Mainstream image of Jesus presented by the churches

Jesus is residing in a remote heaven, and he apparently has had nothing to say to humankind for 2,000 years. No new revelation has been forthcoming (or at least hasn't been accepted by any mainstream church).

Jesus is portrayed as being perfect, which actually means that he is pictured as a non-entity with no personality or human characteristics. This is peculiar because Jesus went out of his way to portray himself as a human being like us, generally calling himself the "son of man" to establish a connection between himself and all people. He also said that "The kingdom of God is within you," meaning that we do not need an external church and its hierarchy in order to establish a personal connection to Christ. And most importantly, he said that we can do the works that he did, even greater works.

Jesus talked about the "broad way that leads to destruction" and the "straight and narrow way that leads to eternal life." He also said that most people follow the former and few find the latter.

Most Christians believe that they follow the "straight and narrow," but this is a superficial viewpoint, because in practice they follow the outer way, the way, the world.

The true requirement for entering the kingdom of God, Jesus said is within, but what is that which is within? It is one’s state of consciousness. Thus, the true key to entering the kingdom is to raise ones consciousness and transcend the lower state which Jesus called "death" and be reborn of the Spirit (Jesus told Nicodemus that a man can't enter into the kingdom of God without being born of the spirit). Thereby, our sense of identity as a body, mind beings needs to be replaced with the realization that we are spiritual beings, or to become Christ like.

Jesus repeatedly calls people on the external path hypocrites, and might it be possible that he would call most modern Christians hypocrites as well? Might it be possible that Jesus would call most Christian leaders, blind leaders leading the blind? After all, most Christian churches do in fact teach only an external path to a guaranteed salvation. Just follow the outer requirements and you don't have to look at the beam in your own eye and change your consciousness.

Why do so many people even some who call themselves Christians and think they are guaranteed to be saved, reject Christ?

Christ is first and foremost the principle of change, a demonstration of the need for change. Yet what is it that needs to change? It is one’s state of consciousness.

Most people on this planet have sunk into a state of consciousness that is far below their true potential. Jesus and the Living Christ in manifestations comes into embodiment in order to demonstrate that all human beings have a much higher potential than by what they are living now. Jesus referred to not living up the potential, a state of spiritual death (separation of the soul from God) which leads to a tendency of a downward spiral from which it can be very difficult to break out. The reason is simple. If one has grown up around people who are all in this lower state of consciousness, how can one know, that there is anything beyond it? That is precisely why the Living Christ comes to earth—to demonstrate that there is something beyond the "normal" human state of consciousness.

The state of spiritual death has a tendency to become comfortable, because it is possible to see oneself as a victim who does not have the power to take responsibility for life, nor does he have the power to change society for the better, so why not just follow the blind leaders of the power elite.

Most people are so comfortable in their state of spiritual death that they do not want to be disturbed. When Jesus was put on trial, the mob was asked whether they wanted to free the Living Christ or a confessed murderer. They chose Barabbas because he was in the same state of consciousness as they themselves were and Jesus was in such a higher state of consciousness that was a threat to their sense of comfort and equilibrium. People and churches need to get out of their comfort zone and renew their understanding of the teachings of the Universal Christ, the intelligence in all of matter.

The core of Jesus' universal teaching is that membership of an outer religion or any outer actions is NOT sufficient to secure entry into a higher world (call it what you will). The ONLY way to rise to a higher world is to raise one’s own consciousness.

When Jesus said "no man cometh to the father but by me" he did not refer to his historical person, nor did he refer to an exclusivist religion that claims to represent him. He was referring directly to a state of consciousness that one might call higher consciousness, enlightenment, cosmic consciousness, God or Christ consciousness.

This universal state of consciousness is what the Gospel of John refers to as the Word, but the correct translation is the LOGOS. This Logos is the basic state of consciousness that God created before God started to create the world of form. Therefore, everything is created out of the Christ consciousness. The purpose of the Christ consciousness is to ensure oneness between the Creator and its creation.

“The Christian concept of the Logos is derived from the first chapter of the Gospel of John.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

(It could be argued, that the translation ‘he’ from Creek to English is not correct. Creek has masculine, feminine and neuter. Word correctly translated would be ‘it’. Since English does not have genders, Word was translated to ‘he’.

John also explicitly identifies the Logos with Jesus:

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'"

 (Christians who profess belief in the Trinity often consider John 1:1 to be a central text in their belief that Jesus is God, in connection with the idea that the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are equals. As theologian Frank Stagg writes:

As the Logos, Jesus Christ is God in self-revelation (Light) and redemption (Life). He is God to the extent that he can be present to man and knowable to man. The Logos is God,[John 1:1] ... Yet the Logos is in some sense distinguishable from God, for "the Logos was with God."[John 1:1] God and the Logos are not two beings, and yet they are also not simply identical. ... The Logos is God active in creation, revelation, and redemption”.

God had planned to create self-aware extensions of itself. Human beings with free will are some of them. God knew that this made it possible for man to descend into a state of consciousness in which he could forget his origin as extensions of God's own Being. Man could come to see himself as separated from God instead of seeing God within himself.

