Spirituality without Quantum Physics is an Incomplete picture of Reality

For a long time, science and spirituality were considered to be opposing views, creating this polarization of both subjects. You were either a “Man of God” or a “Man of Science,” with no middle ground. However, we’re now observing a merging of both science and spirituality through quantum physics and the study of consciousness, shattering old thought patterns and putting an end to the previous “tug of war” between the two subjects.

Quantum physics is verifying what Buddhists and other spiritual practitioners have been saying for years, helping people to accept their inherent spiritual nature all around the world. We are fundamentally connected to everything around us, and science is finally proving that. Nevertheless, there’s still a lingering dualistic air surrounding science and spirituality: You have religious people denying scientific facts and scientists identifying themselves as self-proclaimed Atheists. However, we’re simultaneously seeing a merging of the two, and it’s truly beautiful.

Many prominent religious figures and scientists have recognized the interconnectedness between spirituality and the scientific community, including the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama has spoken out on numerous occasions about the similarities between quantum physics and spirituality. In fact, he even attended a conference on quantum physics and delivered a speech on the subject.

Later he said: “I hope conferences like this can address two purposes: extending our knowledge and improving our view of reality so we can better tackle our disturbing emotions,” he stated: “Early in my lifetime, science was employed to further material and economic development. Later in the 20th century, scientists began to see that peace of mind is important for physical health and well-being.  As a result of combining warm-heartedness with intelligence, I hope we’ll be better equipped to contribute to humanity’s well-being.”

What Exactly Is Quantum Physics?

Quantum physicists discovered that physical atoms are made up of vortices of energy that are constantly spinning and vibrating, each one radiating its own unique energy signature. Therefore, if we really want to observe ourselves and find out what we are, we must recognize we are really beings of energy and vibration, radiating our own unique energy signature.

If we observe the composition of an atom with a microscope, we would see a small, invisible tornado-like vortex, with a number of infinitely small energy vortices called quarks and photons. These are what make up the structure of the atom. If we focused in closer on the structure of the atom, we would see nothing, a literal void. The atom has no physical structure, thus we have no physical structure, and physical things really don’t have any physical structure! Atoms are made out of invisible energy, not tangible matter.

From this, scientists have made all sorts of discoveries, including that we create our own realities.

An example is the Effect that describes the relationship between sub-atomic particles and the observer. Through multiple experiments, Quantum Physics has shown that subatomic particles appear to exist only as a wave of probabilities until they are observed, at which time they collapse into a single place in time.

Therefore the observer effect states that there is no reality until that reality is perceived. This profound insight tells us that we alter every object in the world simply by paying attention to it. If we are unhappy with a certain experience in our life, we can choose to steer our focus toward something else that is aligned with our own positive expectations.

Aging Gracefully

Growing old, let’s talk about it. There is a false concept that stops people from living a long, full life. Old age is as much a state of mind as of body. Today young people are taught that when you become old and gray, you are in the way. Not a nice thought! It is the older people, the wiser folk, the experienced elders, who have lived longer and therefore, can see further, to whom youth should be listening. But in our present times, young people have become the spokesmen, and they are allowed to learn by their own mistakes. What a sad way to learn!There is no excuse for ignorance. Yet, looking around, we find it to be everywhere,

We are not getting old. True, the physical body does change. It has done so from birth, but it has a future. It really does. We live in it like we walk in our shoes. We should think, we live in our body as loosely as we wear our shoes.” It is not wise to accept the forebodings that we are headed toward a doomsday end of the world, or end of the physical body, rather we need to know, that we the consciousness in us will never die but live forever.

Aging is an interesting process. Even though we are told that most the cells in the body change and renew themselves every seven to ten years, aging can still be really scary, especially for those who identify themselves as their body. But not for those who know that they are not the body, but only live in it, realizing that it is our Earth suit in which to function on this planet.

When we correctly look at aged people, we look at minds that have been developed year after year after year. We look at souls that have matured because of their journey on Earth. We look upon their situation as wonderful and enlightening, their wisdom as useful and worthy to make it part of our lives.

The mind never gets old, though the brain may. The mind never deteriorates. Consciousness was never born and never dies. The mental body, which works through the subtle body and the earth suit, does not age, does not get weak, as modern people think of aging, and as weakness. It becomes stronger and stronger, more mature and more expansive, as do the emotions if they are understood and controlled from stage to stage. Age is not an obstacle; it is a legacy. The most senior among us should have faith in the future, not be led to think that turning sixty, eighty or more is some morbid milestone. It’s not.

Secrets to Longevity

There is no requirement to die at any established time, even if our doctor tells us that we have only two years to live. Apparently in Africa if a powerful medicine man tells a person he is going to die, the fear and belief are so strong that within hours he succumbs. Mind over matter? It’s not much different when everyone around us is chanting the senility mantra–when your wife, husband, kids, friends and boss keep saying, “You’re not getting any younger, you know.”

There are higher laws to invoke as age advances to sustain the pranas, to strengthen the force of life within. Those who know wisdom’s ways have overcome the “I’m getting old” syndrome, a mantra no one should ever repeat, even once. They know how the mind works, and by applying the laws, they have lived long, useful, happy and healthy lives. The redundancy system of one part of the body failing and another part taking over, especially within the brain, should be understood by the aging person, to know that all is not lost. If memory loss is experienced, things can often be memorized again and shifted over to another part of the brain.

The truth is that the mind is constantly maturing; so are the emotions, and so is the intelligence and accumulated knowledge. Most importantly, the wisdom of how to use the knowledge and to judge whether it is worthwhile at all is maturing from decade to decade and life to life for those who accept re-incarnation.

