Guru in Jeans:
Inward Journey to
Psychospiritual Awakening
Dr. Rossi Davis
Contents
Chapters
Prologue
The Search for our Spiritual Self
2. Many paths - one destination
3. The Daily Practice of Spiritual Living
4. The Law of Cause and Effect
5. Love
6. A Conscious Manifestation of Oneness
7. Fear
8. Forgiveness
9. Journeying Inward
10. Continuity & Change
11. Life Patterns
12. The Healer Within
13. Spiritual Abundance
14. Light and Darkness – Good and Evil
15. Emptiness
16. Quenching your spiritual thirst
About the Author
Bibliography
Guru in Jeans: Inward Journey to Pscyhospiritual Awakening
Copyright Rossi Davis, 2008
What is the Soul but a vagrant?
What is God but an unseen abode?
What is the body but a shelter?
What is the Lord but a shepherd?
What is the Spirit but a light?
What is Life but a path?
What is the Mind but a lantern?
Prologue
This book is an amalgamation of spiritual concepts together with my personal experiences and notions. The idea behind this book began years ago and stretched up to the time when the final manuscript was completed. Although a slim volume, I did not realize how difficult this task would be. During my own journey from Eastern European Orthodoxy to just being a spiritual traveler, I did not notice there to be an immediate shift of consciousness. The process of journeying inward taught me that spiritual progress is an ever-occurring event. We as human beings are still living in an age when many externalize the reasons behind their destructive behavior while seeking outward salvation. Instead of coming closer together, our religions still separate us further from each other. I will never forget the hot and humid day in June of 1992 when I left Bulgaria to come to America. With the quick so-longs that were exchanged between me and my grandparents, I did not realize then that I was leaving not only my bittersweet memories behind of childhood play, familiar smells and foods, my native tongue, but I was also leaving behind my naïve relationship with God the way I had understood or known God until that moment. Everything was about to change.
Coming to America, I quickly realized that instead of religious freedom, I was about to encounter a spiritual labor-some journey which was going to test my beliefs about spiritual convictions, the mystery of life, and the nature of God. During those long days that turned to weeks and then to years, I would cry myself to sleep, overcome by desperate nostalgia, confusion and loneliness as I was still asking an external God by whom I felt I had been betrayed for answers. Arriving in New York City, no matter how populated the city was, I felt utterly alone. Regardless of the many churches everywhere, I felt a sense of spiritual loneliness.
At that time, I did know that all of these tribulations were necessary in order for me to realize that the journey to God starts within and ends within as opposed to in a church or a temple. It was later, that I realize what the passage “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you” (Hebrews 13-5-6) meant. Today, to me, it means that God is to be found within and that it is this inner God that sustains us through life. I realized that ultimately the “kingdom of God is within you.” These experiences helped me learn that we as humans make the world a better place and can condemn and hinder our own spiritual maturity when we act out against nature, through violence, crime, hatred and worst of all - indifference. It helped me to realize that God is much nearer than I had ever thought. I realized that a person does not necessarily need to pray in order for God to continue to exist. God is everywhere, and most importantly, inside of us. A person’s thirst for understanding does not end when the walls of our human existence at times enclose our spiritual self in forgetting this very basic fact.
The events in life can either bring us closer to or further from the God within. Of course, the path we decide to follow and who we become is totally up to us. We may at times attribute our attitudes to our genes; brain chemistry or how we were raised, but ultimately, we are all gods. It is difficult at times to comprehend our interconnectedness, in spite of our uniqueness. Along my own journey, I sought answers to the questions many of us have - questions about God, our existence and role in life. Where my search and anticipation took me was something utterly different from where I had initially started. Through dreams, after meditation revelations and psychic experiences, I was able to glimpse at the bigger picture. I embraced a Gnostic view that God is not above but inside of us. God is everywhere. I hope that the messages in this book serve both as an inspiration and an encouragement along your journey.
My gratitude goes out to all the great teachers of all times and faiths.
May the Light shine within you.