Once one has descended into this state of "spiritual death, or separation from God," his only way out is the Christ consciousness. Jesus and all other true spiritual teachers came as an example to show us our true potential. Yet it is only when we individually put on the mind of Christ that we will escape the consciousness of separation and secure our access to the kingdom of God that is within us.

 

The real message of Jesus is that we too have the potential, an inherent potential given to us by God, a potential that no power on earth can take away from us (unless we let it) to manifest the Christ consciousness.

Cosmic Energy

The Cosmic Energy exists everywhere in the Cosmos. It is the Bond between the galaxies, the planets, humans and molecules. It is the 'space' between each and everything. It is the bond, which keeps the whole cosmos in order. Cosmic Energy is the 'Life Force'. This Cosmic Energy is essential to maintain the order of our life and to expand our Consciousness. Cosmic Energy is the base for all our actions and functions. We receive some amount of Cosmic Energy in deep Sleep and in total Silence. We are using this energy for our day-to-day activities of our Mind like seeing, speaking, hearing, thinking and all actions of our Body.

This limited energy gained through sleep is not sufficient for these activities. That is why we feel exhausted, tired and tensed. This leads to mental and physical stress and all kinds of illnesses.

The only way to overcome this is to get more and more Cosmic Energy.

Cosmic Energy is essential to:
Maintain the order of our life
To lead a healthy and happy life
To totally involve in all situations we are in
To obtain Knowledge
and finally
For expansion of our Consciousness.

Abundant Cosmic Energy is obtained, only through Meditation.

Adoration to Thee

Adoration be to Thee, O God of Life and Light, in and through whom the liberation of creation shall be accomplished, when there shall be no darkness nor dazzling but one pure union of light and dark, no sound nor silence but one perfect harmony, no hopes nor fears but one full possession, no discords nor opposites but one single truth, no beginning nor ending but one eternity, in the completion of Thy Wisdom, in the splendor of Thy Glory and the fruition of Thy Love.
Amen.

 

Edgar Cayce about Jesus the Christ

Cayce made a distinction between Jesus and "the Christ." He said that "Christhood" is the goal which every human should strive for. Jesus was simply the first evolved human to attain it. Cayce referred to Jesus as our "elder brother" and "the pattern" for our own spiritual growth. The Bible states that Christ fulfilled the law and, according to Cayce, so can we. That is the entire purpose of Jesus' teaching

 Because of Jesus' triumph over "flesh and temptation", Jesus "became the first of those that overcame death in the body, enabling Him to so illuminate, to so revivify that body as to take it up again, even when those fluids of the body had been drained away by the nail holes in His hands and by the spear piercing His side." (1152-1)

 

In essence, Cayce described the Christ soul as the impelling force and core of truth behind all religions that teach that "God is One."

 

"I and my Father are one. Then they took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shown you from my Father; for which of these do you stone me? They answered him, saying: for good works we stone you not; but for blasphemy; and because that you, being a man, make yourself God. Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law: I said 'you are gods?" - John 10:30-34, Jesus quoting Psalm 82:6 to defend his teaching that God dwells within all human beings.

Christian Gnostic teachings

Gnostic Christians believed that questioning one's faith was always important.  To know Christ was to seek a deeper meaning for one’s life. This knowing led to wholeness in a person's relationship with God and the world.

Christ's way was a spiritual journey, encouraging persons continually to seek God and all truth.  Gnosis did not mean secret knowledge but a vital relationship with Christ and God.  However, the early Orthodox Church, also known as the Pre-Orthodox, which was supported by the Emperor Constantine, was able with his direct involvement to define what the true Christian was to believe about Christ.  Constantine's blessing confirmed the earlier teachings of Bishops such as Irenaeus that those who did not accept their church's literal interpretations of Christ or questioned their beliefs were "heretics." 

(Irenaeus' best-known book, Against Heresies (c. 180) is a detailed attack on Gnosticism, which was then a serious threat to the Church).

Understanding Christ became limited by one narrow interpretation, and the beliefs of this church were established now with the power of the state as the unquestionable and absolute truths of Christianity.  Over the voices of those called Gnostics, Orthodox Christianity not only prevailed, but has continued ever since to define Christianity, foremost, as a belief system. The Gnostic scriptures show that there was and are a more refreshing, honest, open, spiritual, loving, and exciting way to be a Christian."

An important Christian Gnostic teaching was the "Logos" which in Greek is translated as "the image of the Word." It is an important concept found in the gospel of John:

 

"In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)

 

Logos is the part of God that acts in the world. It is the perfect unity of the human and the divine. This is affirmed by John when he wrote that "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."

When John stated that Jesus is the Logos, he is stating that Jesus became the Logos, the Christ. The Logos is the divine "spark" of God within humans that needs to be awakened. Everyone has the "image of the Word (Logos)" within them and it is for this reason that Genesis describes humanity as created "in the image and likeness of God."