The psychological secret is to have a goal, actually many goals, in service to humanity, in people helping people, people serving people.  Good goals and a will to live to prolong life are vital. It is even more life giving when the goal includes helping people to fulfill their spiritual goals. When encouraging people to cultivate their inner life, when meditation is practiced without fail, then their deeper side is cultivated, and that in itself prolongs life. Life is eternal on the inner planes, in the refined bodies of the soul.

In the physical body life is hard. We have to go though the birth, talked to in baby talk, and learning to walk, read and write all over again. It takes years and years to obtain the wisdom life. Some people never obtain it. So, we have to take care of our physical body. No need to know too much about it, for it knows what it needs. We need to listen to its messages and respond quickly. When needed, doctors can help us through the many changes the body will naturally go through, and face each situation positively.

This body is impermanent, true, but it is the only one we have, so we make the best use of it. We have to live with purpose and pass on the knowledge born of experience to the coming generation.

The older we get, the more disciplined we have to become, the more spiritual work we need to engage in, while slowly dropping off the extraneous activities of the world.

If our children leave home and cultivate other interests, we can find new eager children to teach, new ways to serve. We should be useful to others. Keep planting the seeds of virtue and right ways of living. Maybe they will be annuals instead of perennials, but we must keep planting for the future. Others might be saying, “old and gray and in the way,” but we say, “old and gray and here to stay.” It is all in the attitude we have.

Renewing Life’s Plans

When the body reaches mature age, a change of pace occurs. One feels like sitting rather than walking, sleeping more than one did before, and it is more difficult to make long-term plans, ten, twenty, thirty years ahead. At advanced age, the question “What am I going to do with my life?” has long been answered but still should be asked, because at that age, there is still a long life ahead. It should be planned out as carefully as the life span that has already been lived, based on the experiences gained from it. Some people plan out their lives at eighteen or twenty, and others don’t.

Nevertheless, when the change of life comes, both for men and women, it is only wise to regroup one’s thoughts, analyze one’s desires, motivations and educational skills, physical, mental and emotional abilities. It is still time to plan and forge ahead with as much enthusiasm and dynamism as can be mustered up.

A lot of people die at fifty or shortly afterwards because they feel that everything is breaking down. That is because they misinterpret what is happening. They think the death experience is coming, whereas only a change of life, of life experience, has occurred. If they look at it as a new passage in life, they could be on smooth sailing until eighty and more.

As one nears eighty years of age, this is again time to revamp one’s life, motivations, desires, and to plan for the next round of purposeful living. It is interesting to note that the muscular structure of the physical body does not start to deteriorate until after age seventy, and then only slightly, unless one neglects to exercise.

Mystics say that eighty years of age is a difficult time to get through psychologically, physically and emotionally unless we have prepared ourselves for this stage of life well in advance. A new plan for motivation for the future should be made well in advance, at least at age seventy, so that when eighty rolls around it is well impressed in the subconscious mind that, this might be time to start slowing down and preparing for life after the life of the physical body.

It is also at this juncture that one should give one’s wisdom to the younger generation, see into the lives of promising people and encourage them to greater heights.

This is also the time also for intense spiritual practices. The physical forces are fading, the muscular structure diminishing. Yet great spiritual progress can be made. If retirement is thought of, it should be seen as a period of slowing-down, yet still being active in the mental, emotional, and spiritual practices.

It is well known that even certain advanced souls on the planet may do well when they are young but at their still unperfected stage of evolution have the propensity of deterioration in spirit, mind, and emotions as the body sinks, through age, into the substances from which it is created.

This is not the way followed by spiritual, devotional, happy, religious men and women who have experienced the frailties of the physical body, but added greater intensity, power and joy to the now dominant energies of the intellect and the soul and are on their way to enlightenment.

When living a spiritual life, good things will just automatically come along. Real security lies within.

We are living in a fast-moving age. Many people are either on tranquilizers, alcohol, anti-depressants, nicotine, stimulants or high-powered vitamins of one kind or another to stabilize their emotions enough to get by, just to get by, to get through all the various situations that present themselves that they can’t cope with due to the shaky foundation of their life.

But as has been mentioned, what is need is to go within ourselves, to get quiet enough, so that the answers to life’s challenges emerge from within, answers that will give us peace and security. Here there is no narcotic, no stimulant, no tranquilizer, and no high-powered vitamin that is going to take us within. The only way is, to sit down and become quiet and get in touch with the divine spirit within. Eventually a great new awakening will come over us. At first we may not know where it comes from or where it’s going, but it will be there, and we won’t have to try to be positive or think positively or make affirmations about this and that. We will know that we are an eternal, ever existing spirit, full of peace and joy.

The Path of Love

The path of love tells that we suffer because we lack faith in God.

God gave us life; He gave us the power to love. He gave us everything, along with the freedom to cast Him aside. In other words, He has given to us, without asking anything in return His greatest blessing, His unconditional love. We, being His children endowed with the power of His unconditional love, should use that power to find Him saying: "O Lord, I do not want anything from Thee only Thy love alone; and without condition I will give my love to Thee."

Intellectual knowledge of God does not mean that we know God. A great mistake in the modern world is reading about God or listening to sermons about Him without trying to commune with Him, thinking that actual communion with God is impossible. How, then, can one presume even to talk about Him who is impossible to know? But the saints, who have communed with God, say, "Don't just read about God. First taste Him; and then you will be able to speak thousands of words about Him. But if you don't, taste Him, everything you say will be mere assumption. Perception of God is what is necessary. Then even if we have no words to express, if our heart is filled with Him, others will feel the power and conviction of our direct perception.

