Short and Long Path
Spiritual intelligence means we understand that the short path to evolution is to stay in the influence of the one Truth, while the long path is to leave the road of veracity in favor of half-lies and illusions. This faulty course describes the long path of much effort but few results. The long path, riddled with suffering (duhkha) and generally accepted as a foregone conclusion, is unnecessary. What has been called duhkha is actually the suffering we feel when don’t accept our essential nature (happiness).
From an energetic standpoint there’s little point in focusing on suffering, since it only reinforces its significance. If happiness is important to us, it should be the focus of our attention – without denying the secondary value in understanding how suffering develops or how to alleviate it. The short path, by contrast, is blessed with joy (Skt: ananda) and happiness (Skt: sukha).
Rather than denying or trying to rationalize away our desires, we suggest it’s more effective to develop a habit of going beyond them. If we offer everything into the ”oven” of truth, all will be burnt and reduced to ashes. The short path means giving all we are and do as a movement of surrender instead of selecting out what we choose to give up. The long path is the result of greed in our thoughts and push from the will. The short path is simply to give from the heart. The Self is always there to be felt.