CHAPTER 1
“Seek and you will find”
Jesus
Matthew 7:7
The Search for our Spiritual Self
My personal spiritual journey started in the Eastern Orthodox Church and took me on many paths just to realize that there may be many paths but only one destination. Our personal journey is what leads us to an inner transformation and awakening. As a child growing up in a communist country, I was searching for something “out there” since the age of five. I remember clearly an incident where I was lured by a group of other children into a neighborhood basement. There, I was given some concoction to drink after being told that a genie would grant me my wishes once I drank it. Needless to say, the potion tasted awful and no genie ever appeared. I do not even recall what my wishes were at such an early age. Years later, in a different neighborhood with different kids, I was once again lured into a secluded area and told that I would meet a powerful wizard. I ended up being locked in this dark place for a period of time, which seemed like forever, and after banging on the door and yelling at them to let me out, they eventually did so. It seems that the human psyche is always in search of something. These events from my early childhood are now like metaphors for my trials and experiences as an adult in my search for God. Whether these incidents occurred due to my never-ceasing naiveté or faith and curiosity in something greater than what is seen by the naked eye, the unpleasant feelings associated with it at that time did not stop me from seeking answers to many spiritual questions. Later in life, perhaps the darkness of the confined places was to equate metaphorically with my lack of understanding which shrouded in darkness.
People have always been in search of a remedy that would alleviate their suffering. Organized religion, for some, has taken the role of being that remedy, which offers mental comfort during difficult times. Religion for the poor and the rich holds the same promises, that of redemption and a heavenly existence even after the death of the physical body. Those who resort to a religion and its practices, no matter what denomination they associate with, are searching for something precious that they have perceived as difficult to obtain and sustain throughout life such as an ever-peaceful and satisfied existence whether on earth or in paradise.
No matter what religion a man resorts to, he yearns for the qualities and states of daily existence; he finds it can be difficult to obtain in the present moment such as peace, forgiveness, bliss, equanimity or Nirvana and not to mention some people who expect a “blessed” physical life. Some people use prayer to reach out to an external source such as a God or different deities. Everyone finds reasons and things for which to pray. This can provide comfort to a despairing person but only temporarily. Once prayers halt and hardship creeps in, one blames either God for not being there to rescue him from the hardships, or one blames oneself for a weak faith, as a result of which God did not reply to his prayers. The disadvantaged as well as the well-to-do, materialistic individuals flock to church and kneel asking in prayer for something that they feel is lacking in their lives. The sinner and the saint both confess their transgressions to an external God. When things do not improve and prayers remain unanswered, they have the gods to hold accountable or blame themselves for not praying earnestly or for lacking faith. Even the religious scholars and proclaimed sages of past and present times, sought to understand the nature of God, the meaning of life and the reality of death. We have become introduced to rituals, ceremonies and various practices in order to find a panacea for our human misery, alleviate suffering, or simply rid ourselves of our human inability to adjust and accept life as it is - without having a specific answer for everything.
A saying that I heard once said that when there are wars on earth and people die, it was the work of men influenced by evil or the Devil. On the other hand, when there are earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, and volcanic eruptions, it was the work of an angry God. In both examples, there is destruction and death brought upon mankind. It is as though people look for suitable answers for why something happens. The God of the Old Testament appears angry, vengeful and jealous, while the God in the New Testament seems more loving and forgiving in certain cases. I see many car stickers and car plates about Jesus such as “Jesus Saves”, “Real Man loves Jesus”, “Blessed”; these are only a few amongst the many I have seen. After everything, God’s message has become reduced to a car sticker.
Why do people time after time attribute intolerable acts to be the works of Satan or say that a person was driven to commit intolerable acts by an external evil force? Why is redemption expected from an external God? Is it easier to explain one’s own evil deeds this way instead of seeing that these evil inclinations can all harbor inside of us? Going to a church or a temple does not per-se bring one closer to God. A person’s love, thoughts and actions throughout life can, on the other hand, bring that person closer to the God within. It is not Satan that causes one to molest his own children, another to kill, steal, rape, or be jealous. It is our dualistic nature that predisposes us to all of these actions, and it is ultimately our choice. Of course, looking at such horrors by attributing them to be the result of another external source may be more easily explained and perhaps comprehended by the human mind than taking personal responsibility. After all, something else or someone else made this person hurt another sentient being, they may reason.
Explaining the reason behind certain behavior is very common to kids. Everyone has seen a child trying to excuse himself in front of his parent by saying, “It wasn’t my fault.” As spiritual beings and adults though, many of us still resort to this mentality and therefore remain spiritually in darkness and in the early stages of our moral development. Seeking God out of ourselves takes us farther from the truth, which in actuality can be found internally. Seek and you shall find within yourself the existence and reality of the One God.
