A SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE

We are living in a peculiar age, an age where individualism triumphs, an age that brought us into a space of loneliness in a crowded world. We have moved into a primarily secular society, a society that runs on a non-religious, none spiritual foundation.

People who say they are Christians and all those interested in the subject of spirituality are invited to look beyond their present scope of understanding of their chosen path and add to their practice a more mystical vision.

The Christian and the spiritual aspirant of the future may well be a mystic and not exist the way he is now. This kind of mysticism will be more based on the individual’s direct experience with his inner nature in contact with the Divine.

Another way of describing this is, that the mystic quest may be characterized as a wide spread search for spirituality as a way toward meaning and fulfillment. Signs of this search can be found among people of many faiths and fewer in the secular world.

At the moment we are faced with so many signs of the time in terms of poverty, injustice, violence of and ecological disasters, that uppermost in people’s mind are these issues, as well as the global financial crisis which is linked to a worldwide interdependence.

We are not only economically interdependent but also spiritually. This may be less obvious at first glance, thinkers like Carl Jung said: “Man is in search of a soul”. But, it is not only individuals that need to be in touch with their soul, but the whole world. We need a new vision, a mysticism in action. Our whole planet seems to be marked by a deep spiritual crisis, which is evidenced in so many breakdowns of relationships, the meaning of faith or believes and the disillusion of the subject of material goods and consumption. The question is, how to find a life of wholeness and deeper significance, how to create a life of right living, harmony and peace. Some of these answers can be found in correctly practiced ways of spirituality. However, even the word of spirituality has often become a buzzword. Already in 1960 it was mentioned by the then Secretary of the UN, that the UN has to do much work concerning the existing physical, material and moral needs of human kind, but now it must also address humanity’s spiritual needs. Since then, the word spirituality has undergone a wide spread popularity.

A similar popularity can be attributed to mysticism of the past, which is equally difficult to define. Many attempts have been made to describe it, but human reason lacks the ability to penetrate deep enough to reach the heart of mysticism. Yet mystical experiences are not entirely foreign to reason. Mystics of many faiths, East and West bear supreme witness to the heights and depths of such experiences. Already in the fourteenth and fifteenth century many Christians found in mysticism a more direct way to God than in the institutionalized systems of the church. These mystics grew out of an earlier movement of Germany, called the Friends of God. Men like Meister Eckhart (1260 – 1327), Henry Suso (1295 – 1366), John Tauler (1300 – 1381) and John Ruysbroeck (1293 – 1381) were very popular at that time. They all spoke with many voices about the inner life and vision. Mysticism is sometimes defined as a fundamental unitive experience.

In theistic terms, it is expressed as the deepest love in communion with God. In the non theistic way, it is spoken about as a deeply contemplative approach to Ultimate Reality.

Nobel physicist Brian Josephson of Cambridge University in 1985 writes:”What one finds if one studies the various forms of mysticism is that the doctrines of the mystics are much less diverse than are religious doctrines. My interpretation of this is that mysticism is concerned with very fundamental laws. I consider mysticism to be something universal like science and that religions are based on the facts of this science. Thus mysticism is a kind of universal foundation for the diverse different religions. I might mention that I’m not talking entirely about Eastern mysticism, because there is Western mysticism as well: i.e. Christian mysticism, Islam mysticism (Sufism) and Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah).These all say rather similar things.”

A practical path of mysticism is described in the teachings of Kriya Yoga by Paramahansa Yogananda and the evolutionary, mystical aspect of Sankhya Yoga and ultimately the unitary teachings of Vedanta. The practice of Kriya Yoga will lead to contemporary mystical experiences and is suitable for people of all manner of temperaments.

For the devotional person, there is the practice of Bhakti Yoga, a path of prayer and meditation. The practicing devotee sees God everywhere and in everything. Thus God, remains always in his proximity. His mind and heart is immersed in God’s love. For him every thought and action is an opportunity to worship God.

For the intellectual there is Jnana Yoga, the way of wisdom. As the practitioner progresses spiritually, he offers his manifold states of knowledge to God. He worships God as the All in All, the ever blessed Bliss.