Pure unselfish love in God's love is a most wonderful state of consciousness. It is an ecstasy day and night. God richly rewards us with unconditional love. We should want to give that same love to Him. Say, “Lord, I will be happy in the giving of my love to You, even though my offering may be inadequate. I am not looking for Your response; I am not asking You to receive my love. Whether or not You receive it, whether or not You respond, I am glad just to give my unconditional love to You. It is my greatest happiness. I give that love to You, and to Your manifested Presence of all nature. I know that as You have made me in Your image, I am one with You always. I give my love to You, my Lord, and shall keep on giving unto eternity.

He who is a true lover of God stands by Him equally during sunny days of joy and dark days of trials. Why not? Those who are in love are day and night thinking only of their beloved one. So is this romance with God. It is the most wonderful existence one can ever imagine.

Some spiritual practices suggestions  

What do we mean by spiritual practice?

A spiritual practice is any regular and intentional activity that establishes, develops, and nourishes a personal relationship with the Divine in which we allow ourselves to be transformed.

What do we mean by being transformed? Through regular practices of meditation, prayer, fasting, study, and the other practices, we emerge from an inner transformed state of being with deep conviction and passion for God, rather than being passionate for God out of duty, custom, or fear.

A suggestion for devotional people whose heart is God centered. For them a common expression is, “I love God”. But to develop an even closer relationship with God, it is even better to claim ownership by saying instead “I love my God”.  At the beginning, this may feel strange, but over time, it will develop into an intimacy, since love has a way of taking over our lives.

In our society we may express love in service, in doing things for those in need. We then offer all our actions as a service to God, in this way there is no division between the sacred and the secular. We direct all our activities into acts of God.

Some people find it difficult to express their devotion to God. This can be often a result of earlier teachings were it was said that God is separate from us and we are separate from God. But  in devotion, our desire is not to establish oneness with God, but to keep our separate identity for the joy of standing apart and worshiping the Object of our adoration. The attitude of devotion is, "I am Thy son/daughter, and Thou art my Father"; or, "I am Thy lover, and Thou art my Beloved"; or, "I am Thy devotee, and Thou art my Lord." In this state, the devotee doesn't want to say or feel, "Thou and I are One," but rather, "I adore Thee." The devotee is free to retain his individuality in order to enjoy, throughout this life and all eternity, the bliss of beholding God and worshiping Him with the offering of devotion.

Prayer life

In prayer we engage in two kinds of praying. One is praying to the loving God in the hope for a better life. This type of prayer is of the lower kind. It affirms that we believe in God, yet we pray to God for the things we want or need, such as good health, a better job a compatible partner and so on. Here we are imploring God to serve our purpose, by enhancing our life or the life of our brothers and sisters.

The problem with this approach is that often we pray and pray and often nothing happens. This can result in doubt and the questioning of whether the prayers are heard.  

The higher prayer is one’s love for God and realizing, that God is aware of our needs even before we are.

The person with ordinary consciousness is pleased and thankful when his prayer for worldly things is answered. The enlightened person on the other hand only wants God. He/she is a lover of God. When he enters a place of service, he says ‘I’ve come because I love Thee’.

We can see for ourselves what power the God centered prayer has in that soon it will transform our entire view of God and of ourselves. Everything else in life will be of secondary importance..

We wander in darkness until we realize that God is with us always. He is our own consciousness.

Love: Human and Divine

The greatest love you can experience is in communion with God in meditation. The love between the soul and Spirit is the perfect love, the love you are all seeking. When you meditate, love grows. Millions of thrills pass through your heart....If you meditate deeply, a love will come over you such as no human tongue can describe; you will know His divine love, and you will be able to give that pure love to others.

                                                   Paramahansa Yogananda

Religious and Spiritual Practices, an Overview

In today’s world we encounter people with many diverse ethnic backgrounds that come with different religious or spiritual practices.

For people who are steeped in their practices, there is only one suggestion and that is, don’t be satisfied with surface information, go as deep into the teachings as possible.

We begin with a look at religion.

Religion is entirely faith based. It relies on scripture and creed of the various denominations. It teaches about the existence of God.

Arguments for and against the existence of God

The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and popular culture.

In philosophical terms, the question of the existence of God involves the disciplines of epistemology (epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion) and ontology (the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being and the theory of value, since some definitions of God include "perfection").

Arguments for the existence of God have been proposed by St. Thomas Aquinas’, in the five logical arguments regarding the existence of God:

    The Argument from Motion;

    The Argument from Causation;

    The argument from contingency;

    The argument from degree,

    The teleological argument, ("argument from design").                         

René Descartes, said that the existence of a benevolent God is logically necessary for the evidence of the senses to be meaningful; and Immanuel Kant, who argued that the existence of God can be deduced from the existence of good.

John Calvin argued for a sensus divinitatis (sense deity), which gives each human a knowledge of God's existence.

Philosophers who have provided arguments against the existence of God include the aforementioned Kant, David Hume, Friedrich Nietzsche, Bertrand Russell and others.

Scientists follow the scientific method, within which theories must be verifiable by physical experiment. The majority of prominent conceptions of God explicitly or effectively posit a being which is not testable either by proof or disproof. On these bases, the question regarding the existence of God, one for which evidence cannot be tested, may lie outside the purview of modern science by definition.

The Catholic Church maintains that knowledge of the existence of God is the "natural light of human reason". Fideism acknowledges that belief in the existence of God may not be amenable to demonstration or refutation, but rests on faith alone.

Atheism views arguments for the existence of God as insufficient, mistaken or weighing less in comparison to arguments against.