The Logos is the divine Spirit in humanity. By using the Christian Gnostic idea of the Logos, John is not only affirming the pre-existence and divinity of Jesus, but he is affirming that all sons of God created in the "image of the Word" as Jesus was, pre-existed in spirit before being born. In other words, every human is an incarnation of the Logos and every human has to potential of becoming like Jesus, a manifestation of the human-divine unity. Every human can be a "Christ" and because of this, every soul will eventually be drawn back to God.

 

The Roman Church misunderstood what the Logos was in John and incorrectly concluded from this that only Jesus is divine - the Word made flesh.

The Orthodox Church either rejected or ignored this Christian Gnostic concept found in John. This may have been a factor when the gospel of John was almost rejected from the New Testament canon when it was being put together. This was during a time when Christian Gnosticism became an enemy of the organized Church. Nevertheless, it was the idea of the pre-existence of the soul and its corresponding doctrine of reincarnation that the Roman Church had great difficulty with.

 

The Christian Gnostics emphasized spiritual knowledge rather blind faith as the road to salvation. They indicated that they possessed secret knowledge (i.e., "gnosis" in Greek) concerning the hidden meaning of the "resurrection." This was a part of the secret teachings of Jesus handed down to them by the apostles.

( Irenaeus maintained that the bishops in different cities are known as far back as the Apostles—and none of them was a Gnostic—and that the bishops provided the only safe guide to the interpretation of Scripture).

This special knowledge was restricted to people who were given the public teachings of Christianity before qualifying to be initiated and receive the secret teachings.

 In contrast, the very term "Catholic" means "universal", implying that anyone could become a member of the Church by adhering to the public teachings of faith and rituals. The Christian Gnostics were harsh critics of the Orthodox Church. The Christian Gnostics accused the Church of watering down the gospel in order to popularize it for the masses. The Orthodox Church stressed salvation through faith alone and by the rituals of the Church.

 

This secret gnosis emphasized spiritual "resurrection" (i.e. spiritual rebirth) and physical "resurrection" (i.e., reincarnation) as opposed to a resurrection defined as people sleeping in their graves until it is time for their corpses to crawl out of their graves at the last day.

Christian Gnostics held the view that if spiritual resurrection was not attained in one lifetime, then the soul would be subjected to as many reincarnations as it takes until spiritual rebirth is attained.

Vedanta

Each soul is potentially divine:

Everyone is in fact divine, yet we have to admit that we see a difference between someone who is always kind and peaceful, and someone who is often angry or violent. The difference lies in the degree in which divinity has become manifest in each person. Both are divine, but one has awakened that latent divinity to a higher degree. That is why it is said that each soul is potentially divine.

The goal is to manifest this divinity:

“The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work, or worship, or psychic control, or philosophy – by one, or more, or all of these – and be free. This is the whole of religion. Doctrines, or dogmas, or rituals, or books, or temples, or forms, are but secondary details.” ~Swami Vivekananda

 

"Om Tat Sat" means; what is everlasting and unchanging is God, who’s Infinite Existence - Consciousness Bliss as denoted by Om. Within Om is everything. Om contains all. Om is all. Om is present everywhere, like light.

The Bible which refers to "Om" as "Word":

 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." which is simply that "In the beginning was the Om, and the Om was with God, and the Om was God."

 

If anyone knows the meaning of the above saying, they need not go anywhere. They know everything.

 

In Christianity also three words are referred & those three words are "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost". These three words of Christianity corresponds to the above said three words only "Sat, Tat, Om". "Father" corresponds to "Sat". "Son", corresponds to "Tat" & "Holy Ghost" corresponds to "Om

"Sat" or "Father" aspect of God is one who lives beyond this vibratory creation of ours.

"Tat" or "Son or Christ Consciousness" is the aspect of God within vibratory creation and is present everywhere. This is called the omnipresent God.

"Om" or "Holy Ghost" aspect of God is one who is witness of this "Tat" or "Son or Christ Consciousness" aspect of God.

Paramahansa Yogananda:

The outward manifestation of the omnipresent Christ Consciousness (Tat aspect of God), "It's Witness", is Om, the Word or Holy Ghost. This Om is the invisible divine power, the only doer, the sole causative & activating force that upholds all creation through vibration. Om, the Word is the creative vibration that externalizes all creation.

Brahma - Vishnu - Shiva represents the triune expression of God in the aspect of "Tat or Son", the Christ Consciousness immanent in vibratory creation. The Shakti, Energies or the "Consorts" of the "Trinity" are symbols of "Om" or the "Holy Ghost" the sole causative force that upholds the Cosmos through vibration.

Alternate meditation method

Allow an image or thought arise on its own

The next step is to allow that thought to go, to let it drift right back to the silent, still place from which it arose in the first place

One will come to see that if we allow it, it is quite natural for these thought patterns to do two things:

 

1)    It is natural for them to arise, and

2)    It is natural for them to gently fall back to the place from which they arose.

This can be practiced, one individual thought at a time. It can be done without having an object on which to meditate. We just sit and invite the thoughts, one at a time to come forward, so that we can observe them, and can then observe the way in which they go on their own way.

Or, the practice can be done while at the same time remembering our object on which we are trying to focus for meditation, whether that is breath, an internal image, or a mantra.

