* * * What is the Truth of Life? * * *

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Some Short And Simple Answers
To Questions Concerning:
The Truth Of Life:

Where do we come from?
Where we are going?
Why we are here?

First we must properly understand the true context into which every human being is born.

Where do we come from?

All of Creation — the entire manifest universe — was created approximately 13.75 billion years ago.
Planet Earth is about 4.5 billions years old.
The duration of the present universe will last just over 34 & 1/2 billions years[1].

The cosmos was created out of a void of pure, undifferentiated consciousness  — Cosmic Consciousness[2], which is all that exists in the VOID between the cyclic cosmic creations.
It is this Cosmic Consciousness which generated the primordial throb — known as the great Spanda — that eventually evolved into the current universe. This Spanda initially took the form of the primordial sound of creation known universally as the sacred sound OM.

om-1

OM: The Primordial Sound Of Creation —

Given this very simple and straightforward cosmology, everything in Creation has evolved from the same cosmic stuff — we call it Cosmic Consciousness.  Therefore, nothing exists that is not Cosmic Consciousness.  So far so good?

The human being is the crowning glory of Creation.  Not only is each person made of Cosmic Consciousness; every individual possesses the divine spark of Supreme Consciousness, the Prime Creator of the universe.  In this way the Supreme Consciousness enters His/Her Creation and revels in it as the very soul of each human being.  This cosmic game is represented in Eastern spirituality as the “Play of Consciousness“.

By the way, the very impetus for this celestial sport is the divine impulse which is often articulated: “I am one, let me become many.” In so doing the Supreme Consciousness proceeds to author, direct and act in countless plays and dramas.  Every era and epoch brings but a new set on which to experience Creation in a different way and with vastly different roles, plots and endings.

Why are we here?

However, in spite of such a whimsical and lighthearted reason for GOD assuming the role of a human being as merely a “Play of Consciousness”, there is one very serious purpose throughout the existence of every incarnated soul.  Everyone is called back home to the Godhead.  Each person is given a special role in this cosmic drama and challenged to play his or her role in such a way that they will eventually attain the same state of consciousness as the Supreme Consciousness. Everything that happens in a person’s life, over myriad lifetimes, is designed to heighten one’s awareness about this simple goal of living.

The spiritual journey, then, can be seen in the context of making one’s way back to the very SOURCE of our existence — SUPREME CONSCIOUSNESS.  Every person will embark on this journey at some point in their many lifetimes.  The older the soul, the more they have experienced all of the polar opposites of the material universe.  Eventually they become aware — painfully aware — that happiness born of the polar opposites is both fleeting and not very fulfilling.

They realize that everything which used to bring them happiness is but a diluted drop of the divine elixir that comes from the immersion in Supreme Consciousness.  All of the pursuits and pleasures of human life that appear to bring fulfillment then begin to recede into the background.  With the descent of Grace, comes the desire for constant communion with GOD.  Only in this way is the human spirit forever gratified; the search for true happiness and unending joy of lifetimes will then come to a permanent end.

The Blue Light of Supreme Consciousness

The Blue Light of Supreme Consciousness

Where are we going?

Over the course of countless lifetimes every soul is given myriad opportunities to explore all of GOD’s Creation.  They do this by being drawn to various divine allurements, demonic enticements and earthly temptations.  The more they concentrate their activities on that which is inherently good and beneficial for soul growth, the more time they spend in the heavenly realms.  The more they lean in the opposite direction, the more they will occupy the hellish planes of existence.

While any soul is traveling through the Earth realm, they will inevitably be drawn to various addictions and cravings, indulgences and infatuations.  It is said that even Lord Surya, Lord of the Sun, is addicted to the sun salutations performed by his earthbound devotees.  Likewise, it is known that the musk deer is fixated on the fragrance that emanates from its own navel, just as the honey bee craves sweet nectar.  Similarly, the moth is always drawn toward the light as the elephant is fascinated by its sense of touch.

Herein lies the real secret of all of life’s myriad pursuits and endeavors.  Truly, there is only one thing that the human being is in avid pursuit of — LOVE.  Since the Lord is the very embodiment of love, in all that we do we are actually seeking the company of the Highest Lord.  Though we chase after happiness in so many ways, it is the Lord who resides in the Cave of the Heart that we are actually pursuing.  Whether we seek to acquire money or power, fame or influence, gold and silver, jewels and gems; all of these are but a means to the same end.  Even our addictions to alcohol, coffee, cigarettes, marijuana, sugar, etc. are actually a mundane way of tasting the sweetness of the Lord[3].

