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The Universe (May 2023)
Flung out into the endless reaches of infinity, worlds upon worlds evolve, enact their tumultuous dramas, and then withdraw from the stage once more. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda All the things of the universe are perfect miracles, each as profound as any. ~ Walt Whitman The stillness and grandeur of a vast canopy of endless stars that beam forth from a clear, dark night, instill awe and wonder at the magnificence of the world in which we find ourselves. |
Science tells us that the observable universe is about 93 billion light-years in diameter, is about 13.8 billion years old and is home to approximately 150-200 billion galaxies. Our planet earth came into being about 4.5 billion years ago, well after the start of the universe, and modern human beings didn't appear on earth until roughly 2.5 million years ago. As such, human beings on earth have only been a part of the cosmic evolution for a minute portion of time.
The mystery of the universe has always fascinated mankind. So many questions arise in our minds. And who has the answers?
This posting provides a small contribution towards the search for answers by considering the views of both modern scientists and mystics in the form of quotations.
The scientist quotations are from highly regarded, modern-day physicists and cosmologists.
The mystic quotations are primarily from Paramahansa Yogananda, Swami Abhayananda, Swami Sivananda and Eckhart Tolle, individuals who, in the highest state of consciousness, were privileged to directly witness the astounding workings of the universe. Their knowledge is not intellectual reasoning - their knowledge is direct revelation of the highest truths.
Science is a wonderful tool, but the scientific methodology has limitations. This methodology is expressed rather playfully in the following quotation;
First you guess. Don't laugh, this is the most important step. Then you compute the consequences. Compare the consequences to experience. It it disagrees with experience, the guess is wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science. It doesn't matter how beautiful your guess is or how smart you are or what your name is. If it disagrees with experience, it is wrong. That's all there is to it. ~ Richard Feynman, world renowned 20th century physicist
The limitations of the scientific method are expressed in the following quotations by two modern-day physicists;
Science is very good at answering the "how" questions. 'How did the universe evolve to that form that we see?' But it is woefully inadequate in addressing the 'why' questions. 'Why is there a universe at all?' These are the meaning questions, which many people think religion is particularly good at dealing with. ~ Brian Greene
The strength and weakness of physicists is that we believe in what we can measure. And if we can't measure it, then we say it probably doesn't exist. And that closes us off to an enormous amount of phenomena. ~ Michio Kaku
On the other hand, mystical knowledge is infallible and complete, although most scientists give little regard to such knowledge.
The fact that I don't have any particular need for religion doesn't mean that I have a need to cast religion aside the way some of my colleagues do. ~ Brian Greene
But things are starting to change, and more scientists are beginning to acknowledge both the need and immense value of mystic knowledge.
This posting is divided into the following sections;
The mystery of the universe has always fascinated mankind. So many questions arise in our minds. And who has the answers?
This posting provides a small contribution towards the search for answers by considering the views of both modern scientists and mystics in the form of quotations.
The scientist quotations are from highly regarded, modern-day physicists and cosmologists.
The mystic quotations are primarily from Paramahansa Yogananda, Swami Abhayananda, Swami Sivananda and Eckhart Tolle, individuals who, in the highest state of consciousness, were privileged to directly witness the astounding workings of the universe. Their knowledge is not intellectual reasoning - their knowledge is direct revelation of the highest truths.
Science is a wonderful tool, but the scientific methodology has limitations. This methodology is expressed rather playfully in the following quotation;
First you guess. Don't laugh, this is the most important step. Then you compute the consequences. Compare the consequences to experience. It it disagrees with experience, the guess is wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science. It doesn't matter how beautiful your guess is or how smart you are or what your name is. If it disagrees with experience, it is wrong. That's all there is to it. ~ Richard Feynman, world renowned 20th century physicist
The limitations of the scientific method are expressed in the following quotations by two modern-day physicists;
Science is very good at answering the "how" questions. 'How did the universe evolve to that form that we see?' But it is woefully inadequate in addressing the 'why' questions. 'Why is there a universe at all?' These are the meaning questions, which many people think religion is particularly good at dealing with. ~ Brian Greene
The strength and weakness of physicists is that we believe in what we can measure. And if we can't measure it, then we say it probably doesn't exist. And that closes us off to an enormous amount of phenomena. ~ Michio Kaku
On the other hand, mystical knowledge is infallible and complete, although most scientists give little regard to such knowledge.
The fact that I don't have any particular need for religion doesn't mean that I have a need to cast religion aside the way some of my colleagues do. ~ Brian Greene
But things are starting to change, and more scientists are beginning to acknowledge both the need and immense value of mystic knowledge.
This posting is divided into the following sections;
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1 – Who Created the Universe?
2 – How did the Universe Begin? 3 – What Existed before the Start of the Universe? 4 – What is the Purpose of the Universe and What is the Role of Mankind? 5 – Are We Alone in the Universe? 6 – The Music of the Spheres – is it the Sound of Strings? 7 – What are Black Holes? 8 – Are There Multiple Universes? 9 – How is Consciousness Connected to the Universe? 10 – Is Your Universe the Same as Mine? 11 – Is the Universe Real? 12 – What are Infinity and Eternity? 13 – Will the Universe Come to an End? If so, then what? |
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1 - Who Created the Universe?
For scientists, the answer comes down to a belief. Some scientists believe that in order to explain the inexplicable, including creation, there must be a divine power, or God. Other scientists believe that there is no need to rely on a divine power. They believe that eventually it will be shown that everything will be explicable by laws of science.
For mystics, there is no need for belief. They know that there is a divine power. During the times that they have been graced to be in the highest states of consciousness, they have directly witnessed creation unfolding before them under the direction of a divine entity.
For mystics, there is no need for belief. They know that there is a divine power. During the times that they have been graced to be in the highest states of consciousness, they have directly witnessed creation unfolding before them under the direction of a divine entity.
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The View of Science
When confronted with the order and beauty of the universe and the strange coincidences of nature, it's very tempting to take the leap of faith from science into religion. I am sure many physicists want to. I only wish they would admit it. ~ Tony Rothman That deep emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God. ~ Albert Einstein The universe is incredibly wondrous, incredibly beautiful, and it fills me with a sense that there is some underlying explanation that we have yet to fully understand. If someone wants to place the word 'God' on those collections of words, it's OK with me. ~ Brian Greene Through my scientific work I have come to believe more and more strongly that the physical universe is put together with an ingenuity so astonishing that I cannot accept it merely as a brute fact. There must, it seems to me, be a deeper level of explanation. Whether one wishes to call that deeper level 'God' is a matter of taste and definition. ~ Paul Davies It is my view that the simplest explanation is there is no God. No one created the universe. ~ Stephen Hawking This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being. ~ Sir Isaac Newton God is always invented to explain those things that you do not understand. Now, when you finally discover how something works … you don't need him anymore. But … you leave him to create the universe because we haven't figured that out yet. ~ Richard Feynman As we survey all the evidence, the thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency--or rather, Agency--must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without intending to, we have stumbled upon scientific proof of the existence of a Supreme Being? Was it God who stepped in and so providentially crafted the cosmos for our benefit? ~ George Greenstein |
The View of the Mystics
This universe comes out of Brahman[God], rests in Brahman, and dissolves in Brahman. God, the Creator of the universe, is not a man-like being, but is a universal Mind whose Creation is a manifestation of His own energy, and takes place entirely within Him. This universe is a vibratory dream motion picture of God’s thoughts on the screen of time and space and human consciousness. God effortlessly “projects”, or “emanates” an “Energy” which transforms itself into an inconceivably complex universal drama in which stars explode, civilizations rise and fall, and human beings evolve. 
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2 - How did the Universe Begin?
This is one of the topics that both scientists and mystics appear to agree on. The prevailing scientific theory is that the universe began with an immense explosion some 13.8-billion years ago from a tiny singularity. The event is now known as the "Big Bang." The universe has been expanding ever since.
Mystics also affirm that the universe began with an immense explosion of light energy and the light energy continues to project outwards.
Mystics also affirm that the universe began with an immense explosion of light energy and the light energy continues to project outwards.
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The View of Science
The essential element in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis is the same; the chain of events leading to man commenced suddenly and sharply, at a definite moment in time, in a flash of light and energy. ~ Robert Jastrow Ten or twenty billion years ago, something happened—the Big Bang, the event that began our universe. Why it happened is the greatest mystery... That it happened is reasonably clear. ~ Carl Sagan We are privileged to be part of the first generation who can claim to have a respectable, rational, and coherent description for the creation and evolution of the universe. The Big Bang model offers an elegant explanation of the origin of everything we see in the night sky, making it one of the greatest achievements of the human intellect and spirit. It is the consequence of an insatiable curiosity, a fabulous imagination, acute observation and ruthless logic. Even more wonderful is that the Big Bang model can be understood by everyone. ~ Simon Singh The universe came into being in a big bang, before which, Einstein’s theory instructs us, there was no before. Not only particles and fields of force had to come into being at the big bang, but the laws of physics themselves. ~ John Wheeler There may be many Big Bangs that happened at various and far-flung locations, each creating its own swelling, spatial expanse, each creating a universe - our universe being the result of only one of those Big Bangs. ~ Brian Greene |
The View of the Mystics
Having been graced, in the contemplative state, with a unitive vision of the transcendent Reality … it is my contention, my certainty, based on that spiritual revelation, that the universe originated in the eternal Consciousness of God, and was initiated by His Divine Power in the manner of a great Burst of Energy, which transformed as it expanded into a world of material substance. The conscious essence of the Divine Mind was then infused into that burgeoning universe. That sudden burst of First Light that signaled ‘the beginning’ nearly fourteen billion years ago was no mere run of the mill light-show; it was a teeming, roiling rush of the most intensely furious maelstrom of concentrated Energy imaginable. The light of a billion hydrogen bombs could not begin to compare with it. Indeed, all of the mass-energy that goes to make up our current universe was contained within that burst of light. From that one Consciousness arose a creative impulse from which a breath of conscious Energy streamed forth, expanding as the universe of matter, form, and space. That Energy had implicit in it the eternal Consciousness of its source; and it therefore had the inherent power and Intelligence to direct and self-organize itself into the form of minute particles, which then collected into more complex particles, rocks and stars and whole galaxies of stars, eventually spawning the many worlds teeming with life and awareness. 
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3 - What Existed Before the Start of the Universe?
Science has no answer. Some scientists acknowledge that it is a topic beyond the limits of science and leave it at that. Others say nothing existed as time only began at the beginning of creation. And still others speculate on other possibilities. The idea of the multiverse (see below) allows scientists to suggest that creation is always beginning somewhere and hence before our universe, there were others.
Mystics, however, have directly witnessed the never-ending cycles of creation and dissolution that occur over and over again within the timeless mind of God.
Mystics, however, have directly witnessed the never-ending cycles of creation and dissolution that occur over and over again within the timeless mind of God.
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The View of Science
No one knows who wrote the laws of physics or where they come from. Science is based on testable, reproducible evidence, and so far we cannot test the universe before the Big Bang. ~ Michio Kaku If we do get a quantum theory of spacetime, it should answer some of the deepest philosophical questions that we have, like what happened before the big bang? ~ Michio Kaku What preceded the Big Bang? According to renowned physicist Stephen William Hawking, PhD: Nothing. The Big Bang theory says nothing about what banged, why it banged, or what happened before it banged. ~ Alan Guth Modern thinking is that time did not start with the big bang, and that there was a multiverse even before the big bang. In the inflation theory, and in string theory, there were universes before our big bang, and that big bangs are happening all the time. Universes are formed when bubbles collide or fission into smaller bubbles. ~ Michio Kaku One may wonder, What came before? If space-time did not exist then, how could everything appear from nothing? . . . Explaining this initial singularity—where and when it all began—still remains the most intractable problem of modern cosmology ~ Andrei Linde It is true that physicists hope to look behind the ‘big bang,’ and possibly to explain the origin of our universe as, for example, a type of fluctuation. But then, of what is it a fluctuation and how did this in turn begin to exist? In my view, the question of origin seems always left unanswered if we explore from a scientific view alone. ~ Charles H. Townes |
The View of the Mystics
According to the standard scientific Big Bang model of the origin of the universe, the Big Bang was the explosive expansion of a pre-existent primary state consisting of an ultra-dense concentration of mass-energy. Yet those scientists who accept this model have refused to speculate on where, why, and how such an ultra-dense concentration of mass-energy came to be in the first place. That, they say, is beyond the purview of ‘empirical science’; and of course it is. When no goblin nebulae breathed and glided in the space body, when no fire-eyed baby planets opened their eyes in the cradle of space, when no star-rivers ran across the tracts of infinite space, when the ocean of space was unpeopled, uninhabited by floating island universes, when the sun and moon and planetary families did not swim in space, when a little ball of earth with its dollhouses and diminutive human beings did not exist, when no object of any kind had come into being - Spirit existed ..... ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever newly joyous Spirit. There was, prior to the Beginning of Creation, no space, no time, no matter, no universe; there was only the one singular eternal Consciousness resting blissfully within Itself. 
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4 - What is the Purpose of the Universe and What is the Role of Mankind?
Once again, this is a topic that is outside the comfort zone of scientists. As noted below, there are plenty of scenarios, conjectures and just-so stories, but nothing with solid experimental support.
On the other hand, mystics enter that Mind and return to state in unadorned simplicity that the One entertained a desireless desire to enjoy His Bliss through many, and the cosmos and its beings were born. The Unmanifested Spirit felt, "I am alone. I am conscious Bliss, but there is no one to taste the sweetness of My Nectar of Joy." Even as He thus dreamed, He became many.
On the other hand, mystics enter that Mind and return to state in unadorned simplicity that the One entertained a desireless desire to enjoy His Bliss through many, and the cosmos and its beings were born. The Unmanifested Spirit felt, "I am alone. I am conscious Bliss, but there is no one to taste the sweetness of My Nectar of Joy." Even as He thus dreamed, He became many.
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The View of Science
There is a certain sense in which I would say the universe has a purpose. It's not there just somehow by chance. Some people take the view that the universe is simply there and it runs along - it's a bit as though it just sort of computes, and we happen by accident to find ourselves in this thing. I don't think that's a very fruitful or helpful way at looking at the universe, I think that there is something much deeper about it, about its existence, which we have very little inkling of at the moment. ~Roger Penrose Scientists have no agreed theory of the origin of life - plenty of scenarios, conjectures and just-so stories, but nothing with solid experimental support. ~ Paul Davies Then we shall be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason – for then we would know the mind of God. ~ Stephen Hawking 
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The View of the Mystics
Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence. Ultimately you are not a person, but a focal point where the universe is becoming conscious of itself. What an amazing miracle. Each person's life – each lifeform, in fact – represents a world, a unique way in which the universe experiences itself. When, whence, and why came creation into being? Who may make bold to read the Mind of the Infinite in seeking causes from the Uncaused, beginnings from the Ever-Existing, paltry reasons from Omniscience? Audacious mortals pursue their queries, while sages enter that Mind and return to state in unadorned simplicity that the One entertained a desireless desire to enjoy His Bliss through many, and the cosmos and its beings were born. The Unmanifested Spirit felt, "I am alone. I am conscious Bliss, but there is no one to taste the sweetness of My Nectar of Joy." Even as He thus dreamed, He became many. The creation of man and the universe is only God’s lila, play or creative sport. The Lord as the jivas experiences the delights of the world that He made. It is said that He loves to dream Himself as separate souls. This gives the Lord an opportunity to play with the conscious dream-souls in His cosmic drama. |
5 - Are We Alone in the Universe?
Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying ..... I'm sure the universe is full of intelligent life. It's just been too intelligent to come here. ~ Arthur C. Clarke
This is yet another question that is beyond the purview of science. However, many scientists are comfortable projecting that life exists elsewhere, given the enormous size of the universe combined with probability theory.
And again, during those times when mystics enter "the mind of God," they become directly aware that there exists life and civilization on other planets in the many systems of the universe.
This is yet another question that is beyond the purview of science. However, many scientists are comfortable projecting that life exists elsewhere, given the enormous size of the universe combined with probability theory.
And again, during those times when mystics enter "the mind of God," they become directly aware that there exists life and civilization on other planets in the many systems of the universe.
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The View of Science
The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space ..... it would be astonishing to me if there weren't extraterrestrial intelligence. ~ Carl Sagan So many galaxies, so many planets out there in the universe circling so many stars... it just feels like there's a very good chance that there is another Earth-like planet out there that is able to support some kind of life similar to what we're familiar with. ~ Brian Greene Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of the billions of galaxies populating the universe. It would be the height of presumption to think that we are the only living things within that enormous immensity.” – Werner von Braun I think it would be a very rash presumption to think that nowhere else in the cosmos has nature repeated the strange experiment which she has performed on earth—that the whole purpose of creation has been staked on this one planet alone. ~ Harlow Shapley If there is life elsewhere in the universe, chemically speaking, it would be very similar to what we have on earth. ~ Cyril Ponnamperuma My study of the universe leaves little doubt that life has occurred on other planets. I doubt if the human race is the most intelligent form of life. ~ Harold C. Urey My personal view is that there is intelligent life out there. ~ Roger T. Hanlon I think we're going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth within a decade, and I think we're going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years. ~ Ellen Stofan There are compelling arguments to suggest we are not alone. Indeed, most astrophysicists accept a high probability of there being life elsewhere in the universe, if not on other planets or on moons within our own solar system. The numbers are, well, astronomical ..... To declare that Earth must be the only planet in the cosmos with life would be inexcusably egocentric of us. ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson |
The View of the Mystics
We Buddhists have always held that firm conviction that there exists life and civilization on other planets in the many systems of the universe, and some of them are so highly developed that they are superior to our own. Many other island universes float in an infinitude of circular space. Someday other inhabited physical planets will be discovered; there will be interplanetary communication and travel. Inhabitants of other physical worlds live under environmental influences far different from those of our planet. Beings who dwell on certain stars, for instance, absorb life energy directly; they do not breathe air like earthly beings. Many people erroneously imagine that no beings could live on a planet lacking in air. In His vast creative display, the Lord has provided a place for every coterie of evolution and interest of His creatures. There are sattvic universes, which contain fundamentally good beings. There are rajasic universes in which the bulk of beings are passionate with desireful activity—this earth is predominantly rajasic in this stage of its evolution; in the strata between good and evil, it is about midway. Similarly, there are universes that are dominated primarily by tamasic or evil manifestations. No devotee comes on earth only to meditate on the Lord and to do nothing else. Had that been his goal, he would have found many other worlds in God’s vast creation far better suited to his purpose! Advanced but still imperfect yogis who are disappointed in this world are given a chance to experience the happiness available in the bright astral spheres, or are allowed to reincarnate on other planets of the physical universe that boast better conditions of existence than does our earth. 
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6 - The Music of the Spheres - is it the Sound of Strings?
Unification has been at the heart of physics for centuries. In the 17th century, Newton united the heavens and Earth, revealing that the same laws governing the motion of the planets described the trajectory of a spinning wheel and a rolling rock. Some 200 years later, Maxwell showed that electricity and magnetism are two aspects of a single force described by a single mathematical model.
Then in 1905, Einstein linked space and time, showing that motion through one affects passage through the other, the hallmark of his special theory of relativity. Ten years later, Einstein extended these insights with his general theory of relativity, providing the most refined description of gravity, the force governing the likes of stars and galaxies. A grand synthesis of all of nature’s forces appeared to be within reach.
But by 1930, Niels Bohr and others had ventured deep into the microrealm, where they discovered quantum mechanics, an enigmatic theory formulated with radically new physical concepts and mathematical rules. While spectacularly successful at predicting the behaviour of atoms and subatomic particles, there was no semblance of unity between quantum laws and Einstein’s formulation of gravity.
This set the stage for more than a half-century of despair as physicists valiantly struggled, but repeatedly failed, to meld general relativity and quantum mechanics, the laws of the large and small, into a single unified description - a Theory of Everything.
Such was the case until the1980s, when a proposed new mathematical model called “string theory” showed the potential to achieve the long-desired unified theory.
String theory suggests that nature’s so-called indivisible particles, e.g. electrons, quarks, neutrinos, etc., can be represented as groups of tiny, vibrating string-like filaments. And, according to the theory, the differences between one particle and another all arise from differences in how their internal strings vibrate. As such, nature’s particles would be seen as harmonious “notes” comprising nature’s score.
The mathematics revealed that one of these notes had properties precisely matching those of the “graviton,” a hypothetical particle that, according to quantum physics, would carry the force of gravity from one location to another. For the first time, gravity and quantum mechanics, in theory, were playing by the same rules.
All that was now required was experimental verification, i.e. examine particles to see the vibrating strings. Unfortunately, the size of the strings are orders of magnitude smaller than what the most advanced measurement tools can detect. **
More than 30 years later, experimental verification of string theory remains elusive. This, along with a number of other features of string theory that concern some critics, makes the future of the majestic mathematical structure of string theory unknown. Will it be the grand unifying theory so long desired by physicists or will string theory ultimately be kicked to the curb?
As for the mystics who have directly witnessed the workings of creation, they offer a common view. They say the universe is a projection of light energy emanating from the consciousness of God. The light energy vibrations shape themselves into a myriad of forms which appear in the guise of solids, liquids and gases. The light vibrations of all forms emit sound culminating in the consolidated music of the spheres - the cosmic symphony.
String theory, at least poetically, suggests that the music of the spheres as described by the mystics, may be the sound of strings.
** the above is a an edited version of an article by Brian Greene
Then in 1905, Einstein linked space and time, showing that motion through one affects passage through the other, the hallmark of his special theory of relativity. Ten years later, Einstein extended these insights with his general theory of relativity, providing the most refined description of gravity, the force governing the likes of stars and galaxies. A grand synthesis of all of nature’s forces appeared to be within reach.
But by 1930, Niels Bohr and others had ventured deep into the microrealm, where they discovered quantum mechanics, an enigmatic theory formulated with radically new physical concepts and mathematical rules. While spectacularly successful at predicting the behaviour of atoms and subatomic particles, there was no semblance of unity between quantum laws and Einstein’s formulation of gravity.
This set the stage for more than a half-century of despair as physicists valiantly struggled, but repeatedly failed, to meld general relativity and quantum mechanics, the laws of the large and small, into a single unified description - a Theory of Everything.
Such was the case until the1980s, when a proposed new mathematical model called “string theory” showed the potential to achieve the long-desired unified theory.
String theory suggests that nature’s so-called indivisible particles, e.g. electrons, quarks, neutrinos, etc., can be represented as groups of tiny, vibrating string-like filaments. And, according to the theory, the differences between one particle and another all arise from differences in how their internal strings vibrate. As such, nature’s particles would be seen as harmonious “notes” comprising nature’s score.
The mathematics revealed that one of these notes had properties precisely matching those of the “graviton,” a hypothetical particle that, according to quantum physics, would carry the force of gravity from one location to another. For the first time, gravity and quantum mechanics, in theory, were playing by the same rules.
All that was now required was experimental verification, i.e. examine particles to see the vibrating strings. Unfortunately, the size of the strings are orders of magnitude smaller than what the most advanced measurement tools can detect. **
More than 30 years later, experimental verification of string theory remains elusive. This, along with a number of other features of string theory that concern some critics, makes the future of the majestic mathematical structure of string theory unknown. Will it be the grand unifying theory so long desired by physicists or will string theory ultimately be kicked to the curb?
As for the mystics who have directly witnessed the workings of creation, they offer a common view. They say the universe is a projection of light energy emanating from the consciousness of God. The light energy vibrations shape themselves into a myriad of forms which appear in the guise of solids, liquids and gases. The light vibrations of all forms emit sound culminating in the consolidated music of the spheres - the cosmic symphony.
String theory, at least poetically, suggests that the music of the spheres as described by the mystics, may be the sound of strings.
** the above is a an edited version of an article by Brian Greene
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The View of Science
Are there other universes? Can you go through a black hole? Can you warp the fabric of space and time and meet your mother before you were born? These are all questions that in principle string theory should be able to answer. ~ Michio Kaku What is the universe? The universe is a symphony of vibrating strings ... we are nothing but melodies. We are nothing but cosmic music played out on vibrating strings and membranes ..... the universe is a symphony of strings. ~ Michio Kaku If string theory is right, the microscopic fabric of our universe is a richly intertwined multidimensional labyrinth within which the strings of the universe endlessly twist and vibrate, rhythmically beating out the laws of the cosmos. ~ Brian Greene The beauty of string theory is the metaphor kind of really comes very close to the reality. The strings of string theory are vibrating the particles, vibrating the forces of nature into existence, those vibrations are sort of like musical notes. So string theory, if it's correct, would be playing out the score of the universe. ~ Brian Greene String theory has the potential to show that all of the wondrous happenings in the universe - from the frantic dance of subatomic quarks to the stately waltz of orbiting binary stars; from the primordial fireball of the big bang to the majestic swirl of heavenly galaxies - are reflections of one, grand physical principle, one master equation. ~ Brian Greene According to String Theory, what appears to be empty space is actually a tumultuous ocean of strings vibrating at the precise frequencies that create the 4 dimensions ..... In essence, String Theory describes space and time, matter and energy, gravity and light, indeed all of God's creation as music. ~ Roy Williams When we understand string theory, we will know how the universe began. It won't have much effect on how we live, but it is important to understand where we come from and what we can expect to find as we explore. ~ Stephen Hawking The amazingly vast collection of solutions to equations of string theory suggests that there may be many universes besides ours. What happened before the big bang, or was there a time before the big bang? ~ Cumrun The music of Mozart is of such purity and beauty that one feels he merely found it - that it has always existed as part of the inner beauty of the universe waiting to be revealed. ~ Albert Einstein |
The View of the Mystics
There is music in the spacing of the spheres. God is vibrating in the universe as Cosmic Sound. Pranava, the sound of the creative vibration, is the mother of all sounds. The intelligent cosmic energy that issues forth from God - and is the manifestation of God - is the creator and substance of all matter. I am the Pranava in all the Vedas; the sound in the ether (Bhagavad Gita, VII:8) When you touch the celestial in your heart, you will realize that the beauty of your soul is so pure, so vast and so devastating that you have no option but to merge with it. You have no option but to feel the rhythm of the universe in the rhythm of your heart. When you listen with your soul, you come into rhythm and unity with the music of the universe. By music the world was created. 
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7 - What are Black Holes?
Black holes are among the strangest and most extraordinary objects in space. A black hole consists of an infinitesimally tiny point of space, called a singularity, that contains an enormous amount of mass, typically arising from the death of a massive star when it gravitationally collapses inward upon itself.
The singularity exhibits such a strong gravitational pull that nothing that comes within it's "event horizon" can escape, including light. The size of the event horizon is proportional to the mass of the black hole. Astronomers have found black holes with event horizons ranging from 6 miles to the size of our solar system.
Astronomers believe that supermassive black holes lie at the center of virtually all large galaxies, including our own Milky Way. Astronomers can detect them by watching for their effects on nearby stars and gas. Researchers have estimated that the number of black holes within the observable universe could range from hundreds of billions to many times that many.
One of the most intriguing phenomenon of black holes, identified by Einstein's general theory of relativity, is that the enormous gravitational pull would significantly warp space-time in regions within its grip. In fact, time may well stop still at the singularity.
Some suggest that the compacted matter at the singularity may eventually disappear leaving behind just warped space and warped time. And, according to a mind-bending new theory, a black hole might be a tunnel between universes—a type of wormhole. In this theory, the matter that the black hole attracts doesn't collapse into a single point, but rather gushes out a "white hole" at the other end of the black one.
This leads to a related idea made famous by Stephen Hawking, which suggests that each time a black hole is created in our universe, it gives rise to a “baby universe” that’s only accessible to an observer that crosses inside that black hole’s event horizon. Could our universe, then, actually have been spawned by a black hole that was created in some sort of grand “parent universe,” and do we give birth to a new universe each time a new black hole is created?
Do you realize that if you fall into a black hole, you will see the entire future of the Universe unfold in front of you in a matter of moments and you will emerge into another space-time created by the singularity of the black hole you just fell into? ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson
The quotation above by Neil deGrasse Tyson and the one below by Ethan Siegal provide a nice segue to the next topic of Are There Multiple Universes?