It is the skill itself, the art of letting go that we are trying to learn; it is an ability that few of us have ever been taught, but it an extremely useful skill to adopt.

As this skill of learning to witness and let go of thought patterns is developed, it becomes clearer how this goes along with the practice of concentrating the mind. Then, instead of the concentration being a means of suppressing thoughts and emotions, and thus preventing meditation, concentration and witnessing work together. The mind is concentrated, while at the same time the field of consciousness is expanded from a witnessing state, and a deeper meditation is experienced.

Mindfulness or Concentration 

It is very common for teachers of meditation to describe one of two general types of meditation, and to recommend one as being superior to the other:

In concentration, one intentionally focuses on only one object, such as breath, mantra, a chakra center, or an internally visualized image.

In mindfulness, one does not focus the mind on one object, but rather observes the whole range of passing thoughts, emotions, sensations, or images.

Students of meditation often find themselves confused by having to decide which is best, having to practice only one or the other of mindfulness or concentration. To cause further confusion, mindfulness is often described as coming from one tradition, while concentration from another tradition. 

Mindfulness and Concentration

To the sages of the Himalayas, both methods are used in yoga meditation. In fact, they are not seen as different choices at all.

Mindfulness and concentration are companions in the same one process that leads inward to the center of consciousness.

If one stays only in the shallow, beginning levels of meditation, then choosing between one and the other can seem to make sense. But if we go deeper in meditation, we will find that both processes are essential.

If one practices only mindfulness, the mind is conditioned to always have this surface level activity present. When this is seen as being normal, the attention simply does not go beyond the mind-field and one’s attention can withdraw from the deeper experiencing of meditation and Samadhi and remain in the fields of sensation and thoughts.

If one practices only concentration or one-pointedness, the mind is trained to not experience this activity of thoughts, sensations, emotions, and images. The activity is seen as something to be avoided, and the practice may not even be open to the existence of these experiences. Thus, attention can revert from the deeper aspects of the mind field, and thus prevent a deeper meditation and Samadhi.

By practicing both mindfulness and concentration, one is able to experience the vast impressions, learning the vital skill of non-attachment, while also using concentration to focus the mind in such a way as to be able to transcend the whole of the mind field, to where there is only stillness and silence, beyond all of the impressions. Finally, one can come to experience the center of consciousness, the Absolute Reality.

Integrating the Stages of Practice

In the yoga meditation of the Himalayan tradition, one systematically works with senses, body, breath, the various levels of mind, and then goes beyond, to the center of consciousness. The qualities of mindfulness and concentration dance together in this journey.

 

When dealing with the senses and body, there is emphasis on exploring and examining, being open to all thoughts, emotions, and sensations. One systematically moves attention through the parts and aspects of the body, fully experiencing the sensory impressions.

This is quite similar to what is sometimes recommended by those who exclusively teach mindfulness meditation.

When dealing with the breath, there comes a stage wherein one experiences the energy or prana level alone. This is beyond, or deeper than the mechanical or gross breath, and does not involve the thought process of passing images. It involves solely concentrating on that level of one’s being. There is definitely a mindfulness of the play of energy within that level, and it is done in a concentrated, non-attached way.

When attention goes further inward, there is the mind field itself. In this stage of practice, the senses have been withdrawn, and there is no longer any sensory awareness of the body. One is now fully in the level of mind itself. Here is still another form of mindfulness, exclusive of bodily sensation, and once again, concentration is its companion.

Finally, one comes near the end of the mind and all of its associated thoughts, emotions, sensations, and impressions. Concentration is essential at this stage. As Patanjali notes in the Yoga Sutras (4.31), there is then little to know as the experiences have been resolved into their causes.

Three Skills go together

By working with both mindfulness and concentration, it is easy to see the three skills in which the mind is trained, and how these go together:

 Focus: The mind is trained to be able to pay attention, so as to not be drawn here and there, whether due to the spontaneous rising of impressions in meditation, or due to external stimuli.

Expansion: The ability to focus is accompanied by a willingness to expand the conscious field through that which is normally unconscious, including the center of consciousness. 

Non-Attachment: The ability to remain undisturbed, unaffected and uninvolved with the thoughts and impressions of the mind is the key ingredient that must go along with focus and expansion.

We trust this elaboration on the practice of different approaches to meditation, although quite involved will give the reader greater insight to his/her own practice.

Namaste

Manifesting Existence, Conscious-Force, Delight (Sat-Chit-Ananda) in Our Own Lives

At birth, we exist. Then we become conscious of our existence and the life around us. That self-awareness evokes a force and power within us, which expresses as energy at various planes: the physical, vital/emotional, social, psychological, and mental.

This energy is expressed as desire, will, and an aspiration for things to happen in our lives. It can be at the level of achievement, at the romantic level, at the level of creativity, or any other plane of accomplishment and being.

This is parallel to the Infinite Reality that extended its transcendent status to one of existence. As a result the three powers Existence/Conscious Being (Sat), Conscious Force (Chit), and Delight (Ananda) then extended Itself to enable a universe of an infinite variety of forms seen and unseen that reflected Its Intention and Its Divine attributes.