Other religions, such as Buddhism, do not concern themselves with the existence of Gods at all, while religions such as Jainism reject the possibility of a creator deity.

As one can see, that there are many who argue for or against the existence of God.

Now let us take a look at our own existence. We do know that we exist. There is no doubt. What we may doubt is the nature of our existence. Are we limited beings, do we have a momentary existence, are we eternal and if so what does it mean? But we do know that we exist.

The inquiry into our own nature, of who and what we are ultimately gives rise to Spirituality. We may begin by asking, am I the body, am I the mind, and am I a combination of body and mind. Am I something more than a body mind being? Every step in this inquiry can be verified until we derive at the insight, that in our innermost being we are ever existent, ever conscious, and ever new joy (bliss).

We may now say, this is all fine and good, but where can people who are seriously interested in Spirituality go to find meaningful teachings?

There are the teachings of Yoga (union). An all inclusive yoga is known as Kriya Yoga, introduced to the West by Parmahansa Yogananda. The teachings include a path for people of every temperament.

Kriya yoga is a concentrated approach to Self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment: complete awakening to full knowledge of the Infinite and of cosmic processes. It includes the most effective processes of all systems of yoga, with emphasis on wholesome, constructive living and superconscious meditation practice. The purpose of Kriya yoga practice is to restore the practitioner's awareness to wholeness. This is accomplished by acquiring knowledge of one's true nature as a spiritual being; cultivating rational thinking, emotional balance, and physical health; purposeful living; and meditation.

Additional approaches being taught are:

Karma Yoga is the Path of Spiritual Action. The path of Karma Yoga is the path of uniting the soul with God through selfless activity.

Bhakti Yoga is the yoga of devotion. It is the spiritual approach to God that stresses all-surrendering love as the principal means for communion and union with God.

Rajas yoga is the path of prayer and meditation, for the inner directed person. Raja Yoga translates from Sanskrit to mean Royal Yoga. It is the eight-limbed path outlined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras as well as a tradition of Samkhya philosophy. When these methods are conscientiously practiced, they will lead one to experience Self or God Realization.

Jnana yoga is for the intellectual minded person. Jnana means wisdom or knowledge. It is considered the most difficult of the four main paths of Yoga, requiring great strength of will and intellect. In Jnana yoga, the mind is used to inquire into its own nature and to transcend the mind's identification with its thoughts and ego.

At this stage there are people reading this that do not believe in God, and may choose not to read any further. But for people who want to investigate the nature of God and their own existence, they are encouraged to read on.

The catch with the suggested methods is that they take effort and discipline, but even some practice will calm the mind of the practitioner. However, none of these methods are based on belief.

Then there is the non dual way, or Advaita Vedanta.

This is another powerful Spiritual teaching. Advaita says (all is one), not-two. It is a school of philosophy and practice, a path to spiritual realization. The term Advaita refers to its idea that the soul (true Self, Atman) is the same as the highest metaphysical Reality (Brahman, God). The followers of Advaita seek spiritual liberation through acquiring vidya (knowledge) of their true identity as Atman, Self, Soul and the identity of Atman, Self, Soul and Brahman, God.                     

Adi Shankara, an early 8th century Indian philosopher and theologian who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, knew that people would wonder how he could say such an odd thing as, that the Soul (true Self, Atman) is the same as the highest metaphysical Reality (Brahman, God). He realized that many people would ask: "if a person's Soul is really one with God all along, then what makes a person feel so separate from God?" His answer to this was that man is ignorant of his real Self being God, because he sees through a kind of filter, like looking through a dirty piece of glass and he called it maya, which means "illusion"(nothing is as it appears) in Sanskrit. Shankara said that our ignorance makes us feel very separate from God, and even from everything around us. He suggested that the best way people can find the truth is for them to try to clear their thinking of all ignorant thoughts and think very hard about who they really are. He said that if a person did all that,  he would realize that God was himself.

This is a very different idea from some other religions where we are told we are separate from God and need to go to Him. In Advaita, the idea is that people never really were separate from God, but their ignorance made them see it that way.

All the religions of the world and all Spiritual aspirations fall into two main groups. One group is searching for God, the other pursues self inquiry, asking who am I, what is the purpose and meaning of life?

Searching for the reality of God and searching for the Self that we are, are two realities, two inquiries.

Let’s look at the religions of the world. (The root of the word ‘religion’ lies in the Latin word ligare, to bind).

Some are God oriented and others are not God oriented.

Christianity, Islam, Judaism and some forms of Hinduism are God oriented,

Buddhism, Jainism (Jainism is an ancient religion from India that teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live a life of harmlessness and renunciation),

Sankhya philosophy and yoga, all are about Self Realization and mediation. Buddhism is not concerned about God; some parts of Buddhism actually deny the existence of God. Sankhya does not talk about God. Yoga investigates the nature of God.

Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages.

With the God Centered approach, one has to start with believing in God. For people who do not question, and who go to the church or temple only to worship, there is no issue. The problem starts when one asks question that do not specifically pertain to scriptural or dogmatic texts. One is constantly reminded of what the scriptures say and that it is all about faith.

The self inquiry method in this respect has an advantage over the belief system, since it is not based on faith. It starts with saying that man exists and that his existence is self evident; but what about disadvantages? One could say, what is the use of knowing that I exist? My existence is surrounded by all kinds of difficulties; it is threatened by disease and death, by frustration and failure. It is also troubled by desire and ambition.

On the God centered approach these problems do not exist. God is perfect, omniscient, omnipresent, all loving and good. If He exists, my existence is not at doubt, but since I have a lot of problems, I may doubt whether God really cares it.