For the pragmatic person there is Karma Yoga, the path of action and for the serious student Rajas Yoga, of which Kriya Yoga is the practical application. Raja Yoga, the "Royal Yoga," is the science of God realization, a step-by-step means of reuniting the soul with Spirit. Much of the experiences of the Christian mystics are explained and can be understood from these practices.

But how can we understand a contemporary mystic quest? To begin with one needs to look at a practical path as outlined above. A path, that leads to the union of the heart or soul with the mind, and with a desire to go even deeper into the essence of things and through it experience the rhythm of life and its evolution, and finally realizing that the centre of all life, of the cosmos and the world, is Divine. This leads to an experience which is like a living heart sending from It energies of love and compassion.

Maintaining a Mystical Vision

We also need to maintain a mystical vision; a vision that will nourish and sustain our spiritual practices of prayer, contemplation and deep meditation. An understanding of this sacred way can make a significant contribution to our spiritual awakening. When put into regular practice, it can reach a discipline that will ignite a divine spark, allowing us to live in the consciousness of God.

Spiritual practice leads to a particular way of seeing, reflecting and responding to life itself. It can transform any experience, good or bad into a different way of looking at life and the world. The key is to focus on one’s spiritual nature and invite the transfiguration of ordinary life into a spiritual one.

Ascend of Humanity

The ascent of humanity must be seen as more than just an ascent of knowledge, it must embrace spirit. But one also needs to understand the dynamics of the manifestation of spirit into matter, in order to obtain a vision of the wholeness of life.

The wholeness of life

To appreciate the wholeness of life, we need to go back to experience the wisdom of nature and realize our connection with the land, animals, the water and the sea. Divinity is the ground of all things and thus informs us of things. By looking at nature, we can experience the intelligence in creation manifesting all around us. But to what degree do we even understand nature, the very fabric which surrounds us at any moment either as form or as energy?

Sir John Templeton and Robert Hermann (physicist) in “Is God the only Reality?” in 1994 wrote, who can tell how powerful and fruitful will be the science of the future when men and women of science return in humility to the first great quest, to attune to God’s thoughts. We see the future open to the scientific exploration of spiritual subjects such as love, meditation, thanksgiving, giving, forgiveness and surrender to the divine will. It may be that we see the beginning of a new age of experimental theology which may reveal that there are laws, universal principles that operate in the spiritual domain, just as natural laws operate in the physical realm.  

We need to acknowledge the importance of science in our life. Science is a process of discovery. The word science comes from the Latin word scient, which means to know. The spirit of science has always been a quest for truth; truth about nature, about the cosmos, about the planet and about ourselves. The modern scientific method which is a relatively young discipline has provided mankind with an evolutionary leap in technology and know how, but is it the most advanced form of science in the true sense of the world? Can the modern method ever lead us to the ultimate truth? There are many

forms of science, but during the European middle ages up until around the 17^th century a schism formed and grew between the church and the scientific community due to the fact that the Vatican would only enter into scientific discovery that did not conflict with their official doctrine. Those who presented discovery that challenged the church authority view were persecuted as was in the case of Galileo. An alternative criticism is that the Church opposed particular scientific discoveries that it felt challenged its authority and power, particularly through the Reformation and on through the Enlightenment period.  

As a result people like Francis Bacon, Galileo and Descartes broke away from the church and formed what is called the Modern Scientific Method. Unfortunately, with the split from spirituality came some serious limitations in modern science. If something could not be measured and ratified, it was deemed not to be scientific.  

ROME, Oct. 31, 1992— More than 350 years after the Roman Catholic Church condemned Galileo, Pope John Paul II rectified one of the Church's most infamous wrongs -- the persecution of the Italian astronomer and physicist for proving the Earth moves around the Sun.

Science occupies itself with what is and not what should be. If I do this, this will happen. In a broad sense, science is what was, what is and what will be. In that sense science does not address the fundamental question of how to live our lives. Science is a way of thinking, much more than a body of knowledge. A person may imagine things that are false, but he can only understand things that are true.

The following statements describe some of the views of scientists during different time in history.

