After the death of the body (and before its birth) there is neither young nor old, big or small, white or black, male or female. Before the creation of this World and after its final dissolution (Mahapralaya) we are all the same Self, we are all immortal souls eternally pervaded by the Supreme Self. We are not boys or girls, men or women, husbands or wives, fathers or mothers, or brothers, sisters, sons or daughters. We are souls. That is all. Everything else is just a temporary role play in a temporary drama called “life.”
When we step off the stage and remove our costumes we have only one relationship—the eternal relationship of the Self with the Supreme Self. While playing this drama of life we should not forget to be our Self, nor should we forget our Supreme Self. But as you know, we certainly do forget, because we get caught up in this life and we get caught up in our role. In other words, due to attachment we seem to forget who and what we really are. This is why Wisdom is so necessary. The mind must be enlightened, otherwise we, as living beings, will remain in Ignorance.
This drama of existence is all about being enlightened. It is not all about being pampered with pleasures, excited with cheap thrills, appreciated, or recognized, honored, adored, or loved by someone playing a temporary role in a temporary drama. We are all the same. We all have the same soul work to do. We all have the same Essence. The desire to be free from ignorance and to know without the least bit of doubt our True Self and our Essence is universal. This desire is the same in all of us. This desire is more manifest in some than in others, but it is this same universal desire to be Absolutely Free that enlivens everything in this universe.
We are energized to explore the depth of our being. This energy manifests as the desire to be Liberated, to be completely free from not knowing our Self and not knowing our Essence. We need to know our Essence. We need to know God. There is no substitute for the Real, for the Incomparable, for That which is One Without a Second.
It is foolish to imagine we are perfect when we still have so far to go. How far do we have to go? We have to go all the way to Eternity, and there is no end to Eternity. So, we should keep working and improving ourselves and our environment, and always remain helpful to those who come in our contact. This should never stop.
We are not helpful to anyone if we are not helpful to ourselves, and we are not helpful to ourselves when we are complacent or get stuck in an image. We should not become “typecast,” even if our role is a spiritual one. Spiritual role plays are also part and parcel of the drama and are not real. If we get caught up in a spiritual role play we will never realize our Essence.
In essence, we are free already. We don’t have to do anything. Our problem is that we think we are doing so much when in fact we do very little. Are we making the Sun shine? Are we making the Earth spin and maintain its orbit around the Sun? So much has been given to us and so many things have been arranged for our welfare and yet we do so many things to mess it up. We think way too much about our small self (ego) and make so much trouble trying to make ourselves happy by accumulating things which can never possibly make us happy.
We create problems for ourselves when we don’t face challenges. It is a challenge to stay out of our ego and mental reactions. It is a challenge to practice contentment and simplicity and not make excuses for our complacency and stupidity. Everyone is born with some negative tendencies but no one needs to make excuses for remaining negative and succumbing to the weaknesses of the mind and body. We choose our fate, and it is never too late to change it.
Our God-given destiny is to reach our final Destination which is known as MOKSHA (Liberation). Our life is the Song of Love, the expression of the divine heart (the core of our being, our own Self). This drama of Life is the Cosmic Dance, the beautiful movement of the mind dancing to the tune of Divine Wisdom. This life is a wonderful journey to Eternity, and every moment of it should be filled with inspiration, gratefulness, and courage.
A wise human being never plays “holy” because a wise human being is whole. No one and nothing can make you any more or less than what you already are. You are an immortal being. You are one without a second. Though we are all the same, each of us is unique. Many people cannot understand this because they think uniqueness is the same as individuality. Individuality is associated with ego, and both are elements of this temporary drama of life. Individuality is a quality of ego, and ego is a mask we wear while playing our role in this drama. On the other hand, “uniqueness” is a characteristic of the Self, of the immortal Soul. Each of us is a unique soul and that uniqueness is immortal just as the soul is immortal. A human being who realizes his or her own immortal nature is a whole human being, a complete human being and has no inclination to play “holy.”
We realize our real nature with the help of divine wisdom. When we realize our real nature (the nature of Atman, soul) we realize we have always been whole and will always be so. We know without the least bit of doubt that we are Real and that the Real can never become unreal, and the unreal can never become Real. Atman (Soul) is immaculate, it is ever pure, ever whole, and ever free. Atman is never impure, never incomplete, and never a slave of the mind, body, or ego. This realization is called enlightenment. When the mind is enlightened with the Wisdom of Consciousness (the Knowledge of the Self) it projects that light all around and perceives that light infused in everything. That Light dispels the darkness of Ignorance and in that Light one remains awake.
This is all a drama, but this drama is beautiful, it is the expression (manifestation) of the Self. When one (as the living Self) is established in the Self and united in consciousness with the Supreme Self, one has truly attained Moksha (Liberation). For this, we do not have to wait until the death of the body or the dissolution of the World. All we need to do is see this drama of Life for what it really is; play our role in it skillfully, with all our heart; and become so dispassionate that we have boundless compassion for one and all (including ourselves) without any attachment. By this expression of our Real Nature we will realize what we are really made of—the Essence of Divine Love.