What then is a solution for those who doubt the existence and benevolence of God and those who are not concerned about Self Inquiry?

Advaita, the Non Dual Vedanta brings both approaches together. Leaving out both of the problems and combining the advantages. It combines the certainty of individual existence with the Infinitude of God.

The doubt about the existence of God is done away with (since all is God). We are not the mind/body complex; we are the Self, one with God. The infinitude of God removes the finiteness of the personal self.

Our existence and God’s existence are secure. What has to be eliminated is the thought of our finite existence. This is the meaning of Tat Tvam ASI That thou art. The individual thou or Tat, the Self in its original, pure, primordial state is wholly or partially identifiable or identical with the Ultimate Reality God that is the ground and origin of all phenomena.

The primary objective of spiritual practices is the liberation in consciousness, in the attainment of inner freedom. However, as long as one identifies himself with the material body, rather than with one’s intrinsic spiritual nature, the Self, he fills his wants according to his heart’s desires and as a result remains in bondage, since the desires of the flesh can never be satisfied.

Why do we suffer? We suffer because of ignorance (erroneous conceptions). When believing, that this material creation is all that exists and that there is no beyond. When we don’t recognize that this material plane is nothing but a mere play of ideas of the eternal spirit of God, being the only Real Substance, then we live in ignorance.

Ignorance manifests in man as egoism, attachment, aversion and blind tenacity. Egoism results in a lack of discrimination between the physical body and the real Self, between Spirit and Nature. Tenacity is a result of natural conditioning (belief in nature and her laws as final, instead of belief in the all causative power of Spirit) Attachment means thirst for the objects of happiness. Aversion means desire for the removal of the objects of unhappiness.

So why does man suffer? He suffers as a result of the influence of ignorance, egoism, aversion, and tenacity to the material creation. He involves himself in egoistic works and in consequence he suffers. How does he remove the ignorance? Through knowledge.

It is hoped, that the insight into these various religious and spiritual practices can serve as a guide for people who sincerely look for an expansion of their inner lives. After all, we become what we think, but ultimately we need to go past the mind in order to realize who we really are.

What man really wants is contentment of the heart, inner joy. Being content, he can fix his attention on anything he chooses and can comprehend all its aspects.

Through the realization, that we are ever existing, ever conscious, ever new joy, bliss, the heart becomes purified and one is not only a reflecting of the light, but become the light. This is known as being anointed with the Holy Spirit.

Ponder this, when we realize who we really are, by seeing ourselves as one with God we are free while still in this physical body.

What is the cause of our mental anguish?

Yoga and Vedanta says we could be free of all suffering if we only knew who and what we are.

But is it not obvious who we are, are we not this body, this mind and this personality? But Yoga tells that this limited view is the chief obstacle to our enlightenment, to our inner freedom. What we have to realize, is that we are, ever existing, ever conscious, ever new bliss (joy, love), in Sanskrit Sat, Chit, Ananda.

But if that is the case, how can we come to this insight? The best way for us is by starting to ask ourselves, what we are not. We are not this body, we have a body, we are not this mind, we have a mind, we are not our feelings, we have feelings. If we can see ourselves as other than this body/mind complexes and rest in pure consciousness, which in reality we are right now, we will be free from all suffering and at peace with ourselves.

We become to realize that we are not this physical body by questioning ourselves what we are, until we come to the conclusion ourselves. This form of higher point of reasoning is designed to point something out to us, something which we have to see as fact. If the concept is new to us, it may take some time for us to comprehend it, since we are conditioned to see ourselves as limited body/mind complexes, even worse from a Christian viewpoint as sinners.

Now the task becomes in seeing ourselves different from this body and mind complex and rest in pure consciousness.

Seeing ourselves different from the body is not that difficult, since we can feel ourselves as embodied entities apart from the fleshy body. We can feel ourselves as embodied minds.

Now we will attempt to see ourselves as even separate from the mind.

This can be a breath taking discovery since the mind is still there and functioning, but when we manage to be free of the mind; the mind begins to behave for the first time in our lives. It is the freedom that comes to us when we don’t have to think. Then the tyranny of the mind comes to an end. This brings about an enormous sense of freedom and lightness. We step outside the mind and experience ourselves as the witness of the mind. In essence what we are doing is removing the covering of the mind and renew ourselves as pure consciousness. Then we can proclaim:”I am something apart from the mind.”

We have seen as the first step that we are not the physical body or the sthula sarira in Sanskrit. The second step was to see that we are also not the subtle body, the suksma sarira in Sanskrit.

This subtle or inner body consists of 17 parts, five organs of perception, five organs of action, the five pranas, the mind and memory.

According to the teachings, at the death of the physical body, the subtle body separates and transmigrates. It goes to another world, or another body. This is the idea of reincarnation or rebirth. The subtle body is what we accept ourselves to be, our personality, our ego, the I, the me. It is important to note that, the Self or soul does not move from body to body; it never changes. This is why we say, that in our innermost being we are always perfect.

Now the object becomes for us to see that we are not even the subtle body, suksma sarira in Sanskrit either.   

The subtle body is an object of awareness. I am the witness, the observer who is watching everything that goes on within the body. The observer and the observed cannot be the same. I the observer cannot be the subtle body or the gross body; they are that which is observed.

Everything in and around us is subject to change – we are the observer of the change. If the subtle feels well or not well, we the observer remain the same, unchanging observer. We can experience this right now, at this moment. When we internalize our attention, we realize that we feel ourselves to always be the same, no matter of age we presently are, in our inner being we feel the same.

How do we know, that we exist without the subtle body? In deep sleep the body and mind is not experienced; who slept, what slept? On waking up, we experience the subtle body.