“What we know is not much. What we do not know is immense.” Sir Isaac Newton. Newtonian physics is based on a model that the world is deterministic, determined by physical force.

The science of quantum mechanics is based more on the predictions of possibilities. One never seems to get any hint how possibilities become actualities.

"Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real." “Anyone that is not shocked by quantum mechanics doesn't understand it.” Niels Bohr.

“We must be clear that when it comes to atoms, language can be used only as in poetry. The poet, too, is not nearly concerned with describing facts as with creating images and establishing mental connections.” Niels Bohr.

 “There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter.” Max Blanck.

Can we then infer that all existence is interlinked? Can we even imply that our consciousness is like a drop in the sea of Universal Consciousness? So when we look at all the magnificent manifestation around us, the stars, galaxies, the beauty of nature, how is it, that there is so much suffering all around us? Why is there so much misery and unhappiness? Why do we need the service of so many psychologists and psychiatrists to function in our ordinary life?

It appears that our personality cannot be adequately understood in terms of the current models of psychology which primarily work on a materialistic basis in determining the influence of the environment on a person, with respect to cognition, emotion, motivation and behavior. To explain human behavior or why we do, what we do on a materialistic model will leave important aspects out of the equation. If we accept that humans are more than their bodies and their minds and the mind is a relevant cause of behavior, then to explain behavior and experiences that are unknown to convention is basically impossible.

As an example, Swamis, Rishis, Yogis, and Buddhists speak of consciousness as a continuum when they describe re-incarnation. Another example is that when a parent meditates, the children derive a direct benefit from the meditation. The children are generally calmer than children of a non meditating parent. From these observations it can be inferred, that we have not yet grasped the different levels of consciousness which are operative in our lives. There are still many unsolved mysteries, but they are only mysteries for those who have not had the insight into such occurrences. We suffer from our own ignorance.

What is the origin of suffering?

According to Buddha, all suffering comes from samsara (mental impressions) and particularly desires or craving for the pleasures of the senses, and for life. Buddhism says there is no beginning to the cycles of life, but the cycles can be ended by perceiving Reality. Reality in Buddhism is called dharma (in Sanskrit). Dharma has many meanings, but in this context it describes the frameworks of nature which constitute the natural order of things.

The teaching of the Buddha states that for people to come out of suffering involves developing an awareness of reality (mindfulness). Buddhism thus seeks to address any disparity between a person's view of reality and the actual state of things. This is called developing Right or Correct View. Seeing reality as-it-is, is thus an essential prerequisite to mental health and well-being according to Buddha's teaching.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

According to Yoga, we suffer because of ignorance. We perceive what is real as unreal and what is unreal as real. We see ourselves as being a body with a mind, but in reality we are a spiritual being temporarily in the body. We further suffer because of:

Egoism, our ego fools us into thinking that our labels and title in life define who we are: Intellect, Business Exec., Lawyer, Teacher, Mother, Daughter, etc.  We develop programs which have nothing at all to do with who we really are, but are merely what we do. Who we are is a much more esoteric force and is often buried deep inside us.

Attachment to pleasure and pain: attachment to pleasure is our need to cling to what brings us pleasure. When we attach our happiness to having a person or a thing and that person or thing disappears, what follows for many people is a severe suffering. We need to learn to let go.

Attachment to suffering is hanging on to what we do not want. This is the same as denying the existence of a painful situation. We create all kinds of excuses to avoid what will lead to freedom, because we do not want to go through the pain of looking at issues we might not want to deal with.

Fear of death. If this weren't present in most of us, we wouldn't hold on to all the reasons we work so hard to build in safety nets, both physically and emotionally.

The goal:

The goal in spirituality is to achieve liberation from suffering while still in the body and realizing that all life, all forms, animate and inanimate are expressions of One Supreme Consciousness. This can be achieved through correct meditation.

Communion with God

When attempting to understand the metaphysical side of existence,    people frequently ask, is it possible to experience communion with God? An explanation to this profound question is that there are different aspects of God as the various scriptures tell us. God transcendent is beyond the understanding of the mind, but the personal God or God immanent, being the omnipresent source of life and consciousness can be known and experienced on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. What is important is that one believes in the possibility of a relationship.

