The Life of Love

Ahaaaa . . . the life of Love. It is not what you think it is. It is what it is. What it is is undefiled by the mind and undisturbed by the ego. There is absolutely no element of pain or suffering in True Love.

True Love cannot be understood by the mind and is not known to the one who is caught up in the quagmire of self love: ego longing, ego desperation, ego demanding, ego expecting, and ego image-making.

People think they make love, or fall in love and then make love. But the truth is Love is beginningless and endless, and only those who rise in Love can realize it.

You cannot know true love by looking for it outside your self. You cannot make peace with others if you have not made peace with yourself. You cannot discover the ever-shining Truth all around you if you don’t uncover the Truth within you.

The truth is covered by ego and ego is born of Ignorance. When we become enlightened, we see the Light of Truth everywhere, because we see the light inside ourselves. We see the light when we stop blocking it with our ego. Our ego is dissolved with the wisdom of Consciousness.

Unless one is established in Consciousness, it is not possible to experience True Love.

Love is not a commodity that is traded in the marketplace of the world. True love is not bought with name and fame. Personal recognition and appreciation have nothing whatsoever to do with True Love. True Love is self-contained — there is no self-contamination in True Love. True Love cannot hurt or be hurtful. To know True Love we have to give up our small self.

Our Real Self is as vast as the Universe. The love that emanates from the True Self is all-inclusive and impartial. The nature of True Love cannot be figured out by the mind and ego. True love cannot be deciphered, interpreted, or detected by the limited instruments of mind, intellect, and ego. We can know true love only when we are established in the Spirit Self.

The Spirit Self is not a ghost or apparition. The Spirit Self is our own energetic Self. When we put out good energy without any thought of reward or recognition, we are expressing our real self, our Spirit Self. This is called Karma Yoga, and leads directly to Liberation (freedom from ego).

True Love is the state of egolessness. Anything less than that is imperfect and unstable. This doesn’t mean one should stop loving just because one is imperfect. But it does mean that we must go on perfecting our nature until our very last breath in this body. We should never become complacent or imagine that we are perfect. We are human beings in search of the Ultimate Truth, the Highest Love, the Supreme Consciousness. This journey of life is only one leg of our journey. We should not cripple ourselves by cutting our life short with reckless living, thrill-seeking, and self-centered goals.

We have one goal: to become completely egoless and experience the eternal state of Absolute Love, Absolute Freedom, and Absolute Peace. This is the state of Total Well-Being. Established in the state of total well-being we will experience the Life of Love. OM

Casual Sex is Caustic Sex

Based on the science of Evolution according to the ancient sages, a human being is the highest grade of existence. No human being should degrade himself or herself or any other person. To do so is inhumane.

We degrade ourselves when we treat ourselves or others as objects. Unless we see the other as pure consciousness (soul, ATMAN), we are seeing them as an object. First, we see ourselves as an object, and then we superimpose our misperception on others. This happens when we are subjectively involved with our mind and ego.

When we are caught up in our ego we subjectively involve ourselves with our mind and in the process we lose our objectivity. ‘Losing our objectivity’ means that we are unable to perceive our mind, ego, personality, memories, emotions, and body as objects of perception (of the spirit self), and instead, we actually think we are these things. This is the state of self-delusion.

In the state of self-delusion we create tremendous turmoil and confusion in our lives. In the state of self-delusion we fail to take seriously, or even consider, the consequences of our actions. For example, casual sex is a common behavior in this culture today. Those who engage in casual sex fail to see just how unhealthy and detrimental it really is. It destroys (or at least, seriously jeopardizes) one’s physical body, makes one ‘mental’ by hampering one’s ability to deter infatuation and false emotions, and severely cripples one’s character (spirit of being whole, integrated, and self-contained). In short, CASUAL SEX IS CAUSTIC SEX.

According to dictionary.com, the definition of ‘caustic’ is the following:

  1. Capable of burning, corroding, dissolving, or eating away by chemical action.
  2. Corrosive and bitingly trenchant; cutting. See Synonyms at sarcastic.
  3. Causing a burning or stinging sensation, as from intense emotion: “”Most of all, there is caustic shame for my own stupidity.” (Scott Turow).

Have no doubt: casual sex will definitely cause you much grief. For a few moments of pleasure, a human being can lose his or her life. It is not worth it.

Keep your character and hold your head high. Ignoring good advice and sticking your nose up in the air will not save you from the consequences of your actions.

