SUBJECT : In which direction should we seek?

All nations of the world have a belief in a higher condition or evolution of the human being. Just as they have a different way of dealing with the social and political needs of their society, so they also have a different way of expressing their beliefs which lead to that higher state of being. Christians, Buddhists, Sufis, Muslims and Hindus have all had teachers who hold the same views about having less and less desire for the transitory pleasures and more for the higher state which endures.

Generally in the world the word God has come to be associated with something outside of the human experience, although the scriptures which use the word may not have had that intention originally. The word Self however carries a meaning which closer to our experience. In order to bring about some blending of these two words Self and God we may choose, if it helps, to think of either of them to mean - "The highest experiencable human condition."

Our involvement or attachment with matters of the world can lead to either pleasure or pain, success or failure, sorrow or delight - and none of them lasting. Since we all seek a happiness which endures, it may become clear why the great teachers point us in the direction of higher things. Should we seek this in ourselves or in the world around us? What have the great teachers to say on this - here is a selection.

The Gospel according to Thomas.
"But the Kingdom is within you and it is without you. If you know yourselves, then you will know that you are the sons of the living Father."

New Testament -- St.Luke Ch.17-v.21
Neither shall they say lo here! or lo there! for, behold the Kingdom of God is within you.'

Swami Virajananda.
"If you are unable to meditate upon your Chosen Ideal as dwelling within you in the lotus of the heart (as in heart of a tree - centre), you can meditate upon Him, instead, as seated on a throne in front of you. The first method is of course the more commendable and the best, because it enables one to hold and see Him in the inmost recesses of ones heart or being. In the other method, He has to be thought of as existing outside, So, gradually, by continuous effort, try to see and think of Him as existing within."

The Lord Shri Krishna - Gita Ch.10 v.20
"O Arjuna! I am the Self, seated in the hearts of all beings; I am the beginning and the life, and the end of them all."

Ashtavakra Gita. 6-4
"I am in all beings, and all beings abide in Me, this is true knowledge which does not admit of renunciation, achievement or negation."

Meister Eckhart
"You should know that this simple divine image (of God) which is impressed on the soul's inmost nature is received without means (achievement). It is the inmost and noblest part of the (divine) nature that is most truly patterned in the image of the soul and here neither will nor wisdom is a means; (to find it)"

The Divine Pymander of Hermes Tristmegistus.
"From One Source all things depend; but the Source is from the One and Only. Three then are they :(1) God the Father and the Good,(2) the Cosmos and (3) Man. The Cosmos is the offspring of God; and Man (the Self), as it were, is the offspring of the Cosmos."

So now we may be able to tie up these two themes of less outer involvement and more inner contemplation. Many of the Sages of Vedanta explain that that Highest Being is One only, and appears as it were reflected in the human soul, it is like many clay pots filled with water and the image of the sun appearing in each pot. The sun is one but the reflections are many. Of course the reflection becomes obscure and broken if the surface of the water is continually being disturbed. This may occur if we are always suffering the ups and downs of life because of over-involvement. Jesus Christ pointed to the stilling of the waters of the heart - "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God (within themselves) - Matt. 5.8

 

The Sufi teaching on this is clear
Hakim Sanai - The enclosed garden of the Truth.
"Thou canst better see thy image in the mirror of thy heart than in thy clay; break loose from the chain thou hast fettered thyself with (identification with the body etc.). - for thou wilt be free when thou hast got clear from thy clay, since clay is dark and heart is bright, thy clay is a dustbin and thy heart a rose garden. Whatever increases the brightness of thy heart, brings nearer God's manifestation of Himself to thee:" (i.e. in the mirror of the heart).

Similarly
The Lord Shri Krishna - Gita ch.5- v.24
"He who is happy within his Self, and has found Its peace, and in whom the inner light shines, that sage attains Eternal Bliss and becomes the Spirit itself ."

Mevlana Jalal Ud Din Rumi combines the two themes beautifully,
"If thou wouldst pass beyond name and letter, Oh!, make thyself wholly purged of self (ego).
Like polished iron, lose the ferruginous colour-, become in thy ascetic discipline (regular and systematic practise) a mirror without rust.
Make thyself pure from the attributes of self, (attachment and identification with the world) that thou mayest behold thine own pure untarnished essence,
And behold within thy heart the sciences of the prophets (the import of the scriptures) without book and without preceptor and master.
The Prophet (the Lord) said. 'Amongst my people are some ,who are one with me in nature and aspiration-.
Their spirits behold me by the same light which I am beholding them!." --

So in the silence and stillness of our own inner condition, it may be possible to "know ourselves" truly. Although we may come to understand the principle of this process intellectually, practically we find some difficulty in experiencing it on a daily, hourly basis. The compulsive gambler, even though he has woken to the truth that his life is being spent for little return, because of the force of habit, cannot resist just one more try. Is this what prevents us experiencing what we know to be true? For this "Satsang" is necessary so that we may gain the right kind of energy and strength to overcome the habits of our life.

Anyone wishing to continue dialogue further on this, please contact the Saraswati Society

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