We need to accept, that everything has a beginning, that there is a source of all life and that man as a soul is a part of this source, made in the image and likeness, a spark of the Infinite Spirit present in all things, animate and inanimate.

Image of God:

For people who have an image of God, that image is often far too narrow in comparison to all the intuitional knowledge that can be revealed to us from that Supreme source of Consciousness when we persist with our endeavors on the spiritual path. When acknowledging the immanence of the Divine, we will be blessed with revelations that are valuable for leading a wholesome life, where we see God as an expression everywhere, even in its most hidden aspects. Ultimately through our inner vision we will realize that we live in an ocean of consciousness that emanates from God.

Why is God unknown to many people?

The reason that God remains unknown to millions of people who worship Him in temples and churches and in holy cities and places of pilgrimage is that most people identify primarily with the outer expression of things, with the physical nature and their sense experiences and thus have an image of God only as a personal creator of man and the universe, as stated in the scriptures. As a result heaven and earth become a concept of the mind. Subject is not object. Subject is God, mind is object. God is beyond the perception of the mind. God is best experience through intuition and feelings.

How then can God be known?

Divinity Itself is perceived by the faculty of intuition and feelings, the soul's God-given power of knowing truth. When our mental restlessness is stilled and the consciousness is interiorized and in touch with the soul, the God-revealing intuitive faculty is awakened.

God is not a Being with sense organs, but Consciousness itself; He is therefore aware of the thoughts and sensory perceptions of every one, which makes it possible, for whosoever has the desire, to have a relationship with Him.

God and Spirit:

Spirit signifies the unmanifested Absolute. The word ‘God’ means the manifested, transcendental Being beyond creation, but existing in relation to creation. Spirit existed before God. God is the Creator of the universe, but Spirit is the Creator of God. Spirit is not the universe; Spirit is that which was and will be whether the universe does or does not exist. Spirit includes everything.

Spirit divided Itself into: God as the Father (Sanskrit Sat), the Cosmic Consciousness or knower and remains beyond vibratory creation and

Into God the Son (Sanskrit Tat), the Christ consciousness or Cosmic Intelligence subjective knowing power in creation and

Into God, the Holy Spirit (Sanskrit Aum or Om), the cosmic intelligence, objective creation itself. (Three aspects in manifestation Knower, Knowing, Known as one).

To know God as that Spirit which is the origin and end of all beings is indeed the ultimate knowledge. But knowledge of God as the All-in-All is only possible when we first realize that we as soul or Self are a part of Spirit.

Developing intuition:

People on the spiritual path should not be satisfied until they have sufficiently developed their intuition. This can be accomplished through impartial introspection and deep meditation in order to experience the communion of soul and Spirit. If we meditate intensely for at least short periods every day, and have longer periods of meditation once or twice a week, we will find our intuition becoming sufficiently refined to realize a wisdom exchange between our soul and God. We will know the inner state of communion in which our soul "talks" to God and receives His responses, not with human language, but through wordless intuition.

Self reflective thought:

Self reflective thought is the key to understanding ourselves, as expressions of spirit or consciousness. Any progress in creativity is linked to thought. We need to research social, cultural and spiritual matters in order to develop ourselves and our society. Just mere belief in an ideal, is leaving such development to chance in a universe that is constantly changing. We all have to take moral and ethical responsibility for shaping our future and consequently the future of humanity. This is made possible individually through the spiritual powers of love.

In reshaping society, we need to be aware of the divine ideal of wholeness as we are confronted with the changes in science and our understanding of the universe. We need to take responsibility for our environment, realizing that it is the environment that sustains life on the planet. This idea will receive much resistance from the material oriented mind of those in power. The gravity here is that we are talking about the survival of everyone.

On a personal level, we have to embrace a love for life, rather than contemplating the meaning of life on an intellectual level. We have to realize, that our actions and motives are encoded as vibrations throughout the universe of which humanity is a part.

As individuals we need to find an aspect of life that brings impetus to it. We need to ponder the wonders that are all around us, the wonders of the universe as well as the wonder of what we ourselves are. This approach will open for us the world of mystery by seeking that which underlies all forms.