The singularity exhibits such a strong gravitational pull that nothing that comes within it's "event horizon" can escape, including light. The size of the event horizon is proportional to the mass of the black hole. Astronomers have found black holes with event horizons ranging from 6 miles to the size of our solar system.
Astronomers believe that supermassive black holes lie at the center of virtually all large galaxies, including our own Milky Way. Astronomers can detect them by watching for their effects on nearby stars and gas. Researchers have estimated that the number of black holes within the observable universe could range from hundreds of billions to many times that many.
One of the most intriguing phenomenon of black holes, identified by Einstein's general theory of relativity, is that the enormous gravitational pull would significantly warp space-time in regions within its grip. In fact, time may well stop still at the singularity.
Some suggest that the compacted matter at the singularity may eventually disappear leaving behind just warped space and warped time. And, according to a mind-bending new theory, a black hole might be a tunnel between universes—a type of wormhole. In this theory, the matter that the black hole attracts doesn't collapse into a single point, but rather gushes out a "white hole" at the other end of the black one.
This leads to a related idea made famous by Stephen Hawking, which suggests that each time a black hole is created in our universe, it gives rise to a “baby universe” that’s only accessible to an observer that crosses inside that black hole’s event horizon. Could our universe, then, actually have been spawned by a black hole that was created in some sort of grand “parent universe,” and do we give birth to a new universe each time a new black hole is created?
Do you realize that if you fall into a black hole, you will see the entire future of the Universe unfold in front of you in a matter of moments and you will emerge into another space-time created by the singularity of the black hole you just fell into? ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson
The quotation above by Neil deGrasse Tyson and the one below by Ethan Siegal provide a nice segue to the next topic of Are There Multiple Universes?
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The View of Science
There’s a lot to like about the idea that there’s a connection between black holes and the birth of Universes, from both physical and mathematical points of view. It’s plausible that there’s a connection between the birth of our Universe and the creation of an extremely massive black hole from a Universe that existed before our own; it’s plausible that every black hole that’s been created in our Universe has given rise to a new Universe within it. What’s missing, unfortunately, is the key step of a uniquely identifiable signature that could tell us whether this is the case or not. ~ Ethan Siegel Black holes are where God divided by zero. ~ Albert Einstein Black holes teach us that space can be crumpled like a piece of paper into an infinitesimal dot, that time can be extinguished like a blown-out flame, and that the laws of physics that we regard as ‘sacred,’ as immutable, are anything but. ~ John Wheeler Of all the billions and billions of strange objects in the Cosmos; novas, quasars, pulsars, black holes are beyond doubt the strangest. ~ Walker Percy Black holes are the seductive dragons of the universe, outwardly quiescent yet violent at the heart, uncanny, hostile, primeval, emitting a negative radiance that draws all toward them, gobbling up all who come too close. ~ Robert Coover 
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The View of the Mystics
It is fascinating that the description of black holes bear a semblance to some elements of the enlightenment experience that mystics speak of, as described in the posting A Glimpse into Paradise (March 2022) in the What's New? section of this website. For example, from the quotes by physicists on the left and above, it is possible that one can;
Black holes are a relatively recent discovery and, to date, I have not come across any commentary by mystics, except for the following; Many years ago I had written in my book, The Power of Now, that there is a black hole at the center of every galaxy. The editor saw it and said you can't say that - how can you know? People are going to argue with that. Let's just take it out ..... Some years later, I read in an article by scientists that they now believe there is a black hole at the center of every galaxy ..... Why did I know that? I knew that because I could feel the black hole inside myself - this spacious, formless one life - the origin. The human being is a microcosm - you can understand the whole universe by understanding yourself. ~ Eckhart Tolle, from a talk on consciousness given in late 2022 |
8 - Are There Multiple Universes?
The concept of multiple universes, or multiverse, has been discussed throughout history, with origins in ancient Greek philosophy. Different ideas have evolved over time in various fields, including cosmology, physics, and philosophy. However, until more recently the multiverse did not capture significant interest.
Modern physics revived the idea of multiple universes, beginning with the Many Worlds theory proposed by Hugh Everett in the 1950s to provide a possible way to address some of the strange properties of quantum mechanics. More recently, parallel universes have been proposed to try to make sense out of theories that don’t quite make sense without them. In addition to quantum mechanics, speculative ideas for many worlds have arisen in scientific investigations into String Theory, Black Holes, Dark Energy as well as the "inflation" variation of the Big Bang theory.
Although scientists have analyzed data in search of proof for other universes, no statistically significant evidence has been found. Critics argue that the multiverse concept lacks testability and falsifiability, which are essential for scientific inquiry, and that it raises unresolved metaphysical issues.
As for mystics, they say the answer is quite clear - there are indeed multiple universes floating in the inconceivably vast consciousness of Spirit. Some of these multiple universes exist in the physical plane of existence, while there are also universes that exist in higher planes of existence, i.e. the astral and causal worlds (see the posting Astral and Causal Worlds (May 2017) in the What's New section of this website).
Modern physics revived the idea of multiple universes, beginning with the Many Worlds theory proposed by Hugh Everett in the 1950s to provide a possible way to address some of the strange properties of quantum mechanics. More recently, parallel universes have been proposed to try to make sense out of theories that don’t quite make sense without them. In addition to quantum mechanics, speculative ideas for many worlds have arisen in scientific investigations into String Theory, Black Holes, Dark Energy as well as the "inflation" variation of the Big Bang theory.
Although scientists have analyzed data in search of proof for other universes, no statistically significant evidence has been found. Critics argue that the multiverse concept lacks testability and falsifiability, which are essential for scientific inquiry, and that it raises unresolved metaphysical issues.
As for mystics, they say the answer is quite clear - there are indeed multiple universes floating in the inconceivably vast consciousness of Spirit. Some of these multiple universes exist in the physical plane of existence, while there are also universes that exist in higher planes of existence, i.e. the astral and causal worlds (see the posting Astral and Causal Worlds (May 2017) in the What's New section of this website).
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The View of Science
I believe we exist in a multiverse of universes. ~ Michio Kaku Modern thinking is that time did not start with the big bang, and that there was a multiverse even before the big bang. In the inflation theory, and in string theory, there were universes before our big bang, and that big bangs are happening all the time. Universes are formed when bubbles collide or fission into smaller bubbles. ~ Michio Kaku It’s hard to build models of inflation that don't lead to a multiverse. It’s not impossible, so I think there’s still certainly research that needs to be done. But most models of inflation do lead to a multiverse, and evidence for inflation will be pushing us in the direction of taking the idea of a multiverse seriously. ~ Alan Guth Inflation is continuous and eternal, with big bangs happening all the time, with universes sprouting from other universes. In this picture, universes can “bud” off into other universes, creating a “multiverse.” In this theory, spontaneous breaking may occur anywhere within our universe, allowing an entire universe to bud off our universe. It also means that our own universe might have budded from a previous universe. In the chaotic inflationary model, the multiverse is eternal, even if individual universes are not. Some universes may have a very large Omega, in which case they immediately vanish into a big crunch after their big bang. Some universes only have a tiny Omega and expand forever. Eventually, the multiverse becomes dominated by those universes that inflate by a huge amount. In retrospect, the idea of parallel universes is forced upon us. ~ Michio Kaku The notion of parallel universes leapt out of the pages of fiction into scientific journals in the 1990s. Many scientists claim that mega-millions of other universes, each with its own laws of physics, lie out there, beyond our visual horizon. They are collectively known as the multiverse. ~ George Ellis Nearly all cosmologists today (including me) accept this type of multiverse. ~ George Ellis (referring to a Level I Multiverse, in which parallel worlds exist beyond the cosmic horizon of our observable universe) In physics, we’ve come upon the possibility that what we’ve long thought to be everything may actually only be a small part of something that is much, much bigger. The word "multiverse" refers to that bigger expanse, the new totality of reality, and our universe would be just a piece of that larger whole. ~ Brian Greene “According to Hawking, there may be an infinite number of alternative universes coexisting with ours,” writes Michio Kaku in Hyperspace (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994). “These universes might be compared to a vast collection of soap bubbles suspended in air.” |
The View of the Mystics
Floating island universes .... endless universes, tier upon tier, zone after zone, all revolving within Him. The Lord reveals His cosmic form: universes upon universes, inconceivably vast, created and sustained by the infinite omnipotence of Spirit which is simultaneously aware of the tiniest particle of subatomic matter and the cosmic movement of the galactic immensities—of every thought, feeling, and action of every being on the material and heavenly planes of existence. The physical cosmos, with its many “island universes” floating in the eternal void, is encircled by a nimbus of radiant energy that melts away into the larger astral world. The astral cosmos is a grander manifestation of creation than the physical, and runs through and beyond the latter. In the astral cosmos many luminous galaxies of various densities, with their astral solar and stellar systems, are roving in a vaster sphere of eternity. The largest or causal cosmos contains countless causal galactic systems with their suns and planets, roaming all through the physical and astral cosmoses and far beyond their boundaries to the outermost sphere of vibratory space. The causal universe is the womb of creation. In the causal universe, God’s finest creative forces of consciousness, and highly evolved beings with their intuitive processes, objectify universes from subtle divine thought forces. Through pure soul intuition, an accomplished yogi can behold the physical cosmos and its beings as the cosmic dream of God. Or he can project his consciousness into the astral world and perceive its panorama of indescribably beautiful island universes and beings made of ethereal blendings of various colored lights. Or he can lift his consciousness into the sublime causal sphere, with its galaxies upon galaxies of dazzling wisdom-objects and beings and their interactions—a glorious diadem in the eternally still, endless skies of Spirit. There are sattvic universes, which contain fundamentally good beings. There are rajasic universes in which the bulk of beings are passionate with desireful activity—this earth is predominantly rajasic in this stage of its evolution; in the strata between good and evil, it is about midway. Similarly, there are universes that are dominated primarily by tamasic or evil manifestations. 
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9 – How is Consciousness Connected to the Universe?
This topic was addressed previously, e.g. the posting Are You in the Universe or is the Universe in You? (April 2020) on the What's New web page, for those interested in a more detailed assessment.
For scientists, the word "consciousness" is not one they are comfortable with. Science deals with physical forms only and consciousness does not fit that category. Some scientists choose to ignore the role of consciousness, some say they expect to have an answer at a future date, and still others posit speculative positions. One such speculative position has been termed "panpsychism."
Panpsychism has been around for a long time. Philosophers and mathematicians Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead, physicists Arthur Eddington, Ernst Schrödinger, and Max Planck, and psychologist William James are just a few thinkers who supported some form of panpsychism. The idea lost traction in the late 20th century, but recently, philosophers and scientists such as David Chalmers, Bernardo Kastrup, Christof Koch, and Philip Goff have revived the idea, making strong claims for some form of panpsychism. Panpsychism is the idea that everything has consciousness. Consciousness is not limited to humans and other animals. Plants have it, too. It doesn’t stop at living things, either. Stones and stars, electrons and photons, even quarks have consciousness. According to some versions of the theory, the universe itself is conscious.
Had the supporters of panpsychism stopped there, their views would sound remarkably similar to the mystic view. However, some have added the caveat that there is nothing special about consciousness - it is just a particular arrangement of the same ingredients all other matter is made of.
From a mystic's view, the answer is clear - the universe is a construct of consciousness. The universe appears in your consciousness and is projected out from there. As such, each of us, in our true nature as gods, does exactly what Spirit does in creating the phenomenon of a personal universe. The universe itself is indeed imbued with the non-material substance of consciousness.
In addition to the posting referenced above, more on this topic can also be found on the web page Personalized Creation Model in The Enchanted Universe section of this website.
For scientists, the word "consciousness" is not one they are comfortable with. Science deals with physical forms only and consciousness does not fit that category. Some scientists choose to ignore the role of consciousness, some say they expect to have an answer at a future date, and still others posit speculative positions. One such speculative position has been termed "panpsychism."
Panpsychism has been around for a long time. Philosophers and mathematicians Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead, physicists Arthur Eddington, Ernst Schrödinger, and Max Planck, and psychologist William James are just a few thinkers who supported some form of panpsychism. The idea lost traction in the late 20th century, but recently, philosophers and scientists such as David Chalmers, Bernardo Kastrup, Christof Koch, and Philip Goff have revived the idea, making strong claims for some form of panpsychism. Panpsychism is the idea that everything has consciousness. Consciousness is not limited to humans and other animals. Plants have it, too. It doesn’t stop at living things, either. Stones and stars, electrons and photons, even quarks have consciousness. According to some versions of the theory, the universe itself is conscious.
Had the supporters of panpsychism stopped there, their views would sound remarkably similar to the mystic view. However, some have added the caveat that there is nothing special about consciousness - it is just a particular arrangement of the same ingredients all other matter is made of.
From a mystic's view, the answer is clear - the universe is a construct of consciousness. The universe appears in your consciousness and is projected out from there. As such, each of us, in our true nature as gods, does exactly what Spirit does in creating the phenomenon of a personal universe. The universe itself is indeed imbued with the non-material substance of consciousness.
In addition to the posting referenced above, more on this topic can also be found on the web page Personalized Creation Model in The Enchanted Universe section of this website.
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The View of Science
As noted in the quotes below, there are some scientists that have a similar view as mystics. Everything in our world, everything we see, hear, taste, smell, and touch; every thought, feeling, fantasy, intimation, hope, and fear; it is all a form that consciousness has taken on. Everything has been created in consciousness from consciousness. ~ Peter Russell In the new metaparadigm, everything we know, including space, time and matter, manifests from consciousness … the world we see around us is not the physical world. The world we actually know, is the world that takes form in our mind. And this world is not made of matterstuff, but mindstuff. ~ Peter Russell In what medium does space-time itself live and move and have its being? Is there any other answer than to say that consciousness brings all of creation into being. ~ John Wheeler Quantum physics really begins to point to this discovery, it says that you can't have a universe without mind entering into it, the mind is actually shaping the very thing that is being perceived. ~ Fred Allen Wolf It is consciousness, through the conversion of possibility into actuality, that creates what we see manifest. In other words, consciousness creates the manifest world. ~ Amit Goswami The universe is a mental construct displayed on the screen of perception. ~ Bernardo Kastrup I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness." ~ Max Planck The world remains everywhere in a state of pure possibility except where some conscious mind decides to promote a portion of the world from its usual state of indefiniteness into a state of actual existence. ~ John von Neumann A scientific world-view which does not profoundly come to terms with the problem of conscious minds can have no serious pretensions of completeness. ~ Roger Penrose The universe and the observer exist as a pair. I cannot imagine a consistent theory of the universe that ignores consciousness. ~ Andrei Linde The approach the majority of neuroscientists take to the question of how consciousness is generated, it is probably fair to say, is to ignore it ..... the tacitly implied mechanism of consciousness is that it somehow just happens. ~ Peter D. Kitchener and Colin G. Hales We do not yet have the final answers to any of the questions of cosmology and particle physics, molecular genetics and evolutionary theory, but we do know how to think about them ..... With consciousness, however, we are still in a terrible muddle. Consciousness stands alone today as a topic that often leaves even the most sophisticated thinkers tongue-tied and confused. — Daniel C. Dennett There is no question in science more difficult and confusing. ~ Lee Smolin I have a much easier time imagining how we understand the Big Bang than I have imagining how we can understand consciousness. ~ Edward Witten |
The View of the Mystics
What I know for sure is that I am a temporary expression in physical form of the one consciousness that expresses itself throughout the universe. I am not separate from that. Consciousness is not personal. Human consciousness is just an expression of universal consciousness, which pervades the entire universe. Spirit Itself is formless, immortal bliss consciousness. This universe and all beings within it are contained within this consciousness and are imbued with it. Although everything in creation has an appearance of solidity - it is all just light energy (as modern science now confirms) and is ultimately just pure consciousness. This virtual world is essentially a projection of consciousness. Consciousness is not the property of matter, or of any individual being; it is not produced by any material process; but rather it is the property of the Divine Mind, and pervades all matter throughout the universe. Consciousness does not arise from neural activity in the brain; it is a primary property of the Divine Mind, and is implicit in the universal manifestation, and therefore in all matter. It is what matter is made of. The entire universe exists only in consciousness ..... This very room and the universe are floating like a motion picture on the screen of my consciousness. It is only the waking state that brings before us this creation. This universe is nothing but a mode of the mind … The movement of the mind generates the universe. The world you perceive is made of consciousness; what you call matter is consciousness itself. This universe is a vibratory dream motion picture of God’s thoughts on the screen of time and space and human consciousness. All these universes, humans, objects, thoughts and events are merely pictures moving on the screen of Pure Consciousness, which alone is real. 
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10 - Is Your Universe the Same as Mine?
This topic has been addressed previously, i.e. the web page Personalized Creation Model in The Enchanted Universe section of this website. As noted therein;
Each of us is a unique soul, an individualized extension of Spirit. As such, each of us “sees” or experiences the universe in our own personal, particular way. In fact, it can be said that each of us occupies our own “mini-universe.” Consequently, Spirit experiences Its creation from endless perspectives. In addition to offering unique perspectives on creation, each one of us is also a co-creator. As such, we have the same ability as Spirit to “materialize” our thoughts and bring new structures into manifestation within the dream universe.
So, within our personal “mini-universes,” each of us experiences things uniquely and co-creates in our own particular fashion. We are gods within our own domain. Due to karmic conditions, most of the time we do not feel like gods, but we are. We have freedom of choice and have powerful wills to shape our experiences. Our “mini-universes” exist within the consciousness of each one of us. The motion picture is playing on the “screen of our consciousness.” By changing our thoughts and our consciousness, we can change the pictures on the screen and literally change our world.
As such, each of us experiences our own unique, personal universe.
Each of us is a unique soul, an individualized extension of Spirit. As such, each of us “sees” or experiences the universe in our own personal, particular way. In fact, it can be said that each of us occupies our own “mini-universe.” Consequently, Spirit experiences Its creation from endless perspectives. In addition to offering unique perspectives on creation, each one of us is also a co-creator. As such, we have the same ability as Spirit to “materialize” our thoughts and bring new structures into manifestation within the dream universe.
So, within our personal “mini-universes,” each of us experiences things uniquely and co-creates in our own particular fashion. We are gods within our own domain. Due to karmic conditions, most of the time we do not feel like gods, but we are. We have freedom of choice and have powerful wills to shape our experiences. Our “mini-universes” exist within the consciousness of each one of us. The motion picture is playing on the “screen of our consciousness.” By changing our thoughts and our consciousness, we can change the pictures on the screen and literally change our world.
As such, each of us experiences our own unique, personal universe.
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The View of Science
We are personally involved with the creation of our own reality. Physicists are being forced to admit that the universe is a 'mental' construction. ~ R. C. Henry There is no one reality. Each of us lives in a separate universe. That's not speaking metaphorically. This is the hypothesis of the stark nature of reality suggested by recent developments in quantum physics. ~ M. R. Franks Cathedrals and primroses, works of art and works of steel – what a world the mind has constructed from the electrical storms in a few cubic centimeters of gray matter. ~ Raynor Johnson We created our perception of the world … And, we are free to see it differently. ~ Peter Russell Quantum physics is the physics of possibilities … You choose everything you experience from these possibilities, so quantum physics is a way of understanding your life as one long series of choices that are in themselves the ultimate acts of creativity. ~ Amit Goswami If you don’t like what is happening in your external world, you simply have to ask, “What shifts do I have to make in my internal world so that the mirror is reflecting a more desirable aspect. ~ James A. Cusumano Every man’s world picture is and always remains a construct of his mind. ~ Erwin Schrödinger |
The View of the Mystics
The perceived universe is merely an imaginary projection by the individual mind or soul of a world of objects ... in other words, it is an illusion that takes place solely in the mind. Thought has the potency of creating or undoing the world in the twinkling of an eye. Mind creates the world according to its own Sankalpa [affirmation] or thought. It is the mind that creates this universe. There is no Madras for you while you live in Allahabad and there is no Allahabad for you while you live in Madras. This world is a mere collection of Samskaras (mental impressions) created by the mind. The mind is totally deluded by the amazing and wonderful appearance spread out before it; and, unaware that it is all its own projection, it reaches out eagerly for satisfaction and pleasure from the ephemeral and empty mirage. This world is painted by you on the screen of consciousness and is entirely your own private world. It is only the waking state that brings before us this creation. This universe is nothing but a mode of the mind … The movement of the mind generates the universe. You are the maker of the world in which you live, you alone can change it, or unmake it. Our every thought builds our reality. Since you alone are responsible for your thoughts, only you can change them. You will want to change them when you realize that each thought creates according to its own nature. |
11 - Is the Universe Real?
What are planets, stars, galaxies, trees, rivers, mountains, etc. made of? Scientists say that matter, composed of atoms and their associated sub-atomic particles, is the basic constituent that makes up all the objects in the universe. But the view of what matter is has changed remarkably over time. In particular, the revelations from the discoveries of quantum mechanics have significantly impacted this view. It is now known that matter is 99.999999% empty space - nothing but vibrations of light energy that can be shaped into specific forms. This topic was covered in the web page The View of Modern Science in The Enchanted Universe section of this website.
Suffice to say that matter is not want it seems. As astrophysicist Dr. Adam Frank says,
"Like almost every student over the past 100 years, I was shocked by quantum mechanics, the physics of the micro-world. In place of a clear vision of little bits of matter that explain all the big things around us, quantum physics gives us a powerful yet seemingly paradoxical calculus. With its emphasis on probability waves, essential uncertainties and experimenters disturbing the reality they seek to measure, quantum mechanics made imagining the stuff of the world as classical bits of matter (or miniature billiard balls) all but impossible. Like most physicists, I learned how to ignore the weirdness of quantum physics ..... But behind quantum mechanics’ unequaled calculational precision lie profound, stubbornly persistent questions about what those quantum rules imply about the nature of reality — including our place in it ..... What exactly is quantum mechanics telling us about the world? What does the wave function describe? What really happens when a measurement occurs? Above all, what is matter?"
Most of today's physicists ignore quantum physics to the extent they can. For large objects, like planets, stars and galaxies, this works reasonably well, provided fundamental questions are ignored, e.g. what is real?
Mystics, on the other hand, have directly witnessed the unfolding of creation while in a state of higher consciousness. They have all said that the universe is a projection of light rays emanating from the consciousness of God. The light energy, imbued with God's consciousness, is shaped into the various forms appearing within the universe. They say that this emanation of light energy is like a dream of God and that we are participants in the dream. And, much like our own dreams, the universe appears real while we are dreaming but is seen as just an illusion when we awaken.
"We might imagine a dream-scientist in one of our own projected dreams taking samples of the dream-landscape in order to analyze it, then placing the pieces under a dream microscope. We can imagine such dream-scientists coming up with pronouncements about what this dream-terrain is made of ..... It is clear that such efforts would be utterly futile, and that, in order to really know the truth about the reality in which he lived, our dream-scientist would simply need to wake up. Our dreams thus show a close parallel to the nature of our ‘real’ universe. While I do not wish to denigrate the efforts of scientists, I have seen that the true nature of ‘reality’ can only be realized by those who ‘wake up’ to the eternal Self." ~ Swami Abhayananda
As mentioned many times in this website, we can view our existence in this world to be analogous to participants in a virtual reality game. Our true existence lies outside the virtual reality game. But once we enter the virtual world of light projection, it appears like a true 3-dimensional world to our consciousness and senses. We identify ourselves as players in this virtual world and although these human body-forms are just projected light forms, they appear to our senses to be real. But it is all an illusion. Just a game.
Suffice to say that matter is not want it seems. As astrophysicist Dr. Adam Frank says,
"Like almost every student over the past 100 years, I was shocked by quantum mechanics, the physics of the micro-world. In place of a clear vision of little bits of matter that explain all the big things around us, quantum physics gives us a powerful yet seemingly paradoxical calculus. With its emphasis on probability waves, essential uncertainties and experimenters disturbing the reality they seek to measure, quantum mechanics made imagining the stuff of the world as classical bits of matter (or miniature billiard balls) all but impossible. Like most physicists, I learned how to ignore the weirdness of quantum physics ..... But behind quantum mechanics’ unequaled calculational precision lie profound, stubbornly persistent questions about what those quantum rules imply about the nature of reality — including our place in it ..... What exactly is quantum mechanics telling us about the world? What does the wave function describe? What really happens when a measurement occurs? Above all, what is matter?"
Most of today's physicists ignore quantum physics to the extent they can. For large objects, like planets, stars and galaxies, this works reasonably well, provided fundamental questions are ignored, e.g. what is real?
Mystics, on the other hand, have directly witnessed the unfolding of creation while in a state of higher consciousness. They have all said that the universe is a projection of light rays emanating from the consciousness of God. The light energy, imbued with God's consciousness, is shaped into the various forms appearing within the universe. They say that this emanation of light energy is like a dream of God and that we are participants in the dream. And, much like our own dreams, the universe appears real while we are dreaming but is seen as just an illusion when we awaken.
"We might imagine a dream-scientist in one of our own projected dreams taking samples of the dream-landscape in order to analyze it, then placing the pieces under a dream microscope. We can imagine such dream-scientists coming up with pronouncements about what this dream-terrain is made of ..... It is clear that such efforts would be utterly futile, and that, in order to really know the truth about the reality in which he lived, our dream-scientist would simply need to wake up. Our dreams thus show a close parallel to the nature of our ‘real’ universe. While I do not wish to denigrate the efforts of scientists, I have seen that the true nature of ‘reality’ can only be realized by those who ‘wake up’ to the eternal Self." ~ Swami Abhayananda
As mentioned many times in this website, we can view our existence in this world to be analogous to participants in a virtual reality game. Our true existence lies outside the virtual reality game. But once we enter the virtual world of light projection, it appears like a true 3-dimensional world to our consciousness and senses. We identify ourselves as players in this virtual world and although these human body-forms are just projected light forms, they appear to our senses to be real. But it is all an illusion. Just a game.
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The View of Science
Some intrepid physicists have chosen to address the reality of the universe. These concepts reduce the whole universe to a world of light, potential or existent, so that the whole story of its creation can be told with perfect accuracy and completeness in the six words: 'God said, Let there be light'. ~ Sir James Jeans Concerning matter, we have been all wrong. What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses. There is no matter. ~ Albert Einstein Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real. ~ Niels Bohr What the math seems to say is that, between observations, the world exists not as a solid actuality but only as shimmering waves of possibility. ~ Nick Herbert The world we see and experience in everyday life is simply a convenient mirage attuned to our very limited senses, an illusion conjured by our perceptions and our mind. ~ Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington The universe consists of frozen light. ~ David Bohm 
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The View of the Mystics
Great saints who have awakened from the cosmic mayic dream and realized this world as an idea in the Divine Mind, can do as they wish with the body, knowing it to be only a manipulatable form of condensed or frozen energy. Though physical scientists now understand that matter is nothing but congealed energy, fully-illumined masters have long passed from theory to practice in the field of matter-control. Physicists have announced it, astronomers have proclaimed it, and technicians have proven it without a doubt in their laboratories; and yet hardly anyone in the world seems to be aware of the fact that everything is made of light. In the aggregate of trillions of these illusory wave-particles, a vast, complex, visual illusion is produced ,,,,, But it is only a marvelous masquerade of light - God’s light; and it is all His grand illusion. Light is neither wave nor particle, though it can appear in either guise. It is not a substance, but an intangible and indefinable essence that some have likened to a mental rather than a physical reality; and yet all that we perceive as the physical, ‘material’ world is made of it. Matter is nothing more than light-energy appearing as form and substance. What is matter? Nothing but a particular rate of vibration of God's cosmic energy. No form in the universe is really solid. That which appears so is merely a compact or gross vibration of His energy. You shut yourself in a room for a fortnight. Give up reading newspapers. Engage yourself in deep meditation and see whether there is a world or not. Contemporary science has shown that the universe does indeed consist of an Energy that transforms into material particles; but these material particles are really nothing more than submicroscopic electromagnetic impulses, mere ‘points of Energy’, interacting in such a way that the appearance of substance is produced - forming, in other words, an illusory world. Just as the light going out of the movie booth is seen to be a transparent searchlight free from any inherent pictures, yet images mysteriously appear on the screen; so God from His booth is emanating a spherical bundle of rays, invisible searchlights, which produce on the screen of space an endless variety of apparently real pictures. But the images are shadowy illusions; the only reality is God and His individualized consciousness in the forms that behold and interact in the play. God has condensed His creative thoughts to produce all phenomena of this dream world, and by the cosmic hypnosis of maya has suggested those dreams so powerfully to our human consciousness that we accept the cosmic chimera as material reality. Anyone who has studied the analysis by modern-day physicists of the sub-atomic world of matter must have come to the realization that every form that exists is merely an ‘appearance’ conjured by this mysterious chimera called ‘Energy.’ That Energy is God’s Power of illusion. |
12 - What are Infinity and Eternity?