Casual sex is inherently wrong. Sexual intimacy is a sacred and secret (private) aspect of married life. Sexual intimacy is reserved for married couples. Marriage is a lifelong commitment between a man and woman to share their mind, body, and soul with each other as an affirmation of the bond of unfathomable love that exists between them. Sexual intimacy is an expression of that love, and that expression is beautiful, pure, and unifying (conducive to harmony). On the other hand, casual sex between so-called ‘consenting partners’ outside the bounds of marriage is in fact gross, impure, and selfish, and can only lead to discord and disgust.

Some persons may believe these words (‘gross, impure, selfish, leading to discord and disgust’) are unfair, and might try to say that ‘sex is just natural’. Yes, sex is natural within the bounds of marriage, but outside those bounds it is unnatural. Some people will say that it is not unnatural for most animals, and will say “what’s the big deal?”. Our reply is that we are not animals, we are human beings. We should be deep human beings, with a deep respect for the life and consciousness of other beings, and should never violate that sacred respect under any circumstances, and certainly not for a whim of the mind.

Those who betray their own true nature (their Real Nature), and violate the law of their own Being, are creating discord and violence, and ultimately become the victim of their own ignorance and arrogance.

It is not necessary that anyone in this world should suffer, but each of us must come to the realization that we are the sum total of our choices. Our choice of lunch or dinner can be a casual one, even whimsical, and at worse (perhaps much worse) we might have to work a little harder at the gym to burn off the extra calories. But our choice of whom we will share intimate moments of sexual pleasure with is NOT a casual choice. In fact, it should not even be under consideration except in the context of marriage.

Our choice is not a casual choice. It is a very, very careful choice. It should be the most selective choice of our life. It is definitely NOT a matter of whim or fancy. When we follow our whims, we are going to get a WHAM! (POW!). Sooner or later, Nature, in the guise of Fate is going to give us a slap that is so powerful we may be knocked off our feet and unable to stand up straight again. The rest of our life we may end up groveling in the mud of past regrets—and if we have been really, really selfish, we might even lose this beautiful human incarnation.

So, dear soul friend, BEWARE and remember: always read the labels and know what is inside. Don’t be distracted by the pretty shape or design of the package. Know the contents. OM

We Have to Live in Freshness

The only way to be stable and happy is to live in the freshness of Consciousness. We can’t hold on to old habits and negative memories and still expect to be secure and happy. We are free souls, we are not lumps of flesh, fat, bones, and grey matter. Then why do we spend so much time thinking about our non-self? Thinking about the non-self is nothing but nonsense. It doesn’t make any sense at all to burn our blood in anger, frustration, envy, and hatred.

The moment we start thinking about our self (non-self, ego) we put ourselves in jeopardy—we risk losing the opportunity to experience our Essence, our eternity.

This life is all about Liberation (Moksha)—we are here to become completely free, to become absolutely happy. Nobody can be happy being a slave of their mind, body, and ego. If we are enslaved by poor physical habits, unhealthy thought patterns, and egotistic expressions, then we need to get our act together.

In this life, our time is limited. If we wile away our time in mental brooding and senseless activities (gossiping, thrill-seeking, and the accumulation of useless mental and material junk) we are bound to be unhappy, dissatisfied, and discontent.

Malpractice (wrong practices) leads to malcontentment. We malign our mind when we escape into excuse making. We need to realign our thinking with our real self — the pure state of consciousness. Every day is a new day, every hour is a new hour, and every minute is a new minute. We have to be adjustable without losing principles. If we live in the freshness of Consciousness we can make adjustments in our thinking every second. In fact, when we live in Consciousness, we are in control of our thoughts and actions and do not succumb to negativity, boredom, or excitement. We remain stable and self-contained and open to growing and learning. This is the way of the wise. OM

Bad Habits Are Self-Damnation

A person with bad habits cannot experience Eternity. This same thing can be stated in many ways:

  • A person with bad habits cannot experience the Truth
  • A person with bad habits cannot know the Real Self
  • A person with bad habits cannot be them self
  • A person with bad habits is preventing them self from being happy

When we have a bad habit, we block the flow of energy. In effect, we are damming our own self. Bad habits are self-damnation.

When we have a bad habit we are not free, and if we are not free we are not real. If we are not real we cannot be really happy. Many people pretend to be happy, some people are temporarily happy, but few people are really happy. Happiness is a state of Being; it is not just a state of temporary mental or physical satisfaction.

A bad habit is formed in the mind, and may also have a physical component to it. A bad habit is the result of a mind-ego connection. When mind is in bed with ego it becomes impregnated by that ego, and the result is a bad habit.