Early in my spiritual growth, I accepted Christianity devotedly and was an enthusiastic follower. I was considered to be a religious person. What I mean by this is that I viewed the Bible as many do – as the answer and the resolution to life’s hardships. I started attending Eastern Orthodox services at church in my native Bulgaria in the early 1990’s with the fall of Communism. With Western influence, I began attending an Evangelist church as well. I read the Old and New Testament, prayed and “spread the gospel to others”. I viewed others’ lifestyles that were not governed by a religious dogma as sinful and was not hesitant in sharing my opinion. I believed in an external God, in heaven and hell, in the condemnation of the soul and in its salvation/redemption through faith in an external deity. Looking back, that period of my life was a stepping-stone to an inner spiritual growth for me. This was also a period in my life when I could have not been further from knowing the nature of God. With time, I realized the meaning behind the passage: “You will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32)
I came to accept the fact that writers, both Pagan and Christian, have through the ages altered the true messages of Jesus. For example, St. Jerome in a letter to Pope Damascus wrote that he had only altered parts in the Gospels that according to him needed to be modified. He suppressed the first Gospel of St. Matthew since in this Gospel; Jesus was portrayed as born of the seed of man. However, we still find in the scriptures this same information. In the Gospel of John, 6-42 we read“…this man is Jesus son of Joseph, isn’t he? We know his father and mother. How, then, does he now say he came down from heaven?” The messages Jesus and his disciple John spread out in their native language Aramaic, through numerous translations, copying and editing into Greek, Latin and other languages had lost its pure message and essence. (Linssen, 2001) In 1958 professor Morton Smith discovered a letter at the Mar Saba monastery, southeast of Jerusalem. The letter was attributed to have been authored by Clement of Alexandria, who wrote to Theodore regarding a Secret Gospel of Mark. In the letter, Clement urged Theodore to lie even under oath about the messages in the manuscript in order to obscure what early Christians thought to be an authentic portrayal of some events concerning Jesus’ ministry. “To them, therefore, as I said above, one must never give way; nor, when they put forward their falsifications, should one concede that the secret Gospel is by Mark, but should even deny it on oath. For, ‘Not all true things are to be said to all men.’” It is a fact, acknowledged by many scholars, that the gospels in the New Testament were composed between sixty to one hundred years after Jesus’ teachings, which can lead to inaccurate portrayal of his teachings. Scholars also have access to other writings such as the collections of the Nag Hammadi library that record accounts of Jesus’ teachings, although they are viewed as Gnostic in nature. After all, unanswered prayers can be blamed on one’s lack of faith or attributed to God’s wisdom saying that it was not his will to answer a specific prayer. It is easier and perhaps more convenient for the human mind to digest such claims than to acknowledge that indeed man is on his own in the midst of life’s trials and tribulations. The saying Seek and you shall find is only an invitation and many people are either unprepared or unwilling to find what lies ahead. Such a journey can potentially shake one’s faith, and what one has constructed as a reality up to a certain point in one’s life. To some, safety is better than sorrow.
Anyone who throughout time has taken a major role in portraying God, however suitable to a self-serving cause, is mocking the reality of God. A money and power driven agenda that has persecuted, tortured, and even executed so-called heretics, whose view or interpretation of God was not to someone else’s liking, only caused harm to humanity’s spiritual quest by tainting its own religion, in this case Christianity, through hatred, judgment and punishment. Can truly devoted and godly men carry such despicable acts toward other beings? A friend and I, as preadolescents growing up in a Communist country, bought an icon while on a school trip to a monastery. When this was discovered, the teachers and peers alike mocked us. Even now, living in a democratic society, why are tarot card readings, meditation, hypnosis, pagan religions, or even deity statues seen as offensively evil by some fanatically religious masses, while harmful acts such as wars, terrorism, euthanasia, cruelty to animals, bombing of abortion clinics and the death penalty, to name but a few, are seen as justifiable? Scholars spend more time arguing about who wrote what passages in the Bible and other spiritual books than contemplating the messages therein. Preachers jealously proclaim that there is only one God, but reject other people’s understanding of that same One God.