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. ~ Albert Einstein
As mentioned throughout this website, humans have a dual nature - (1) an ego state which identifies with a physical body immersed in a physical world, and (2) a god state, our true native existence as formless, boundless awareness of ever new joy beyond this ephemeral dream world.
The ego self, under the control of the cosmic hypnosis of maya, lives in an illusory world in which events appear to take place in time and objects are seen to be separate from each other. As such, time appears to flow from past, present to future. The future appears to be endless and could last to eternity, whatever that means. Similarly, objects in the universe can appear to be very far apart, some millions of light-years away. The ego-mind wonders whether the universe is finite or perhaps extends to infinity, whatever that means.
The concepts of eternity and infinity are a challenge to the processing ability of the ego mind.
For those who have gained access to their god mind, e.g. the mystics, there is no longer a mystery. In the god mind, everything takes place in a timeless, spaceless consciousness. The entire universe is seen on the screen of one's consciousness like a cloud floating in an endless sky. It is an entirely different perspective. Eternity just means the absence of time - everything just is and will always just be. In section#9 above, we are told that "The entire universe exists only in consciousness" and "Although everything in creation has an appearance of solidity - it is all just light energy (as modern science now confirms) and is ultimately just pure consciousness. This virtual world is essentially a projection of consciousness." In other words, the universe is immaterial and consists solely within consciousness. Since consciousness has no physical dimensions, when we say the universe stretches out to infinity, that is ultimately just a thought in consciousness; infinity has no dimension, it is merely an idea in one's mind.
This topic has been addressed previously in this website, e.g. the web posting The Enigma of Time (July 2018), for those interested in a more detailed assessment.
As mentioned throughout this website, humans have a dual nature - (1) an ego state which identifies with a physical body immersed in a physical world, and (2) a god state, our true native existence as formless, boundless awareness of ever new joy beyond this ephemeral dream world.
The ego self, under the control of the cosmic hypnosis of maya, lives in an illusory world in which events appear to take place in time and objects are seen to be separate from each other. As such, time appears to flow from past, present to future. The future appears to be endless and could last to eternity, whatever that means. Similarly, objects in the universe can appear to be very far apart, some millions of light-years away. The ego-mind wonders whether the universe is finite or perhaps extends to infinity, whatever that means.
The concepts of eternity and infinity are a challenge to the processing ability of the ego mind.
For those who have gained access to their god mind, e.g. the mystics, there is no longer a mystery. In the god mind, everything takes place in a timeless, spaceless consciousness. The entire universe is seen on the screen of one's consciousness like a cloud floating in an endless sky. It is an entirely different perspective. Eternity just means the absence of time - everything just is and will always just be. In section#9 above, we are told that "The entire universe exists only in consciousness" and "Although everything in creation has an appearance of solidity - it is all just light energy (as modern science now confirms) and is ultimately just pure consciousness. This virtual world is essentially a projection of consciousness." In other words, the universe is immaterial and consists solely within consciousness. Since consciousness has no physical dimensions, when we say the universe stretches out to infinity, that is ultimately just a thought in consciousness; infinity has no dimension, it is merely an idea in one's mind.
This topic has been addressed previously in this website, e.g. the web posting The Enigma of Time (July 2018), for those interested in a more detailed assessment.
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The View of Science
The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. ~ Albert Einstein In this passage Einstein is referring to the “block universe” conception of spacetime. It’s hardly surprising that he accepted it, since it is the framework in which his own theories of special and general relativity are most naturally expressed. The block-universe view of physical reality contains time, but in a way remarkably different to our usual conception. It presents a four-dimensional view in which all events across time and space are on an equal ontological footing, with no sense in which present events are judged more “real” or “actual” than past or future ones. It is also very difficult to recover any meaningful sense in which time “flows." ~ Paul Mainwood Relativity challenges your basic intuitions that you've built up from everyday experience. It says your experience of time is not what you think it is, that time is malleable. Your experience of space is not what you think it is, it can stretch and shrink. ~ Brian Greene But what is now? There is no such thing in physics; it is not even clear that ‘now’ could ever be described, let alone explained, in terms of physics.… Notions such as ‘the past,’ ‘the present’ and ‘the future’ seem to be more linguistic than physical.… There is no universal now, but only a personal one—a ‘here and now.’ This strongly suggests that we look to the mind, rather than to the physical world, as the origin of the division of time into past, present, and future.…There is none of this in physics.… No physical experiment has ever been performed to detect the passage of time. As soon as the objective world of reality is considered, the passage of time disappears like a ghost into the night. ~Paul Davies Cosmologists think that beyond the edge of the observable universe lies more universe: more stars, more galaxies, more planets, more everything. Because it's unobservable, however, astronomers do not know how large the entire universe is. It's possible that the universe is truly infinite, with no boundary in space at all. ~ Ethan Siegel The Laws of Nature are not rules controlling the metamorphosis of what is, into what will be. They are descriptions of patterns that exist, all at once. The four-dimensional space-time manifold displays all eternity at once." ~ Richard Feynman The physical universe is really like a movie/motion picture, in which a series of still images shown on a screen creates the illusion of moving images. ~ Mir Faizal In deep meditation, when all awareness of things has ceased and the mind is completely still, there is no experience of change, and nothing by which to mark the passing of time. You know you have been sitting there, in absolute stillness, but as to how long you have been there, you have no idea. It could have been a minute, or it could have been an hour. Time as we know it has disappeared. There is simply now, eternal now. Not only is this essential self beyond time, it also is beyond space. ~ Peter Russell In classical physics, the past is assumed to exist as a definite series of events, but according to quantum physics, the past, like the future, is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities … The universe doesn't have just a single history, but every possible history, each with its own probability; and our observations of its current state affect its past and determine the different histories of the universe ~ Stephen Hawking Not only is mind our tether to reality, perhaps it is our tether to eternity. ~ Brian Greene 
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The View of the Mystics
There is neither ‘past’ nor ‘future’ for Him. Everything is ‘present’ for Him. There is neither ‘near’ nor ‘far’ for Him. Every place is ‘here’. Every time is ‘now’ ,,,.. The Jivas with individual minds are witnessing the events in succession. But Ishvara [God within creation] knows all events at one sweep. A finite mind that is gross and conditioned by time, space and causation cannot comprehend the why and how of the universe, a question that is transcendental. From a purely theoretical point of view, Eternity can be a very daunting concept, one which cosmologists as a rule refrain from considering. But for those of us who have been privileged to experience Eternity directly, it is neither a theory nor a concept. We know, with absolute certainty, that it is the underlying foundation, support, and projecting power upon which this universe of time and space exists. We know that time exists only in the universal manifestation, with a recurrent beginning and end, and that in Eternity there is no such thing as time – no past, no present, no future. Time has no absolute existence, but exists only as an elemental byproduct of the universal expansion of space projected upon the one eternal Mind. It is a measure, as spatial location is, of the progression of universal manifestation. Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in Eternal awareness or Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity. God is the Eternal Consciousness, unchanging and indivisible, in which the illusions of time and space present an infinite variety of forms interacting in a progressive mode of past, present and future. When a dreamer travels around the world in his dream, he does so, not in time and space, but in his consciousness only. Similarly, the cosmic dream is occurring neither in vast space nor in a series of past, present, and future time, but in the Eternal Now of God’s dream consciousness. The present is mere imagination, for the sense of time is purely mental. Space is similarly mental. The past gives you an identity and the future holds the promise of salvation, of fulfillment in whatever form. Both are illusions. There is only imagination. It has absorbed you so completely that you just cannot grasp how far from reality you have wandered. No doubt imagination is richly creative. Universe upon universe are built on it. Yet they are all in space and time, past and future, which just don't exist. As form you are still in time. As the formless you are beyond time. The idea of time is only in your mind. It is not in the Self [your god-nature]. There is no time for the Self. Time arises as an idea after the ego arises. But you are the Self beyond time and space; you exist even in the absence of time and space. The Cosmic Dreamer … is aware not only of His present cosmic dreams, but of all that went on within Him in the past, and of all that is going to happen within Him in the future – appearing and disappearing in His spaceless, timeless consciousness of an eternal present. Time derives from Him, though He is utterly beyond time’s reach. Time, that is to say, past and future, is what the false mind-made self, the ego, lives on, and time is in your mind. It isn’t something that has an objective existence “out there.” It is a mind-structure needed for sensory perception, indispensable for practical purposes, but the greatest hindrance to knowing your Self. There is no time nor space – everything is happening in your own thought. It is a staggering spectacle. I can describe it only by a distant analogy. Imagine the universe as a gigantic movie, unfolding scene after scene in time and space - on an infinitely vast, intensely alive ethereal screen that remains entirely unaffected by the action of the drama - and you will have a dim picture of what I mean. In the frame, nothing is moving. There is no time, and nothing appears or disappears in that box. But this movie projector—your thinking mind—is always moving, around and around and around, so you experience this world as constantly moving and you constantly experience change. And His sense of time is quite different from ours. From His perspective, above and beyond the play of time and space, an entire human lifetime is not even the blink of an eye. The beginning, duration, and reabsorption of the entire universe is but a breath. We tend to think that what happened in the past determines what is going to happen next, and we do not see that it is exactly the other way around! |
13 - Will the Universe Come to an End? If so, then what?
Scientists predict that the universe will end, and possibly be reborn, in one of several possible ways:
The Big Freeze – in which the universe continues expanding until temperatures approaches absolute zero. This is the currently favoured theory, based on experiments that indicate an increasing rate of universal expansion.
The Big Rip – in which all material objects in the universe disintegrate into unbound elementary particles.
The Big Crunch – in which the density of the universe will become sufficient to stop its expansion and the universe will begin contracting until all matter and space-time collapse into a dimensionless singularity, just like when the universe was first initiated by the Big Bang. One possibility suggests that a new Big Bang would follow the Big Crunch, creating an oscillatory universe consisting of an infinite sequence of finite universes, with each finite universe ending with a Big Crunch that becomes the Big Bang of the next universe.
The Big Bounce – similar to the oscillatory universe model but with a variation relating to how the first Big Bang occurred.
It should be noted that all these models are based on interpretations of the behaviour of dark energy in the universe. As the nature of dark energy and dark matter remains enigmatic, the scientific views regarding the end of the universe should be considered speculative.
While in the highest states of consciousness, mystics have directly witnessed how universes begin, dissolve and are reborn. The process is similar to the oscillatory model suggested by scientists, except that the end of one universal cycle is not the cause of the next cycle. Each recurring universal cycle is a conscious choice by Spirit. But, like the scientific model, universes start, end and re-start in an infinite sequence.
The Big Freeze – in which the universe continues expanding until temperatures approaches absolute zero. This is the currently favoured theory, based on experiments that indicate an increasing rate of universal expansion.
The Big Rip – in which all material objects in the universe disintegrate into unbound elementary particles.
The Big Crunch – in which the density of the universe will become sufficient to stop its expansion and the universe will begin contracting until all matter and space-time collapse into a dimensionless singularity, just like when the universe was first initiated by the Big Bang. One possibility suggests that a new Big Bang would follow the Big Crunch, creating an oscillatory universe consisting of an infinite sequence of finite universes, with each finite universe ending with a Big Crunch that becomes the Big Bang of the next universe.
The Big Bounce – similar to the oscillatory universe model but with a variation relating to how the first Big Bang occurred.
It should be noted that all these models are based on interpretations of the behaviour of dark energy in the universe. As the nature of dark energy and dark matter remains enigmatic, the scientific views regarding the end of the universe should be considered speculative.
While in the highest states of consciousness, mystics have directly witnessed how universes begin, dissolve and are reborn. The process is similar to the oscillatory model suggested by scientists, except that the end of one universal cycle is not the cause of the next cycle. Each recurring universal cycle is a conscious choice by Spirit. But, like the scientific model, universes start, end and re-start in an infinite sequence.
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The View of Science
If there is more matter than we can see—hidden away in black holes, say, or in hot but invisible gas between the galaxies—then the universe will partake of a very Indian succession of cycles, expansion followed by contraction, universe upon universe, Cosmos without end. ~ Carl Sagan A universe that came from nothing in the big bang will disappear into nothing at the big crunch. Its glorious few zillion years of existence not even a memory. ~ Paul Davies Will the universe end? many ask. Yes. Not with a bang but a whimper. Not in fire, but in ice. Not in light, but in darkness. ~ Neil deGrasse Tyson There was actually another universe existing before the present one and the Big Bang merely marked the end of that universe. Evidence of that previous universe can still be observed these days. ~ Roger Penrose The universe can shrink to zero and reappear, and the light is none the wiser. That’s roughly speaking what happens. ~ Neil Turok I happen to think the cyclic model is a real intriguing one. It has a lot of new ingredients that people haven't had a chance to play with. When they play they might find other interesting things that we missed. ~ Paul Steinhardt Just because we might find a cold, empty universe an unappealing future doesn’t mean that that’s not where things are headed. ~ Peter Woit |
The View of the Mystics
At the end of a universal cycle, the expansion of the material universe is reversed, and matter, as it is compacted, returns to its Energy state, as it existed in the beginning; and is withdrawn back into the Divine Mind. It is ‘the Great Radiance’ in reverse ..... The Divine Mind returns to dormancy in the One, and there follows a refreshing period of eternal rest. Then, again, at Its own pleasure, the One reawakens Its creative Power, the Divine Mind ..... and a burst of Energy is once again initiated to produce a bright new expanding universe. Recurrent cycles of manifestation and dissolution are applicable to the life spans of solar systems, galaxies, or a specific spectrum of the objects and life-forms within them; and, ultimately, of the universe as a whole. There is creation, preservation, and dissolution continuously and successively roiling in the omnipresent blessed light of Spirit. Having once come into existence, the soul never ceases to be, even at the time of cosmic dissolution when all matter is resolved into Spirit in the universal cycles of comings and goings. 
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Final Thoughts
During the 1930s, the mystic Ramana Maharshi had many visitors at his ashram in India. Many asked questions regarding creation and the universe. Depending on the spiritual understanding of the questioners, Ramana provided one of three answers. He said that the same truth needed to be expressed in different ways to suit the capacity of the hearer.
For the vast majority of mankind under the spell of the ego-mind, the answer given was that the world exists and we perceive it through our senses. Accordingly, the world is seen to be a result of evolution spanning recurring cycles of creation, preservation, and destruction.
For those capable of a higher understanding, Ramana taught that the world could be seen as a creation of the mind – a dream that appears to be real. The world appears alongside our perception of it. The external world comprising of space and time seems endless. But it is in the mind only (see the web posting Are You in the Universe or is the Universe in You? (April 2020) on the What's New page of this website). It is interesting that the scientific discoveries of quantum mechanics fall into this category, i.e. "without a seer, there is nothing to be seen."
For those few individuals established in the highest god-consciousness, a third understanding is possible.
The words of the scientists and the mystics provided in the different sections of this posting reflect these different understandings of creation and the universe. Scientists tend to belong to the first group above while mystics belong to the groups with the higher understandings. Sometimes mystics respond with answers that are aimed at the first group.
An ego-conscious person sees themself as a small being existing in a vast universe that spreads out endlessly about them. But for those with access to their higher consciousness, the view is quite different, as expressed by Paramahansa Yogananda in the following two selections from his poem, Samadhi;
For the vast majority of mankind under the spell of the ego-mind, the answer given was that the world exists and we perceive it through our senses. Accordingly, the world is seen to be a result of evolution spanning recurring cycles of creation, preservation, and destruction.
For those capable of a higher understanding, Ramana taught that the world could be seen as a creation of the mind – a dream that appears to be real. The world appears alongside our perception of it. The external world comprising of space and time seems endless. But it is in the mind only (see the web posting Are You in the Universe or is the Universe in You? (April 2020) on the What's New page of this website). It is interesting that the scientific discoveries of quantum mechanics fall into this category, i.e. "without a seer, there is nothing to be seen."
For those few individuals established in the highest god-consciousness, a third understanding is possible.
The words of the scientists and the mystics provided in the different sections of this posting reflect these different understandings of creation and the universe. Scientists tend to belong to the first group above while mystics belong to the groups with the higher understandings. Sometimes mystics respond with answers that are aimed at the first group.
An ego-conscious person sees themself as a small being existing in a vast universe that spreads out endlessly about them. But for those with access to their higher consciousness, the view is quite different, as expressed by Paramahansa Yogananda in the following two selections from his poem, Samadhi;
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Samadhi extends my conscious realm Beyond limits of the mortal frame To farthest boundary of eternity Where I, the Cosmic Sea, Watch the little ego floating in Me. All space floats like an iceberg in my mental sea. Colossal Container, I, of all things made! |
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A few additional thoughts;
It seems undeniable that out there, around us, independent and apart from us, stands a physical world, utterly real, solid and tangible. But all is not what it seems … All I ever know of the world around are the images produced in the mind. I think I am seeing the tree ‘out there’, in the world around me. But all that I am actually experiencing is the image created in the mind. This simple fact is very hard to grasp. It runs totally counter to all our experience. There seems nothing more certain than the fact that I am seeing the world as it is, around me. But however nonsensical it may sound, this is the conclusion we are forced to make … However real it may seem, it is, in the final analysis, all in the mind. ~ Peter Russell
The most beautiful and most profound experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science ..... To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms - this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness. ~ Albert Einstein
When the mind becomes powerful like the Creator’s, one can materialize or dematerialize his body or a universe, knowing them to be dream images of thought. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
God, the Master Hypnotist, through His power of maya has suggested to individualized souls to visualize the universe. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
If you attain Knowledge of the Self, the meaning of life will cease to be a mystery. You will clearly understand the why and how of this universe. The purpose and progress in the scheme of things will become clear to you. All transcendental things will be known to you. ~ Swami Sivananda
It seems undeniable that out there, around us, independent and apart from us, stands a physical world, utterly real, solid and tangible. But all is not what it seems … All I ever know of the world around are the images produced in the mind. I think I am seeing the tree ‘out there’, in the world around me. But all that I am actually experiencing is the image created in the mind. This simple fact is very hard to grasp. It runs totally counter to all our experience. There seems nothing more certain than the fact that I am seeing the world as it is, around me. But however nonsensical it may sound, this is the conclusion we are forced to make … However real it may seem, it is, in the final analysis, all in the mind. ~ Peter Russell
The most beautiful and most profound experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science ..... To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms - this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness. ~ Albert Einstein
When the mind becomes powerful like the Creator’s, one can materialize or dematerialize his body or a universe, knowing them to be dream images of thought. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
God, the Master Hypnotist, through His power of maya has suggested to individualized souls to visualize the universe. ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
If you attain Knowledge of the Self, the meaning of life will cease to be a mystery. You will clearly understand the why and how of this universe. The purpose and progress in the scheme of things will become clear to you. All transcendental things will be known to you. ~ Swami Sivananda
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Jalaluddin Rumi (1207 - 1273)
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The Mystical Poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi (August 2023)
Sufism is the mystical branch of Islam. Over the centuries, many mystics from the Sufi tradition attained the highest spiritual ecstasy and wrote poems about their experiences. Perhaps the greatest and most beloved of the Sufi poets is the thirteenth century Persian poet and mystic Jalaluddin Rumi. A key point in Rumi's life came when he met the wandering Sufi mystic Shams Tabrizi, a spiritual guide who aroused Rumi’s passionate devotion. Tabrizi’s mysterious disappearance in 1247 led Rumi to produce some of his most inspired verse, including Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi (The Collected Poems of Shams Tabrizi) and Masnavi-ye Ma’navi (Spiritual Verses). He quickly gained a reputation as an ecstatic visionary, and devoted the rest of his life to writing and worship. |
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This posting is arranged into the following topics;
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1 – Introduction
2 – The Path to Eternity 3 – The Ego Self 4 – Silence 5 – Oneness with God 6 – The Universe is Within You 7 – Love 8 – Pain and Sorrow 9 – Religion 10 – Time 11 – Final Thoughts |
Some of Rumi's poetry was first introduced on the webpage Mystical Musings (July 2020) in the What's New section of this website. In this posting, a more extensive selection is provided of this celebrated author's writings.
1 –Introduction 
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Rumi wrote all of his work in his native Persian language. His writings have been translated into many languages. The English version that is best known is that provided by Coleman Barks. In fact, Barks version is not a translation so much as an interpretation. By transforming earlier nineteenth-century English translations into American verse, Barks dedicated considerable time and love to the poet’s works and life. In so doing, he captured the poetic essence of the original writings, and vastly expanded Rumi’s readership. Although Rumi’s writing have been revered for some 800 years in the East, it has only been the last 30 years or so that Rumi has captured the fascination of North Americans. Today he is the number one read poet in America. A couple of comments on the quotes included herein.
Infinitely more precious than life and the world is that moment when one is alone with God. Instead of several lifetimes, the process of ascension was sped up to a mere several years. Rumi not only clearly understood this, but he did his absolute best to make sure no one ever forgot what happened between them. |
2 –The Path to Eternity 
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If the spiritual universe and the way to it were shown, No one would remain in this world for a single moment. You came suddenly shook me from my sleep and vanished. In my heart you rose like the moon but as I glanced at you, you disappeared. Having had a glimpse of Your garden, I have no more the patience to endure my existence. In the quotations above, Rumi proclaims that if one is blessed with a glimpse of the spiritual realms, it is there that one yearns to be. And, in the quotations below, he points to the path that leads homeward. Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. Moonlight floods the whole sky from horizon to horizon; how much it can fill your room depends on its windows. Let go of your mind and then be mindful. Close your ears and listen. I once had a thousand desires. But in my one desire to know you all else melted away. |
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The desire to know your own soul will end all other desires.
When you lose all sense of self, the bonds of a thousand chains will vanish. Listen, O drop, give yourself up without regret, and in exchange gain the Ocean. My friend, you thought you lost Him; that all your life you've been separated from Him. Filled with wonder, you've always looked outside for Him, and haven't searched within your own house. Remember, the entrance door to the sanctuary is inside you. Thankfulness brings you to the place where the Beloved lives. Let the waters settle and you will see the moon and the stars mirrored in your own being. Stars burn clear all night till dawn. Do that yourself, and a spring will rise in the dark with water your deepest thirst is for. Leave that which is not, but appears to be. Seek that which is, but is not apparent. Shut your eyes so the heart may become your eye, and with that vision look upon another world. Get yourself out of the way, and let joy have more space. It doesn’t matter that you’ve broken your vow a thousand times. Still come, and yet again, come. I have been a seeker and I still am, but I stopped asking the books and the stars. I started listening to the teaching of my Soul. Turn back from the outer. Set your eyes within. Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd. Listen with ears of tolerance! See through the eyes of compassion! Speak with the language of love. Open the eyes of inner vision and do not take this world so seriously. Master your vicious ego and judgmental mind then with clear purpose, silent and alone you can start on your journey toward Spirit. O traveler, if you are in search of That Don't look outside, look inside yourself and seek That. It’s your road, and yours alone, others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you. Half of life is lost in charming others. The other half is lost in going through anxieties caused by others. Leave this play. You have played enough. On a day when the wind is perfect, the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty. Today is such a day. And you? When will you begin that long journey into yourself? |
3 –The Ego Self 
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As mentioned many times throughout this website, we humans have a dual consciousness. Mystics of all ages have stated that each of us has a god-mind as well as an ego-mind. Most humans are dominated by their ego-self which associates with the body and the world of suffering seen around us. And all mystics, who have been blessed to experience their god-self, unanimously proclaim its bliss, peace and immortal nature. It is our original state and it is the destiny of each one of us to ultimately return there. The ego is a veil between humans and God. On the ultimate unreality of the ego-self. This is not the real reality. The real reality is behind the curtains. In truth, we are not here. This is our shadow. |
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Like the shadow
I am and I am not. On the nature of the world experienced by the ego. Beyond this world is another world for us. This world and its delights cater to the animal within us. These pleasures all fill our animal nature, while our real self slowly dies. Before I ended up in this dungeon of the world, I was with you all the time. How I wish I’d never fallen into this earthly trap. … You persuaded me by saying: “If you go, you’ll gain new experiences. You’ll progress on your path. You’ll be far more mature when you come back home.” You are the bird of happiness in the magic of existence! What a pity when you let yourself be chained and caged. But if you can break free from this dark prison named body soon you will see you are the sage and the fountain of life! Why set your heart on a piece of earth, O simple one? Seek out the source which shines forever. On why humans accept living in the ego-world when such a greater world awaits. You turned your sight to the empty show of this world. Alas, how can you be satisfied with so little? Why are you so enchanted by this world when a mine of gold lies within you? One of the marvels of the world is the sight of a soul sitting in prison with the key in its hand. On the work needed to be done to return home. Do the soul work instead. Feed daily on wisdom. Expand your heart. Rest the appetites. They are bandits on the road. They stop your spirit and steal valuables. The body is merely a garment. Go seek the wearer, not the cloak. On the prize that awaits. If you could get rid of yourself just once, the secret of secrets would open to you. The face of the unknown, hidden beyond the universe would appear on the mirror of your perception. |
4 –Silence 
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Like all mystics, Rumi extolled the virtue of silence - one of the most powerful tools to control the incessant chattering of the ego-mind and allow the god-mind, hidden within each of us, to arise. Silence includes spoken words but mostly means the abating of the unceasing thoughts of the ego-mind. Put your thoughts to sleep, do not let them cast a shadow over the moon of your heart. Let go of thinking. Where the lips are silent the heart has a thousand tongues. Silence is the language of God all else is poor translation. There is a place born of silence A place where the whispers of the heart arise. There is a place where voices sing your beauty A place where every breath carves your image in my soul. |
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Sit, be still, and listen.
There is a voice that doesn't use words. Listen. If you want to reach him You have to go beyond yourself And when you finally arrive at the land of absence Be silent Don’t say a thing Ecstasy, not words, is the language spoken there. Those times when I'm silent and still as the earth, The thunder of my roar is heard across the universe. A wealth you cannot imagine flows through you. Do not consider what strangers say. Be secluded in your secret heart-house, that bowl of silence. Let Silence speak to you about the secrets of the universe. All is known in the sacredness of silence. Last night I begged the wise one to tell me the secret of the world. Gently, gently, he whispered, Be quiet, the secret cannot be spoken, It is wrapped in silence. Speak little. Learn the words of eternity. Go beyond your tangled thoughts and find the splendor of paradise. The inspiration you seek is already within you. Be silent and listen. Listen to silence, it has so much to say. Now it is time for silence. If I told you about His true essence You would fly from your self and be gone, and neither door nor roof could hold you back! |
5 – Oneness with God 
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One of the marvels that every mystic describes regarding their experiences with God, is that they actually enter the consciousness of Spirit. They become one with God. And Rumi, in his inimitable poetic style, avows the same. If you see lover and Beloved as two, you either have double vision, or you can’t count. What? Are you still pretending you are separate from the Beloved? We laugh together, you and I. In one form upon this earth, and in another form in a timeless sweet land. We seem to be two, but we are not. Although you appear in earthly form Your essence is pure Consciousness. |
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Why am I seeking?