We also need to take interest in the cosmological dimension, from a religious or spiritual as well as from the dimension with which science is concerned in a way that shows us the universe in an inspiring way.

We need to accept, that being focused primarily on the material side of existence, will only address a small part of our potential. We have to acquaint ourselves with our spirit nature by realizing, that we are a part of spirit. People with a religious background may have an idea of the word and meaning of spirit, but find it often difficult to express without pointing to some holy text. But the activity of spirit is an experience we all have, it is the unplanned good in our lives which we often call luck instead of recognizing it as grace or the activity of Spirit.

Most people however talk more about the news of the day and the problems of the hour than pondering the deeper meaning of life. Today when we mention topics such as philosophy, art or religion, many people will quickly change the subject to the news of the hour. Even people of an advanced age are often more interested in the world around them with its material attraction, than in an inner life. They are more involved with the frustrations that surround them, than the peace that waits for its discovery within their own heart.

Art, philosophy and biblical literature used to be part of education. When these were dropped, a whole tradition of values was lost. It used to be, that the stories contained in those texts were in the minds of people and were mysteriously taught to children in special ways by the older generation.

Today in the books we read, we may look for truth, for meaning, for significance. Through that process we may try to find out who we are. We may then ask, is in what we are discovering an experience of being fully alive, so that our understanding on the physical realm will resonate with our innermost being and reality?

When being in touch with our soul in meditation, we will find clues that lead us to experience life on an ever deeper level; clues to spiritual potentialities that are intrinsic of us. So instead of searching for meaning, we may want to experience the meaning of life, not in the future, but in the here and now, at the present moment.

It is the mind that has to do with meaning. We do things to achieve purpose of outer values. We must never forget that it is the inner value, the feeling of Bliss that is associated with being fully alive.

One may ask, how can I get this experience? We need to read books other than just those just associated with our own religion and believes, because we tend to interpret our own religion in terms of facts, in terms of, this is what the book says. But when we read other spiritual literature, we gain a different experience. Our mind expands. We then ponder the truth, a process which through perseverance will lead us from the mystical to the spiritual and finally to Truth itself. We need to go beyond just a surface understanding of things, circumstances and ourselves.

The spiritual dimension:

Spirituality is a process of personal transformation, either in accordance with traditional religious ideals, or oriented on subjective experience and psychological growth independently of any specific religious context. In a more general sense, it may refer to almost any kind of meaningful activity or blissful experience. Which everyone will experience at times.

We are spiritual by nature, which means we have an inborn capacity to live a meaningful life as we experience over time the expansion of consciousness. The depth, the extent to which this capacity forms, depends upon us. In most instances, spiritual illumination comes with honest effort of discovering our true nature as spiritual beings. We should not expect it to drop out of the sky.

Where to start?

It starts with the desire to grow in wisdom. At birth as we are trying to make sense of the everyday world, our spiritual awareness takes the opportunity to grow in understanding. Insight will grow from the experience if life, and our willingness to explore questions and changing circumstances of the everyday living.

Inward Journey:

When we come to the stage of life where we go inward, we soon discover that reason is not our only playground for understanding the world.  By going inward, we experience our own life. An example of this is found in the Christian teaching of the Christ within, 

which is a state beyond ego identification, beyond separation and it is eternal.

Most people on a religious or spiritual path envision their final destiny to be heaven. For them heaven is somewhere above the clouds, in outer space that no one has yet discovered, but the bible clearly states that the kingdom of God is within one’s own consciousness.

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

                                            Luke 17:21

The Upanishads of India dating back to the 9^th century B.C. state, all the gods, all the heavens, all the worlds, are within us.

On a day to day basis, people give little thought to what life is all about. They never ponder who and what they really are, they rather continue with their daily habits, satisfying their desires and thinking about the food they like to eat.

We have addressed many issues. We know, that we have benefited much from science, but the question remains, did it bring us happiness? What if there was a science that could bring happiness and joy, what would that be like?