The quest for spiritual development continues to be a battle of debates of whether Jesus was born of a virgin, became resurrected, or died on the cross as any mortal. Caught up in such arguments, people miss the essence of spirituality. After all, does not all of creation come from One Source? In the Gospel of Philip we find: “As for ourselves, let each one of us dig down after the root of evil which is within one, and let one pluck out of one’s heart from the root. It will be plucked out if we recognize it. But if we are ignorant of it, it takes root in us and produces its fruit in our heart.”
It is easier for men to adopt a belief that is more convenient or comprehendible to the human mind and to attribute salvation to an external deity. It is more difficult to initiate an inner quest to stop oneself from committing immoral acts that were a result of one’s own unhealthy desires and clouded thinking. Of course, another person finds it easier to explain that a father molests his own child because of the Devil instead of the evil essence inside of him to which he yields. After all, it may make more sense to say that God will judge and punish those who do not obey his will. A person must not act out of fear in his life, but out of love for oneself and others. Only then can that person become closer to the God within. Jesus preached that: “a person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit.” (John 3-6). Thus, he differentiated between a physical and a spiritual birth.
One evening before going to sleep, I meditated deeply on Jesus’ words “Whoever believes in me shall not die but will have eternal life.” That night, I had a dream in which the meaning of this message was revealed to me. In the dream, I observed a monk who while walking down a path encountered Jesus. He was about to bow to Jesus when Jesus asked him, “What are you doing?”
The monk replied, “You’re the Christ; I am to bow to you.”
Jesus then answered: “God is inside of you and everywhere else. God cannot die, neither can you.”
In The Gospel of Thomas, verses 70 & 77 we find Jesus’ words “If you bring forth what is within you, you bring forth what will save you. If you do not bring what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you. Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there.” Salvation refers to being saved from our own ignorance and destructive habitual patterns of thinking and behavior through a shift of consciousness. In the Gospel of Truth, we also find this passage “For he who remains ignorant until the end is a creature of forgetfulness and will perish with it.” If we do not stop thinking malevolently and acting maliciously, this will eventually destroy not only our own life, but also the life of humanity. If we do not bring out and resolve our anger, it may result in high blood pressure, depression, addiction, envy, and hatred that can hurt not only us but others as well.
God is a life force which is omnipotent. Some call this force God; others call it universal wisdom. What name one chooses to explain this phenomenon is of less importance. What matters is the message which both ancient and present teachers share with humanity. The true nature of God cannot be seen or comprehended. God cannot be thought or named. The unseen Tao is the real Tao. God is Tao and Tao is God. The human mind is ever-changing and expanding.
In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus said, “If they ask you, what is the evidence of your Father in you - say to them, it is motion and rest.” To reach the divine within, first we must be at peace with others and ourselves. For a start, relaxing one’s body can nourish the mind. We are too busy caught up in the hassles of today and creating our tomorrow in the physical world. Thus, we forget that the life of tomorrow comes from our spiritual life today. The relaxation of the body can lead to nourishment of our mind so we can become more in tune with the God spark within. One can use a method that is most comfortable to them such as mediation, prayer, yoga, Tai Chi or any other discipline. The Bible mentions that during prayer one should go to a quiet and secluded place. By shutting our mind to the noise of daily routines and anxieties, we become more receptive to finding our God spark within. These methods are only vehicles in our search. How we arrive at out destination is up to us. We must be careful not to get too attached to these methods and forget our initial intent in the process. Every being has its own personal understanding and relationship with God. One is not better than the other.
The struggle between good and evil is the spirit’s struggle to emerge from its sheltered and ignorant existence. Salvation pertains to a spiritual rebirth that brings forth illumination of the mind and expansion of one’s heart. When this occurs, the lower self is freed from the chain of misconception and self-serving acts. To become awakened is to realize that the only limitations in life come from those we mentally impose on ourselves. To be like God means not only to be able to know the quality of things such as the difference between good and evil, but also to apply this knowledge in our everyday life. Being able to discriminate between things does not necessarily mean that we will always choose to do what is right. We all exercise our freewill. The mind can become obscured by desire, anger, greed and hatred to name but a few, which in return lead to making harmful choices. Each choice we make affects not only us but others as well.
We can find a perfect ancient example in the book of Genesis in the Bible. The story tells us that Cain’s heart was filled with envy and jealousy, which eventually led him to murder his brother Abel. One negative feeling evokes another. Then, feelings turn into actions. If we recognize this early in our own life, we may spare others and ourselves from pain. We will not go on in life hurting others through gossip, conflict, or any other malicious behavior. We will also spare our own soul from being spiritually stuck in its journey.
