changed the world. For better or for worse, we don’t know. Though, everyone has an opinion. People will argue that one.
Buddha didn’t become enlightened and change the world. Buddha became enlightened, started talking to people, and people gathered around him. What he said and did made a big change in the people who were around him. Those people then went and started putting the teachings together and bringing them around to other people. Then those people taught people, and those people taught people, and those people taught people, and it grew and spread. It wasn’t Buddha who did any of it, it was the people spreading it.
So, you’re not going to become enlightened and change the world. Even our famous contemporary teachers don’t sit there enlightened, all by themselves and change the world. Like Eckhart Tolle, right? He’s a fabulous example. He became enlightened, wrote a book, got on Oprah, became hugely famous, and has made a big difference in a lot of people. But he didn’t do any of that by himself. He wrote the book, people helped him while he wrote the book. Someone was helping make food and fed him. Someone provided the places where he was living. Then he got on Oprah. Oprah isn’t just ‘Oprah’ all by herself either. Right? The only reason she was in that position of power was because people had helped her get there. People helped her until even just her name is a symbolism of success. Then Oprah helped Eckhart. He gets on Oprah, his book sells millions and millions and millions of copies, he had a publisher, people were promoting it, right? Everyone who read it participated in that movement and the changes that happened from it.
Nothing happens all by itself. This total unity is the point of enlightenment itself.
Right now you are a part of something huge that’s happening. When you are awakened, you will still be part of something huge that’s happening. That will not change. You will simply be a better vehicle for fulfilling your part in this giant burst of creation and creativity that is happening everywhere.
So don’t get hung up on the Jesus complex. You are not going to save the world, but the world needs you awake. You participating awake is going to be so much better than you being a programmed robot. The second you can drop the whole Jesus complex thing you’ll be closer to the truth of unity Relax. Seeing yourself as an integrated molecule in something bitter is going to make it so much easier.
So… on the spiritual search, on the path, whatever you want to call it, avoid the Jesus complex.