I am the same as he. His essence speaks through me. I have been looking for myself. O my soul, I searched from end to end: I saw in thee naught save the Beloved; Call me not infidel, O my soul, if I say that thou thyself art He. You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl? There is a fountain inside you. Don’t walk around with an empty bucket. My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, And I intend to end up there. Now that You live here in my chest, anywhere we sit is a mountaintop. I lost my hat while gazing at the moon, and then I lost my mind. The lamps are different, but the Light is the same. There came one and knocked at the door of the Beloved. And a voice answered and said, 'Who is there?' The lover replied, 'It is I.' 'Go hence,' returned the voice; 'there is no room within for thee and me.' Then came the lover a second time and knocked and again the voice demanded, 'Who is there?' He answered, 'It is thou.' 'Enter,' said the voice, 'for I am within. I made an oath to myself: as long as I live as long as my soul remains in this body I won't deviate from the right way but later I looked to my left and then to my right and I saw our beloved everywhere how could I make a wrong turn? By God, when you see your beauty you will be the idol of yourself. Through your grace I have found a treasure within myself. I have found the truth of the Unseen world. I have come upon the eternal ecstasy. I have gone beyond the ravages of time. I have become one with you! You embrace some form saying, “I am this.” By God, you are not this or that or the other, you and spirit are the same. When you lose all sense of self, the bonds of a thousand chains will vanish. |
6 –The Universe is Within You 
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To the ego-mind, the universe appears as a collection of solid objects stretching endlessly into space. To the god-mind, the universe "floats like an iceberg" on the vast sea of one's consciousness. Don’t you know yet? It is your light that lights the world. Do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you. The universe is not outside of you. Look inside yourself; everything that you want, you already are. What is the body? That shadow of a shadow of your love, that somehow contains the entire universe. Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion. You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop. |
7 –Love 
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Although I do not know this for a fact, I have a feeling that the word that appears most often in Rumi’s writings is “love.” Rumi wrote extensively about romantic love—but he consistently employed it as a metaphor for the higher love of the divine and the beauty of the spiritual path. He focused on tawhid—union with the ultimate Beloved—and made it the overarching theme of his work. For Rumi, the issue of faith was incomplete unless it included the central theme of love. Rumi's poetry and parables are not a product of an academic or theological reflection but emerged from his deeply felt personal experience of God's love. As such, when Rumi refers to "love,” it is essentially the experience of a Sufi mystic in ecstasy. It touches on every dimension of the love relationship between God and the mystic. For Rumi, the final path to God was not through the mind but through the heart. Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation. My soul is screaming in ecstasy Every fiber of my being is in love with you. |
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A thousand half-loves must be forsaken
to take one whole heart home. Love is the bridge between you and everything. Close your eyes, fall in love, stay there. Let your teacher be love itself. Be soulful. Be kind. Be in love. Love is not an emotion, it’s your very existence. Whenever we manage to love without expectations, calculations, negotiations, we are indeed in heaven. Love calls – everywhere and always. We’re sky bound. Are you coming? I have no companion but Love, no beginning, no end, no dawn. Listen, open the heart’s window and keep looking at the Beloved. The task of love is to open that window so the heart can be illuminated by His Beauty. You have no idea how hard I've looked for a gift to bring You. Nothing seemed right. What's the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the ocean. Everything I came up with was like taking spices to the Orient. It's no good giving my heart and my soul because you already have these. So I've brought you a mirror. Look at yourself and remember me. |
8 –Pain and Sorrow 
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Following the disappearance of his spiritual mentor, Shams Tabrizi, Rumi felt great sorrow. But he also believed that "God has placed a pearl in sorrow’s hand." You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens. If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished? Sorrow prepares you for joy. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place. When someone beats a rug, the blows are not against the rug, but against the dust in it. Hardship may dishearten at first, but every hardship passes away. All despair is followed by hope; all darkness is followed by sunshine. Whenever sorrow comes, be kind to it. For God has placed a pearl in sorrow’s hand. Don’t grieve for what doesn’t come. Some things that don’t happen keep disasters from happening. |
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The cure for pain is in the pain.
Once you express your sorrow from the bottom of your heart it will be washed away. We are all faced with incidents that teach us to be less selfish and judgmental and more compassionate and generous. Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life's search for love and wisdom. If you desire healing, let yourself fall ill let yourself fall ill. When the world pushes you to your knees, you’re in the perfect position to pray. The moment you accept what troubles you’ve been given, the door will open. |
9 –Religion 
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As covered in the webpage Religion and Spirituality, most mystics deplore the current state of orthodox religions. In many cases, the original teachings of the founding prophets have been distorted and replaced by meaningless rites and rituals. Rumi clearly felt the same way. Why does religion promote their killing? I shall not shed the blood of fellow humans This is the reason for my lack of faith I have nothing to do with religion! I belong to no religion. My religion is love. Though the words of the great saints appear in a hundred different forms, since God is one and the Way is one, how can their words be different? Though their teachings appear to contradict, their meaning is one. Separation exists in their outward form only; in inner purpose they all agree. The exclusivity of most of the organized religions insults the soul. Conventional opinion is the ruin of our souls. |
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This Love is beyond the study of theology,
that old trickery and hypocrisy. If you want to improve your mind that way sleep on. I looked in temples, churches, and mosques. But I found the Divine within my heart. |
10 –Time 
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As covered in the web posting, The Enigma of Time (July 2018), time is quite mysterious. Although the ego-mind lives in a world with time, the god-mind exists in a world of the eternal present. My friend, the Sufi is the friend of the present moment. To say tomorrow is not our way. How can I know anything about the past or the future, when the light of the Beloved shines only Now. So we began and will never cease. If you dwell on the past or future, you will miss the moment. Don't waste time pining for the past don't hold regrets for things that happened long ago if you let the past go, you'll be a Sufi you'll be the child of the present moment the young and old of now. If you die to the temporal, You will become timeless. |
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I have come upon the eternal ecstasy.
I have gone beyond the ravages of time. |
11 –Final Thoughts 
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You have no need to go anywhere - journey within yourself. Rumi was a supremely gifted writer and mystic. In addition to his creative and spiritual influence, he was also wealthy, socially and culturally influential, and had much political power. He was one of the most prominent personalities in the Eastern world during his lifetime and beyond. Rumi was aptly known as the poet of spiritual love – not only for the beauty of the language but also for the ecstatic nature of his mystic relationship with God. Using all the rich means of literature, and especially poetry, Rumi awakens our imagination to the presence of the Divine. And as we gradually integrate the images, metaphors, and stories, our sense of reality is transformed, our place in the universe is clarified. And, as noted below, Rumi was careful to acknowledge the true source of his poetry. Blessed is the poem that comes through me but not of me because the sound of my own music will drown the song of Love. In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, But sometimes I do, And that sight becomes this art. This poetry, I never know what I'm going to say. I don't plan it. When I'm outside the saying of it, I get very quiet and rarely speak at all. |
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Superman (November 2023)
"Every man is a divinity in disguise, a god playing the fool" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson We started out as gods. We knew we were gods. It was an absolutely glorious existence - unbounded awareness of indescribable bliss; a depth of peace beyond all understanding; overwhelming love; a complete knowledge of all there is to know; an all encompassing consciousness of all space and everything in it; a realization of one's immortality. We still are gods, but we have let that god-awareness become covered by a lower consciousness that suggests to us, rather powerfully, that we are mere mortals. It is a regrettable existence of uncertainty, suffering and limitations. And once there, we have to play the game as mortals and pass from life to death to life seemingly endlessly and beyond our control. |
Eventually, each of us finds our way back home to our native state as gods, as souls, with full recollection of our formidable god-consciousness. Towards the end of this process, an ego-bound human being can find himself evolving into what the great modern-day mystic Paramahansa Yogananda has described as a "superman." A superman occupies a human body-form but is no longer ego-bound, rather he knows himself as the soul. He is now the god of his original native state.
In his writings, Yogananda has described the magnificent existence of a superman. His words provide a powerful incentive to work to overcome our masquerading ego-consciousness and recover our blissful state as immortals.
This posting is divided into the following sections;
In his writings, Yogananda has described the magnificent existence of a superman. His words provide a powerful incentive to work to overcome our masquerading ego-consciousness and recover our blissful state as immortals.
This posting is divided into the following sections;
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1 - We Started Out as Gods
2 - Our Magnificent Existence as a Superman 3 - How to Become a Superman Again 4 - Final Thoughts All quotations provided in this posting come from Yogananda's writings, unless otherwise indicated. |
1 - We Started Out as Gods 
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As mentioned above, we started out as gods – as souls, created to be unique, individualized extensions of Spirit. As such, the nature of each soul is essentially the same as Spirit. It is a remarkable birthright. The soul is the divine essence of man, as distinguished from the human personality or ego. It is individualized Spirit, whose essential nature is ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss. The soul is man’s inner fountainhead of love, wisdom, peace, courage, compassion, and all other divine qualities. Spirit created the gods to play in the dream drama of creation. Since each soul, or god, is essentially Spirit Itself, God is playing within His dream creation through an endless number of players. In order to enter creation, each soul dons a body-form. There are three types of forms that a god can occupy, depending on what level of the game of creation it is on. Once the game of creation is over for each soul, it discards the body forms and returns to its native formless state. The soul is cloaked only temporarily in the garments of causal, astral, and physical bodies. Man’s soul dons these three coverings that serve as instrumentalities through which the incarnate spirit can perceive, comprehend, and interact with God’s creation. |
God intended each soul to enjoy His dream-drama as a cosmic entertainment.
Originally, God intended that each soul would enjoy a relatively short stay within creation and then dissolve its body-form and return to its original blissful state.
Unfortunately, each of us gods becomes so involved within the dream drama of creation that we come to believe that the body-form is our real self, thereby forgetting our divine nature. This greatly delays the return of each soul to its native, immortal blissful state.
The soul, while dwelling within the body, becomes identified with its physical and mental experiences and forgets its divine nature; it masquerades instead as the body-circumscribed ego, the pseudosoul.
However, at some point each of us does eventually recover our true nature and one stage of this process is the evolution to "superman" status, as mentioned above.
Originally, God intended that each soul would enjoy a relatively short stay within creation and then dissolve its body-form and return to its original blissful state.
Unfortunately, each of us gods becomes so involved within the dream drama of creation that we come to believe that the body-form is our real self, thereby forgetting our divine nature. This greatly delays the return of each soul to its native, immortal blissful state.
The soul, while dwelling within the body, becomes identified with its physical and mental experiences and forgets its divine nature; it masquerades instead as the body-circumscribed ego, the pseudosoul.
However, at some point each of us does eventually recover our true nature and one stage of this process is the evolution to "superman" status, as mentioned above.
2 - Our Magnificent Existence as a Superman 
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Compared to our mundane existence as mortals confined to a tiny portion of a vast universe, our native existence as a superman in an unlimited, boundless cosmos is almost inconceivable. Blinded by the cosmic hypnosis of maya, most of us live our paltry lives without ever seeking our magnificent and ecstatic birthright as gods. It is an immense mystery that most humans never question the woeful existence of their ego-selves, filled as they are with stultifying limitations, grievous suffering and uncertainty. Perhaps for most, it is because they are totally unaware of a higher existence – content to merely hope for such in a heaven beyond. But the “heaven beyond” is not a panacea but is essentially a continuation of where one left off but in a different body form and a different environment. One still has to, at some point and in some environment, awaken to one’s god-self. The mystics and prophets throughout the ages have consistently told us of a resplendent and glorious existence that is ours for the taking. Most of us ignore the words of the prophets, content to exist in the dim and confining world within the depths of “Plato’s Cave,” rejecting the suggestion of a magnificent world outside the cave. If there is such a majestic world, we reason, it’ll have to wait – I’ve got too much to think about and do in my little cave world. |
Perhaps the words below from Yogananda regarding our true nature as a superman may lift us from our complacency and start our journey out of the dismal cave of our lives up to the mouth of that abyss which opens to an inconceivably glorious existence.
Yogananda’s quotes are grouped under several headings. For quotations selected from longer sentences, I have, in some cases, taken the liberty to slightly modify them, solely for grammatical purposes.
As a superman, we fully know ourselves to be immortals;
Yogananda’s quotes are grouped under several headings. For quotations selected from longer sentences, I have, in some cases, taken the liberty to slightly modify them, solely for grammatical purposes.
As a superman, we fully know ourselves to be immortals;
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You are not the body, with all its aches and pains, but an immortal soul.
You are only dreaming that you have a body of flesh. Your real self is light and consciousness. Souls, individualized sparks of unconditioned Spirit, are immortal, free from any dependence on materiality. |
As a superman, we regain our native blissful state;
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An ever new state of bliss is the true native state of the soul.
An immortal fountain of bliss is ever bubbling in the soul. Man’s native state as the soul is an ever-wakeful state of eternal Bliss. The superman claims its birthright and enjoys throughout eternity the harvest of Bliss in God. |
As a superman, our awareness expands such that the complete vastness of creation is contained within us;
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The superman feels the ever-bubbling Bliss that dances in every particle of his little body, and in his big Cosmic Body of the universe.
The superman’s body is the universe, and all things that happen in the universe are his sensations. He who has become one with the omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent God is aware of the coursing of a planet trillions of light-years distant, and, at the same moment, of the flight of a nearby sparrow. A superman does not see Spirit as apart from the body; he becomes one with Spirit, and beholds, as existing within himself, his own body as well as the bodies of all other creatures. He feels his body, a tiny atom, within his vast luminous cosmic body. The divine man feels the sensations of all matter as expressions of God’s creative cosmic energy playing upon his cosmic body, in a bliss unmatched by any physical pleasure of touch. He feels the smooth glide of the river over the breast of the earth. He feels the home of his Being in the ocean of space, and perceives the swimming waves of island universes on his own sea bosom. He knows the softness of the petals of blossoms, and the tenderness of the love in all hearts, the aliveness of youth in all bodies. His own youthfulness, as the ageless soul, is everlasting. The superman expands his life energy and consciousness from his body into all space, actually feeling as his own self the presence of all universes in the vast cosmos as well as every minute atom of space. |
As a superman, we have unlimited powers;
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I am a God-man ….. I can create anything I desire.
The superman may have everything in the universe as his rightful divine inheritance. As easily as any person can change his thoughts, a superman can change his experience of the world. |
As a superman, we exist as pure formless bliss consciousness even while maintaining a body form;
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Sometimes I see myself walking, and I am simultaneously aware that I have no body.
When I am conscious of my human personality I have limitations, but as soon as I change my consciousness to the soul sphere I see everything just as if it were a motion picture. |
As a superman, our consciousness goes beyond the farthest reaches of space to become one with the ultimate state of Spirit – the God beyond creation; a witness to, but untouched by the dream motion picture of creation;
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You can feel your presence in all creation, and also know the Joy that is beyond creation.
In the superman, the lost omnipresence of Spirit is regained. The man of cosmic consciousness feels the ever-bubbling Bliss in his absolute nature as one with the Eternal Spirit beyond manifested forms. The superman is no longer a human being with limited ego consciousness. In reality, he is the soul, individualized ever-existent, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss. The superman is always conscious of the Unmanifested Spirit and also of the entire cosmos in all its bewildering variety. He sees the motion picture of the cosmos going backward and forward on the screen of his consciousness ….. dreams that are constantly new, infinitely varied. The superman is aware of the dream nature of the universe and watches it without being entangled in its complex but ephemeral nature. Being one with God, he dreams within his cosmic consciousness all the divine dreams of cosmic creation. |
3 - How to Become a Superman Again 
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Meditation. Throughout the ages, mystics have over and over again extolled the value of meditation as the key tool to raise one’s consciousness from the ego-mind to the god-mind. Meditation techniques are designed to quiet the ego-consciousness sufficiently to allow one’s inherent and native god-awareness to arise. Referring to the Kriya Yoga meditation techniques that he taught, Yogananda would tell his disciples, “you have the key in your hand” – the key to open the door to God-awareness. Meditation means to remember that one is not a mortal body but an immortal soul. Meditation enables the soul to regain the memory of its oneness with the omniscient, omnipresent Spirit. God’s awakening touch in meditation is the way to be free from pernicious delusions and destroys utterly all seeds of earthly longings and attachments. The soul instantly recalls its inheritance of Eternal Bliss, which makes a mockery of all desires for exiguous earthly ways. |
When maya’s illusions of the perdurability of matter are disengaged from the body by meditation, the body can dance on water, walk through solid substances, levitate or fly in the air at will.
By meditation this false body consciousness or ego consciousness disappears, the soul realizes its own status as the prince-son of the King of the Universe.
Meditation is the way to reclaim your lost divinity. It is the ultimate liberating action.
By meditation this false body consciousness or ego consciousness disappears, the soul realizes its own status as the prince-son of the King of the Universe.
Meditation is the way to reclaim your lost divinity. It is the ultimate liberating action.
4 - Final Thoughts 
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Forgetfulness of that inner Source of happiness is the cause of all human suffering and misery. Under the control of our ego-minds, we live as mortals in a world of uncertainty where suffering and misery can knock on our door at any time. As supermen, we are gods. We live an indescribably magnificent existence. No suffering. Indescribable bliss. A peace that passes all understanding. Complete knowledge of everything there is to know. All encompassing love. Immortality. Conscious awareness that reaches to the farthest boundaries of eternity. We started out as souls; as gods. We have lost this consciousness. To regain our status as a superman is our divine destiny. But it does require an effort. For those willing to make the effort, the reward is sublime. I am always there now, in that bliss-consciousness of God. Within you is the same joy and bliss of the soul. You don’t have to acquire them, but rather regain them. You have merely lost them temporarily by identifying yourself with the senses. |
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Addendum
It is November 2023. The war in Ukraine has been raging for some 20-months with no end in sight. Over a hundred thousand casualties on both sides of the conflict - Ukrainians and Russians. Horrific battles and endless suffering.
And just a month ago, in early October, a war has begun between Gaza-based Hamas and Israel. The brutality of this conflict is almost inconceivable. Once again, horrific battles and endless suffering. Two specific instances come to mind;
And just a month ago, in early October, a war has begun between Gaza-based Hamas and Israel. The brutality of this conflict is almost inconceivable. Once again, horrific battles and endless suffering. Two specific instances come to mind;
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.1 - A reporter is interviewing an Israeli father whose 8-year old daughter Emily was trapped in a location that was overrun by Hamas militants. For two days, the father did not know whether his daughter was dead or taken hostage. Forty-eight long hours for his mind to be tortured by endless thoughts of his daughter's fate. Finally, he was told that Emily was killed in the initial attack. The father had by then concluded that this would be the best of the possible outcomes and he felt relieved. Can you imagine the excruciating pain that father had been experiencing to be actually relieved when told of his daughter's death? And just to add more heart-rending anguish, he was told some time later that, in fact, Emily's body had never been found and that she was most likely a hostage living in terror in the dark Hamas underground tunnels beneath Gaza - the scenario her father feared the most.
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Emily
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2 - While on air, a Palestinian TV reporter in Gaza was told that his family - wife, son and young daughter had just been killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza city.
The cameras follow the man as he goes to see the dead bodies of his family and then goes back to his job, in spite of his grief, to inform the world of the impact of this airstrike and others on not only himself but also so many other citizens of Gaza. |
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Postscript - November 25, 2023 - with reference to the first story above, after more than seven weeks of captivity, some Israeli hostages were released by Hamas. Emily was part of a second group of hostages released and has now been safely returned to her father, traumatized but alive. |
Father before release
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After release
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Intelligent, discriminative human beings, after so many incarnations of nightmarish struggles and miseries and deaths, ought to learn their lesson and strive to get out of these cosmic histrionics, back to the blessedness of the soul’s home in Spirit.
All souls come from God and evolve back to their native perfection by exercise of their God-given free will.
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Living the Dream (February 2024)
The webpage Helpful Creation Analogies on this website introduced several creation analogies to help describe the nature of this rather enigmatic universe in which we find ourselves. The Virtual Reality Game is a creation analogy that has been addressed many times in the articles posted to date in this What's New section of the website. Another creation analogy considered earlier is The Dream Universe. This creation analogy is the one most often referenced by mystics. This posting offers another look into The Dream Universe as it provides so much insight into our human condition. |
The posting provides quotations on this topic from a number of mystics, listed in chronological order, as follows;
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Introduction 
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As outlined below, the dream creation analogy has been extolled by mystics of all times and all lands. From their unique unitive experience of oneness with God, it became evident to them that mankind's existence mirrors that of dream characters in a dream playland. Over and over again, mystics have described this dream universe and our dream existence within it. Many have also made mankind aware of what steps can be taken to overcome this dream illusion and to awaken to our true, glorious and blissful existence beyond the dream. |
Adi Shankara 
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Adi Shankara, also known as Shankaracharya, is a highly revered eighth century Indian sage and mystic. From his exalted consciousness, he witnessed the highest Truths regarding creation, and was very clear in declaring the universe to be a dream projection from within the human consciousness. One who in dream, sees things good and bad, high and low, favourable and fearful, thinks that they are actually real, and never for a moment thinks that they are unreal while dreaming. Even so is this world until the dawn of Self-Knowledge. In dreams, when there is no actual contact with the external world, the mind alone creates the whole universe consisting of the experiencer etc. Similarly in the waking state also; there is no difference. All this phenomenal universe is the projection of the mind. |
The objects of the world, in fact, exist and play about only in the observer's mind, and yet, due to maya, they are seen as though outside.
The universe no longer exists after we have awakened into the highest consciousness ….. The scriptures declare that this relative universe is only an appearance.
Man’s relative existence is simply the creation of his mind, and has no objective reality.
In dream, the mind is emptied of the objective universe, but it creates by its own power a complete universe of subject and object. The waking state is only a prolonged dream. The phenomenal universe exists only in the mind.
A man who remains continually absorbed in the consciousness of Brahman is freed from the tyranny of the objective world ….. When, at moments, he becomes conscious of this world, he looks upon it as a world of dreams.
The universe no longer exists after we have awakened into the highest consciousness ….. The scriptures declare that this relative universe is only an appearance.
Man’s relative existence is simply the creation of his mind, and has no objective reality.
In dream, the mind is emptied of the objective universe, but it creates by its own power a complete universe of subject and object. The waking state is only a prolonged dream. The phenomenal universe exists only in the mind.
A man who remains continually absorbed in the consciousness of Brahman is freed from the tyranny of the objective world ….. When, at moments, he becomes conscious of this world, he looks upon it as a world of dreams.
Jalaluddin Rumi 
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Perhaps the greatest and most beloved of the Sufi poets was the thirteenth century Persian mystic Jalaluddin Rumi. As noted below, Rumi saw this world as a dream and stated that "only a sleeper considers it real." Though he is fallen asleep, God will not leave him In this forgetfulness. Awakened, he Will laugh to think what troublous dreams he had. And wonder how his happy state of being He could forget. This world ’tis but the sleepers’ dream. |
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This place is a dream. Only a sleeper considers it real.
Then death comes like dawn, and you wake up laughing at what you thought was your grief. |
Ramana Maharshi 
Note#1 - Ramana Maharshi's story is similar to one that can be found in various Eastern mystic texts, as follows; Once, the legendary sage, Narada, was out walking with Krishna, who is, of course, representative, in literature, of God. In the course of their conversation, Narada asked God to explain to him the mystery of His Maya. And the Lord said, “Alright - but before I do, since my throat is a little dry, please fetch me a drink of water.” So, Narada ran off to find some water for the Lord. In the course of his search he came to a pleasant little hut, where he stopped to get directions to the nearest water, but when the door to the hut was opened, there stood a most beautiful young maiden with whom Narada was immediately smitten. As she invited him inside, Narada forgot all about his mission to fetch some water to his Lord; and, as the days passed very pleasantly, Narada fell more and more in love with his beautiful hostess, and soon they were wed. Before long, the blissful couple had children, and Narada toiled in the field to grow food for his growing family. He was extremely happy with his new family and thought himself to be surely the most fortunate of men to have such a beautiful wife and such fine children. But, one day, a great monsoon rain fell; and for many days thereafter the rain continued. The riverbanks overflowed, and the little hut was filled with water. Narada climbed, with his family, to the top of the hut, clinging with one hand to the roof, and with the other to his wife and children. But the rains continued, and the hut began to collapse from the flooding waters. First one child, then another, was swept away in the raging torrent; and finally, Narada felt his darling wife slip away from his grasp as well. Then, he too was swept away in the flood, crying out in the darkness for his wife and children. At last, nearly unconscious, and completely exhausted, Narada found himself washed up on a wreckage-strewn shore. And, as he lay there desperately lamenting the loss of his family, he suddenly looked up to see the feet of Krishna at his head. Quickly, he struggled to his feet, and Krishna, with an ironic smile, asked, “Where have you been, Narada? I sent you for water nearly ten minutes ago!” Twelve whole years had passed through his mind, and yet all these scenes had happened in less than ten minutes! This is Maya. |
Ramana Maharshi was a twentieth century mystic from India who spent much time trying to provide his many visitors with an understanding of the true nature of this world. He was very forthright in his explanations of the dream nature of the universe. There is no difference between the dream and waking states, except that the former is short and the latter long. Both are the product of the mind. Because the waking state lasts longer we imagine it to be our real state; but actually our real state is what is sometimes called the Fourth State, which is always as it is, and is unaffected by waking, dream or sleep. It is transcendent. In a dream you have no inkling that it is a dream, and therefore no obligation to make an effort to get out of it. But in this life you have some intuition based on your experience of sleep and on what you hear and read, that it is a sort of dream, and this intuition imposes on you the duty of making an effort to get out of it. However, if you prefer to be in this dream, stay as you are. Our real nature is Liberation, but we imagine that we are bound and we make strenuous efforts to get free, although all the while we are free. This is understood only when we reach that state. Then we shall be surprised to find that we were frantically striving to attain something that we always were and are. An illustration will make this clear. A man goes to sleep in this hall. He dreams he has gone on a world-tour and is travelling over hill and dale, forest and plain, desert and sea, across various continents, and after many years of weary and strenuous travel, he returns to this country, reaches Tiruvannamalai, enters the Ashram and walks into the hall. Just at that moment he wakes up and finds that he has not moved at all but has been sleeping where he lay down. He has not returned after great efforts to this hall, but was here all the time. It is exactly like that. Why, being in the hall, did you imagine you were on a world-tour, crossing hill and dale, desert and sea? It is all mind or maya. [see Note#1 on the left] Questioner - In Europe people do not understand that a man can be helpful in solitude. They imagine that only men who work in the world can be useful. When will this confusion cease? Will the European mind continue wading in the morass or will it realise the Truth? Ramana Maharshi - Never mind about Europe or America. Where are they but in the mind? Realise your Self and then all is realised. If you see a number of men in a dream and then wake up and recall your dream, do you try to find out whether the persons of your dream-creation are also awake? Questioner: Does a jnani [advanced sage] have dreams? Ramana Maharshi: Yes, he does dream, but he knows it to be a dream, in the same way as he knows the waking state to be a dream. The jnani being established in the fourth state – the supreme reality – he detachedly witnesses the three other states, waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep, as pictures superimposed on it. |
Questioner - But we see pain in the world. A man is hungry. It is a physical reality. It is very real to him. Are we to call it a dream and remain unmoved by his suffering?
Ramana Maharshi - From the point of view of jnana or Reality, the suffering you speak of is certainly a dream, as is the world of which that suffering is an infinitesimal part. In a dream you have when you are asleep you yourself feel hunger and see others also suffering from hunger. You feed yourself and, moved by pity, feed the others who are hungry. So long as the dream lasted, all this suffering was quite as real as the suffering you see in the world is to you now. It was only when you woke up that you discovered it to be unreal. You might have eaten heartily before going to sleep, but you still dreamt that you had been working hard in the hot sun all day and were tired and hungry. Then you woke up and found that your stomach was full and that you had not stirred from your bed. But all this is not to say that while you are in the dream you can act as if the suffering you feel in it is not real. The hunger in the dream has to be appeased by dream food. The fellow beings you find hungry in the dream have to be provided with dream food. You can never mix the two states, the dream and the waking state. Similarly, till you attain the state of Realisation and thus wake out of this illusory, phenomenal world, you must do social service by relieving suffering whenever you see it.