The search for spirituality may start outside of you, but will eventually end up within you. Life is multi dimensional because of our experiences and contributions to it. We contribute to life as a whole with our actions, feelings and ideas. We are always in contact with another being whether that is a subordinate, a customer, a family member, a pet, the list goes on. Our actions build not only what we perceive as our life but also the life of others around us. The concepts of interconnectedness and karma may still be novel to some, but what they basically assert is that every action has a reaction. In Matthew 13:3-9 we find the words of Jesus:
“… Behold, the sower went forth to sow; and as he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them: and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them: and others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” This verse shows us that spiritual attainment is an individual quest. Spiritual transformation and inner growth depend on the readiness of the individual, good timing, and effort. Spirituality can be lost if one is too caught up in things that present themselves as barriers to growth such as envy, hatred, greed and self-doubt to name just a few among the many hindrances. Once we plant the seeds of spiritual life inside of us, we must constantly nourish them. If not, there will be no growth. The good ground from Jesus’ parable pertains to welcoming our inner being. In return, it becomes fertile soil for our good deeds, thoughts and feelings. We must spread kindness to all sentient beings in order to honor the living God in nature and ultimately inside of us.
CHAPTER 2
“The true way has no paths.”
The Master Beinsa Douno of Bulgaria
Many paths - one destination
Some organized religions rebuke spiritual movements because they are viewed as heretical or evil, when in fact, both can attempt to evoke spiritual growth in a person. One can find Jesus’ teachings not only in the New Testament but also in the Apocrypha. Some scholars see these “other” writings as similar in nature to Eastern philosophy while others go further and declare their message to be of heretical nature. Various monotheistic religions have a deity that offers redemption, while spirituality accepts that freedom (salvation) is achieved solely by personal effort versus an external aid. In the book Cosmic Consciousness the evolution of the human spirit is traced in individuals who are thought to have achieved a higher state of mind and a pure perception of reality. The transformation that occurs within the individual is similar to the Eastern Nirvana or the Christian “second birth”. The person that has gone through this change becomes more in tune with the universe and all of creation. He or she “perceives the secrets of nature, the curative art, celestial phenomena and their relation to those of earth; he disdains nothing and does not shrink from applying science to the realities of the common earth…” (Bucke, 1993)
Feelings such as joy, liberation, oneness and content fill the being of each person. These feelings have been experienced by devoted Christians like St. Augustine and by others who did not claim to be religious. The Buddhist’s Nirvana is a state of mind that can be compared to spiritual Oneness and the Christian re-birth. This state of mind or cosmic consciousness can be achieved through different ways. Some may gain it through prayer and devotion, others through mediation, contemplation or sustained concentration.
Numerous accounts of spiritual re-birth are found in the Gospels and the Epistle to the Corinthians. A main Christian message is that one must die in order to be born again as Jesus says to Nicodemus in the Gospel of John, 3-3: “I am telling you the truth: no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again”, and, (6) “A person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit.” This death is not of physical but rather of spiritual and psychological nature. It is symbolic of the death of the ‘ego-self’. A transformation occurs when a person gains profound insight or has an “Aha!” experience that leads to a shift of consciousness. The Spirit is not an external element, but it is rather the God essence within each person. This is the meaning of Jesus’ statement in the Gospel of John, 10-34 “It is written in your own Law that God said: You are gods.” The same idea is beautifully expressed in the words of the Bulgarian Master Beinsa Douno: “Look for the origin of all things so that you may find the true God within your soul.”
The ultimate goal of salvation is to obtain salvation from the lower ignorant ‘ego-self’ and its destructive habits. When a person acknowledges that God is inside of him or her and that this God essence permeates everything, the individual gains understanding and acceptance of the message, “You are gods.” The scriptures do not discriminate by saying that some of us are gods, but asserts that all of creation is holy. In Colossians 3-11 we read: “Christ is all, Christ is in all.” This Christ or Cosmic consciousness is accessible to everyone.