Thus, the nature of who we are and the nature of the Infinite Reality are parallel. Both exist, are conscious and generating a force that contains a will for the purpose of manifesting something that will culminate in Delight.

The difference is that the Infinite Divine is fully existent, fully conscious of itself, fully generates a conscious force and will that can bring about a universe, and therefore exists in complete bliss of the fact.

We on the other hand, exist not in perfection, are only slightly conscious of our being and life, put out a half conscious force that will leads to results that are partial and incomplete, in which we miss out on the discovery of our higher nature that could have brought the same joyful and bliss of the Divine.

The goal then is for us to move from the very partial Existence, Conscious-Force Delight to its fullness, which the Infinite Divine is in essence. Then we will become infinite beings at the physical, vital, mental, and spiritual of being, instead of the limited individuals we are now.

We can do this by elevating our consciousness; acknowledging our deficiencies and overcoming them; create a mature inner life; discover our true self and open to the omnipresent spiritual force.

Then we gradually become the Existence, Conscious-Force, Delight (sat-Chit-Ananda) of the Infinite Divine, fulfilling our cosmic mission in life.

Maya, the world as we perceive it to be real

 

According to Vedic philosophy, Maya (that which veils Reality) is a simple statement of facts. Yet what we are and what we see around us, time, space, and causation, constrain the intellect from what is real and thus leave many questions unanswered.

 

For example we cannot explain the relationship of the world to the Ultimate Reality and the reason for this is Maya.

 

In a state of ordinary awareness, we think the world to be real. But even a mirage, as we know, can appear to be real until we discover its actual nature.

Radhakrishnan, (One of India's most influential scholars of comparative religion and philosophy 1930) said that the world is unreal but it is not illusory.

Others, like Shankara say the world is not real, it is illusory; as it is not what it appears to be.

Shankara stated: “Maya is most strange. Her nature is inexplicable, only Brahman is real; the world is an illusory appearance. When we awaken to out true Self, we are led beyond the level where we need to question. We are then led into the realm where we can experience the answer. Only when realizing what and who we are, will the whole world of appearance will be lost.”

 

In ordinary consciousness we cannot explain the relation of the world to the Ultimate Reality because of Maya.

 

Radhakrishnan gives the example of a rope and a snake to illustrate his point. In the dark we can mistake the rope for snake the same way as we can mistake Ultimate Reality for this world.

 

This world does not exist just as the snake does not exist.

Once the illusion of the snake is over, the rope reappears. Similarly, once the illusion of plurality of these innumerable forms and names is over, formless Reality reappears. Maya can thus be understood, again, in the infinite expressing itself as the finite.

 

Doctrine of Karma Cause and Effect Chain

 

According to the doctrine of Karma, for every morally determinate thought, word or action, there will be a corresponding Karmic compensation, if not in this life, probably in some future life.

The cause-effect chain is the counterpart of the physical law of uniformity in the moral and physical world.

 The ideal in the conservation of moral energy is present, when energy is focused on doing the work and doing it well and not wasting it by bothering about the outcomes (Radhakrishnan, 1929).

(There are two causal laws or principles namely, the law of uniformity of nature and the law of causation. The law of uniformity holds that the same cause will produce the same effect under similar circumstances while the law of causation states that every event has a cause).

According to the doctrine of Karma the smallest to the biggest event is an effect with an earlier cause. An effect seen today must have had a cause yesterday and a cause today must have an effect tomorrow. Our thoughts and actions of today are causes with effects for tomorrow and each cause will have its own separate effect or effects.

 

It is the doer or the thinker who ultimately bears the consequences of this cause-effect chain. Even though normally one may not be able to perceive the link in every case, it exists nonetheless.

 

The question is, who is the doer that will reap the results?

 

There are also collective Karmas affecting groups, organizations, and nations. The cause-effect chain is a blind, unconscious principle governing the whole universe. It is a mechanical law. It is, thus, generally equated to fatalism and is said to engender passivity. However, Radhakrishnan (1929) negates this by claiming that it inspires hope for the future and resignation for the past. Actually, if rightly understood, it does not discourage moral effort. It only says that every act is the inevitable outcome of the preceding conditions and, thus, one can work upon one’s present situation for a better future.

It is vital to know, that through free will and self-determination one can overcome the basic law of cause-effect.

Contemlation

Contemplation is beyond words

It is beyond speech and

It is beyond concepts

Contemplation can lead one to the highest

Intellectual and spiritual life

It leads one to be fully awake

Yet fully active

Fully aware of subtler inner dimensions

It leads one into the realm of spiritual wonder

When we contemplate peace in ourselves, we discover

That we cannot be at peace with others

Until we are at peace with ourselves, still

We are not at peace with ourselves

Until we realize that the source of peace is God,

A peace, which is beyond all understanding.

We can realize this peace in ourselves through the practice of

Contemplation, meditation and samadhi

Or total absorption in peace.

Consciousness continued

In Western thought consciousness is identified with the mind, and the mind is identified with the brain.