Ramana Maharshi - From the point of view of jnana or Reality, the suffering you speak of is certainly a dream, as is the world of which that suffering is an infinitesimal part. In a dream you have when you are asleep you yourself feel hunger and see others also suffering from hunger. You feed yourself and, moved by pity, feed the others who are hungry. So long as the dream lasted, all this suffering was quite as real as the suffering you see in the world is to you now. It was only when you woke up that you discovered it to be unreal. You might have eaten heartily before going to sleep, but you still dreamt that you had been working hard in the hot sun all day and were tired and hungry. Then you woke up and found that your stomach was full and that you had not stirred from your bed. But all this is not to say that while you are in the dream you can act as if the suffering you feel in it is not real. The hunger in the dream has to be appeased by dream food. The fellow beings you find hungry in the dream have to be provided with dream food. You can never mix the two states, the dream and the waking state. Similarly, till you attain the state of Realisation and thus wake out of this illusory, phenomenal world, you must do social service by relieving suffering whenever you see it.
Paramahansa Yogananda 
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“As a bright light shining in the midst of darkness, so was Yogananda’s presence in this world. Such a great soul comes on earth only rarely, when there is a real need among men” ~ C. Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Kanchipuram Paramahansa Yogananda was one of the great spiritual leaders of the twentieth century. He was also a prolific author of many majestic spiritual books. His writings contain numerous references to God's dream universe and mankind's role within it. Just as a dreamer differentiates his one consciousness into many dream beings in a dream world, so God, the Cosmic Dreamer, has separated His consciousness into all the cosmic manifestations, with souls individualized from His own One Being endowed with the egoity to dream their personalized existences within the Nature-ordained drama of the Universal Dream. |
It is said that He loves to dream Himself as separate souls. This gives the Lord an opportunity to play with the conscious dream-souls in His cosmic drama.
By the visualization of His thoughts, through the power of maya, God creates, sustains, and dissolves dream worlds and beings.
This universe is a vibratory dream motion picture of God’s thoughts on the screen of time and space and human consciousness.
Life is a macrocosmic mental movie-house of dreams, illusions of maya, which melt away in the wakeful state of ultimate wisdom.
The body is a dream image of mind-stuff ..... Life is nothing but a Cosmic Dream.
That higher state bestows the constant awareness that matter is the frozen imaginings of God, as in sleep our dreams and nightmares are our own ephemeral thought-creations, condensed or “frozen” into visual experiences through the objectifying power of our imagination. A dreaming person does not know that a nightmare is unreal until he wakes up. So also, only by awakening in Spirit—oneness with God — can man disperse the cosmic dream from the screen of his individualized consciousness.
You have to awaken in order to perceive that God is everywhere and to realize that you have been dreaming. All of you are sitting here in this dream, and you are part of the dream.
God-tuned sages have declared that the entire cosmos with all its complexities vanishes like a dream when the soul awakes in the eternal wakefulness of God. As a dream disappears when one is roused from sleep, so this cosmic dream dissolves when the devotee unites his consciousness with God’s perpetual wakefulness.
An accomplished master perceives how God has condensed His creative thoughts to produce all phenomena of this dream world, and by the cosmic hypnosis of maya has suggested those dreams so powerfully to our human consciousness that we accept the cosmic chimera as material reality.
He who has awakened from the dream delusion of the cosmos realizes he is Spirit; his mortal body and its physical experiences existing only as amorphous ideas of consciousness.
Great saints who have awakened from the cosmic mayic dream and have realized this world as an idea in the Divine Mind, can do as they wish with the body, knowing it to be only a manipulatable form of condensed or frozen energy.
Those who realize their oneness with God become inwardly free from the seeming ills of this dream life, and behold health and sickness, gain and loss, life and death, only as interesting phases of the dream. Of course, it would be foolish to presume such aboveness until one actually realizes that all matter is energy and that energy is the thought of God.
Anyone who is jubilant because of the dream health of the body or grieved by its dream sickness, or who is afraid of disease and distressed when it comes, is dreaming the cosmic delusion and is not inwardly free. Hence every devotee should meditate on his transcendent blissful Self and preserve that ever newly joyous state of consciousness.
In a dream one may behold a battle between the righteous and the wicked, and may witness the killing of the evil by the good. On waking from the dream, the dreamer will realize that the killing of the vicious people and the surviving of the righteous were both an outcome of his interior imagination; there was no actual destruction. Similarly, Krishna told Arjuna that the battle between his righteous relatives and his wicked ones was nothing but a struggle witnessed by Arjuna in a state of cosmic delusion in which he was spiritually asleep or not yet awake in wisdom.
The kingly soul, a perfect image of the omnipresent all-powerful Spirit, is similarly sleeping in ignorance, dreaming that it is a poor mortal with afflictions and limitations. When by meditation this false body consciousness or ego consciousness disappears, the soul realizes its own status as the prince-son of the King of the Universe.
There is no earth. There is no universe. God is dreaming a dream. We are a part of the dream. He has given a reality to the dream and we are suffering…. You think that this dream of life is reality – that’s why there is troubles.
By the inner illumination of divine awakening, one realizes that the whole cosmos is a cosmic motion picture.
His body is only “a dream walking.”
A man of God-consciousness learns to dream at will, perceiving then his dream world as reality. He learns, too, to dissolve his dream at will, realizing then that his dream creation was a mere mental phenomenon. All illusory nightmares gone, he merges his consciousness with the Divine Dreamer, ever witnessing the colorful premieres of “super-colossal” spectacle plays.
God knows how to remain unaffected while participating in this cosmic dream that is tainted with the binding attributes; and because He made man in His image, He expects him to use his discrimination and to play his part in this cosmic dream of good and evil without being inwardly affected by it.
One day during World War I, a young Yogananda was meditating in his home in Calcutta when his consciousness suddenly transferred into the body of a captain of a naval boat off the coast of France. The boat was sunk and the captain swam to shore only to be shot by enemy fire on the beach. Yogananda's consciousness subsequently switched back and forth between his normal self and the sea captain. In utter confusion, he called out to God -
"Cosmic Father, tell me, am I dead on the battlefield or am I sitting meditating in Calcutta?" He said, “Neither – you have been dreaming that you are sitting and meditating and you have been dreaming that you are dead. You are neither of these two dreams. You are this Light that created those dream delusions” ... and my delusion fled and I became that Great Light.
Yogananda also reminds us that while we sometimes "sleepwalk" in this dream creation, we are also active participants;
By the power of visualization, man creates his own illusions of reality and “materializes” or brings them into being or expression through the instruments of his differentiated consciousness. Thus is he a miniature creator, fashioning good or ill for himself and the phenomenal world of which he is an operative part.
By the visualization of His thoughts, through the power of maya, God creates, sustains, and dissolves dream worlds and beings.
This universe is a vibratory dream motion picture of God’s thoughts on the screen of time and space and human consciousness.
Life is a macrocosmic mental movie-house of dreams, illusions of maya, which melt away in the wakeful state of ultimate wisdom.
The body is a dream image of mind-stuff ..... Life is nothing but a Cosmic Dream.
That higher state bestows the constant awareness that matter is the frozen imaginings of God, as in sleep our dreams and nightmares are our own ephemeral thought-creations, condensed or “frozen” into visual experiences through the objectifying power of our imagination. A dreaming person does not know that a nightmare is unreal until he wakes up. So also, only by awakening in Spirit—oneness with God — can man disperse the cosmic dream from the screen of his individualized consciousness.
You have to awaken in order to perceive that God is everywhere and to realize that you have been dreaming. All of you are sitting here in this dream, and you are part of the dream.
God-tuned sages have declared that the entire cosmos with all its complexities vanishes like a dream when the soul awakes in the eternal wakefulness of God. As a dream disappears when one is roused from sleep, so this cosmic dream dissolves when the devotee unites his consciousness with God’s perpetual wakefulness.
An accomplished master perceives how God has condensed His creative thoughts to produce all phenomena of this dream world, and by the cosmic hypnosis of maya has suggested those dreams so powerfully to our human consciousness that we accept the cosmic chimera as material reality.
He who has awakened from the dream delusion of the cosmos realizes he is Spirit; his mortal body and its physical experiences existing only as amorphous ideas of consciousness.
Great saints who have awakened from the cosmic mayic dream and have realized this world as an idea in the Divine Mind, can do as they wish with the body, knowing it to be only a manipulatable form of condensed or frozen energy.
Those who realize their oneness with God become inwardly free from the seeming ills of this dream life, and behold health and sickness, gain and loss, life and death, only as interesting phases of the dream. Of course, it would be foolish to presume such aboveness until one actually realizes that all matter is energy and that energy is the thought of God.
Anyone who is jubilant because of the dream health of the body or grieved by its dream sickness, or who is afraid of disease and distressed when it comes, is dreaming the cosmic delusion and is not inwardly free. Hence every devotee should meditate on his transcendent blissful Self and preserve that ever newly joyous state of consciousness.
In a dream one may behold a battle between the righteous and the wicked, and may witness the killing of the evil by the good. On waking from the dream, the dreamer will realize that the killing of the vicious people and the surviving of the righteous were both an outcome of his interior imagination; there was no actual destruction. Similarly, Krishna told Arjuna that the battle between his righteous relatives and his wicked ones was nothing but a struggle witnessed by Arjuna in a state of cosmic delusion in which he was spiritually asleep or not yet awake in wisdom.
The kingly soul, a perfect image of the omnipresent all-powerful Spirit, is similarly sleeping in ignorance, dreaming that it is a poor mortal with afflictions and limitations. When by meditation this false body consciousness or ego consciousness disappears, the soul realizes its own status as the prince-son of the King of the Universe.
There is no earth. There is no universe. God is dreaming a dream. We are a part of the dream. He has given a reality to the dream and we are suffering…. You think that this dream of life is reality – that’s why there is troubles.
By the inner illumination of divine awakening, one realizes that the whole cosmos is a cosmic motion picture.
His body is only “a dream walking.”
A man of God-consciousness learns to dream at will, perceiving then his dream world as reality. He learns, too, to dissolve his dream at will, realizing then that his dream creation was a mere mental phenomenon. All illusory nightmares gone, he merges his consciousness with the Divine Dreamer, ever witnessing the colorful premieres of “super-colossal” spectacle plays.
God knows how to remain unaffected while participating in this cosmic dream that is tainted with the binding attributes; and because He made man in His image, He expects him to use his discrimination and to play his part in this cosmic dream of good and evil without being inwardly affected by it.
One day during World War I, a young Yogananda was meditating in his home in Calcutta when his consciousness suddenly transferred into the body of a captain of a naval boat off the coast of France. The boat was sunk and the captain swam to shore only to be shot by enemy fire on the beach. Yogananda's consciousness subsequently switched back and forth between his normal self and the sea captain. In utter confusion, he called out to God -
"Cosmic Father, tell me, am I dead on the battlefield or am I sitting meditating in Calcutta?" He said, “Neither – you have been dreaming that you are sitting and meditating and you have been dreaming that you are dead. You are neither of these two dreams. You are this Light that created those dream delusions” ... and my delusion fled and I became that Great Light.
Yogananda also reminds us that while we sometimes "sleepwalk" in this dream creation, we are also active participants;
By the power of visualization, man creates his own illusions of reality and “materializes” or brings them into being or expression through the instruments of his differentiated consciousness. Thus is he a miniature creator, fashioning good or ill for himself and the phenomenal world of which he is an operative part.
Swami Sivananda 
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"Once in a while we are blessed with the emergence of a man who manifests such divine qualities that we regard him as an incarnation of the Lord. One such man was Swami Sivananda who by his exemplary life of universal love and selfless service transformed the lives of millions throughout the world." As noted below, Swami Sivananda taught that "this world is nothing but a long dream." A Jnani (advanced sage) has dual consciousness. He has consciousness of Brahman as well as consciousness of the world. He sees the world as a dream within himself. This world is really a long, long dream. It is indeed a jugglery of Maya. Creation is a dream. Waking also is a dream. The body is a dream. Whatever is outside of the only true Reality is mere appearance, is Maya, is a dream. |
The phenomenal universe does not vanish from the vision of the Jivanmukta. The Jivanmukta sees the world as a dream within himself. Just as the mirage appears even after the illusory nature of the water is understood, so also, the world appears for the Jivanmukta even after he has attained Self-realisation, even after he has clearly understood the illusory nature of the world.
All that we seek in this world is like moments inside a dream. So what is the value or worth of anything in this dream world? One may be a beggar or one may be a king in a dream, but both the beggar and the king in the dream are made of the same meaningless substance, of what we call the dream stuff.
The unreal world appears as real, whereas it is in reality a long dream arisen in our mind. As in dream, so in the waking state, the objects seen are unsubstantial, though the two conditions differ by the one being internal and subtle, and the other external, gross and long. This world is nothing but a long dream.
You dream that you are a king. You enjoy various kinds of royal pleasures. As soon as you wake up, everything vanishes. But, you do not feel for the loss because you know that the dream creatures are all false. Similarly, even in the waking consciousness if you are well established in the idea that the world is a false illusion, you will not get any pain. When you know Brahman, the waking consciousness also will become quite false like a dream.
All that we seek in this world is like moments inside a dream. So what is the value or worth of anything in this dream world? One may be a beggar or one may be a king in a dream, but both the beggar and the king in the dream are made of the same meaningless substance, of what we call the dream stuff.
The unreal world appears as real, whereas it is in reality a long dream arisen in our mind. As in dream, so in the waking state, the objects seen are unsubstantial, though the two conditions differ by the one being internal and subtle, and the other external, gross and long. This world is nothing but a long dream.
You dream that you are a king. You enjoy various kinds of royal pleasures. As soon as you wake up, everything vanishes. But, you do not feel for the loss because you know that the dream creatures are all false. Similarly, even in the waking consciousness if you are well established in the idea that the world is a false illusion, you will not get any pain. When you know Brahman, the waking consciousness also will become quite false like a dream.
Nisargadatta Maharaj 
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Nisargadatta Maharaj was a twentieth century mystic best known for the books I Am That and Prior to Consciousness which are compilations of answers he gave to questions posed by those who came to visit him. As shown below, he taught that "life is but a dream." The world exists only as a dream in my consciousness. All depends on you. It is by your consent that the world exists. Withdraw your belief in its reality and it will dissolve like a dream. We are only dreaming ….. we dream that we are awake, we dream that we are asleep. You create the world in your imagination like a dream .... From moment to moment you are renewing it. There is only imagination. It has absorbed you so completely that you just cannot grasp how far from reality you have wandered. No doubt imagination is richly creative. Universe upon universe are built on it. Yet they are all in space and time, past and future, which just don't exist. |
My intention to wake you up is the link [between our respective dreams]. My heart wants you awake. I see you suffer in your dream and I know that you must wake up to end your woes. When you see your dream as dream, you wake up. But in your dream itself I am not interested. Enough for me to know that you must wake up. You need not bring your dream to a definite conclusion, or make it noble, or happy, or beautiful; all you need is to realize that you are dreaming.
Why are you interested in this mad rush to organise and systemize that which is like a dream? Just wake up and it will not be there. Why worry about that which is not?
The world you can perceive is a very small world indeed. And it is entirely private. Take it to be a dream and be done with it.
Let us consider them together — waking and dreaming. The difference is merely in continuity. Were your dreams consistently continuous, bringing back night after night the same surroundings and the same people, you would be at a loss to know which is the waking and which is the dream. Henceforward, when we talk of the waking state, we shall include the dream state too.
Your world is transient, changeful. My world is perfect, changeless. You can tell me what you like about your world — I shall listen carefully, even with interest, yet not for a moment shall I forget that your world is not, that you are dreaming.
Realize that you are dreaming a dream you call the world.
Why are you interested in this mad rush to organise and systemize that which is like a dream? Just wake up and it will not be there. Why worry about that which is not?
The world you can perceive is a very small world indeed. And it is entirely private. Take it to be a dream and be done with it.
Let us consider them together — waking and dreaming. The difference is merely in continuity. Were your dreams consistently continuous, bringing back night after night the same surroundings and the same people, you would be at a loss to know which is the waking and which is the dream. Henceforward, when we talk of the waking state, we shall include the dream state too.
Your world is transient, changeful. My world is perfect, changeless. You can tell me what you like about your world — I shall listen carefully, even with interest, yet not for a moment shall I forget that your world is not, that you are dreaming.
Realize that you are dreaming a dream you call the world.
Swami Abhayananda 
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Swami Abhayananda is a modern day mystic residing in Florida. He is perhaps best known for his prolific writings, including numerous magnificent books and articles. His knowledge includes the teachings of mystics throughout the ages as well as a comprehension of modern day physics. As shown below, he believes that "we exist in a dream-world, a projection of a dancing spray of light-beams upon an infinite expanse of Thought." The ‘soul’ is essentially the Divine, but as it appears within the material universe, it manifests both the Divine and the illusory—just as in a dream, we partake of both our true conscious selves and an illusory self. The analogy is exceedingly apt, as in both instances, we retain our fundamental reality, while operating in an illusory ‘imaged’ reality. Like the king of a vast kingdom, awakening from a dream in which he is poor and lost, we awake to the realization that we were never separate from the One, but only imagined a separateness where none existed. |
The realization of God, the realization of the eternal Self, is an experience very similar to awaking from a dream. Indeed, such realization is often referred to as an “awakening.” It is similar in the sense that one who has awakened to the Self can then re-enter the dream and enjoy the play fearlessly and with great enjoyment.
One whose mind awakes to the realization that it is the one Mind and is not in any way affected by the manifestation or de-manifestation of forms within this world of samsara [cycles of births and deaths], sees this world as a kind of dream. And just as one no longer fears the evil monsters of a dream once he awakes and realizes that he is the dreamer, the awakened Buddha can never again be drawn to identify himself with the body or mental images that exist only in the world of samsara.
Sooner or later, we must acknowledge that what keeps us from the enjoyment of peace, of happiness, of freedom, is the sense of selfhood, the false ego, by which all pain, all suffering, comes to us. This self is a transient illusion, a dream.
The jnani [advanced sage] realizes, by his inner perception, that the ego and the universe are both illusory, like a dream.
We exist in a dream-world, a projection of a dancing spray of light-beams upon an infinite expanse of Thought.
When the soul awakes to know its deathless Self,
Beyond imagined dreams of personhood,
It knows that forever it has lived serene and blissful,
Just beyond the dream.
It learns that all the devilish battles and tortuous travails
Were but a thought-parade in which, for the briefest time
It marched, all unawares, to finally break away
And find its way to freedom from time’s tumultuous play.
The universe itself is occurring as a whole within the one Consciousness. It is an integral dream-like phenomenon. He is always One, even while projecting the universal dream with His Consciousness-Energy. When each of the dream-like images awakes, they awake to the One.
What else is there to do but dream
Up worlds and populate them
With imaginative forms caught up
In crazy, impossible plots and toils?
What else would You do
When there’s none else but You?
I felt as though I had been thrust back into a dream from which I had no power to awaken. My only thought was to return to that state I had known the night before ... After some time, I adjusted to the fact that I would have to live out my life in this dream-like world and would need to learn to hold to the awareness of my eternal identity, my real Self, while living in this divinely projected body.
So, what is this unseemly show, this conjured art,
This Mind-dreamt castle-in-the-air In which we’re sentenced to abide?
Alas, it’s smoke and mirrors, a magic show,
Of no account, unworthy of note.
For the fact is we’ve never left our eternal realm;
We delight there even now.
The timeless Self we know as “we” was never
Imprisoned in a bodily shell;
That’s but an illusion, a paltry spell that binds us
To the dream of separate personality.
Once freed of duality’s deception,
We realize we’ve never left eternity’s bliss.
Many worlds are manifested in which innumerable souls pass through the evolutionary course of their adventure in these dream-worlds toward a clarified awareness of the one transcendent Consciousness from which they are born.
One whose mind awakes to the realization that it is the one Mind and is not in any way affected by the manifestation or de-manifestation of forms within this world of samsara [cycles of births and deaths], sees this world as a kind of dream. And just as one no longer fears the evil monsters of a dream once he awakes and realizes that he is the dreamer, the awakened Buddha can never again be drawn to identify himself with the body or mental images that exist only in the world of samsara.
Sooner or later, we must acknowledge that what keeps us from the enjoyment of peace, of happiness, of freedom, is the sense of selfhood, the false ego, by which all pain, all suffering, comes to us. This self is a transient illusion, a dream.
The jnani [advanced sage] realizes, by his inner perception, that the ego and the universe are both illusory, like a dream.
We exist in a dream-world, a projection of a dancing spray of light-beams upon an infinite expanse of Thought.
When the soul awakes to know its deathless Self,
Beyond imagined dreams of personhood,
It knows that forever it has lived serene and blissful,
Just beyond the dream.
It learns that all the devilish battles and tortuous travails
Were but a thought-parade in which, for the briefest time
It marched, all unawares, to finally break away
And find its way to freedom from time’s tumultuous play.
The universe itself is occurring as a whole within the one Consciousness. It is an integral dream-like phenomenon. He is always One, even while projecting the universal dream with His Consciousness-Energy. When each of the dream-like images awakes, they awake to the One.
What else is there to do but dream
Up worlds and populate them
With imaginative forms caught up
In crazy, impossible plots and toils?
What else would You do
When there’s none else but You?
I felt as though I had been thrust back into a dream from which I had no power to awaken. My only thought was to return to that state I had known the night before ... After some time, I adjusted to the fact that I would have to live out my life in this dream-like world and would need to learn to hold to the awareness of my eternal identity, my real Self, while living in this divinely projected body.
So, what is this unseemly show, this conjured art,
This Mind-dreamt castle-in-the-air In which we’re sentenced to abide?
Alas, it’s smoke and mirrors, a magic show,
Of no account, unworthy of note.
For the fact is we’ve never left our eternal realm;
We delight there even now.
The timeless Self we know as “we” was never
Imprisoned in a bodily shell;
That’s but an illusion, a paltry spell that binds us
To the dream of separate personality.
Once freed of duality’s deception,
We realize we’ve never left eternity’s bliss.
Many worlds are manifested in which innumerable souls pass through the evolutionary course of their adventure in these dream-worlds toward a clarified awareness of the one transcendent Consciousness from which they are born.
Eckhart Tolle 
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Eckhart Tolle is a modern day mystic residing, at least part-time, in Vancouver, Canada. He is perhaps best known for his books, including The Power of Now, as well as for his lecture tours and classes. As shown below, he sees the prevailing consciousness of mankind as being caught up in a dream state. The many things that happen, the many forms that life takes on, are of an ephemeral nature. They are all fleeting. Things, bodies and egos, events, situations, thoughts, emotions, desires, ambitions, fears, drama … they come, pretend to be all-important, and before you know it they are gone, dissolved into the no-thingness out of which they came. Were they ever real? Were they ever more than a dream, the dream of form? Stepping outside of this world is not possible because you don’t even know that there is an outside. You are trapped in your own movie or dream. To you it is reality. |
To awaken within the dream is our purpose now. When we are awake within the dream, the ego-created earth-drama comes to an end and a more benign and wondrous dream arises.
The greatest impediment to the discovery of inner space, the greatest impediment to finding the experiencer, is to become so enthralled by the experience that you lose yourself in it. It means consciousness is lost in its own dream. You get taken in by every thought, every emotion, and every experience to such a degree that you are in fact in a dreamlike state. This has been the normal state of humanity for thousands of years.
Consciousness incarnates into the manifested dimension, that is to say, it becomes form. When it does so, it enters a dreamlike state. Intelligence remains, but consciousness becomes unconscious of itself. It loses itself in form, becomes identified with forms. This could be described as the descent of the divine into matter. At that stage in the evolution of the universe, the entire outgoing movement takes place in that dreamlike state.
On our planet, and perhaps simultaneously in many parts of our galaxy and beyond, consciousness is awakening from the dream of form. This does not mean all forms (the world) are going to dissolve, although quite a few almost certainly will. It means consciousness can now begin to create form without losing itself in it. It can remain conscious of itself, even while it creates and experiences form. Why should it continue to create and experience form? For the enjoyment of it.
The greatest impediment to the discovery of inner space, the greatest impediment to finding the experiencer, is to become so enthralled by the experience that you lose yourself in it. It means consciousness is lost in its own dream. You get taken in by every thought, every emotion, and every experience to such a degree that you are in fact in a dreamlike state. This has been the normal state of humanity for thousands of years.
Consciousness incarnates into the manifested dimension, that is to say, it becomes form. When it does so, it enters a dreamlike state. Intelligence remains, but consciousness becomes unconscious of itself. It loses itself in form, becomes identified with forms. This could be described as the descent of the divine into matter. At that stage in the evolution of the universe, the entire outgoing movement takes place in that dreamlike state.
On our planet, and perhaps simultaneously in many parts of our galaxy and beyond, consciousness is awakening from the dream of form. This does not mean all forms (the world) are going to dissolve, although quite a few almost certainly will. It means consciousness can now begin to create form without losing itself in it. It can remain conscious of itself, even while it creates and experiences form. Why should it continue to create and experience form? For the enjoyment of it.
Others 
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Many other mystics, philosophers, sages and writers also viewed our existence in this world as living within a dream. "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." ~Edgar Allen Poe (nineteenth century acclaimed author and poet) "Just as the objects seen in our dreams are found, when we awake, to be insubstantial, so our waking perceptions are likewise unreal - a matter of inference only."~ Swami Sri Yukteswar (guru of Yogananda) "During our dreams we do not know we are dreaming. We may even dream of interpreting a dream. Only on waking do we know it was a dream. Only after the great awakening will we realize that this is the great dream." ~ Chuang Tzu (influential Chinese philosopher, 4th century BCE) "Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." ~ Carl Jung (renowned twentieth century psychiatrist and author) |
"When you begin to spiritually awaken, it is like waking up inside of a dream and recognizing that everything you are experiencing is nothing other than a very convincing projection, or display of your mind. The boundary between inner and outer, between dreaming and waking starts to dissolve, and you begin to realize that the same dreaming mind that is dreaming your dreams at night is dreaming your life." ~ Paul Levy (spiritual teacher and author of Awaken in the Dream)
"When you begin to awaken to the dream-like nature of things you realize that waking reality doesn’t exist in the way you thought it did, as something separate from you. Saying it is a dream, your own projection, reflection, etc. is the same thing as saying it is nothing other than your own mind appearing in a convincing, externalized display. Everything that happens is seen to be the unmediated expression of your mind, which you now understand can just as easily express itself in outer events as it does in inner feelings, dreams or intuitions." ~ Paul Levy (spiritual teacher and author of Awaken in the Dream)
"The only difference between you and an awakened person is that you figure the part you're playing is real. And to an awakened person it's a play, a show, a dream." ~ Robert Adams (spiritual leader, disciple of Ramana Maharshi)
"We are weaving our dream every moment. All of life is a projection." ~ Dalai Lama (foremost spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists)
"This is your Universe, of your own creation.
Everything comes out of your mind, everything.
Just as when you're sleeping, you're dreaming,
and dreams seem real to you, then you awaken.
So it is with this world.
You're dreaming the mortal dream.
You think it's real.
You get involved in it, and you're caught up in it,
and it gets worse and worse.
You just have to realize it's a dream and wake up.
And what happens when you wake up?
You do not find yourself in a place called heaven, in a strange land.
You'll be as you are.
When you awaken, you will function as you do now.
Except you'll know you're playing a part.
That's the only difference."