The subtle body is false, it is an appearance. I the consciousness am the reality. We define falsity as something that has no existence of its own, that is, no independent existence. The mind has no existence of its own apart from the knowing witness consciousness, the Self. Without consciousness no seeing, no hearing etc. is possible. Just as a wave has no existence apart from the water.

We are that consciousness. Most people think that without the mind, they are gone, yet we know that even people who are brain dead are conscious.

We need to realize, that just by the mere presence of consciousness, all activities in the body are performed. Nature or Prakriti does everything, willing and thinking, all is done by nature. The Self is neither the doer nor an agent of action.

Modern science tells us also, that everything can be reduced to material action and energy, the universe does everything. The Bhagavad Gita also states: “I am the witness consciousness and in my presence all the subtle instruments act.

We are not the causal body either. The causal body is the cause of the physical and subtle body. The causal body is likened to deep sleep. In deep sleep we experience nothing except deep rest. Yet we are aware, that we had a good rest.

Finally we come to see that we are the immutable Self (Atman in Sanskrit), the substratum of the ego is thus different from these two bodies and it is the Spirit (Purusha in Sanskrit), cosmically the Ishwara (Lord of all), the Self of all, it is present in every form, yet it transcends them all. Realizing this is liberation.

It is the Self (soul) in us that expresses through body and mind in the physical realm and not the mind. Body and mind are mere instruments. Know that you are in this world but not of it. We are eternal beings. The Self is neither born, nor does it die, it is Existence (Sat in Sanskrit) itself.

Purifying the Subconscious Mind

Every one of us can discern between what is right and what is wrong. Some people tell us, I know what is right and wrong, but I can’t stop myself doing what is wrong.

What is the reason for doing the wrong thing rather than doing what is right? Let’s take a look at our likes and dislikes or our basic nature. When we do this, we notice, that our likes and dislikes are deep rooted below the conscious mind. They are often impulse driven.

When we interact with the world, we invariably have a reaction. We see something we like, we want it and we act on it, whether it furthers our aim or not. An example is a sale of certain merchandise; many people buy the item even though they don’t need it.

In the choices that we make in life, we invariably have a tendency to choose what we like, what appeals to us especially when it comes to instant gratification and if it turns out to have been the wrong choice, we say, I should have known better.

When we observe our behavior patterns we discover, that we repeat this type of stimulus response frequently, we act and soon after, we say, I should not have done that.

We said that our choices are the result of our basic nature. What does this mean? It means that our basic nature emerges from our subconscious mind, from our mental impressions, when a sense stimulus enters our awareness and we act upon it, we invariably do so without thinking about it.  

It appears that our urges to act are often out of our control. If so is there a way out, is there a gap where the subconscious impulses enter the conscious mind?

At this point you may say, ‘I don’t personally respond like this’. It should be noted, that this type of response appears primarily in people who lack self discipline.

     The Gap

1.     Mental impressions – are subconscious  and uncontrollable

2.     Desire, likes and dislikes – are conscious and controllable

3.     Action, cause and effect – are uncontrollable

Between the above two levels – subconscious mental impressions 1) and action cause and effect 3) is the controllable level, the conscious level. This level presents the Gap, here the desire is still weak and we have an influence over how we respond or where the inappropriate action can be stopped and replaced with a correct response.

The key is to discriminate between what is in accordance with our aim and what is not. We allow into expression that which is in accordance with our aim, and we disallow that which is not and immediately replace it with something that is in accordance with our aim. But first, we have to be clear about what our aim is and then decide accordingly.

Many people unfortunately cause themselves problems by reacting to the dictates of their senses and repeat the same inappropriate responses over and over.

What is the process in all of this?

Our likes and dislikes come to us via our sense organs, hearing, sight, taste, touch and smell, every sense organ has a variety of likes and dislikes, we have to decide between what is good for us and what we would like to do,  for example: I want to get up at 6:00 AM in the morning and study for my exam because it is important for me to get the grades I need to move on to the next level, versus it is cold, I am going to stay in my warm and comfortable bed as long as I possibly can, forget about the exam.

Which urge takes over?

Since how we respond to a situation is on a conscious level, we do have control over it but we need to make the conscious decisions immediately when the negative thought fist surfaces, since the longer we wait the stronger the urge to make the inappropriate decision becomes.

In other words, we eliminate ‘the would should’ response with constructive action.

A – Represents what needs to be done and

B – What I would like to do, we need to eliminate B.

Now what has this to do with our topic of purifying the sub conscious mind?

As was said, our likes and dislikes come from our subconscious mental impressions. Imagine that these impressions go around a circle and come to the surface whenever the appropriate stimulus presents itself. It surfaces as a thought, and we respond. If we don’t change our inappropriate response, the thought goes back into the circle and appears again when the opportunity to express arises.

This is how we make the same mistake over and over. It becomes a conditioned response. If on the other hand we replace negative responses with positive ones, they will eventually replace the negative ones and the positive ones will gradually become dominant. As a result our future actions will be in accordance with our aim, a purified subconscious mind. 

The Role of Gunas (natures attributes) in Creation and how they affect our lives.

The Godhead is the first manifestation from the unmanifest field. The field of God has attributes or qualities known as gunas.The gunas being present in nature, influence changes and transformation in mind and body as well as in consciousness. The gunas 

exist permanently in the field of God.

Further elaboration

The gunas are born from Prakriti (nature). They are in the Self as potential. Before creation, they remain inactive and in a state of perfect balance in the Primordial Nature. When their balance is disturbed, creation sets in motion, and the diversity of objects and beings come into existence, each possessing the triple gunas in different proportions.