In the yoga teachings, consciousness is independent of the mind; consciousness exists by itself as a self-luminous entity.

In Western thought, right from Plato, human personality has been regarded as consisting of body and mind. The mind itself is called the soul and spirit.

In yoga human personality is regarded as consisting of body, mind and Self or soul.

In Western thought consciousness is characterized by directness, which is always conscious of something.

In yoga, consciousness is known as Chit, Chaitanya, Self, Atman etc. It is pure content less awareness; it is absolute self-awareness which transcends the senses.

In Western thought consciousness and knowledge are regarded as the same. To know is to be conscious.

In yoga consciousness and knowledge are not the same.

In Western thought there is no clear distinction between life and consciousness. This is the primary reason why brain processes are identified with consciousness.

From the yoga point of view, consciousness is transcendent reality and the brain is only an instrument through which consciousness manifests itself. Apart from brain processes, there are various other physiological processes like protein synthesis, immune response, intercellular communication, etc. which all show inherent intelligence.

In yoga all these processes are regarded as functions of prana, whereas consciousness manifests itself through them.

In yoga consciousness is regarded as having two dimensions, the transcendent and the immanent.

Transcendent and immanent

Chit, consciousness is considered beyond the senses and the mind and thus cannot be expressed properly. Its transcendent nature is indicated by such phrases as ‘the Light of all lights, the Truth of truths, and the Awareness of awareness’.

However, chit, consciousness is not just transcendent; it also constitutes the real nature of the true Self or the Atman. The knowledge of the body and mind obtained by various disciplines of modern science, such as neuroscience, molecular biology; psychology etc. is actually knowledge of the immanent aspect of consciousness

Consciousness Explored

Consciousness has three approaches: Experimental, this realm belongs to scientist, Expositional, the domain of the philosophers and Experiential, the area belonging to the mystics.

It was Ramakrishna’s realization that the entire universe is immersed in the ocean of consciousness and that there is no distinction between matter and spirit in the realm of super consciousness.

Both Ramakrishna and swami Vivekananda declared that the Consciousness is one and indivisible and that is the Transcendental or Cosmic Consciousness. This realization has a profound socio-religious implication according to Swami Vivekananda, since in all religions the superconscious state is identical.

Christian, Hindus, Islam, Buddhists, and even those of no creed, all can have the same experience. He also said that Individual Consciousness and Cosmic Consciousness are one and the same. The highest plane of consciousness, the one superior to self consciousness is samadhi or superconsciousness.

Super mind and Evolution according to Aurobindo

Aurobindo states that the expansion of the mind to levels not yet dreamed of is possible and probable. He states that the evolution from knowledge to greater knowledge, from consciousness to greater consciousness, from being to greater being is ongoing. This implies that the evolution of the human being is far from complete; in a sense that would imply that a human being is a transitional being and has yet to evolve to its full potential. On how this can be attained, he states, is by human effort through yoga and meditation.

 

 

Evolution and us

Geoffrey Miller of the University of New Mexico, author of ‘The Mating Mind’ believes that the rate of human evolution is accelerating. Philosopher Daniel Dennett (2006) Tuft University Boston stated: ‘But I expect that Homo sapiens are evolving at a rather swift state.’

These thoughts find some support from empirical studies. James Flynn (1980) of the University of Otagom, Dunedin, New Zealand, a political scientist stated that, in 20 countries that he documented to date a rise of about 20 IQ points happens every 30 years. If everyone who took an IQ test today, using the norms set 50 years ago, more than 90% of them would be classified as geniuses, with an IQ of 130 and higher. Similarly if peoples scores were taken around 1949 using today’s norms, over 90% would be labelled ‘borderline mentally retarded’ with IQ below 70 or so.

JBS Haldane (was a British geneticist and evolutionary biologist) quoted that in about a million years, the average person would think like Newton, write like Jean Racine, (great playwrights of 17th-century France), Paint like Jan Van Eck (Flemish painter), compose like Bach and be incapable of hatred like St. Francis.

What do culture, spirituality and religion have to do with this evolutionary process?

According to Christopher Wills (Christopher J. Wills is Professor of Biology at UCSD. He received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley), it is in intellectual and psychological areas that our culture generates the greatest advancement and diversity. He states, that rather than slowing us down, our culture has probably propelled us into developing at unprecedented speeds. Whether or not culture has shaped our biology in the past, John Campbell of UCLA (The moral imperative of man's future evolution, Evolutionary Journeys, R. Wesson and P. Williams, editors, 1995; 79-114.) thinks we will soon consciously control our own evolution.

Can human beings influence the enhancement of their consciousness or mind?

Samuel Alexander

1859 - 1938

Professor of Philosophy, University of Manchester

Lectures

1916–1918: Space, Time, and Deity, vol. 1

1916–1918: Space, Time, and Deity, vol. 2

He states: the cosmic process has reached the human level and man is now looking forward to the next higher quality. According to him men of spiritual advancement are preparing humankind to the next stage of development.