~ Robert Adams (spiritual leader, disciple of Ramana Maharshi)
“We are like the dreamer who dreams and then lives in the dream.” ~ The Upanishads (sacred scripture of the East)
“Are you sure/That we are awake? It seems to me/That yet we sleep, we dream” ~ Shakespeare (preeminent seventeenth century playright)
"The life of a sentient being is a long dream. Existence only appears to be real. When one finally awakens, or attains Buddhahood, existence is seen for what it is - a sequence of illusions. Until that time, people will remain obsessed by the body, mind, and external phenomena, not realizing that they are illusory. You will live in a dream, thinking that it is reality." ~ Ch’an Master Sheng-yen (widely respected Taiwanese Zen master)
"In our dreams we are aware of sights, sounds and sensations happening around us. We see dream colors, hear dream music, smell dream fragrances, and taste dream food. We are aware of our bodies; we think and reason; we feel fear, anger and love. We experience other people as individuals separate from us, speaking and interacting with us. In the dream it all seems very real, and appears to be happening 'out there' in the world around us. But when we awaken we realize that everything in the dream, including our own body, was a creation in the mind. It was 'all just a dream.' In the waking state, our image of the world is based on sensory information drawn from our physical surroundings. This gives our waking experience a consistency and sense of reality not found in dreams. But the truth is, it is as much a creation of our minds as are our dreams. All experience is an image of reality created in the mind." ~ Peter Russell (scientist, psychologist, futurist)
"When you begin to awaken to the dream-like nature of things you realize that waking reality doesn’t exist in the way you thought it did, as something separate from you. Saying it is a dream, your own projection, reflection, etc. is the same thing as saying it is nothing other than your own mind appearing in a convincing, externalized display. Everything that happens is seen to be the unmediated expression of your mind, which you now understand can just as easily express itself in outer events as it does in inner feelings, dreams or intuitions." ~ Paul Levy (spiritual teacher and author of Awaken in the Dream)
"The only difference between you and an awakened person is that you figure the part you're playing is real. And to an awakened person it's a play, a show, a dream." ~ Robert Adams (spiritual leader, disciple of Ramana Maharshi)
"We are weaving our dream every moment. All of life is a projection." ~ Dalai Lama (foremost spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists)
"This is your Universe, of your own creation.
Everything comes out of your mind, everything.
Just as when you're sleeping, you're dreaming,
and dreams seem real to you, then you awaken.
So it is with this world.
You're dreaming the mortal dream.
You think it's real.
You get involved in it, and you're caught up in it,
and it gets worse and worse.
You just have to realize it's a dream and wake up.
And what happens when you wake up?
You do not find yourself in a place called heaven, in a strange land.
You'll be as you are.
When you awaken, you will function as you do now.
Except you'll know you're playing a part.
That's the only difference."
~ Robert Adams (spiritual leader, disciple of Ramana Maharshi)
“We are like the dreamer who dreams and then lives in the dream.” ~ The Upanishads (sacred scripture of the East)
“Are you sure/That we are awake? It seems to me/That yet we sleep, we dream” ~ Shakespeare (preeminent seventeenth century playright)
"The life of a sentient being is a long dream. Existence only appears to be real. When one finally awakens, or attains Buddhahood, existence is seen for what it is - a sequence of illusions. Until that time, people will remain obsessed by the body, mind, and external phenomena, not realizing that they are illusory. You will live in a dream, thinking that it is reality." ~ Ch’an Master Sheng-yen (widely respected Taiwanese Zen master)
"In our dreams we are aware of sights, sounds and sensations happening around us. We see dream colors, hear dream music, smell dream fragrances, and taste dream food. We are aware of our bodies; we think and reason; we feel fear, anger and love. We experience other people as individuals separate from us, speaking and interacting with us. In the dream it all seems very real, and appears to be happening 'out there' in the world around us. But when we awaken we realize that everything in the dream, including our own body, was a creation in the mind. It was 'all just a dream.' In the waking state, our image of the world is based on sensory information drawn from our physical surroundings. This gives our waking experience a consistency and sense of reality not found in dreams. But the truth is, it is as much a creation of our minds as are our dreams. All experience is an image of reality created in the mind." ~ Peter Russell (scientist, psychologist, futurist)
Final Thoughts 
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While in the mystic state of union with God, the thirteenth century Indian mystic-poet Jnaneshver saw creation through the mind of God; "Like a man who dreams a cast of thousands to inhabit his dream along with him, I have dreamt I was a player among others in my own drama. I am the Dreamer and the dream. I am this gossamer universe of worlds upon worlds, drama upon drama. Yet all is but a bubble of my own fantasy; I remain forever pure and free, unmanifest and unseen, silently upholding in myself this vast array of form and life. It is my Life which sings and dances in a million million forms, forever untouched and unchanged.” Similarly, Paramahansa Yogananda also observed creation through the mind of Spirit; |
"I was One. I wanted to be many. I was Consciousness but I wanted to be a dream. And I made many in my dreams and I play with them in my dreams but when they get away from Me, they suffer the nightmare of my dreams. But when they know I am the Dreamer and it is my thought that dreams their existence, then they no longer suffer. Then they play the divine play in my dream universe."
During his life, Paramahansa Yogananda attained such an exalted state that his consciousness was continuously one with God. From this continuous God-awareness state, beyond the dream world, he could communicate directly with God. Of course, while on earth he occupied a body-form like the rest of us and retained a modicum of ego-consciousness such that he could relate to what mankind was feeling within the dream universe. From this rare state of dual consciousness, he would challenge God on what he felt was an exceedingly troublesome dream creation. The quotations below are taken from recorded talks that Yogananda gave during the last three years that he spent on earth.
I tell the Lord, “Lord, you had eternity to play with so You created this world. It’s nothing to You but it’s terrible trouble to us. Why don’t You free us all? If you wanted a nice little show, why give so much trouble, make them think they are dying and being born, rich and poor. Why do You hypnotize them with such terrible delusion.”
I said, “Lord, You didn’t have to concentrate on sorrow and pain. You are always happy.” ….. What are you going to say? This is a hobby of God. It’s a terrible hobby.
I know the answer but still I don’t like it – I fight with God every day. I say, “Lord, you had no business to send us here and put us in this mess.”
“There are many, Lord, millions who do not know that this world is only a drama. What about them?” ….. I know the answer but I don’t like it because so many do not know this is a delusion and when you are suffering from cancer, it is no fun.
This world with terrible wars and troubles, when I see the injustices I cannot, I cannot uphold the Father – but when I see that light dancing around me this is a picture show, then I say glory to the Father.
I said, “Lord, You never experimented with this drama of sorrow and pleasure on Yourself, so why do You experiment on us?” He has given me the thought to think, so I think all these things every day. It doesn’t create any mistrust, because He is with me. He smiles at me and tells me why it is so. But unless you become Him, you cannot understand the whole reason. This creation is very complex.
I remember one day I was in the movies; movies have one fascination, because I see the whole world as movies. I was in the booth and I saw the operator was reading a novel and I saw this automatic machine was going on and the beam was causing on the screen a terrible horror picture. And I said, “Lord, how is it. I have the whole show of the universe in front of me. You are this operator who is thinking of new plays and Your Nature is throwing this beam in the sky. And I see the hero and the villain are nothing but pictures. Nobody is killed.” I said to God, as He was talking to me, “But Lord, look at the audience. They are howling and screeching downstairs at this horror show. I see it is nothing but pictures and light because I see the invisible beam. There are no murders in the beam, no heroes, no villains in the beam. But Lord, what about the audience – they don’t know it.” Then the Voice said, “Tell them all to look at my beam within and they will realize that this show is given to entertain them, not to get mixed up with it.”
In spite of all the difficulties mankind has to deal with while within the dream creation, Yogananda stressed over and over again that there is a way out – and that is to go into the silence within to subdue the ego-mind and to meditate to awaken the god-mind;
Remember the best shelter is in the silence of your soul. If you can develop that silence, nothing in the world can touch you – nothing in the world ..... You must sit in silence…. and meditate ..... Get behind all appearances into that great Spirit consciousness where there are no dreams and nightmares but pure eternal joy, ever new joy that you can never be tired of.
Similarly, other mystics have offered advice to mankind on overcoming the delusion of this dream world.
"Both [the world of the waking state and the dream world] are creations of the mind and, so long as the mind is engrossed in either, it finds itself unable to deny their reality. It cannot deny the reality of the dream world while it is dreaming and it cannot deny the reality of the waking world while it is awake. If, on the contrary, you withdraw your mind completely from the world and turn it within and abide there, that is, if you keep awake always to the Self which is the substratum of all experiences, you will find the world of which you are now aware is just as unreal as the world in which you lived in your dream." ~ Ramana Maharshi
"Once you have seen that you are dreaming, you shall wake up. But you do not see, because you want the dream to continue. A day will come when you will long for the ending of the dream, with all your heart and mind, and be willing to pay any price; the price will be dispassion and detachment, the loss of interest in the dream itself." ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
And the prize awaiting those who finally see through the dream delusion of creation is priceless;
"The treasure I have found cannot be described in words, the mind cannot conceive of it." ~ Adi Shankara
During his life, Paramahansa Yogananda attained such an exalted state that his consciousness was continuously one with God. From this continuous God-awareness state, beyond the dream world, he could communicate directly with God. Of course, while on earth he occupied a body-form like the rest of us and retained a modicum of ego-consciousness such that he could relate to what mankind was feeling within the dream universe. From this rare state of dual consciousness, he would challenge God on what he felt was an exceedingly troublesome dream creation. The quotations below are taken from recorded talks that Yogananda gave during the last three years that he spent on earth.
I tell the Lord, “Lord, you had eternity to play with so You created this world. It’s nothing to You but it’s terrible trouble to us. Why don’t You free us all? If you wanted a nice little show, why give so much trouble, make them think they are dying and being born, rich and poor. Why do You hypnotize them with such terrible delusion.”
I said, “Lord, You didn’t have to concentrate on sorrow and pain. You are always happy.” ….. What are you going to say? This is a hobby of God. It’s a terrible hobby.
I know the answer but still I don’t like it – I fight with God every day. I say, “Lord, you had no business to send us here and put us in this mess.”
“There are many, Lord, millions who do not know that this world is only a drama. What about them?” ….. I know the answer but I don’t like it because so many do not know this is a delusion and when you are suffering from cancer, it is no fun.
This world with terrible wars and troubles, when I see the injustices I cannot, I cannot uphold the Father – but when I see that light dancing around me this is a picture show, then I say glory to the Father.
I said, “Lord, You never experimented with this drama of sorrow and pleasure on Yourself, so why do You experiment on us?” He has given me the thought to think, so I think all these things every day. It doesn’t create any mistrust, because He is with me. He smiles at me and tells me why it is so. But unless you become Him, you cannot understand the whole reason. This creation is very complex.
I remember one day I was in the movies; movies have one fascination, because I see the whole world as movies. I was in the booth and I saw the operator was reading a novel and I saw this automatic machine was going on and the beam was causing on the screen a terrible horror picture. And I said, “Lord, how is it. I have the whole show of the universe in front of me. You are this operator who is thinking of new plays and Your Nature is throwing this beam in the sky. And I see the hero and the villain are nothing but pictures. Nobody is killed.” I said to God, as He was talking to me, “But Lord, look at the audience. They are howling and screeching downstairs at this horror show. I see it is nothing but pictures and light because I see the invisible beam. There are no murders in the beam, no heroes, no villains in the beam. But Lord, what about the audience – they don’t know it.” Then the Voice said, “Tell them all to look at my beam within and they will realize that this show is given to entertain them, not to get mixed up with it.”
In spite of all the difficulties mankind has to deal with while within the dream creation, Yogananda stressed over and over again that there is a way out – and that is to go into the silence within to subdue the ego-mind and to meditate to awaken the god-mind;
Remember the best shelter is in the silence of your soul. If you can develop that silence, nothing in the world can touch you – nothing in the world ..... You must sit in silence…. and meditate ..... Get behind all appearances into that great Spirit consciousness where there are no dreams and nightmares but pure eternal joy, ever new joy that you can never be tired of.
Similarly, other mystics have offered advice to mankind on overcoming the delusion of this dream world.
"Both [the world of the waking state and the dream world] are creations of the mind and, so long as the mind is engrossed in either, it finds itself unable to deny their reality. It cannot deny the reality of the dream world while it is dreaming and it cannot deny the reality of the waking world while it is awake. If, on the contrary, you withdraw your mind completely from the world and turn it within and abide there, that is, if you keep awake always to the Self which is the substratum of all experiences, you will find the world of which you are now aware is just as unreal as the world in which you lived in your dream." ~ Ramana Maharshi
"Once you have seen that you are dreaming, you shall wake up. But you do not see, because you want the dream to continue. A day will come when you will long for the ending of the dream, with all your heart and mind, and be willing to pay any price; the price will be dispassion and detachment, the loss of interest in the dream itself." ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
And the prize awaiting those who finally see through the dream delusion of creation is priceless;
"The treasure I have found cannot be described in words, the mind cannot conceive of it." ~ Adi Shankara
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The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination (May 2024)
The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination is a book written by the great ninth century sage and mystic Adi Shankara. It has been said that "no other help is needed" than this text on the quest to liberation. This posting starts by introducing the renowned spiritual giant, Adi Shankara. Then a brief overview of the Crest-Jewel of Discrimination is provided. Following that are selections from the 580 verses of the book, grouped into six topics. The posting concludes by highlighting ten of these sublime verses. The original book was written in Sanskrit. Many translations exist. After reviewing a few of these translations, the version written by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood was chosen as the source from which to make the quotations contained herein. |
While the book has been highly praised for its very clear and lucid writing, Western readers may benefit from a brief explanation of a few terms that pop up throughout the text, i.e.
Brahman - God - the Sole Reality. Formless, unbounded awareness of ever-new joy. Pure consciousness. All of creation is contained within Its infinite consciousness. (see webpage Spirit - God Beyond Creation).
Atman - the individualized God residing within the soul of each human being.
Vedanta - one of the world’s most ancient spiritual philosophies and one of its broadest, based on the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of India. Vedanta is universal in its application and is equally relevant to all countries, all cultures, and all religious backgrounds. Vedanta affirms the oneness of existence, the divinity of the soul, and the harmony of all religions. The principles of Vedanta are derived from three hallowed sources: the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.
According to Vedanta, God is infinite existence, infinite consciousness, and infinite bliss. The term for this impersonal, transcendent reality is Brahman. Yet Vedanta also maintains that God can be personal as well, assuming human form in every age. Most importantly, God dwells directly within our own hearts as the divine Self or Atman. The Atman is not subject to grief or despair or disease or ignorance. Pure, perfect, free from limitations, the Atman, Vedanta declares, is one with Brahman.
Vedanta asserts that the goal of life is to realize and to manifest one's own divinity. This divinity is our real nature, and the realization of it is our birthright. Either in this or a future life, each of us will discover that the greatest truth of our existence is our own divine nature.
The specific form of Vedanta taught by Shankara is known as Advaita Vedanta, or monism, which states that all reality and everything in the experienced world has its root in Brahman, which is unchanging Consciousness. Advaita Vedanta teaches the non-duality between the soul (Atman) and the transcendental ultimate reality (Brahman), i.e. Brahman and Atman are the same, or "I am He."
Brahman - God - the Sole Reality. Formless, unbounded awareness of ever-new joy. Pure consciousness. All of creation is contained within Its infinite consciousness. (see webpage Spirit - God Beyond Creation).
Atman - the individualized God residing within the soul of each human being.
Vedanta - one of the world’s most ancient spiritual philosophies and one of its broadest, based on the Vedas, the sacred scriptures of India. Vedanta is universal in its application and is equally relevant to all countries, all cultures, and all religious backgrounds. Vedanta affirms the oneness of existence, the divinity of the soul, and the harmony of all religions. The principles of Vedanta are derived from three hallowed sources: the Upanishads, the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.
According to Vedanta, God is infinite existence, infinite consciousness, and infinite bliss. The term for this impersonal, transcendent reality is Brahman. Yet Vedanta also maintains that God can be personal as well, assuming human form in every age. Most importantly, God dwells directly within our own hearts as the divine Self or Atman. The Atman is not subject to grief or despair or disease or ignorance. Pure, perfect, free from limitations, the Atman, Vedanta declares, is one with Brahman.
Vedanta asserts that the goal of life is to realize and to manifest one's own divinity. This divinity is our real nature, and the realization of it is our birthright. Either in this or a future life, each of us will discover that the greatest truth of our existence is our own divine nature.
The specific form of Vedanta taught by Shankara is known as Advaita Vedanta, or monism, which states that all reality and everything in the experienced world has its root in Brahman, which is unchanging Consciousness. Advaita Vedanta teaches the non-duality between the soul (Atman) and the transcendental ultimate reality (Brahman), i.e. Brahman and Atman are the same, or "I am He."
Shankara 
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A story is told that Shankara's parents, Shivagaru and Aryambal, had been earnestly praying to God to be blessed with a child. God, in the form of Lord Shiva, appeared to Shivagaru in a dream and offered two choices - a knowledgeable son who would be short lived or a normal son who would have a longer life span. Shivagaru selected the former. As such, a boy was born to the couple and they named him Shankara, meaning one born with Lord Shiva's grace. The parents considered him to be an incarnation of Lord Shiva, as do many others to this day. Shankara is sometimes referred to as Adi ("the first') Shankara or as Shankaracharya (acharya meaning "teacher") or in full, Adi Shankaracharya. Often extolled as India’s greatest philosopher, Shankara was a rare combination of saint, scholar, and man of action. He is widely recognized as a philosophical genius, a saint of the highest order, an incredible astrologer and writer. |
Shankara's guru, Govinda Bhagavatpada, was well-versed in the principles of vedanta. His guru's guru was Gaudpadacharya. Shankara learned scriptural knowledge from these two. But at some point in life he also met a yoga Guru from whom he received yoga initiation and training.
In his short 32 years on earth during the ninth century, Shankara accomplished much, including;
Shankara’s greatness has been hailed by several modern day spiritual giants, including Swami Sivananda, Ramana Maharshi, Paramahansa Yogananda, Swami Abhayananda and Swami Vivekananda.
"With his gigantic intellect, Shankara, India’s greatest philosopher-saint, the incarnation of Lord Shiva, poured out his masterly exposition in simple and clear terms with the same supreme authority of the Gita, Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras. Shankara's profound knowledge, all-comprehensive learning, keen intuitive insight and convincing explanations, erected the strong edifice of Vedanta, equally accessible to the scholar and the layman." ~ Swami Sivananda
"Shankara incarnated to bring the teaching of the Supreme Spirit as ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss. This positive conception of God was much needed for the overintellectualized classes of India, who through a corruption of Buddha’s teaching had developed a doctrine of annihilation as the ultimate end of life. This fallacy arose from a misinterpretation of the idea of nirvana, the cessation of ego consciousness and its consequent reincarnations. The real teaching of Buddha, in accord with all great prophets of India, was that egoistic desires cause rebirth, and that any soul who overcomes material desires finds liberation—not extinction! Swami Shankara reasserted the eternal truth that a soul who overcomes material desire becomes united to the positive state of ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss. He pointed out that God, Spirit, is that ever-new Bliss, and as such is a universal necessity and the highest goal of life, to be sought through discrimination and meditation on the inner Self, the secret shrine of the blissful Infinite Spirit in man." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
"Shankara took his starting point from the Vedanta philosophy already established in the Upanishads. It was for Shankara to re-establish the essential meaning of those ancient scriptures and to reaffirm their vision of Unity. By his expositions and reformulations, he single-handedly re-established the philosophical basis of the Vedanta, and ushered in a period of renewed vigor and growth within the Vedantic tradition which lasts till this day." ~ Swami Abhayananda
In his short 32 years on earth during the ninth century, Shankara accomplished much, including;
- reorganizing the ancient Swami Order, and founding monastic centers of spiritual education in the four corners of India. These centers provide free instruction in Sanskrit grammar, logic, and Vedanta philosophy. Four main spiritual authorities reside there to this day.
- writing lucid expositions on the ancient Vedic teachings of Advaita, or the essential unreality of matter, the all-inclusiveness of Spirit. Vedanta points out that God is the only Reality; all creation or separate existence is maya or illusion. This philosophy of monism received its highest expression in the Upanishad commentaries of Shankara. His writings included extensive commentaries on the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and Brahma Sutras, as well as shorter summary commentaries such as The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination (Viveka-Chudamani). These commentaries were completed by the age of sixteen and are revered to this day.
- travelling extensively throughout all parts of India to expound the Advaita doctrine. Millions gathered eagerly to hear the solacing flow of wisdom from the lips of the barefooted young monk.
- becoming an accomplished and enlightened Raja Yogi and promoting the Yoga of Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita.
Shankara’s greatness has been hailed by several modern day spiritual giants, including Swami Sivananda, Ramana Maharshi, Paramahansa Yogananda, Swami Abhayananda and Swami Vivekananda.
"With his gigantic intellect, Shankara, India’s greatest philosopher-saint, the incarnation of Lord Shiva, poured out his masterly exposition in simple and clear terms with the same supreme authority of the Gita, Upanishads and the Brahma Sutras. Shankara's profound knowledge, all-comprehensive learning, keen intuitive insight and convincing explanations, erected the strong edifice of Vedanta, equally accessible to the scholar and the layman." ~ Swami Sivananda
"Shankara incarnated to bring the teaching of the Supreme Spirit as ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss. This positive conception of God was much needed for the overintellectualized classes of India, who through a corruption of Buddha’s teaching had developed a doctrine of annihilation as the ultimate end of life. This fallacy arose from a misinterpretation of the idea of nirvana, the cessation of ego consciousness and its consequent reincarnations. The real teaching of Buddha, in accord with all great prophets of India, was that egoistic desires cause rebirth, and that any soul who overcomes material desires finds liberation—not extinction! Swami Shankara reasserted the eternal truth that a soul who overcomes material desire becomes united to the positive state of ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss. He pointed out that God, Spirit, is that ever-new Bliss, and as such is a universal necessity and the highest goal of life, to be sought through discrimination and meditation on the inner Self, the secret shrine of the blissful Infinite Spirit in man." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
"Shankara took his starting point from the Vedanta philosophy already established in the Upanishads. It was for Shankara to re-establish the essential meaning of those ancient scriptures and to reaffirm their vision of Unity. By his expositions and reformulations, he single-handedly re-established the philosophical basis of the Vedanta, and ushered in a period of renewed vigor and growth within the Vedantic tradition which lasts till this day." ~ Swami Abhayananda
Babaji and Shankara 
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Two of Paramahansa Yogananda's advanced disciples revealed a fascinating connection between Babaji and Shankara, in which Shankara received Kriya Yoga initiation from Babaji. The account below is taken from a book written by one of Yogananda's close disciples, Durga Mata, who was one of his first generation of disciples and who had been privileged to serve him personally for many years. She wrote, "The following story was told to us by Master [Yogananda]. It illustrates the power a master will use to save a disciple. At the same time, it explains how masters can save disciples from death karma, and how Swami Shankara (8th century) was converted to Kriya Yoga. Swami Shankara was known to be one of India's greatest astrologers of his time. Whenever he predicted an event, it always came to pass. A disciple of Babaji's went to see this great astrologer. Shankara told this disciple that on the seventh night he would die by lightning. The disciple was distraught at the prospect of his coming death. He went to Babaji and tearfully told him the story. Babaji told the disciple to go back to the astrologer and, "Tell him that you will not die by lightning on the seventh night." When Shankara heard this, he told the disciple, "Tell your Master that if you do not die on the seventh night, I will throw all my astrology books into the Ganges and follow him. I don’t think I will need to, for the stars never fail." |
On the morning of the eighth day, the disciple went back to Shankara to show him that he had not died as predicted. Shankara, a man of his word, threw his books into the Ganges and followed the disciple to his Master's hut. Babaji smiled. Shankara bowed in due respect to the great Master and asked, "This man, according to all indications, was to lose his life by lightning last night. How is it that he did not die?" Babaji answered, "You were right. His body, according to his karma, was to have been electrocuted last night by lightning, but I wasn't." But Shankara said, "I was not predicting your death." "True," Babaji said. "Last night I told this man to come to my hut and sleep on my bed. He did so. This morning he told me he had a very vivid dream that he saw lightning playing around him and its tongues of flames trying to destroy his body. Still the flames did not come near him. I had slipped into his body, therefore protecting him against the onslaught of death. It was not my time to go, so we both live."
A second close disciple of Yogananda, Swami Kriyananda, told the same story in his own writings. Kriyananda concluded his story by saying that Shankara "realized that he had encountered a power much greater than his own, went to Babaji and took initiation into Kriya Yoga.”
In his book, Autobiography of a Yogi, Yogananda confirmed the connection between Mahavatar Babaji and Shankara. He wrote,
"Babaji’s mission in India has been to assist prophets in carrying out their special dispensations. He thus qualifies for the scriptural classification of Mahavatar (Great Avatar). Shankara, whose historically known guru was Govinda Jati, received initiation into Kriya Yoga from Babaji in Banaras. Babaji, in recounting the story to Lahiri Mahasaya and Swami Kebalananda, gave many fascinating details of his meeting with the great monist."
A second close disciple of Yogananda, Swami Kriyananda, told the same story in his own writings. Kriyananda concluded his story by saying that Shankara "realized that he had encountered a power much greater than his own, went to Babaji and took initiation into Kriya Yoga.”
In his book, Autobiography of a Yogi, Yogananda confirmed the connection between Mahavatar Babaji and Shankara. He wrote,
"Babaji’s mission in India has been to assist prophets in carrying out their special dispensations. He thus qualifies for the scriptural classification of Mahavatar (Great Avatar). Shankara, whose historically known guru was Govinda Jati, received initiation into Kriya Yoga from Babaji in Banaras. Babaji, in recounting the story to Lahiri Mahasaya and Swami Kebalananda, gave many fascinating details of his meeting with the great monist."
Crest-Jewel of Discrimination 
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As mentioned above, in addition to writing extensive commentaries on the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and Brahma Sutras, Shankara also wrote shorter, summary commentaries intended for a less scholarly audience. His most highly acclaimed such short summary treatise was entitled Viveka-Chudamani, literally translated as the Crest-Jewel of Discrimination. This short book is considered to represent the cream of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. It is a compendium of 580 verses on the ways to know, understand and reach Brahman, the Reality within us. It was written in the form of a dialogue between a student and a Teacher, with the latter guiding the student along the spiritual path. Swami Chinmayananda, a twentieth century Sanskrit and vedanta teacher and scholar, said Crest-Jewel of Discrimination presented the distilled wisdom from the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita in a systematic readable form for a seeker of liberation, in which both ‘the goal and path are exhaustively dealt with’. He wrote that ‘no other help is needed’ than this text on the quest to liberation. |
"Lord Shiva, taking on the guise of Sri Shankaracharya, wrote commentaries on the Triple Canon [Upanishads, Brahma Sutras and Bhagavad Gita] of Vedanta. Sri Shankara revealed the essence of these commentaries in his short treatise, The Crown Gem of Discrimination [Vivekachudamani], explaining in detail the points that have to be grasped by those who seek liberation, and thereby directing them to the true and direct path. Sri Shankara begins by observing that it is hard indeed to attain human birth, and that, having attained it, one should strive to achieve the bliss of liberation, which is really only the nature of one’s being. By jnana or spiritual knowledge alone is this bliss to be realized, and jnana is achieved only through vichara or steady enquiry. In order to learn this method of enquiry, says Sri Shankara, one should seek the Grace of a Guru; and he then proceeds to describe the qualities of the Guru and his disciple and how the latter should approach and serve his master. He further emphasizes that in order to realize the bliss of liberation one’s own individual effort is an essential factor." ~ Ramana Maharshi
"Shankara’s little book, “The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination,” is undoubtedly one of the clearest and most persuasive accounts of the mystical philosophy ever written. It is cast in the form of a dialogue between a master and disciple and serves its reader as an unerring guide to enlightenment. This little book, among all the spiritual guides and philosophies ever written, must certainly be regarded, as its title implies, as the crown jewel of all knowledge, and the consummate pinnacle of its expression. In the field of enlightenment literature, there is nothing to compare with it." ~ Swami Abhayananda
Select verses (and partial verses) from the Crest-Jewel of Discrimination are provided in the sections below, grouped into several topics, i.e. The Human Condition; The Teacher; The Atman and its Covering; Meditation; The Universe; and The Path.
"Shankara’s little book, “The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination,” is undoubtedly one of the clearest and most persuasive accounts of the mystical philosophy ever written. It is cast in the form of a dialogue between a master and disciple and serves its reader as an unerring guide to enlightenment. This little book, among all the spiritual guides and philosophies ever written, must certainly be regarded, as its title implies, as the crown jewel of all knowledge, and the consummate pinnacle of its expression. In the field of enlightenment literature, there is nothing to compare with it." ~ Swami Abhayananda
Select verses (and partial verses) from the Crest-Jewel of Discrimination are provided in the sections below, grouped into several topics, i.e. The Human Condition; The Teacher; The Atman and its Covering; Meditation; The Universe; and The Path.