Mind and ego are both born of this material nature (PRAKRITI). Ego is born first, and mind follows. Mind and ego are imbued with the qualities of both Nature and Consciousness. Ego is more subtle than the mind. The first instance of ego appears when we become conscious that we are conscious. Ego is actually formed from extremely subtle elements of Nature; thus, it would not be correct to say that ego is formed in our consciousness. Ego is the idea of separate identity, separate selfhood. From the perspective of the mind, ego covers the Self like a hood or mask. Hence, when perceiving ourselves through the mind, we incorrectly perceive ourselves as ego (personality–personality is a flavor of ego). Our Real Self is masked by the presence of ego.

Our True Self is eternal, ever full, complete, whole, perfectly happy and indescribably blissful. The idea that we are other than That, is called ego. If we think that our time is running out, that we are unfulfilled and incomplete, we will naturally feel compelled to do something. Our desire to act, to discover, to explore, to create, to transform–in short, our desire to live–is a natural expression of our being embodied as living beings. [This embodiment begins at the beginning of time, when Purush and Prakriti (Sprit and Matter) are joined. According to Hindu Shastras, our embodiment as human beings is the result of a lengthy process of evolution* through 8,400,000 different species of birth.]

Embodied as human beings, we all have both ego and mind, and we have had them for quite some time. We have accumulated innumerable impressions during our countless births, and all of these impressions influence our decision making process. The flow of our consciousness (as the Spirit Self) through our personality and mind is a dance of divine energy. Ultimately, our expression must become completely free flowing. When this happens, we have reached the pinnacle of Life. It is a matter of practice, deliberate practice, concentrated practice. The state of effortless effort is reached only after much effort.

Putting out good energy, making a tireless effort to rise above our small self, to go beyond our self-imposed limitations, to recognize our own weaknesses and overcome them — all of this is an expression of Consciousness, all of this is a statement and affirmation of who (and what) we really are.

When we ignore who (and what) we really are, we fail to mend our ways or improve ourselves, and instead we get stuck in a downward trend and repeat our mistakes. Our mistakes become our habits when we don’t correct them. A person with a bad habit is attached to their mistaken identity (ego) and refuses to change that habit.

At least we should recognize that we have a bad habit (whatever it may be). This is the first step. Next, we should see that the bad habit has been formed in the mind, and that it is the mind (which is basically an inert, subtle, material entity) that has the tendency to hold onto the habit. The conscious self (spirit self), through the power of self-awareness (ego) and intellect (Buddhi) sees the habit in the mind and may desire to remove it (realizing that this habit is a source of pain). The problem is, if the ego and mind are connected (in the sense that the mind is filled with ego), then it becomes very difficult to curb the habit because one identifies with it; in other words, the ego-infected mind becomes identified with the habit due to the presence of ego. Consequently, the flow of consciousness is hampered.

To stop this self-damnation, we must break the mind-ego connection. First this means we need to objectify our mind and ego both. Now, how can an ego-infected mind function properly so long as one’s behavior is dysfunctional? It cannot. In other words, the mind cannot be free of ego so long as one’s thoughts and actions are ego-centered. So, the only way to drop a bad habit is to just drop it! That is, we need to turn the self-will against the bad habit. Self-will is really ego-will; that’s why when we turn the self-will against the bad habit we are actually employing our ego to remove the habit from the mind, and in the process of doing so ego will begin to fight with itself (because it is also the ego which is holding onto the habit). Remember: mind and ego have the qualities of BOTH spirit and matter. We, the conscious human being, must invoke that higher force (Satoguna) to overpower our lower tendencies (rooted in Rajoguna and Tamoguna qualities of Nature.)

When we rise to the occasion and confront our own ego and shape our own mind, we become the artists of Life, and the more we go on refining our nature we will eventually see the majesty, incomparable beauty, and Light of Consciousness everywhere, all the time.

OM

*Not to be confused with the Darwinian Theory of Evolution.

We Need to Keep Refining Our Nature

Life is simple. We complicate it with our complicated thinking. Sure, there are problems and challenges in life, but our life becomes problmatic only when we see things from the point of view of ego. Instead, we need to see everything from the point of view of Eternity.

What does this mean? It means we need to realize that our real self is immortal; that we are beginningless, endless conscious beings. The energy that emanates from this consciousness (our consciousness) is also eternal, indestructable. It is the energy of consciousness (in the form of PRANA, Life Force, Chi, Spirit) that has created the universe and everything in it, including us (embodied beings).