Alexander’s philosophy is called philosophy of emergent evolution. This doctrine implies that in the course of evolution, some entirely new properties, such as life and consciousness, appear at certain critical points, usually because of an unpredictable rearrangement of the already existing entities.

According to Alexander, when physical structures reach a certain point, life emerges as something new.

Ponder this.

Happiness and Love

Consciously or subconsciously most people are in search of happiness. Whether they find it depends to a large degree on where they are looking for it. If we seek it for ourselves alone, it can never be found, for in its most basic way it must be shared with others.

There is a false and momentary happiness in self satisfaction, but it often leads to sorrow since it is based on desire and desires can never be fully satisfied.

True happiness is found in unselfish love, a love which increases the more it is shared. There is no end to the sharing of love and therefore the potential happiness of such love is without limit.

However, there can never be happiness in attachment. It is not enough for love to be shared, it must be shared freely. Yet even if shared freely, it cannot rest perfectly unless it is reciprocal. It also needs to be received.

Non Duality in Christianity

The reason for choosing this topic is that in the first place it is not well understood and therefore in my experience sparsely practiced.

At the first glance the topic appears theoretical and cold, but on further examination we will see it as practical, mind expanding and spiritual.

Promoting Jesus as the example for us to follow gives it life and meaning. We do not need a new religion, but we need to go deeper into it.

Western Judeo-Christians are often uncomfortable with the word non-duality. They often associate it negatively with Eastern religions. Through my studies over the years, I became convinced that Jesus was perhaps the first non-dual religious teacher of the West, and one reason we have failed to understand so much of his teaching, much less follow it, is because we tried to understand it with a dualistic mind."

 

In the mystical tradition the Christians and the Vedantists alike come to the same realization. They realize the oneness of their own soul and God, the Soul of the universe.

It is this very experience, which prompted Jesus, to explain at various times to his disciples that he had known the great Unity in which he and the Father of the universe were one:

“If you knew who I am,” he said, "you would also know the Father. Knowing me, you know Him; seeing me, you see Him. Do you not understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? It is the Father who dwells in me doing His own work. Understand me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me."

                              John 14:7

This is the same truth that Vedanta speaks of as Non-Dualism, Oneness.

Non-Dualism, the philosophy of absolute Unity, is the central teaching, not only of Vedanta, but of all genuine seers of Truth. Vedanta expresses it as, tat twam asi, “That thou art.”

Once we begin to look at the teachings of Jesus in the light of his “mystical” experience of Unity, we begin to have a much clearer perspective on all the aspects of his life and teachings, which are like those of the various Vedantic sages who’ve taught throughout the ages, that the soul of man is none other than the one with Divinity, none other than God; and that this Divine Identity can be experienced and known through the revelation that occurs inwardly to those who prepare and purify their minds and hearts and contemplate and meditate.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

                                                         Matthew 5, 1-48.

The words of Jesus are well known to many of us from our childhood and perhaps have lost their impressions on our consciousness as a result of familiarity.

Jesus attempted to explain to us, with the words, “I and the Father are one,” that the “I,” our own inner awareness of Self, is none other than the one Self, the one Awareness, the Lord and Father of us all.

Why, then, are we so unable to see it? Why should it be so hard for us to attain to that purity of heart, which Jesus declared to be so essential to see God? It is probably because we have not really tried to purify our hearts, or we don’t know how to go about doing it.

Jesus went into the wilderness, jeopardizing everything else in his life for this one aim, completely and entire attainment of unity with God.

This does not imply that we need to go into seclusion; all we need to do is to.

“Be still and know that I am God.”

                                             Psalm 46:10

Jesus message to his disciples was by way of explaining to them that his real nature and that of all men is Divine and that the reality of this could be realized directly. Furthermore, he taught them the path, or method, to follow in order to attain this direct realization. Let us look to his words:

In the Gospel book of John, he prayed to God, “O righteous Father, the world has not known Thee, but I have known Thee.”

                                            John 17:25

And, as he sat among the orthodox religious in the Jewish temple, he said, “You say that He is your God, yet you have not known Him. But I have known Him

A vision of God or samadhi is so difficult to convey to those who had not experienced it, Jesus spoke often by way of analogy or metaphor in order to make his meaning clear. He spoke of the experience of seeing God as entering into a realm beyond this world, a realm where only God is. He called this real the kingdom of God.

The Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the kingdom of God come?” He said, “You cannot tell by signs or by observations when the kingdom of God will come. There will be no saying, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For, in fact, the kingdom of God is (experienced) within you.”

Jesus said, “If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will have preceded you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you [as well]. When you come to know your Self, then you i.e., your true nature will be known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father. But if you will not know your Self, you live in poverty i.e., you live in the illusion that you are a creature far from God.”

Another of Jesus’ metaphors utilized the terms, Light and darkness to represent the Divinity and the inherent delusion of humankind, respectively:

Jesus said, “The world’s images are manifest to man, but the Light in them remains concealed; within the image is the Light of the Father. He becomes manifest as the images, but, as the Light, He is concealed.”