Select Verses ~ The Human Condition 
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Shankara provided considerable illumined insight into the human condition - both for humans caught up in the web of births and deaths within the dream drama of creation as well of those fortunate ones who have realized their true nature as gods and have returned to their native, blissful home in God (Brahman). It is hard for any living creature to achieve birth in a human form. Only through God's grace may we obtain those three rarest advantages-human birth, the longing for liberation, and discipleship to an illumined teacher. There are those who somehow manage to obtain this rare human birth, together with bodily and mental strength, and an understanding of the scriptures-and yet are so deluded that they do not struggle for liberation. Such men are suicides. They clutch at the unreal and destroy themselves. What greater fool can there be than the man who has obtained this rare human birth together with bodily and mental strength and yet fails, through delusion, to realize his own highest good? |
This physical body is born through the karma of the previous life.
Those deluded beings who are tied to the objects they experience by the strong cord of desire, so hard to break, remain subject to birth and death. They travel upward or downward, impelled by their own karma, that inescapable law.
Yielding to the power of rajas, he identifies himself with the many motions and changes of the mind. Therefore he is swept hither and thither, now rising, now sinking, in the boundless ocean of birth and death, whose waters are full of the poison of sense-objects. This is indeed a miserable fate.
Men may recite the scriptures and sacrifice to the holy spirits, they may perform rituals and worship deities-but, until a man wakes to knowledge of his identity with the Atman, liberation can never be obtained.
Let the wise man give up craving for pleasure in external things, and struggle hard for liberation. Let him seek out a noble and high-souled teacher, and become absorbed wholeheartedly in the truth which is taught him.
This body did not exist before birth, it will not exist after death. It exists for a short while only, in the interim between them. Its very nature is transient, and subject to change.
The mind is the cause of man's bondage and also of his liberation. It causes bondage when it is darkened by rajas. It causes liberation when it is freed from rajas and tamas, and made pure.
Man is pure spirit, free from attachment. The mind deludes him. It binds him with the bonds of the body, the sense-organs and the life-breath. It creates in him the sense of "I" and "mine". It makes him wander endlessly among the fruits of the actions it has caused.
The effects of past actions cause the illumined seer to continue to live on in the body - but to him the body is only an appearance, like a man's shadow. And when he puts off the body as a corpse he will never again be born into another body.
The knower of Brahman is indifferent to the fate of this body, which continues to live on through the effect of his past actions. His mind is absorbed in the blissful Brahman.
Though he lives in the body, it seems merely like a shadow following him. He is no longer troubled by the thought of "I" and "mine". Such are the characteristics of a man who is free even in this life.
When a man wakes from his dream, his dream-actions vanish into nothingness. When a man wakes to the knowledge that he is Brahman, all accumulated causes, all past actions performed in the course of millions and millions of lives, are dissolved away.
He who has become liberated in this life gains liberation in death and is eternally united with Brahman, the Absolute Reality. Such a seer will never be reborn.
Those deluded beings who are tied to the objects they experience by the strong cord of desire, so hard to break, remain subject to birth and death. They travel upward or downward, impelled by their own karma, that inescapable law.
Yielding to the power of rajas, he identifies himself with the many motions and changes of the mind. Therefore he is swept hither and thither, now rising, now sinking, in the boundless ocean of birth and death, whose waters are full of the poison of sense-objects. This is indeed a miserable fate.
Men may recite the scriptures and sacrifice to the holy spirits, they may perform rituals and worship deities-but, until a man wakes to knowledge of his identity with the Atman, liberation can never be obtained.
Let the wise man give up craving for pleasure in external things, and struggle hard for liberation. Let him seek out a noble and high-souled teacher, and become absorbed wholeheartedly in the truth which is taught him.
This body did not exist before birth, it will not exist after death. It exists for a short while only, in the interim between them. Its very nature is transient, and subject to change.
The mind is the cause of man's bondage and also of his liberation. It causes bondage when it is darkened by rajas. It causes liberation when it is freed from rajas and tamas, and made pure.
Man is pure spirit, free from attachment. The mind deludes him. It binds him with the bonds of the body, the sense-organs and the life-breath. It creates in him the sense of "I" and "mine". It makes him wander endlessly among the fruits of the actions it has caused.
The effects of past actions cause the illumined seer to continue to live on in the body - but to him the body is only an appearance, like a man's shadow. And when he puts off the body as a corpse he will never again be born into another body.
The knower of Brahman is indifferent to the fate of this body, which continues to live on through the effect of his past actions. His mind is absorbed in the blissful Brahman.
Though he lives in the body, it seems merely like a shadow following him. He is no longer troubled by the thought of "I" and "mine". Such are the characteristics of a man who is free even in this life.
When a man wakes from his dream, his dream-actions vanish into nothingness. When a man wakes to the knowledge that he is Brahman, all accumulated causes, all past actions performed in the course of millions and millions of lives, are dissolved away.
He who has become liberated in this life gains liberation in death and is eternally united with Brahman, the Absolute Reality. Such a seer will never be reborn.
Select Verses ~ The Teacher 
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Here Shankara extols the virtues of the Teacher, the guru, the one who dispels the darkness from the mind of the disciples who come to him for help in overcoming the ocean of delusion. It is said that maya, the universal delusion that keeps mankind hypnotized to this dream world, can only be overcome by the grace and guidance of the Teacher, the guru. First he must approach a teacher who is a perfect knower of Brahman, and whose compassion is as vast as the ocean itself. There are pure souls who have attained peace and greatness. They bring good to mankind, like the coming of spring. They themselves have crossed the dreadful ocean of this world. Without any selfish motive, they help others to cross. He who walks the path indicated by his teacher, who is his truest well-wisher, reaps the highest fruit of the knowledge of Brahman. 0 great soul, my master! In one instant, by your grace, I have found this inexhaustible, undivided treasure - the Atman, the ever-blissful. |
Until now, I have been dreaming. In my dream, I wandered through the forest of illusion, from birth to birth, beset by all kinds of troubles and miseries, subject to reincarnation, decay and death. Now, by your infinite compassion, 0 master, you have wakened me from my dream. You have set me free forever.
No known comparison exists in the three worlds for a true guru. If the philosophers’ stone be assumed as truly such, it can only turn iron into gold, not into another philosophers’ stone. The venerated teacher, on the other hand, creates equality with himself in the disciple who takes refuge at his feet. The guru is therefore peerless, nay, transcendental.
No known comparison exists in the three worlds for a true guru. If the philosophers’ stone be assumed as truly such, it can only turn iron into gold, not into another philosophers’ stone. The venerated teacher, on the other hand, creates equality with himself in the disciple who takes refuge at his feet. The guru is therefore peerless, nay, transcendental.
Select Verses ~ The Atman and its Covering 
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In our native state, each of us is the soul, a god, the Atman. The Atman is the same as God - Pure Consciousness, unbounded awareness of ever-new joy, peace that passes all understanding, infinite, eternal and immortal. When the Atman enters creation, it takes on a body-form, described by Shankara as a "covering." When we identify with the covering, we are in ego-consciousness. When we identify with the Atman, we are gods - we have become Brahman. The body is merely a vehicle of experience for the human spirit. The Atman witnesses everything. It is free forever, and untouched. No karma created by its covering bodies can ever contaminate it. Pleasure and pain are characteristics of the individual - not of the Atman, which is forever blissful. The sun's rays bring forth layers of cloud. By them, the sun is concealed; and so it appears that the clouds alone exist. In the same way, the ego hides the true nature of the Atman; and so it appears that the ego alone exists. |
The Atman never ceases to experience infinite joy. It is always the same. It is consciousness itself.
When all the five coverings are removed, the pure Atman is revealed. It is revealed as God dwelling within; as unending, unalloyed bliss; as the supreme and self-luminous Being.
The fool thinks, "I am the body". The intelligent man thinks, "I am an individual soul united with the body". But the wise man, in the greatness of his knowledge and spiritual discrimination, sees the Atman as reality and thinks, "I am Brahman."
The intelligent man may be learned in Vedanta and the moral laws. But there is not the least hope of his liberation until he stops mistakenly identifying himself with the body and the sense-organs.
The Atman is forever unattached, beyond action and formless.
The Atman is the witness. It can be directly realized as pure consciousness and infinite bliss.
The Atman is one with Brahman: this is the highest truth. Brahman alone is real. There is none but He.
The "l"-consciousness is now rooted in the body. Merge this consciousness in the Atman, which is absolute existence, knowledge and bliss.
The Atman is the reality. It is your true, primal self. It is pure consciousness, the one without a second, absolute bliss. It is beyond form and action. Realize your identity with it. Stop identifying yourself with the coverings of ignorance, which are like the masks assumed by an actor.
Cease to identify yourself with this lump of flesh, the gross body, and with the ego, the subtle covering. Both of them are illusory. Know your Atman - the pure, infinite consciousness.
You are pure consciousness, the witness of all experiences. Your real nature is joy. Cease this very moment to identify yourself with the ego.
Dwell in silence, and enjoy the bliss of the Atman. Lose all sense of separateness, and realize in Brahman your infinite nature.
Conquer this enemy, the ego. Give it no opportunity by letting your thoughts dwell upon sense-objects. Such thoughts give it life.
The self-luminous Atman, the witness of all, is ever-present within your own heart. Know it to be yourself.
Those who are illumined by the knowledge "I am Brahman” live in constant union with Brahman, the pure blissful consciousness.
Cease to identify yourself mistakenly with all those coverings, such as the ego, etc., which overlie the Atman. Brahman alone remains-supreme, infinite, changeless, the one without a second.
To taste, within his own heart and in the external world, the endless bliss of the Atman - such is the reward obtained by the yogi who has reached perfection and liberation in this life.
The seer lives absorbed in the consciousness of the Atman. He has realized his identity with Brahman. Brahman is pure and free from the qualities which belong to the gross and subtle coverings. Past karmas belong to these coverings - therefore they do not affect the seer. When a man is awake, he is no longer in bondage to the apparent world of his dreams.
My outward form comes and goes. It acts and tastes the fruits of its actions. It withers and it dies. But I remain, like a great mountain, firm and immovable forever.
When an illumined soul has attained oneness with Brahman, his body may wither and fall anywhere, like the shrivelled leaf of a tree. What does it matter? For he has already freed himself from body-consciousness.
When all the five coverings are removed, the pure Atman is revealed. It is revealed as God dwelling within; as unending, unalloyed bliss; as the supreme and self-luminous Being.
The fool thinks, "I am the body". The intelligent man thinks, "I am an individual soul united with the body". But the wise man, in the greatness of his knowledge and spiritual discrimination, sees the Atman as reality and thinks, "I am Brahman."
The intelligent man may be learned in Vedanta and the moral laws. But there is not the least hope of his liberation until he stops mistakenly identifying himself with the body and the sense-organs.
The Atman is forever unattached, beyond action and formless.
The Atman is the witness. It can be directly realized as pure consciousness and infinite bliss.
The Atman is one with Brahman: this is the highest truth. Brahman alone is real. There is none but He.
The "l"-consciousness is now rooted in the body. Merge this consciousness in the Atman, which is absolute existence, knowledge and bliss.
The Atman is the reality. It is your true, primal self. It is pure consciousness, the one without a second, absolute bliss. It is beyond form and action. Realize your identity with it. Stop identifying yourself with the coverings of ignorance, which are like the masks assumed by an actor.
Cease to identify yourself with this lump of flesh, the gross body, and with the ego, the subtle covering. Both of them are illusory. Know your Atman - the pure, infinite consciousness.
You are pure consciousness, the witness of all experiences. Your real nature is joy. Cease this very moment to identify yourself with the ego.
Dwell in silence, and enjoy the bliss of the Atman. Lose all sense of separateness, and realize in Brahman your infinite nature.
Conquer this enemy, the ego. Give it no opportunity by letting your thoughts dwell upon sense-objects. Such thoughts give it life.
The self-luminous Atman, the witness of all, is ever-present within your own heart. Know it to be yourself.
Those who are illumined by the knowledge "I am Brahman” live in constant union with Brahman, the pure blissful consciousness.
Cease to identify yourself mistakenly with all those coverings, such as the ego, etc., which overlie the Atman. Brahman alone remains-supreme, infinite, changeless, the one without a second.
To taste, within his own heart and in the external world, the endless bliss of the Atman - such is the reward obtained by the yogi who has reached perfection and liberation in this life.
The seer lives absorbed in the consciousness of the Atman. He has realized his identity with Brahman. Brahman is pure and free from the qualities which belong to the gross and subtle coverings. Past karmas belong to these coverings - therefore they do not affect the seer. When a man is awake, he is no longer in bondage to the apparent world of his dreams.
My outward form comes and goes. It acts and tastes the fruits of its actions. It withers and it dies. But I remain, like a great mountain, firm and immovable forever.
When an illumined soul has attained oneness with Brahman, his body may wither and fall anywhere, like the shrivelled leaf of a tree. What does it matter? For he has already freed himself from body-consciousness.
Select Verses ~ Meditation 
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Below, Shankara extols the virtues of meditation, by which means the lower ego-mind is subdued and the higher god-mind is awakened. Meditation is the key tool taught by spiritual teachers throughout the ages. Knowledge of the Reality is gained only through meditation upon right teaching, and not by sacred ablutions, or almsgiving, or by the practice of hundreds of breathing exercises. Meditation on the meaning of the truth as it is taught in Vedanta leads to the highest illumination. By this means, the misery of worldly life is altogether destroyed. The pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation and other spiritual disciplines such as a knower of Brahman may prescribe. Meditation upon one's identity with Brahman brings joy, and wipe out the immediate experience of suffering which is caused by ignorance. When the mind purged by ceaseless meditation, is merged in Brahman, the state of samadhi is attained. In that state there is no sense of duality. The undivided joy of Brahman is experienced. |
Meditate upon the Atman, your true Being, the infinite existence, knowledge and bliss. Thus you will escape from the wheel of birth and death.
Meditate upon the Atman unceasingly.
Meditate upon the Atman unceasingly.
Select Verses ~ The Universe 
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Although Shankara's teachings on the unreality of the objective universe can be hard to fathom for humans under the spell of their ego-minds, nonetheless it is true that the "universe exists in the mind." The universe was created in the consciousness of God, and once humans reacquire their God-consciousness, the universe will be seen as existing only within their consciousness. As mentioned several times in this website, modern science has confirmed the unreality of the universe - as hard as that is for scientists to accept. However, once one experiences this truth, there is much power that arises, for if the universe in only in the mind, then by changing our thoughts, the universe can be changed. Again, this topic has been addressed previously in this website (e.g. see webpage Personalized Creation Model and/or website posting Are You in the Universe or is the Universe in You? - April 2020) Brahman is real; the universe is unreal. A firm conviction that this is so is called discrimination between the eternal and the non-eternal. When, in the enlightenment of the Atman, a man transcends the mind, the phenomenal universe disappears from him. When a man lives in the domain of mental ignorance, the phenomenal universe exists for him. |
In dream, the mind is emptied of the objective universe, but it creates by its own power a complete universe of subject and object. The waking state is only a prolonged dream. The phenomenal universe exists in the mind.
The mind of the experiencer creates all the objects which he experiences, while in the waking or the dreaming state.
The universe, therefore, is nothing but Brahman. It is superimposed upon Him.
The apparent world is caused by our imagination, in its ignorance. It is not real.
The objective universe has no real existence. He who identifies himself with it encounters hosts upon hosts of sorrows.
A man who remains continually absorbed in the consciousness of Brahman is freed from the tyranny of the objective world. When, at moments, he becomes conscious of this world, he looks upon it as a world of dreams.
In myself is the ocean of joy, infinite, undivided. The wind of Maya plays over it, creating and dissolving the appearances of this world, like waves.
The mind of the experiencer creates all the objects which he experiences, while in the waking or the dreaming state.
The universe, therefore, is nothing but Brahman. It is superimposed upon Him.
The apparent world is caused by our imagination, in its ignorance. It is not real.
The objective universe has no real existence. He who identifies himself with it encounters hosts upon hosts of sorrows.
A man who remains continually absorbed in the consciousness of Brahman is freed from the tyranny of the objective world. When, at moments, he becomes conscious of this world, he looks upon it as a world of dreams.
In myself is the ocean of joy, infinite, undivided. The wind of Maya plays over it, creating and dissolving the appearances of this world, like waves.
Select Verses ~ The Path 
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Much of the Crest-Jewel of Discrimination is dedicated to providing direction to those desiring to follow the path to liberation. The path to liberation involves subduing the consciousness of "I" from the "coverings of Atman" and awaking the consciousness of "I" to the Atman itself. Let the wise, who have grown tranquil and who practice contemplation of the Atman, give up all worldly activities and struggle to cut the bonds of worldliness. Through devotion to right discrimination he will climb to the height of union with Brahman. By the power of the Atman, let him rescue his own soul which lies drowned in the vast waters of worldliness. Success in attaining the goal depends chiefly upon the qualifications of the seeker. Suitable time, place and other such circumstances are aids to its attainment. |
A man should be intelligent and learned, with great powers of comprehension, and able to overcome by the exercise of his reason. One who has these qualifications is fitted for knowledge of the Atman.
He alone may be considered qualified to seek Brahman who has discrimination, whose mind is turned away from all enjoyments, who possesses tranquillity and the kindred virtues, and who feels a longing for liberation.
Even though this longing for liberation may be present in a slight or moderate degree, it will grow intense through the grace of the teacher, and through the practice of renunciation and of virtues such as tranquillity, etc.: And it will bear fruit.
Among all means of liberation, devotion is supreme. To seek earnestly to know one's real nature - this is said to be devotion.
If you really desire liberation, hold the objects of sense-enjoyment at a distance, like poison; and keep drinking in with delight such virtues as contentment, compassion, forgiveness, straightforwardness, tranquillity and self-control, as if they were nectar.
Tranquillity, direct perception of the Atman, absolute peace, contentment, joy and steady devotion to the Atman. Through these, the seeker tastes everlasting bliss.
With a controlled mind and an intellect which is made pure and tranquil, you must realize the Atman directly, within yourself. Know the Atman as the real I. Thus you cross the shoreless ocean of worldliness, whose waves are birth and death. Live always in the knowledge of identity with Brahman, and be blessed.
The wise man who seeks liberation from bondage must discriminate between Atman and non-Atman. In this way, he can realize the Atman, which is Infinite Being, Infinite Wisdom and Infinite Love. Thus he finds happiness.
If discrimination and dispassion are practiced, to the exclusion of everything else, the mind will become pure and move toward liberation. Therefore the wise man who seeks liberation must develop both these qualities within himself.
The seeker after liberation must work carefully to purify the mind. When the mind has been made pure, liberation is as easy to grasp as the fruit which lies in the palm of your hand.
Raise one single wave of thought constantly: "I am Brahman".
Utterly destroy the ego. Control the many waves of distraction which it raises in the mind. Discern the reality and realize "I am That".
The more a man satisfies his cravings in the objective world, the more his cravings will increase. But if he controls them and ceases to gratify them, the seeds of craving will be destroyed. Therefore, let him gain self-control.
Refuse to dwell upon sense-objects, and peace will arise in your heart. When the heart is peaceful, the vision of the Atman comes.
Calm your mind utterly and attain samadhi.
He alone may be considered qualified to seek Brahman who has discrimination, whose mind is turned away from all enjoyments, who possesses tranquillity and the kindred virtues, and who feels a longing for liberation.
Even though this longing for liberation may be present in a slight or moderate degree, it will grow intense through the grace of the teacher, and through the practice of renunciation and of virtues such as tranquillity, etc.: And it will bear fruit.
Among all means of liberation, devotion is supreme. To seek earnestly to know one's real nature - this is said to be devotion.
If you really desire liberation, hold the objects of sense-enjoyment at a distance, like poison; and keep drinking in with delight such virtues as contentment, compassion, forgiveness, straightforwardness, tranquillity and self-control, as if they were nectar.
Tranquillity, direct perception of the Atman, absolute peace, contentment, joy and steady devotion to the Atman. Through these, the seeker tastes everlasting bliss.
With a controlled mind and an intellect which is made pure and tranquil, you must realize the Atman directly, within yourself. Know the Atman as the real I. Thus you cross the shoreless ocean of worldliness, whose waves are birth and death. Live always in the knowledge of identity with Brahman, and be blessed.
The wise man who seeks liberation from bondage must discriminate between Atman and non-Atman. In this way, he can realize the Atman, which is Infinite Being, Infinite Wisdom and Infinite Love. Thus he finds happiness.
If discrimination and dispassion are practiced, to the exclusion of everything else, the mind will become pure and move toward liberation. Therefore the wise man who seeks liberation must develop both these qualities within himself.
The seeker after liberation must work carefully to purify the mind. When the mind has been made pure, liberation is as easy to grasp as the fruit which lies in the palm of your hand.
Raise one single wave of thought constantly: "I am Brahman".
Utterly destroy the ego. Control the many waves of distraction which it raises in the mind. Discern the reality and realize "I am That".
The more a man satisfies his cravings in the objective world, the more his cravings will increase. But if he controls them and ceases to gratify them, the seeds of craving will be destroyed. Therefore, let him gain self-control.
Refuse to dwell upon sense-objects, and peace will arise in your heart. When the heart is peaceful, the vision of the Atman comes.
Calm your mind utterly and attain samadhi.
Final Thoughts 
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"In this dialogue between master and disciple the true nature of the Atman has been set forth in a manner which seekers after liberation may easily understand. This is the inmost essence of all Vedanta, the crest-jewel of all the scriptures." ~ Shankara The Crest-Jewel of Discrimination is a compendium of 580 verses on the ways to know, understand and reach God (Brahman), the Reality within us. This web posting calls attention to 80 of these verses (or partial verses) and has grouped them into a number of topics, as shown above. Below, a selection of 10 of the key verses is repeated, for additional emphasis. 1 - It is hard for any living creature to achieve birth in a human form. Here, Shankara reveals just how precious a gift it is to find oneself in a human body-form. 2 - Only through God's grace may we obtain those three rarest advantages - human birth, the longing for liberation, and discipleship to an illumined teacher. An acknowledgement of the great blessing it is to find oneself on the path to awakening. |
3 - Yielding to the power of rajas, he identifies himself with the many motions and changes of the mind. Therefore he is swept hither and thither, now rising, now sinking, in the boundless ocean of birth and death, whose waters are full of the poison of sense-objects. This is indeed a miserable fate.
From Shankara's viewpoint of one living in a god-conscious state of eternal, ever new joy, the drama played out by humans caught up in the ego-conscious dream worlds would seem, by comparison, to be extremely bleak.
4 - When a man wakes from his dream, his dream-actions vanish into nothingness. When a man wakes to the knowledge that he is Brahman, all accumulated causes, all past actions performed in the course of millions and millions of lives, are dissolved away.
Once one's god-conscious state is fully recovered, all association with one's former ego-state is let go.
5 - The body is merely a vehicle of experience for the human spirit.
This harkens back to the original plan for creation in which God experiences His creation through countless human spirits, each of whom are unique, individualized extensions of Itself. In that original state, the soul, or Atman, is the entity that experiences creation.
6 - The fool thinks, "I am the body". The intelligent man thinks, "I am an individual soul united with the body". But the wise man, in the greatness of his knowledge and spiritual discrimination, sees the Atman as reality and thinks, "I am Brahman."
This is the essence of Shankara's teachings. He lays out the path that each ego-controlled human being can follow to reacquire his original state of God awareness, and thereby come to the realization that "I am Brahman."
7 - Meditation on the meaning of the truth as it is taught in Vedanta leads to the highest illumination. By this means, the misery of worldly life is altogether destroyed.
Like all spiritual teachers, Shankara encourages the practice of meditation as a key means to acquire enlightenment and to leave behind the misery of worldly life.
8 - The mind of the experiencer creates all the objects which he experiences, while in the waking or the dreaming state.
This is a fascinating statement. It is clear that our sub-conscious minds create all the objects that appear in our dreams. Shankara states that, similarly, our minds also create all the objects that we experience in our waking state. The universe that we experience in our waking state and which we take as reality, is actually a manifestation of light energy projected from our consciousness. Like Brahman, we are creators.
9 - Among all means of liberation, devotion is supreme. To seek earnestly to know one's real nature - this is said to be devotion.
To earnestly and devotedly seek to know our true nature is the supreme path to awakening.
10 - The treasure I have found cannot be described in words. The mind cannot conceive of it.
Our native state as gods is ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new joy. We have lost that blessed state. For one who has reacquired his native state, there follows indescribable bliss.
From Shankara's viewpoint of one living in a god-conscious state of eternal, ever new joy, the drama played out by humans caught up in the ego-conscious dream worlds would seem, by comparison, to be extremely bleak.
4 - When a man wakes from his dream, his dream-actions vanish into nothingness. When a man wakes to the knowledge that he is Brahman, all accumulated causes, all past actions performed in the course of millions and millions of lives, are dissolved away.
Once one's god-conscious state is fully recovered, all association with one's former ego-state is let go.
5 - The body is merely a vehicle of experience for the human spirit.
This harkens back to the original plan for creation in which God experiences His creation through countless human spirits, each of whom are unique, individualized extensions of Itself. In that original state, the soul, or Atman, is the entity that experiences creation.
6 - The fool thinks, "I am the body". The intelligent man thinks, "I am an individual soul united with the body". But the wise man, in the greatness of his knowledge and spiritual discrimination, sees the Atman as reality and thinks, "I am Brahman."
This is the essence of Shankara's teachings. He lays out the path that each ego-controlled human being can follow to reacquire his original state of God awareness, and thereby come to the realization that "I am Brahman."
7 - Meditation on the meaning of the truth as it is taught in Vedanta leads to the highest illumination. By this means, the misery of worldly life is altogether destroyed.
Like all spiritual teachers, Shankara encourages the practice of meditation as a key means to acquire enlightenment and to leave behind the misery of worldly life.
8 - The mind of the experiencer creates all the objects which he experiences, while in the waking or the dreaming state.
This is a fascinating statement. It is clear that our sub-conscious minds create all the objects that appear in our dreams. Shankara states that, similarly, our minds also create all the objects that we experience in our waking state. The universe that we experience in our waking state and which we take as reality, is actually a manifestation of light energy projected from our consciousness. Like Brahman, we are creators.
9 - Among all means of liberation, devotion is supreme. To seek earnestly to know one's real nature - this is said to be devotion.
To earnestly and devotedly seek to know our true nature is the supreme path to awakening.
10 - The treasure I have found cannot be described in words. The mind cannot conceive of it.
Our native state as gods is ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new joy. We have lost that blessed state. For one who has reacquired his native state, there follows indescribable bliss.
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"Sankaracharya's Crest-Jewel of Wisdom is a practical and inspiring guide to life. Its teachings, the shared realizations of an enlightened god-man, tell us the laws by which we may "untie the bonds of unwisdom," and thus, evermore free, with minds calm and pellucid and hearts purified of reward-desiring actions, come to know and partake of the majestic power, light, and universal kinship of the Divine within us, our birthright as humans, and our passport to grander attainments in vaster spheres of consciousness." ~ Judith Tyberg, Theosophical University
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Swami Abhayananda (June 2024)
On May 22nd of this year, I was advised that Swami Abhayananda had moved into a hospice in Florida due to declining health and then in early June, I was informed that he had passed away in his sleep. Some time ago, Swami Abhayananda had informed me that a person who lived near him had agreed to send out a notice at the time of his death, and as such I received a letter postmarked June 3rd that contained a photocopy of a bird on which was written, “Letting you know, Ken, that Swami Abhayananda has flown the coop.” “I have enjoyed a life-long love affair with God. Though He is always within me and I am always within Him, I pretend to be separate from Him in order to carry on this relationship. One day soon I shall shed this separateness and shall once again live everywhere as all-pervading Spirit; but, for now, I’m confined to operating exclusively in conjunction with this tired aging body and brain.” ~ Swami Abhayananda, April 2016 |
I have known Swami Abhayananda since first publishing my website in September 2016. Since I had quoted him so often, I had asked him if he would review my website before I published it. He kindly agreed and in no time he had completely read my entire website and gave me his overwhelming approval. Since then, we have corresponded by email every 3 months or so – with him in Florida and me in Ottawa, Canada. Many, many interesting and fascinating topics we tossed back and forth and I benefitted greatly from his mystic insight.