In the higher consciousness, sattva is dominant, in a lower state of being tamas dominates, and in the middle state the predominance is rajas. In humans, all the three gunas are present in different degrees of predominance according to their spiritual purity and progress.

According to the Bhagavad-Gita, God is the real Enjoyer. He brings forth the entire creation for His joy (ananda). It is Purusha only that, seated in Prakriti, enjoys the qualities produced by Prakriti. The gunas are responsible for the diversity of nature. Because of the gunas (qualities or attributes of nature) the division of reality and unreality arises. When the gunas are manifested in creation, the individual souls come under their influence and begin their onward journey into the world of matter.

The Bhagavad-Gita suggests that we should try to transcend them rather than cultivate them. By knowing the nature of the three gunas and how they tend to keep us in bondage and illusion, we should become wiser and strive to transcend them. Sattva is purity and beneficial. However, for those who strive for liberation, even cultivation of "sattva" should not be an end in itself for sattva also binds us to the duality of pleasure and pain. Sattvic people want to enjoy pleasure and avoid pain. They are pious and knowledgeable but prefer leading a life of luxury and comfort. They engage in desire-ridden actions and become bound. Even though it is pure, sattva is but an instrument of Prakriti, which is meant to serve its ends by keeping us bound to the worldly life. Hence, one may cultivate purity (sattva) to suppress the other two, but in the end must rise above all the three and become stabilized in equanimity, sameness, and oneness of the Self. One should go beyond the three gunas to attain immortality and freedom from birth, death, old age and sorrow.

How do we rise above the gunas?

When a person, with his eye of wisdom, sees that all the drama of life is only a performance of the three gunas, and only the three gunas do anything anywhere, and knows, at the same time, that there is something above the three gunas, such a person attains to unity.

He attains union with Me in My Eternal State, provided that there is the perpetual vision maintained by that person, that there is no actor in this world, no performer of deeds other than the three gunas of Prakriti, and one’s own real Self is transcendent, above the three gunas. Such a person is liberated even while in this life.

In a practical yogic manner, we must realize that we are spiritual beings that are temporarily in the body. We do this by identifying ourselves with the formless, Spirit that we are, rather than the functions of the mind feelings and body. Then through deep meditation we dissolve the ego (the separate self) and gradually we experiencing Oneness, Union with Spirit, in which the entire universe dissolves.

Yogananda on Self Realization, "Self-realization is the knowing – in body, mind, and soul – that we are one with the omnipresence of God; that we do not have to pray that it come to us, that we are not merely near it at all times, but that God's omnipresence is our omnipresence; that we are just as much a part of Him now as we ever will be. All we have to do is improve our knowing."

What are the signs for one, that the gunas have been transcended?

When some effects follow as a result of the operation of sattva, rajas or tamas, the person who has transcended the qualities of Prakriti neither is elated nor is disgusted, nor is there any resentment at their operation.” When sattva operates, he does not exult. When rajas and tamas operate, he is not in any way affected. Whether the gunas are actively operating or whether they withdraw themselves into a state of inactivity, it makes no difference to this person because he sees them as they are, as objects of the witness consciousness—and he does not identify his consciousness with the three gunas.

He remains silent, taking no initiative in anything, appearing to be a person who has no intention of doing anything at all. He keeps quiet, knowing all things. He seems to be doing nothing, yet is internally doing many things. He is then not affected by the operation of the gunas even when they blow like a whirlwind on his person.

Fickleness of the mind is caused by the coming and going of the three gunas, which sometimes makes the mind feel satisfied, sometimes makes it restless, sometimes makes it feel fatigued or inactive. These operations of the psyche will be witnessed by his consciousness, and he will not identify himself with the properties of the psyche, which are usually affected by the gunas.

Pleasure or pain, let it be. It matters little. Whether he sees a nugget of gold or a big boulder of granite, it makes no difference to him. A lump of earth and gold have the same value to the eye of this great soul who has transcended the operation of the three gunas.

Praise and condemnation mean the same thing. It makes no difference whether he is glorified or condemned. Let a friend come or let an enemy come; there is no difference. He will still do nothing. He will be seated calm and quiet in himself, as if the world does not exist at all for him. Such a person is one who has transcended the operation of the three gunas.

“Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, I shall give you a final recipe how you can get over the three gunas. Undividedly love Me; then you will find that the gunas have no effect upon you. You need not have to struggle to observe the operation of the gunas with your witness consciousness, and put forth great effort in your mind. Effortlessly they will vanish; they will leave you of their own accord, provided you genuinely love Me.”

Such a person, is the greatest devotee of God who wants only God and has no other thought in his mind, automatically he will rise above the three gunas.

Awakening to CosmicConsciousness

We read in the bible that the Jews of Jesus’ day accused Him of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God: “Because you, being a Man, make Yourself God” (John 10:33).

His response is intriguing: “Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your law [in Psalms 82:6], “I said, ‘You are gods’ ”? If He called them gods, can one say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, “You are blaspheming,” because I said, “I am the Son of God”?’” (John 10:34-36).

In other words, Christ, called human beings gods, why should we be upset when one states, I am god?” The problem lies in that we identify ourselves with body and mind, instead of realizing, that our essential essence is spirit, oneness with God. Jesus referred to himself, his body as son of man and his essence as son of God, oneness with God, ‘I and the father are one. John 10:30. ‘God is a spirit John 4:24. There is only one spirit that resides in all.

“Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?”? 1 Corinthian 3:16 (NLT)

So are human beings actually gods? What did He mean?

In Psalms 82:6, from which Jesus quoted, God says to human beings: “I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.’

