The Path

Our Self is Consciousness. Our true nature is Consciousness. God is Consciousness; self-luminous, all-pervasive and independent. Nothing exists that is not That consciousness. It is both transcendental and imminent.We are not different from That. Our Self, consciousness and God are the same and exist as one, in all. The world is the embodiment of That consciousness, the embodiment of God. Our ego creates individuality and we experience differences, delusion.

When we become free of thoughts we experience That pure consciousness, and separation and differences vanish. When differences vanish, realization dawns, and attachment and aversion end. Hatred, jealousy, anger and anxiety dissolve in the bliss of equanimity. Then the universe becomes a place for us to immerse ourselves in love.

God is always attained but has been forgotten. Three ways exist to remember, to gain this experience and understanding of unity. They are spontaneous awakening, feeling, and sustained sadhana. The three ways are not mutually exclusive.

Through the grace and will of the Guru and the power of God’s shakti, a spontaneous awakening arises and the experience dawns that only the Self exists, only God exits, only consciousness exists. This is rare and wonderful.

Through feeling, we use the mind and mantra to transcend the relative world and experience that the individual, the mantra, the Guru and God are the same. We contemplate our thoughts and then we transcend our thoughts. We enter the state of turiya (the transcendent) and the mind and intellect dissolve into the Self and the realization that “I am perfect, I am That” arises (see Turiya Meditation). This technique is easily practiced and infuses the transcendent into daily life.

Through sustained sadhana (spiritual practices) we meditate, chant, offer service, and practice stillness, virtues, giving, yoga and mantra repetition and, step by step, we purify. Through effort and grace the bound individual becomes God. This is a path suited for most people. Broad-based and regular practice increases the shakti (spiritual energy) and brings about the purified state that allows for the realization of the Self, of God.

We all have different histories, different impressions within us, different karma, and so we will each feel attracted to different spiritual practices, different paths, different teachers. It is up to us to fuel our longing for God, for enlightenment, for true happiness and practice what expands our consciousness, our compassion, and releases our self-cherishing and delusion. This is the reason we were born.

Blessings,