There is an ancient science from India, called Vedanta. Most Western people view Eastern traditions as a method of just meditation, but Vedanta goes far beyond that. It contains the highest knowledge there is, the search for the Self. It is a step by step procedure toward enlightenment. In Vedanta we have to go through the process ourselves. It is replicating what others have experienced. Veda means to know, it means transcendental knowledge that is not provided through the senses. Knowledge of the senses comes from sense experience and is physical knowledge that transcends the senses. Vedanta is the culmination, where Ultimate Reality is obtained. Anta means Culmination or the end. Vedanta then expresses the end of all knowing, the non dual, or the source of all life.

There are two aspects to the teachings, theory and practice. We attain to the transcendental aspect with our self. To realize the Self we need to practice Yoga or union. The most scientific practice is Rajas or Kriya Yoga. Yoga accepts both the visible and the invisible. It states, that which is real is also eternal. It cautions us not to be addicted to our small reality and tells us to accept our part in the wholeness of the Universe; we need to be universal in our outlook. It states that everything is One not two.

Somehow that Oneness seems to have been shattered. We have this enormous diversity outside of us and a lot of diversity within us. The diversity within our personality also varies depending on the circumstances we encounter, even our own mind, which should be one whole, often wanders all over the place. There is a conscious part and an unconscious part of the mind. There is a part of the mind that seeks for truth and a part that wanders in delusion. This creates tension. It is this inner tension of the mind that creates stress which people experience as anxiety in their lives.

To understand the mind, it has to be observed.

Lying down, walking or sitting on a chair, we can observe the thoughts in our mind. During or observation we experience a wide range of thoughts that come and go. Sometimes our mind is full of ideas and cravings, at times desires that its contents are overwhelming.

Observing the mind

Sit back and just observes, just watch the mind without judgment or condemnation. Just observe.

There are moments when the flow is smooth and the mind is clear and the observation is easy. There are other moments of sustained silence. But we do not store these impressions.

The part of us that observes the mind is our soul, the witness in us. It is the soul (Self) that manifests the light within. In Christian terms, it is the Christ within. It is that part trying to help and rescue the lower mind which is caught up in attachment and the stresses of ordinary life.

This brings us to the important question of who am I, what is my true identity. We know, that physically and mentally we have changed, so what is it that remains unchanged in us that all can experience. It is that unchanging part that is our true Self. To arrive at it, we reject all that we are not, in order to arrive at what we are. For this experience, we practice jnana yoga.

Ultimately the only guide to spirituality has to be the guide within us to determine what works and what does not. We need to realize, that we don’t have to start with nothing, we build on the thousands of years of knowledge other people have gained. We owe it to our self to listen to these people and try what they are saying to see if it works for us.

For people who are opposed to mainstream religion, the yoga system is a great alternative for inner growth. Yoga is not a religion that is based on a person like Buddhism, Islam, Judaism or Christianity; it is a universal philosophical approach that supports all religion.

A person practicing Yoga becomes a better person following his own faith. Yoga is a method that does not confine one to a specific system. It does not tell someone to belief something. It does not demand ones allegiance to certain believes. It encourages people to use reason.

Reason is a great gift that we have and we need to apply it as much as possible, but we must recognize also that it has its limits. In our spiritual quest we can go as far as reason will take us and then comes this great leap to our own inner world, which opens through meditation to the deep truth to which reason alone cannot take us. But once we have experienced these inner truths, we find that they don’t contradict reason. They are beyond reason, but don’t contradict it. It is in our inner being, our soul or Self, where we discover the highest truth. We want eternal truth, truth that lies beyond reason, we ultimately want God.

The limitation of the mind is that it operates within time, space and causality. It cannot go beyond it.

Let us remember, that Rajas or Kriya Yoga is a path that guides us to Super Consciousness, which is a potential that everyone can reach. Super Consciousness leads to Christ and God Consciousness, to Existence, Consciousness and Bliss.

Unless we were born enlightened or fully awake, for us to become Self Realized we must accept that by living and relying on reason and perceptions is wrong. It is up to each of us to embark on a journey of self inquiry. The truth is out there (or within), beyond reason, ready for us to discover.    

“Your vision will become clear only, when you look into your own heart. Who looks outside dreams, who looks inside awakens”.

Carl Yung.