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

                                                                                                  John 8:12

He said to them, “There is a Light within a man of Light, and It lights up the whole world. If it does not shine, he is in darkness.”

These are terms, which have been used since time immemorial to represent the Divine Consciousness in humankind and the hazy ignorance, which obscures It. In the very first paragraph of the Gospel of John, we find an excellent explanation of these two principles, and their Greek synonyms, Theos and Logos;

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word, Logos was with God, and the Word was God. He or It was with God in the beginning. All things were made by Him; without Him nothing was made. Within Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of man. And the Light shone in the darkness, but the darkness comprehended It not."

A word of explanation is necessary: These two terms, "Light" and "darkness," are also indicative of the cosmic aspects of Reality; in other words, they are not only the Divine Consciousness in humankind and the darkness of unknowing, but they are, at a higher level, the very Godhead and Its Power of manifestation.

They are those same two principles we have talked about called Brahman and Maya, Purusha and Prakriti, Shiva and Shakti. It is the Godhead, which the light that is within us; it is the manifesting principle, which, in the process of creating evolves into individual soul-mind-body beings, provides us with all the disguise necessary to keep us in the dark as to our infinite and eternal Identity.

Jesus said, If they ask you, ‘Where did you come from?’ say to them, ‘we came from the Light, the place where the Light came into being of Its own accord and established Itself and became manifest through our image.’ If they ask you, ‘Are you It?’ say, ‘We are Its children, and we are the elect of the living Father.’ If they ask you, ‘What is the sign of your Father in you?’ say to them, ‘It is movement and repose (inaction).’

Jesus said, “I am the Light; I am above all that is manifest. Everything came forth from me, and everything returns to me.

Here, Jesus identifies with the Eternal Light; but he seems never to have intended to imply that he was uniquely and exclusively identical with It; it should be clear that his intention was always to convey the truth that all men are, in essence, the transcendent Consciousness, manifest in form:

"Ye are the Light of the world. Let your Light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

                                                                                                               Matthew 5:16

Frequently he declared to his followers that they too would come to the same realization that he had experienced:

 “That which you have (is within you) will save you if you bring it forth from yourselves. That which you do not have within you will destroy you.”

“That which you have” is, of course, the Truth, the Light, and the Divinity who manifests as us. “That which you do not have” refers to the false identity of separate individuality, which is simply a lie. It is the wrong understanding of who we are that limits us, and which prevents us from experiencing the Eternal.

The teaching of the mystics, who have realized the Highest, is “We are the Light of the world!" Thou art That! Identify with the Light, the Truth, for That is who we really are!” We must assume that Jesus’ teachings to his disciples should not be grounded on a mere matter of faith; he wished them to realize this truth for themselves.

And he taught them the method by which he had come to know God. Like all great seers, he knew the means and the end, the One and the many.

Jesus taught also the value and need of devotion, in the connecting principle between the soul and God.

In the words of Jesus to his disciples, we see this same complementarily expression. At one moment, he speaks of dualistic devotion in the form of prayer “Our Father, who art in heaven”; and at another moment he asserts, I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing, John 15. Then again he proclaims, I and my Father are one.  John 10:30. He proclaims his Oneness, his identity, with God. We can see the shift from duality, to qualified non duality, to non duality.

At times, identifying with the One, he asserts that he has the power to grant the experience of Unity “I shall give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched and what has never occurred to the human mind”(Gospel of Thomas). And at other times, identifying with the human soul, he gives all credit to God, the Father “Why do you call me good? There is no one good but the ONE that is God.”

Jesus also made it clear, that whatever efforts one makes toward God must bear their fruits in this life, and in the lives to come.

And so, throughout his teachings one finds these two, apparently contradictory, attitudes intermingled: the attitude of the Jnani “I am the Light; I am above all that is manifest”); and the attitude of the bhakta, Father, father, why hast Thou forsaken me? These are two voices of the illumined being, describing both, the transcendent Unity and the soul made in the image; he has seen this unity in the mystical experience.

Jesus had experienced the ultimate Truth; and he knew that the consciousness that was as him was the one Consciousness of all. He knew that he was the living Christ Consciousness from which this entire universe is born. This was the certain, truth and yet Jesus found but few who could even comprehend it. Even today church members can’t comprehend it. For the most part, those to whom he spoke were well-meaning religious people who were incapable of accepting the profound meaning of his words. They were too set in their own minds to accept higher truths.

The religious orthodoxy of his time, like all such orthodoxies, fostered a self-serving lip-service to spiritual ideals, and observed all sorts of symbolic rituals, but was entirely ignorant of the fact that the Ultimate Reality could be directly known by a pure and devout soul, and that this was the real purpose of all religious practice.

Jesus realized, of course, that despite the overwhelming influence of the orthodox religionists, still, in his own Judaic tradition, there had been other seers of God, who had known and taught this truth. “I come,” said Jesus, “not to destroy the law (of the Prophets), but to fulfill it.”

Today too, when we look at the world we see many people intoxicated with pride and ignorance; and few in thirsty for Truth. We need to realize the light of the Infinite in us all and let it shine for all to see. We can make a difference, but first we must believe it.