When we think from this level of consciousness, our thinking will not disturb us, because our thoughts will express our eternal nature, and not just our gross, material, mental, intellectual nature.

You see, we have a higher nature and a lower nature. Our Higher Nature is that we are Eternal, unchangeable, ever-new (ever fresh, imageless) consciousness. Our lower nature is that we have an ever changing physical body, mind, and personality (ego). Our lower nature is comprised of natural elements: earth, air, water, fire, and space, as well as the elementary particles from which these 5 general classes of elements are formed. Scientists are now discovering subtler and subtler subatomic particles and are now advancing the String Theroy, which postulates the existence of other dimensions and other universes. Ultimately scientists will come to the realization that beyond all of this is the Pure Consciousness, from which all of this originated, and into which all of this will ultimately be dissolved. This Pure Consciousness is our Higher Nature, our Supreme Nature.

So, who or what is this being, this living entity, which has both a higher and lower nature? This is you, and I, and everyone. Each of us is the embodiment of PURUSH and PRAKRITI, of Spirit and Matter, of Consciousness and Nature. Just as a child will have the characteristics of both its parents, similarly each of us has the qualities of both Spirit and Matter.

The Spirit-Self is the consciousness embodied in Prana, Life Force. More correctly, it is consciousness manifested as Energy. When this conscious energy is joined with Matter, the Matter becomes infused with this Energy and thus begins the cycle of Creation, that is, the orderly manifestation of the Multiverse (universes after universes after universes). Included in this infinitely varied Multiverse is the manifestation of human life. As human beings, we perceive through the agency of the mind (including, memory, intellect, and ego — this is known as the inner organ, or Antahkarana). Our mind, being a part and parcel of Nature (Prakriti) is influenced by the qualities of Nature, or GUNAS (Sataguna, Rajaguna, and Tamoguna — Protonic, Electronic, and Neutronic forces). These qualities of Nature, or Cosmic Forces, influence the way we think and feel. But the mind is also influenced by the ever-abiding presence of Supreme Consciousness. All conscious beings (embodied Spirit selves) are constantly living in a state of decision making. We are constantly making choices and our decisions are influenced by many different factors. Ultimately, after many, many years and lifetimes of experience, we come to the firm conclusion that we are totally responsible for our state of mind, because we realize that we are totally distinct from the mind–we realize that we are the Spirit Self. This realization draws us deeper and deeper into the unfathomable Ocean of Consciousness until we ultimately come face to face (so to speak) with the Supreme Self (or you may call it God, or Allah, or whatever).

It is all a matter of refining our nature to the finest point, until the mind becomes atomic (absolutely one-pointed), at which point the mind disappears and all that is left is Pure Consciousness.

OM

The Most Important Work

Namaste

With this greeting I am acknowledging your Divine Presence. With this greeting I am saluting the Real Self which is YOU. That same Real Self am I. That same Real Self is the self of All.

There is something within you, within me, within everyone, that is the same. That something is the pure consciousness devoid of all mental superimpositions. We call that Pure Consciousness MAHA CHETENA, which means the Supreme Consciousness. Some people call this Supreme Consciousness the Supreme Being, or GOD, or Allah, or many other names. The names are different, but the Essence is the same. The names may change, but the Essence remains immutable (unchangeable).

Supreme Consciousness is all-pervading. Supreme Consciousness is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent reality. When the mind is connected to that Consciousness we feel Real. All insecurity, uncertainty, doubt, bias, bigotry, arrogance, and violence are the result of being disconnected from the Truth, from the Real.

When a human being is caught up in unreality they are bound to hurt inside and will contribute to the pain and suffering of this world. A human being who superimposes his or her ego upon their own self, will also try to impose their little ego-will on others too. Human beings who share a similar or kindred false identity (ego) under the banner of a particular nationality, culture, or religion, etc., will sometimes attempt to force their self-will (ego power) on others through war, propaganda, and forced or deceitful conversion. All of this is born out of Ignorance — ignorance of our Real Nature, our True Self.

Throughout the history of this planet Earth, there have been many nations, cultures, and religions. People have expressed themselves through countless pages of literature, works of art, science, and industry. During all these many periods of history, both recorded and unrecorded, there has always remained, and continues to remain, one paramount goal to accomplish, one important work that must be done—and this is the work of becoming completely FREE — free from our small self, our ego, our pettiness, our arrogance and false pride — in short, it means being Real and breaking asunder the bonds of Ignorance.

This is the most important work which must be accomplished in this incarnation.