Numerous times Jesus pointed out that some of us grasp this fact while others clouded by doctrines and by ignorance do not understand this message. Perhaps that is why he preached in parables. Many of those who have achieved a Christ-like state of being experience oneness with the universe. They also report beliefs similar in nature. For example - that everything is interconnected or that All is One. The Apocryphical Gospel of Mary Magdalene seems to have Taoist and Buddhist concepts, which we find in Jesus’ quotation: “All nature, all formed things, all creatures exist in and with one another and will again be resolved into their own roots, because the nature of matter is dissolved into the roots of its nature alone.” This statement appears similar to the Taoist concept of Oneness as stated in chapter 34 of the Tao Te Ching: “All things derive their life from it (Tao) All things return to it, and It contains them.” Regardless of the seeker’s background, faith, gender or the period during which this higher consciousness was achieved and the ego-self shed. Each one has reported experiences parallel to one another’s, such as deep understanding and expanded awareness. Even though words cannot explain this state of mind, we can see the similarities therein.
Some organized religions portray God as an external being. Jesus taught that: “the father’s kingdom is within you and outside of you” in the Gospel of Thomas. Christian religionists preach that salvation comes only through Christ, whereas they see God as an external entity. The word Christ or ‘Kristos’ means ‘the anointed one’ and it is derived from Greek. It does not pertain to God or a divine entity. Even now, christening is a ritual through which a priest anoints infants. Being like Christ means being anointed with spiritual understanding, reaching a cosmic consciousness, or nirvana. Which term one resort to is of personal preference. What is of importance is that this notion asserts that enlightenment is reached though the active direction of the divine energy within an individual. When a person reaches this state, a feeling of cosmic unity with creation and the life source whether some call it God, Tao, or energy is experienced. The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung called such experiences Numinous. In this cosmic unity, people feel that they have direct, immediate, and unlimited access to knowledge and wisdom of universal importance. (Grof, 1993) Perhaps this access to knowledge available to everyone is what the psychic Edgar Cayce referred to as the Akashic Records.
Regardless of what means one resorts to, the goal appears to be the same for each person – to reach a state of mind profoundly different from that of our everyday consciousness. An individual does not have to be religious to achieve this. A person dedicated to following a spiritual path is also able to reach this cosmic union. Spontaneous transformation is not uncommon. An Eastern story illustrates this through a good example. I do not recall when or where I encountered the story, but the gist of it is as follows:
A monk asked his teacher how long it would take him to obtain enlightenment. The master replied: “You could do it in thirty years.”
The student became somewhat discouraged due to the lengthy time and asked again: “But master, if I am very dedicated in my practice, how long would it take me then?”
The teacher replied: “You could do it in thirteen years.”
The student, again feeling discouraged, asked: “But teacher really how long does it actually take?”
The master then replied: “You can do it in three days.”
The student continued asking his master the same question until the master finally answered: “Some have achieved enlightenment in the twinkling of an eye.” I believe that in order for the person to awaken to the god realization within himself, he must have the desire for this to occur.
The story of the monks shows that there is no definite time allocated for enlightenment, but rather that it occurs within each person on an individual basis. Sri Aurobindo noted that nobody reaches Cosmic Consciousness “who is still in the separative ego”. To reach this higher state of awareness, one must experience a spiritual transformation. However, he also pointed out that: “there may be a realization of the Cosmic Self which is not followed by the realization of the dynamic universal oneness.” This scenario may apply to individuals who have reached self-actualization in this life but lack a spiritual connection with All. The length of our journeys depends on the effort of the work we have engaged in along the way. Some may awaken sooner than others. It is important what one does after awakening though. He must help other sentient beings along their journeys. Otherwise his own labors would have been in vain because All is interconnected.
After meditation and contemplation, I have had the opportunity, in a dream-like state, to experience the reality of Oneness. It is difficult to explain this rationally with words because I truly do not believe that verbal language allows one to fully do so. I realize that my ego-self prevents me from feeling this realization on a daily basis, but rather mentally, as a memory, I possess the knowledge of what it felt like. It was the most peaceful and clear-minded state of being that I have ever experienced. Although I possessed my earthly memories and still had the same familiar sense of identity, I also felt emerged in the universal life source and knew that this was what it meant to have a cosmic realization even tough this moment was short-lived on the emotional level. I acknowledge that my sprit has constant access to this state of existence and that it can be obscured by the demands of my ego-self.
