MiguelAngel Vergara speaks about the Mayan culture in Guatemala
[Nyerges is the author of numerous books, including “How
To Survive Anywhere,” "Til Death Do Us Part," "Self-Sufficient Home," etc.
He can be reached at Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041, or www.ChristopherNyerges.com.]
I have often wondered how the commemoration of All Hallows
Eve, or Hallowe’en, has devolved into a day of choosing to face our fears in a
fun way, and to eat a lot of candy. It
is what I did as a child, dressing up in a costume, screaming, pretending to be
frightened, and collecting lots of candy.
Yes, it was fun, but it was also somewhat unfulfilling. As I grew older,
I wanted to know what it was all about, and why we all went through the motions
of the day, year after year.
When this time of year was commemorated by past cultures, it
was believed to be a time when the dead are very close, and perhaps could be
contacted. It was a day to confront our
fears and conquer them, and a time to acknowledge our dearly beloveds who have
passed away.
When we speak of conquering our fears, it is worthy to note
that the root of the word “conquer” is “with” and “query,” meaning that “to
conquer” is not so much about vanquishing an enemy, as it is about seeking
knowledge, with others, about those things which trouble us, of which we know
little.
In that sense, part of conquering our fears means that we
should not pretend we have no fears, and avoid the subject, but we should face
them directly, and seek the root of the fear.
When I was in Guatemala a few years ago, one of our teachers
was a man who operated a jade store and Mayan museum. He talked to us about the creation myth from the Popul Vuh, and
then began to speak about the Long Count of the Mayan calendar.
“But it seems like a lot of people really want the world to
end!” he said, as we all laughed. He
went on to explain – as my group heard over and over – that there are no
predictions from the Mayans about the “end of the world” or doom and gloom,
referring to the infamous 2012 date that so many were frightened about. Some poor journalists must have thought they
heard “end of the world” when it was only “the end of one calendar cycle.”
“Yes, anything could happen,” he continues, “but it’s good
to stick to facts. The Maya don’t say
anything about the end of the world. In fact, they have dates listed for
several thousand years from now. If
they thought the world was coming to an end, why did they use those dates?”
Our main teacher, my mentor, Miguel Angel Vergara, spoke
after the laughter died down.
Vergara asked us to list our fears – in general, and about
the 2012 date – as we wrote them on the board.
It was a very predictable list.
THE UNKNOW.
DEATH.
SUFFERING/PAIN.
FAMILY.
LOSING THINGS.
Vergara then addressed these “fears” one by one.
Yes, the unknown is a mystery, he told us. He paused, and then emphasized to us that
the past is the past, and is over. The
future is the unknown. It is only the
present that is our real gift. There
fore, we need to simply focus on the present, and not let our minds run away in
the past or the future.
Death. Yes, we will all die. We will. And
so? Accept it, and then live your life
fully.
Suffering and pain.
Again, Vergara said, yes, life is full of suffering and pain. That’s
life. It has nothing to do with 2012.
Concern for our families.
Vergara smiled and said, “They will survive without us.” He acknowledged that everyone is concerned
about their families and this is natural.
But we need not have an imbalanced worry about whether or not someone
else might or might not survive a situation.
Just carry on with living your life.
Lastly, he addressed the notion of losing things. We will
lose things, he said. That’s life.
Whether in catastrophe or in ordinary life, we lose things. And when we die, we don’t take physical
things with us!
Vergara paused and said loudly, “Think! You all of us have ALL that you need. (He
was speaking to an audience of mostly Americans and Canadians). You have cars, money, homes, and you still
suffer. What are you fearing? You are all like millionaires [sometimes
he would say billionaires] compared to most of the people in the rest of
the world.
“We buy what we need at the supermarket,” Vergara told
us. “We have lost our inner
warrior. We are weak and we are
comfortable. We don’t want to fight. So what should we do, asked Vergara. What is
the best formula to recover this part of ourselves?
He offered many solutions.
He described ceremonies that we could perform to reconnect with the
earth, and our divinity. He said Love,
Real Love, is a part of our solution. Vergara added that “Ninety-nine percent
of the time we fail to solve our problems because we don’t knock on the door of
divinity. We think that our ego will
solve our problems. We know all the
things of the outside world, but we don’t know our Self. Are first task is to Know Thy Self.”
Vergara emphasized the need to avoid fear, and go forward
with our purpose in life. He explained
that most people in the poorer and lesser-developed parts of the world are not
worried about “the end of the world” predictions. Why? They are working
hard, every day, for basic survival.
“Always keep in mind that the main purpose of life is Self-Realization.”
During my studies with Vergara, and other Mayan teachers, I
found that they never shied away from talking about death, or fears in general.
They taught us to look forward with open eyes, and to embrace others who are on
the same seeking-path. As Eric Fromme
stated in his classic “Art of Loving” book, Love is the solution to the problem
of human existence.
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