When older souls are ready to walk the true spiritual path back to the Godhead, they come down to Earth.  For it is only in the middle realm of Earth where there is an equal manifestations of both love and hate, peace and war, good and evil, whereupon the soul can attain Self Realization.  Only on Planet Earth can the divine LOVE necessary be experienced to catapult the human spirit into the rarefied and sublime realm of Supreme Consciousness.  This is why human birth is considered to be very rare in the Eastern religion traditions; because it is regarded as a great boon for one’s spiritual advancement.

In truth there are essential types of evolution of the human spirit which can only occur on a planet such as Earth.  This loka, as it is sometimes called, presents a crucible in which the heat and friction required for profound spiritual development can occur very quickly.  The more aware — and self aware — an individual is, the more rapidly they can climb the “Stairway to Heaven”, which will eventually lead them to a place of perpetual peace and contentment.  Truly, the process of self actualization will always lead the spiritual aspirant to the holy realm where “peace surpasses all understanding“.

How do we get there?

We start this human adventure in the skin of a child.  We laugh easy, play hard and take very little seriously.  Then we begin to grow up and lose our sense of humor, work hard to subsist, and take too much personally.  Eventually we grow old and become childlike again.  In the humility that comes with facing our mortality many are compelled to recognize the true purpose of their human existence.  With this change in perspective may come the surrender necessary for one to embrace a life of disciplined spiritual practice.  Of course, there are those old souls who are fortunate to begin their spiritual journey at younger ages when it is much easier to perform the more rigorous disciplines.

Also known as sadhana in the Eastern spiritual traditions, through the daily practice of various spiritual disciplines such as meditation, mantra repetition, chanting, scriptural study, selfless service, and self inquiry, the mind becomes purified as the soul becomes sanctified.  The many virtues then take up residence within the person, whereupon good karmas are accumulated.  Knowledge is attained through the reading of sacred scriptures and teachings of saints. Finally, divine wisdom is imbibed as a result of putting the newfound transcendent understanding into practice.

The Cave of the Heart is the real Temple of GOD

The Cave of the Heart is the real Temple of GOD

The Human Body Is The Temple Of GOD

When this recognition dawns in the life of a human being, they immediately reorient themselves.  Being genuinely cognizant that “God dwells within every person” is an extremely empowering.  When taken to an even higher level of regular spiritual practice by worshipping oneself as the Supreme Consciousness, everything begins to change for the better.  A great modern saint once encouraged his devotees as follows:

“Honor your self, worship your Self, kneel to your self, God dwells within you as you.”[4]

As a spiritual aspirant begins to live their life with this sublime understanding, he/she will naturally embrace a lifestyle that is at once happy, healthy and wholesome. The more they live their life in this manner, the more they will be inclined to maintain their daily spiritual disciplines, good eating habits, exercise routines and other positive practices. In this way the individual will advance on their spiritual path all the way to the state of blissful enlightenment, as promised by the saints and siddha, sages and seers of old.

Why do so few get it?

Because the spiritual path is truly a razor’s edge. While it is quite challenging to stay on such a rigorous pilgrimage all the way back to the “Original Source of all Life“, eventually every person will take their own unique direction. However, in an age like the present Kali Yuga, the stage of life is set up so that there will be many pitfalls and downfalls, obstacles and impediments. Hence, there is a pervasion of reluctance to situate oneself squarely on a true spiritual path.

While all the major religions of the world point the way when followed with integrity and sincerity, they have been altered enough that many followers have become disheartened and dismayed, disillusioned and disenchanted. Such is the plight of post-modern mankind.  The burgeoning of atheism throughout societies everywhere stands as a testimony to this.

Because so few really comprehend the actual context in which they exist, they lack the proper frame of reference with which to gauge the progress of their spiritual advancement. Life is not only full of unprecedented distraction and diversion, unparalleled deception and deceit, it is also occurring in a shrinking global society marked by HUGE amounts of false information, misinformation and disinformation. Therefore, the challenges — both mundane and spiritual — seem to be getting bigger by the year … or month … or day!

god-is-in-control_t_nv

This current state of affairs is, too, part of the cosmic game.

There is perhaps no better way to seize someone’s attention than to scare the heck out of them. As the author of this cosmic drama known as Planet Earth 2014, GOD alternates between comedies and tragedies as He/She always has. However, the very nature of the Kali Yuga is that it will always tend toward the scary side. That is sometimes the only way that certain groups of souls will ever get the message:

Go within, there is nothing of true value to be found in the outside world.

