Is spirituality an escape?

I sometimes wonder whether ‘spirituality’ in all its forms is an escape from the real world. Of course they are those that advocate that spirituality points towards the essence of reality, the force behind reality, the all, the alpha the omega, the ultimate and I don’t disagree with them.. What I am questioning is the person’s motive behind spiritual practice – this includes myself of course!

Does one meditate or pray to escape the unbearable reality that exists around them.. their fears, failures, inhibitions, past mistakes, future anxieties… surely the sense of peace and that joy that arises from becoming intensely present soothes this pain, puts everything into perspective and suddenly everything is alright….manageable … even easy and natural.

But how long does this insight last, a flash, a moment, a few minutes, maybe hours but sooner or later the perspective shifts back again, what we call ‘reality’ comes knocking again, in fact it doesn’t knock, it blasts down the door and comes barging in with a vengeance! All those fears are back, those anxieties surface and yes it feels like that taste of freedom was just a tease… nothing that will last for long and so ultimately we have to deal with all the garbage we were trying to escape from. Do we have to wait until enlightenment before we can be free? Before we can truly merge these internal and external worlds that are certainly interconnected but really seem so contradictory?

Or maybe we are missing the point.. maybe the point of spiritual practice should not be to get rid of all our pain, our anguish etc. but to ‘accept it’ So then the egoic mind asks ‘is it worth it?’ what is the point of being conscious, sitting for hours in meditation or imitating cobras, cats, dogs and palm trees and countless other life forms through our yoga postures.. isn’t it just easier to go down to the pub and have a few beers? We can numb the torturous mind with all its judgments and commentaries.. at least for a while. It works for some.. if not the pub, then the nightclub or stripclub or some other place that they can get intoxicated or feel pleasure and shelve their problems for a while. It works for those that might believe life can only be a series of short term pleasures.. there is nothing deeper to be found or at least we will never be able to find it in their lifetimes so what’s the point in trying? Waste of time! And besides the pub IS good fun!

But this isn’t supposed to be some sort of comparison: pub vs. spirituality.. perhaps both can co-exist quite comfortably in a cool kind of way.  The question is, if spiritual practice doesn’t take away your problems, then why do it? So one can totally accept their past, their story, their situation.. what is the point in that? Aren’t people are falling into another big trap.. just as some believe more money, or a better job or a new relationship will finally make them happy.. there are those that believe that by meditating x number of hours a day or by performing funky breathing exercises every morning they will attain lasting happiness! Does such a thing exist – lasting happiness, inner peace? What do you think?