To some people, enlightenment does not mean necessarily the cessation of the re-birth process, but rather it means living in the present moment. To live in the present moment we must be aware of our feelings, thoughts, desires, and reactions to the events around us. Staying in the present moment can bring us closer to the God inside of us who does not discriminate between the past, present, and future. We may find ourselves being more forgiving, tolerant and loving towards others. I reject the notion that living in the present moment means living without the attachment to our memories, ideas, desires or feelings. On the contrary, I think that living each moment with the full awareness of them is what helps us become more humane and spiritually awakened. Yes, perhaps we recall a time when someone afflicted us deeply and we feel angry and hurt but them, through conscious effort we decide to forgive and feel loving towards that same person. I think that this process is more precious to our soul than declaring that we are spiritually mature because these memories no longer affect us or bother us. That same mental state can be achieved though a psychological defense mechanism known as denial. This is not a sign of spiritual maturity in an individual who is hiding behind religiosity by saying that God will avenge him by punishing the person who has hurt him. Instead of living in denial, we can live each moment by embracing the lessons of life. Karma postulates that everything happens for a reason and that we are suffering today because we too have inflicted suffering on another at some point in our existence. This may be true, but it should not make us insensitive to the person who is hurtful to us or to those who are being hurt.
Spirituality carries a sense of objectivity and independence and it offers flexibility. Religion focuses on the importance of rituals, prayer and devotion to specific deities. Some devotees are so set in their own views and interpretation of the scriptures that they become close-minded and do not acknowledge and even ridicule others’ spiritual quest. They become judgmental and try to convert others to their path, which they see as the only path for spiritual growth (enlightenment and redemption). Spirituality offers a liberal approach in that it is non-judgmental towards anyone or anything. It is free from external condemnation by an angry God and merely states that each entity is the sole master of one’s fate. Someone who is caught up in religiosity appears to see only the small picture while the spiritual seeker acknowledges the rest of the puzzle pieces. There are many paths that can ultimately lead us to our spiritual realization.
While some people abide by the Ten Commandments, others follow the Eightfold Path or different rules and practices. A person who is on a spiritual quest may choose to remain open to many different possibilities. Buddhism teaches non-attachment, but attachment can even manifest when a follower is unaware of his own behavior because abiding to inflexible principles can cloud his objectivity. Why is there not a Tenfold Path for instance or why can there not be five commandments versus ten and so forth? In the Udana VI, 4 Buddha’s words warn: “Some recluses and Brahmins, so called, are deeply attached to their own views; People who only see one side of things engage in quarrels and disputes.”
Spiritual principles are only our guides, but each and every one of us can reach tranquility and a spiritual transformation at any given moment since there are infinite possibilities in nature. A spiritual seeker does not have to get caught up in anything that asserts a set way for achieving a higher state of consciousness. In the Gospel of Matthew, 5-5 Jesus points out that: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for there is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Being poor in spirit does not mean lacking material riches or having a lack of understanding. It refers to being open-minded to different possibilities instead of being rigid in one’s beliefs and lifestyle.
Some spiritual seekers acknowledge that everything is impermanent and do not subdue their lives to a specific teaching whether it is Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, and so on. These people do not necessarily go to church or a temple because they see the concept of God as a life energy that permeates everything from the blades of grass to the eyes of another and can feel God’s presence in the cool summer breeze. This is what it means to reach a cosmic consciousness or cosmic union. When a person reaches this state, it is reflected in his everyday actions. Such a person leads a life without violence and conflict full of deep understanding of others and life’s meaning in general. Those individuals are not always able to verbalize this in ways that would make sense to the rest. We have witnessed the change in beliefs in people from indigenous faiths to the religions of the Greeks and the Romans to the present-day religions. Our understanding of God changes with the times, but the true nature of God remains constant.
Many people were usually left perplexed at Jesus’ teachings, finding them too complex to comprehend and viewed them as parables. Those who reached a higher level of consciousness and spiritual development were able to make sense of his messages, like John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene. In the Gospel of Thomas Jesus said: “From Adam to John the Baptist, among those born of women, no one is so much greater than John the Baptist…” And then in the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, “…When Mary had said this, she fell silent, since it was to this point that the Savior had spoken with her. However, Andrew answered and said to the brethren; say what you wish to say about what she has said. I at least do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are strange ideas.”
Spirituality can be seen as a mixture of different religions and their various teachings that offer flexibility because it is made up of an individual quest. People identify many paths which ultimately lead to the same destination, as the philosopher Heraclitus pointed out that: “the path up and down is one and the same”. It is ultimately our own view, expectations and state of mind that influence our experience of the journey.