As a matter of fact, there are so many incarnated souls which are present at the end of this Kali Yuga, that it appears more will receive this divine inspiration than ever before. Never before, throughout recorded history, have there been so many people who are asking themselves the same questions like:

Why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?

Or

Why does God put so many people through such difficult, and so many, trials and tribulations[5]?

These questions can easily be answered when viewing the human experience through the lens of reincarnation and transmigration of souls. Since each individual soul has taken birth numerous times here on Earth, as well as on other planes of existence, they have accumulated countless karmas. It is this ever-expanding bag of personal karma which forges the destiny for each incarnation. Once those karmas — in the aggregate — become balanced between positive and negative, divine initiation takes place.

The Truth Of Life

This descent of divine grace is the greatest day in the destiny of every human being. It could be said that this is the moment when the “comic egg” is cracked so that the spiritual chick can be hatched. By devotedly exercising the two wings of sadhana (disciplined spiritual practice), the spirit will eventually soar into the highest heavens never to return to this realm of existence, except by divine decree.

So, what we are saying is that the real purpose of human life is to finally reach the level of Supreme Consciousness.  After experiencing all things human (sometimes many, many times over countless lifetimes), the soul inevitably evolves into a pure enough vessel to hold the Supreme Consciousness in its fullness.  As they say in yoga, once Shakti merges with Shiva in the Sahasrara, this rapturous cosmic dance goes on unending.

Bliss, and nothing but ever-new bliss, is the both the blessing and hallmark of such a rarefied spiritual state.
• Yogis refer to it as sahaja samadhi.
• Sufis call it yaqeen.
• Mystical Christianity knows such spiritual attainment as sainthood; to those mystics sainthood is conferred by God, not man.
• Judaism expresses it as the experience of “harmony with God”.
• Buddhism has labelled it as Nirvana; others as ENLIGHTENMENT.
• Hindus understand it as moksha or liberation
• Taoist experience it as immortality
• Islam seeks paradise in a blissful heavenly realm

Truth … what is truth, but “existence, consciousness and bliss”.

As they say in Kundalini Yoga — S A T C H I D A N A N D A !

Even the 5 elements are alive with Existence, Consciousness and Bliss!

Even the 5 elements are alive with Existence, Consciousness and Bliss!

With every good wish,

Your Friends at Radiant Living

Endnotes:

[1] The universe expands until it reaches it midpoint of duration and then collapses in on itself until it is reabsorbed into the Cosmic Void at the end of its 34.5 billion year existence. Since the universe is currently around 13.5 billion years old, it has not yet reached the midpoint of the particular cosmic cycle, and is therefore still expanding at a rate of….

[2]  Cosmic Consciousness* is further delineated at this link:
Prophecy Is Uttered To Avert Catastrophe, NOT Predict It

*The sky is blue because it exists in the blue Ocean of Consciousness.  The color of Consciousness is blue — a deep, scintillating blue that is more brilliant than any blue seen on Earth.  Similarly, the oceans are blue because they reflect the same hues of blue as the Ocean of Consciousness. All of Creation is forever bathing and basking in the sacred blue light of Consciousness.

[3] Sugar … as Sweetness … as the Lord

“You see, wherever we seek sweetness in our life, we are truly seeking the Lord. The Lord is the sweetest of ALL sweets. And His many sweet creations are but different manifestations of His pure sweetness. Though many of these physical sweets may not look, or smell, or taste, or feel like the Lord as you would think, they are no less than the Lord Himself. After all, they were made from His supreme consciousness and by His supreme energy. In other words, He not only owns the bakery, supplies the flour and the sugar, as well as the bakers; the Lord is the entire bakery, and all of its delectable sweet baked goods.”

[4] PLAY OF CONSCIOUSNESS: A Spiritual Autobiography by Swami Muktananda

[5] Excerpt on the purpose of “trial and tribulations” from:
Overcoming Addictions Can Be A Stairway To Heaven

“Trials and tribulations, no matter what form they take, always serve our highest good. Therefore it is best to face them consciously and with maximum sobriety. Anything that treats our symptoms usually, in some way or another, rips off our shakti (spiritual energy according to Ayurveda), and lessens the degree to which we will be present in any given moment. Particularly during those experiences that are meant to be spiritually enlightening or edifying, we do well to “self-medicate” only to the extent that is really necessary. The practice of such forbearance is in and of itself a great virtue, which will take us even further in our sadhana (yogic spiritual practice).”

Recommended Reading:

FAITH

SELF RESTRAINT

ocean-day-2013-santa-barbara

The Blue Light of Cosmic Consciousness Pervades all of Creation