The Hebrew word translated “gods” is elohim, which literally means “gods” or “mighty ones”—although it is often rendered as “God” (that is, the true God) in the Bible. That’s because, although plural in form, the word elohim is often singular in usage.

Some have argued that the word in this context should be translated “judges” (“mighty ones being seen by some here as simply powerful human beings). But the original New Testament manuscripts translate Christ’s quotation in John 10 using the Greek word theoi,”gods". But, again, can human beings legitimately be referred to as gods, as Jesus said? How are we to understand this?

The key here is to see ourselves as parts of God’s family comprising of more than one God Being.

Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV)

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Indeed, from the beginning God intended to add many children to His family. In Genesis 1, after creating plants and animals to reproduce each “according to its kind,” God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26, emphasis added throughout)—showing that man was created according to the “God kind.” To help us understand the parallel with God creating man in His image and likeness. So God was essentially reproducing Himself through humanity.

The apostle Paul told the men of Athens, “As also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring’ ” (Acts 17:28).

Psalm 82 (KJV) is much easier to understand in this light. In verse 6, I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

That makes perfect sense. When any entity bears offspring, its offspring are of the same kind. The offspring of God are “gods.”

God is eternal spirit. Human bodies are mortal flesh but infused with a soul being a part of the Spirit of God.

God intends to exalt us from this fleshly existence to the same level of divine spirit existence that He has, as we will see.

A new awakening in us needs to take place

This involves a process of spiritual awakening in which God fathers us as His children. It starts with His Spirit joining with our human spirit: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16, KJV). Through this miraculous union, we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

Thus the Spirit-begotten Christian is a child of God, an actual member of elohim, the family of God.

The apostle John wrote: “Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). We will receive the divine glory of the Father and Christ (Romans 5:2; 1 Peter 5:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; Colossians 1:27).

As coinheritors with Christ, we will receive dominion over all things, including the entire vast universe—dominion just as Christ has (Romans 8:17; Hebrews 2:5-9; Revelation 21:7). To truly exercise dominion over all things requires the omnipotent power of God.

What about our minds? As human beings, we couldn’t count all the individual stars of the universe in a trillion lifetimes. But God, in a passing remark, says He knows all the stars by name (Psalms 147:4). Amazingly, Paul states, “Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known that is, by God”

(1 Corinthians 13:12), showing that we will possess the omniscience of God, and why not, for we will have the Holy Spirit and the mind of God in full?

Indeed, at that time, like Jesus, we will at last be “filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19; compare Colossians 1:19; Colossians 2:9). How can someone be filled with all the fullness of God and be anything less than God? Therefore, at our ultimate change, we too will be divine—though the Father and Christ will forever be greater than us.

The teaching of deification

This wonderful truth will surely come as quite a shock to those who have heard only the traditional view of mainstream Christianity regarding the ultimate reward of the righteous. Yet those who might be quick to assail this teaching will perhaps be even more surprised to learn that many early “church fathers” of mainstream tradition—not so far removed from early apostolic teaching— did understand this incredible truth, at least in part.

“The Word became flesh to make us ‘partakers of the divine nature’ [2 Peter 1:4]: ‘For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine son ship, might become a son of God’ [St. Irenaeus, Adv.  haeres (against Heresies). 3, 19, 1: PG 7/1, 939]. ‘For the Son of God became man so that we might become God’ [St. Athanasius, De inc., 54, 3: PG 25, 192B]. ‘The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us share in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods’ St. Thomas Aquinas."

This teaching is even more prevalent in Eastern Orthodox tradition, where it is known by the Greek term theosis, meaning “divinization” or “deification.” However, it is wholly unlike the New Age concept of “I am god”—looking to the self as supreme. Notice the remarkable explanation of the early theologian Tertullian, writing around A.D. 200:

“It would be impossible that another God could be admitted, when it is permitted to no other being to possess anything of God. Well, then, you say, at that rate we ourselves possess nothing of God. But indeed we do, and will continue to do so. Only it is from Him that we receive it, and not from ourselves. For we will be even gods, if we deserve to be among those of whom He declared, ‘I have said, “You are gods,”’ and ‘God stands in the congregation of the gods.’ But this comes of His own grace, not from any property in us. For it is He alone who can make gods”.

Of course, Christianity is not a polytheistic religion. There is but one God. The term gods is really meant to distinguish multiple God Beings constituting the one God—the one God meaning the one God family. As mentioned before, there are at present two fully divine members of that family—two distinct Beings—God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ. And, as incredible as it sounds, there will be more to come.

There are many more who are already members of the God family. Having all measure of the divine through the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, they are in the process of deification. However, they are not yet themselves truly divine. But one day, if they remain faithful, they will be. And ultimately all of mankind, that is, those who are willing, will follow in the same course.

“I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:18). And He means it. God will not forever kid Himself into thinking we are His children when we really aren’t. No, the Father intends to have  us as His full children, to transform us into the very kind of beings that He and Christ now are—though, again, forever subject to Their loving authority.

Indeed, even though saved human beings will be elevated to existence at the God level as real children of God and full members of the God family, they will never challenge, individually or collectively, the preeminence of the Father and Christ as leaders of the family. Truly, all will be subject to Jesus, except the Father, and Christ will Himself be subject to the Father (see 1 Corinthians 15:24-28). Their positions at the top of the family will never be challenged or threatened by even the addition of billions of divine children.

This, then, is the ultimate potential destiny of all human kind. It is the awe-inspiring purpose for which we were created. As Jesus quoted, foreseeing our destiny reached, “I said, ‘You are gods.’” Let us all, then, be ever thankful. For it can’t get any higher than that.

Glory to God, Amen.