It is rare for a mystic to be such a prolific writer. In this regard, I compare Swami Abhayananda to the world-renowned twentieth century spiritual giant, Paramahansa Yogananda. Both wrote marvelous books and articles containing fathomless wisdom on a host of topics, e.g. God, the universal structure and higher worlds, consciousness, the path to higher knowledge and enlightenment, understanding modern scientific discoveries, etc. Both provided those willing to learn with all the information and insight they needed to fully understand the world we live in as well as the worlds beyond. All the knowledge one needs is there for the taking. Truly generous souls who dedicated their lives for the benefit of others.
And, even now, while taking in the very air you breathe,
And walking on the very shores of time you walk,
I breathe as well the light eternal and walk the hallowed skies.
My heart imbibes the sweetest joy time’s shadows can’t obscure;
And, like a man with either foot astride a threshold, I’m here, though I am there.
I walk the world on tiptoe, with my head above the clouds;
My eyes are fixed undeviatingly on God’s perpetual smile.
And, though you see me here with you, performing on the boards,
I’m there, in God’s unbounded bliss, my own eternal Self.
Farewell dear friend, with much love and deep regards.
Ken
It is rare for a mystic to be such a prolific writer. In this regard, I compare Swami Abhayananda to the world-renowned twentieth century spiritual giant, Paramahansa Yogananda. Both wrote marvelous books and articles containing fathomless wisdom on a host of topics, e.g. God, the universal structure and higher worlds, consciousness, the path to higher knowledge and enlightenment, understanding modern scientific discoveries, etc. Both provided those willing to learn with all the information and insight they needed to fully understand the world we live in as well as the worlds beyond. All the knowledge one needs is there for the taking. Truly generous souls who dedicated their lives for the benefit of others.
And, even now, while taking in the very air you breathe,
And walking on the very shores of time you walk,
I breathe as well the light eternal and walk the hallowed skies.
My heart imbibes the sweetest joy time’s shadows can’t obscure;
And, like a man with either foot astride a threshold, I’m here, though I am there.
I walk the world on tiptoe, with my head above the clouds;
My eyes are fixed undeviatingly on God’s perpetual smile.
And, though you see me here with you, performing on the boards,
I’m there, in God’s unbounded bliss, my own eternal Self.
Farewell dear friend, with much love and deep regards.
Ken
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Note - Swami Abhayananda’s website, The Mystic’s Vision, remains on-line and will continue as such until September, 2026. All of his writings can be downloaded from there.
In 2019, I prepared a compendium of all of Swami Abhayananda’s books and articles - see The Writings of Swami Abhayananda (April 2019) in the What’s New section of this website. It is there for all those who may want an abbreviated summary of the words of this great mystic. This summary received the blessing of the original author;
"I just finished reading the collection of my writings you have so lovingly and laboriously appended to your website. I realize how difficult it would be to reduce my abundant writings to a single essential core, but in my opinion, you have done an amazingly masterful job of just that. I find your collection to be flawless. Once again, I am beholden to you for your generosity and expertise. I’m very pleased, Ken, with your initiative and I offer to you my continued gratitude and affection." ~ Swami Abhayananda, April 2019.
As noted in the postscript to my April 2019 posting, I have also provided direct access (with Swami Abhayananda’s approval and support) to all of his books and articles, in pdf format.
In 2019, I prepared a compendium of all of Swami Abhayananda’s books and articles - see The Writings of Swami Abhayananda (April 2019) in the What’s New section of this website. It is there for all those who may want an abbreviated summary of the words of this great mystic. This summary received the blessing of the original author;
"I just finished reading the collection of my writings you have so lovingly and laboriously appended to your website. I realize how difficult it would be to reduce my abundant writings to a single essential core, but in my opinion, you have done an amazingly masterful job of just that. I find your collection to be flawless. Once again, I am beholden to you for your generosity and expertise. I’m very pleased, Ken, with your initiative and I offer to you my continued gratitude and affection." ~ Swami Abhayananda, April 2019.
As noted in the postscript to my April 2019 posting, I have also provided direct access (with Swami Abhayananda’s approval and support) to all of his books and articles, in pdf format.
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What's Love Got to Do With It? (September 2024)
Mystics, those who have had direct experience of God, have universally declared that God is Love. Their experiences in mystical union with God left them in a state of overwhelming love and joy. But many people have difficulty understanding how a God that is Love Itself would allow such unspeakable evil and intense suffering to exist within creation. How can this be reconciled? This topic has been partially addressed in other sections of this website, e.g. the webpage Why is There Suffering? and it is planned to revisit this topic in an upcoming posting to this website. It is a difficult subject, but the same mystics who declare that God is Love also provide answers to this perplexing question. But for now, let's look into the universal declaration of the mystics - God is Love. |
Provided below are selections from the writings of several mystics who have addressed this topic. These mystics include Paramahansa Yogananda, Jalaluddin Rumi, Swami Abhayananda, Ramana Maharshi, Swami Sivananda, Eckhart Tolle, as well as several others. A few key references from the New Testament of the Bible are also provided.
The posting concludes with a Final Thoughts section which summarizes some of the key messages contained in these quotations.
The posting concludes with a Final Thoughts section which summarizes some of the key messages contained in these quotations.
Paramahansa Yogananda
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God is Love; His plan for creation can be rooted only in love ..... Every saint who has penetrated to the core of Reality has testified that a divine universal plan exists and that it is beautiful and full of joy. Ordinary love is selfish, darkly rooted in desires and satisfactions. Divine love is without condition. We looked into each other’s eyes, where tears were shining. A blissful wave engulfed me; I was conscious that the Lord, in the form of my guru, was expanding the limited ardors of my heart to vast reaches of cosmic love. He is the sole Owner of the cosmos, silently showering man with gifts from life to life. There is but one gift man may offer in return — his love, which he is empowered to withhold or bestow. With impersonal wisdom she [Ananda Moyi Ma] bestows equally on all human beings the divine love of the Universal Mother. The divine purpose of creation, so far as man’s reason can grasp it, is expounded in the Vedas. The rishis taught that each human being has been created by God as a soul that will uniquely manifest some special attribute of the Infinite before resuming its Absolute Identity. All men, endowed thus with a facet of Divine Individuality, are equally dear to God. |
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The central message of the Gita is that man may win emancipation through love for God, wisdom, and performance of right actions in a spirit of nonattachment.
Sri Krishna, with the enchanting melodies of his heavenly flute, is calling all devotees to the bower of divine union in samadhi meditation, there to bask in the blissful love of God. But inherent in matter is the force of attraction. This is the love of God, a magnet that ultimately pulls creation back to Him. God coaxes His children back to Him only by the attracting power of His love, incarnate in every atom of creation and in every soul. Dissatisfied with the imperfections of human love, man finally turns toward the perfect love of God. As the love of His children is the one thing the Lord is seeking, it is that devotion, freely given—in whatever form of expression, endeavor, or worship—that brings His divine response. The divine lover beholds God through every window of thought and space, and the Cosmic Beloved beholds the devotee through every window of His omnipresent love. Enlocked in visions of love, God and the devotee enjoy unparted union. The thirst for affection can never be quenched by the imperfect love of mortals. The Father yearns for the love of His children even more than they want His affection. When a devotee’s yearning is deep enough, it brings the rare loving response from God. Such a man fulfills God’s desire for a unique romance with each of His creatures. The sole gift a human being may present to the Infinite Giver is love. To bestow that gift on God, or miserly to withhold it, is man’s only private power. The natural pull of the soul is toward Spirit—the pull of the Lord’s love that pursues every soul, even unto the farthest reaches of delusion. The spiritual soul contact between guru and disciple is one of eternal, unconditional divine love and friendship. Human love is conditional and based upon merit and inborn attachments. God’s highest gift to man is free will—freedom to choose Him and His wisdom or the lures of maya’s satanic delusion. As the Cosmic Lover of all souls, the Lord’s one desire is that perchance man might use his free will to cast away the mercurial inducements of Satan and embrace the consummate fulfillment of Divine Love. Loving family members is the first step in expanding self-love to those nearby; loving all human beings of whatever race and nationality is to know Christ-love. God is present in one’s soul and omnipresent in all beings—the Divine Indweller whose nature is a harmonic blend of infinite wisdom and infinite love. Even in this material world man can live in the beatific consciousness of the soul. He makes his own life, and many of those he contacts, radiant with the infinite light, joy, and love of the Eternal Father. Love is verily the manifestation of God in His creation. Love is the God-drunk poet's heartaches For every creature's groans. |
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Jalaluddin Rumi 
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Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation. My soul is screaming in ecstasy Every fiber of my being is in love with you. A thousand half-loves must be forsaken to take one whole heart home. Love is the bridge between you and everything. Close your eyes, fall in love, stay there. Let your teacher be love itself. |
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Be soulful. Be kind. Be in love.
Love is not an emotion, it’s your very existence. Whenever we manage to love without expectations, calculations, negotiations, we are indeed in heaven. Love calls – everywhere and always. We’re sky bound. Are you coming? I have no companion but Love, no beginning, no end, no dawn. If you see lover and Beloved as two, you either have double vision, or you can’t count. Listen, open the heart’s window and keep looking at the Beloved. The task of love is to open that window so the heart can be illuminated by His Beauty. |
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Swami Abhayananda 
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He did not love solitude. He was all love, but love is not love if there is no object of love. So the Father, alone as He was, projected and generated [the world]. When the soul is merged in God, there is no longer the duality of lover and Beloved, but only one blissful Self-awareness. In the One, the two - soul and God - play their love game of devotion. At one moment, the soul speaks of God, its “Father”; at another moment, it is identified with God, and speaks of “I.” Like a thousand-rayed sunburst of joy, Love showers forth as the universe of stars and planets and men. While the mainstream faithful of Islam were busily engaged in the spread of their religion through territorial conquest during the 8th and 9th centuries, the Sufis were teaching the pure love of God, and living an ascetic life aimed at realizing Him in the depths of their souls. It is impossible to describe the nature of divine love precisely; one is in the same predicament as a mute person asked to describe the taste of sugar. That inherent love may arise at any time or in any place within one who is fit to receive it. It has no distinctive characteristics, except that it is free of selfish motive. It is an extremely subtle inner experience of all-pervading Unity.... It appears in the form of inward peace and supreme happiness. |
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The brave sojourner on this path walks quite alone, yet he is moved by an inward grace which lures him on by whisperings and caresses of love, inspiring in him a burning desire for the meeting with his Beloved at his journey’s end.
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Ramana Maharshi 
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Questioner: Love postulates duality. How can the Self be the object of love? Ramana Maharshi: Love is not different from the Self. Love of an object is of a lower type and cannot endure, whereas the Self is Love. God is Love. To know God is to love God, therefore the paths of jnana and bhakti (knowledge and devotion) come to the same. The Beatitude aspect is approached by devotees who become intoxicated with the nectar of love of God and lose themselves in Blissful experience. Unwilling to leave this, they remain for ever merged in God. |
Swami Sivananda 
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God is love. He is eternal bliss, supreme peace and wisdom. Close your eyes. Withdraw your senses from the sensual objects. Search Him there with one-pointed mind, devotion and pure love. You will surely find Him. He is waiting there with outstretched arms to embrace you. Brahman is the hidden Love that embraces all in oneness. Combine all the love you cherish towards all worldly objects, wife, son, wealth, property, relatives, friends, and then apply this combined love towards God. You will realize in this very second. It is not very difficult to have Darshan (vision) of God, or to please Him. God is an ocean of mercy. It is a kind of ecstasy in which the personality has lost itself in God-love and God-being. That is Jnana (path of wisdom) and that is Bhakti (path of devotion). So, there is no difference between Ramanuja (teacher of devotion) and Shankara (teacher of wisdom) in the ultimate reaches. You can unite with the cosmos only through love and unselfish service. Love is the greatest power on earth. |
Eckhart Tolle 
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When you are in touch with Atman, the indwelling God—and being in touch with it is your natural state, not some miraculous achievement—all your actions and relationships will reflect the oneness with all life that you sense deep within. This is love. What the ego calls love is possessiveness and addictive clinging that can turn into hate within a second. It has been said “God is love” but that is not absolutely correct. God is the One Life in and beyond the countless forms of life. So love is the recognition of oneness in the world of duality. In the stillness of Presence, you can sense the formless essence in yourself and in the other as one. Knowing the oneness of yourself and the other is true love. |
Others 
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“The soul does not love, it is love itself” ~ the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali "Mirabai knows that to find the Divine One The only indispensable is Love." ~ Mirabai, 16-th century mystic poet “I am not your guru; he shall come a little later, Through his guidance, your experiences of the Divine in terms of love and devotion will be translated into his terms of fathomless wisdom.” ~ Master Mahasaya “To love both the invisible God, Repository of All Virtues, and visible man, apparently possessed of none, is often baffling!" ~ Gandha Baba (‘Perfume Saint’) "Wherever there are wars, wherever we are confronted with an opponent, conquer by love. I have found that the certain law of love has answered in my own life as the law of destruction has never done." ~ Mahatma Gandhi “Spiritual love is without limits or boundaries. Worldly love is superficial and fluctuating.” ~ Mata Amritanandamayi |
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"To love or not; in this we stand or fall." ~ John Milton, from Paradise Lost
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." ~1 John 4:8 "God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." ~ 1 John 4:16 "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you." ~ John 15:9 “When I look inside and see that I am nothing, that is wisdom. When I look outside and see that I am everything, that is love. And between these two, my life turns.” ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj "The Divine Mother Herself—that aspect of the Infinite Spirit personified as the tender caring and compassion, the unconditional love, that is the salvation of the world—had taken complete possession of him, it seemed, and through him was sending out waves of love to embrace all of Her creation." ~ Daya Mata describing Paramahansa Yogananda "Beautiful in form and feature, irresistible in charm and demeanor, an embodiment of divine love." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda describing Bhagavan Krishna Lifted by the All-Beautiful into his infinite beauty, Love shall envelop thee endless and fathomless, Joy unimaginable, Ecstasy illimitable. ~ Sri Aurobindo "O You who are so unbearably beautiful, Whose beloved are You?” I asked. “My own,” He replied. “For I am one and one alone.” ~ Fakhruddin Iraqi "While God waits for his temple to be built of love, men bring stones." ~ Rabindranath Tagore "Love is God’s nature. He can do naught else." ~ Angelus Silesius "The human soul is on its journey from the law to love, from discipline to liberation, from the moral plane to the spiritual." ~ Rabindranath Tagore "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us." ~ Saint Augustine |
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Final Thoughts 
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The divine purpose of creation, so far as man’s reason can grasp it, is expounded in the Vedas. The rishis taught that each human being has been created by God as a soul that will uniquely manifest some special attribute of the Infinite before resuming its Absolute Identity. All men, endowed thus with a facet of Divine Individuality, are equally dear to God. This section summarizes some of the key messages from the quotations above, as follows:
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"The plan of the divine lila or “sportive play” by which the phenomenal worlds have come into existence is one of reciprocity between creature and Creator. The sole gift that man can offer to God is love; it suffices to call forth His overwhelming generosity. When a devotee’s yearning is deep enough, it brings the rare loving response from God. Such a man fulfills God’s desire for a unique romance with each of His creatures." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda |
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And so, we return to the question posed at the beginning of this posting, i.e. - What's love got to do with it? With regards to the personal nature of God, love is everything. |
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The Enchanting Meister Eckhart (December 2024)
This posting is divided into the following sections;
Brief overview of Meister Eckhart and his teachings During the late 13th and early 14th centuries, amidst tumultuous times in Europe, a profound voice emerged that continues to resonate today. That voice was Meister (“Master”) Eckhart's, a German theologian, philosopher, preacher and mystic whose teachings have captivated scholars and spiritual seekers alike over the centuries. Known for his daring approach to spirituality, Eckhart’s insights into the nature of man and the mystery of the |
divine offer a timeless guide to understanding the depths of our own existence.
Eckhart von Hochheim (1260 - 1328) was considered a “master of sacred theology” within the Christian Church. Following his mystic awakening, his teachings reflected the truths that he had experienced and he was eventually charged with heresy by the Church authorities. Being a Christian mystic in medieval times was tricky business - the officials of the dogmatic, orthodox Church of his time would not accept someone declaring that “God and I, we are one,” as did Meister Eckhart. If a mystic made such a statement in the East, they would have been celebrated and would have attracted a following of spiritual seekers. Not so in the West. Western mystics had to largely mask the greatest feature of their mystic experience, i.e. the awareness of their oneness with Spirit.
At the heart of Eckhart’s message is the concept of the soul’s oneness with God, a revolutionary idea that challenged the conventional religious principles of his time. He spoke of a “birth of God in the soul,” a transformative process wherein the individual soul becomes one with the ineffable God beyond creation through a journey of (i) detachment from distractions, and (ii) a deep, contemplative engagement with the inner life. Through this detachment, i.e. the letting go of the ego, individuals could experience a profound union with the divine. He believed that the soul’s deepest identity is God Himself, and thus, the soul and God are not two, but one.
Eckhart prescribed no special techniques, practices, penances or pilgrimages - insisting that “whoever seeks God in a special way gets the way and misses the God who lies hidden in it.” It is for this reason that his teachings are often referred to as the “Wayless Way.”
Eckhart declared that "Christ came to remind us of our blessed and divine origins as images and likenesses of God in a grace-filled universe.” This is a Christology, suggests Matthew Fox in his book Creation Spirituality, in which Christ is understood not as Redeemer but as Reminder. Fox went on to describe Eckhart as a “Mystic-Warrior” who “touches the depths of Western culture’s wisdom, which connects to the depths of Eastern wisdom.” As such, Meister Eckhart stands out in the history of Christian mystics in that, while deeply rooted in Christian theology, his teachings resonate with many other esoteric spiritual traditions. The idea of the unity of the soul with God is found in Zen Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, Sufism, and other mystical paths. Similarly, the practice of letting go of thoughts and desires to directly experience the Divine is a common theme in many forms of meditation and contemplative prayer.
Comments on Eckhart’s inimitable writing style
In spite of being considered a radical by some Church authorities, Meister Eckhart’s profound and enigmatic teachings attracted a large following amongst the common folk. He was a man of great learning as well as an especially engaging speaker, one capable of making the wisdom of the ages accessible to even the simplest listener. His sermons were full of colorful metaphors and memorable aphorisms.
After nearly seven centuries of relative obscurity, Meister Eckhart has emerged as somewhat of a modern spiritual celebrity. His present day popularity is due at least partially to the master’s namesake, i.e. Eckhart (born Ulrich) Tolle, a modern-day mystic and author whose own teachings and writings draw heavily on key insights of Meister Eckhart.
Considered a literary genius, Meister Eckhart’s eloquent way with words has established him as a most extraordinary Christian mystic. His evocative terms and "word images" are demonstrated in the quotations provided below.
I have collected well over a hundred distinctive quotations from Eckhart’s writings. Below, I have provided my “top ten” favourites, along with comments on each.
Eckhart von Hochheim (1260 - 1328) was considered a “master of sacred theology” within the Christian Church. Following his mystic awakening, his teachings reflected the truths that he had experienced and he was eventually charged with heresy by the Church authorities. Being a Christian mystic in medieval times was tricky business - the officials of the dogmatic, orthodox Church of his time would not accept someone declaring that “God and I, we are one,” as did Meister Eckhart. If a mystic made such a statement in the East, they would have been celebrated and would have attracted a following of spiritual seekers. Not so in the West. Western mystics had to largely mask the greatest feature of their mystic experience, i.e. the awareness of their oneness with Spirit.
At the heart of Eckhart’s message is the concept of the soul’s oneness with God, a revolutionary idea that challenged the conventional religious principles of his time. He spoke of a “birth of God in the soul,” a transformative process wherein the individual soul becomes one with the ineffable God beyond creation through a journey of (i) detachment from distractions, and (ii) a deep, contemplative engagement with the inner life. Through this detachment, i.e. the letting go of the ego, individuals could experience a profound union with the divine. He believed that the soul’s deepest identity is God Himself, and thus, the soul and God are not two, but one.
Eckhart prescribed no special techniques, practices, penances or pilgrimages - insisting that “whoever seeks God in a special way gets the way and misses the God who lies hidden in it.” It is for this reason that his teachings are often referred to as the “Wayless Way.”
Eckhart declared that "Christ came to remind us of our blessed and divine origins as images and likenesses of God in a grace-filled universe.” This is a Christology, suggests Matthew Fox in his book Creation Spirituality, in which Christ is understood not as Redeemer but as Reminder. Fox went on to describe Eckhart as a “Mystic-Warrior” who “touches the depths of Western culture’s wisdom, which connects to the depths of Eastern wisdom.” As such, Meister Eckhart stands out in the history of Christian mystics in that, while deeply rooted in Christian theology, his teachings resonate with many other esoteric spiritual traditions. The idea of the unity of the soul with God is found in Zen Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, Sufism, and other mystical paths. Similarly, the practice of letting go of thoughts and desires to directly experience the Divine is a common theme in many forms of meditation and contemplative prayer.
Comments on Eckhart’s inimitable writing style
In spite of being considered a radical by some Church authorities, Meister Eckhart’s profound and enigmatic teachings attracted a large following amongst the common folk. He was a man of great learning as well as an especially engaging speaker, one capable of making the wisdom of the ages accessible to even the simplest listener. His sermons were full of colorful metaphors and memorable aphorisms.
After nearly seven centuries of relative obscurity, Meister Eckhart has emerged as somewhat of a modern spiritual celebrity. His present day popularity is due at least partially to the master’s namesake, i.e. Eckhart (born Ulrich) Tolle, a modern-day mystic and author whose own teachings and writings draw heavily on key insights of Meister Eckhart.
Considered a literary genius, Meister Eckhart’s eloquent way with words has established him as a most extraordinary Christian mystic. His evocative terms and "word images" are demonstrated in the quotations provided below.
I have collected well over a hundred distinctive quotations from Eckhart’s writings. Below, I have provided my “top ten” favourites, along with comments on each.
Theologians may quarrel, but the mystics of the world speak the same language.
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In one short and eloquent statement, Master Eckhart has captured a fundamental difference between orthodox religious traditions influenced over time by theologians and the underlying fundamental truths of each true religion as espoused by mystics. Theologians (scholars who study religions and religious beliefs) are typically researchers and academics with no direct experience of God. As such, their conclusions are based solely on intellectual reasoning. Their views may also be influenced by their own personal religious beliefs as well as where and when they lived. Given all this, it is not surprising that theological views can be widely divergent. Mystics, by definition, have each had direct experience of God. It is therefore not surprising that descriptions of Reality by mystics are the same - no matter what country or century each one lived in. This consistency points to a common view of God, creation, the soul and the human condition. The only differences are the paths each mystic recommends to follow back to God. Each of these paths attracts the seekers that are best suited to that path. Swami Abhayananda has written some very insightful words on this topic,** including the following; "The viewpoint of the mystic - one who has had a glimpse into the nature of reality - is sometimes referred to as “the perennial philosophy,” since it is one that is seen to resurface again and again throughout history. It is a worldview that is common to mystics of every conceivable religious tradition. It has been called, in the words of the Vedas, the sanatana dharma, “the eternal religion,” as it is the foundation which underlies all the various sectarian “religions” and all mystical philosophy." "When we study the many speculative philosophies and religious creeds which men have espoused, we must wonder at the amazing diversity of opinions expressed regarding the nature of reality; but when we examine the testimonies of the mystics of past and present, we are struck by the unanimity of agreement between them all. Their methods may vary, but their ultimate realizations are identical in content. They tell us of a supramental experience, obtained through contemplation, which directly reveals the Truth, the ultimate, the final, Truth of all existence. It is this experience, which is the hallmark of the mystic; it goes by different names, but the experience is the same." ** see the webpage The Writings of Swami Abhayananda- April 2019 in the What's New section of this website. For those interested, more on this topic can be found on the Religion and Spirituality webpage herein. |
The seed of God is in us: Pear seeds grow into pear trees; Hazel seeds into hazel trees; and God seeds into God.
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In the above quotation, Meister Eckhart uses a simple analogy to point to a fundamental principle of our existence. The "God seed" in each of us is our soul, or Atman as it is called in the East. Like other seeds in nature, the soul is hardly noticed until it starts to grow. It could be said that the soul "grows" at a different rate in each of us, as we make good or bad choices in our lives. Various practices, such as meditation, greatly accelerate soul growth. However many lifetimes it may take, it is our common destiny that each God seed will ultimately fully grow into God. And once our soul fully manifests into god-consciousness, our lives and experiences become quite different, as described by the mystics. The ego-mind transforms into the god-mind and life becomes a blissful, unbounded awareness of all creation as well as union with Spirit existing beyond creation. The soul was a major theme of Eckhart's writings, as will be seen below. 
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The soul is created in a place between Time and Eternity: with its highest powers it touches Eternity, with its lower Time.
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Once again, a very eloquent and evocative statement that covers a lot of ground. The mystics tell us that each soul is created as a unique, individualized extension of Spirit. As such, each soul in its native state has the highest powers of God and touches Eternity. As part of the drama of creation, each soul takes on a form and enters the dream structure of the universe. The human body-form comes equipped with five sense instruments and an associated mind processor in order to experience and experiment within the universal structure. The human body-form with its lower powers, does not experience Eternity. Instead, it experiences Time, in which activities occur "one-by-one." Current activities are called the "present." Activities then move to the next "future" one and each activity that just happened becomes the "past." The lower powers of the human body-form have much difficulty fathoming the concept of Eternity, but every mystic who has experienced God, using the higher powers of the soul, have all declared that in the higher mind, time simply does not exist. At this higher level, there is only an Eternal Now - past, present and future are all folded within this Eternal Now, or Eternity. This fascinating topic of Time and Eternity has been addressed earlier in this website, in a posting entitled The Enigma of Time (July 2018), located in the What's New section. “As form you are still in time. As the formless you are beyond time.” ~ Eckhart Tolle, modern day mystic |
Nothing can bring you to know God. Well, not quite; there is something, but it is an unknowing, a forgetting of yourself, an utter emptying.
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A fascinating and enigmatic statement from Eckhart that features a play on the words "know" and "unknowing."
Each of us has two minds. Our ego-mind is focused on the body and its surroundings while our god-mind transcends this world into the unbounded blissful awareness of God. To "know" something requires the use of the intellect, which is a feature of the ego-mind. As such, "nothing can bring you to know God." Our god-mind is hidden within the soul behind the incessant chatter and demands of our ego-mind. If one can be still and quiet enough, it is possible to "let go" of the ego-mind and allow the god-mind to arise. Eckhart calls this process "emptying" with the goal of achieving an "unknowing" or "unhampered nothingness." Below are several related quotations from Eckhart on this topic; It is God's very nature to give Himself to all those who are empty. And God will give Himself so fully and completely that nothing will be left of Himself. To the quiet mind all things are possible. The more deeply we are our true selves, the less self is in us. God is not found in the soul by adding anything but by a process of subtraction. If God is to enter, the creature [ego-self] must exit. Everything is meant to be lost, that the soul may stand in unhampered nothingness. All mystics describe this process of letting go of the ego-mind, but few in such a colourful way as Meister Eckhart. Much more on this topic can be found in The Journey of Awakening section of this website; in particular the webpage, The Path to Awakening. |
The beast that bears you fastest to perfection is suffering.
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A most evocative and powerful quotation that evokes a visceral reaction with its powerful imagery. At some stage in the process of letting go of our ego-self to allow our god-self to arise, suffering becomes a powerful tool. If the ego-self is quite comfortable in its existence, it will have little motivation to "let go." However, if the ego-self finds itself dealing with pain and suffering, it will start to ask questions about its existence and whether there is a better life elsewhere. Paramahansa Yogananda referred to suffering as "a prod to remembrance," i.e. a push to forego the ego-self and search to remember our native god-self. Interestingly, Yogananda would often argue with God on why an easier method could not have been employed to bring humanity "to perfection." When Ramana Maharshi was once asked why there is suffering, he responded, "Who suffers?" - i.e. your real god-self never suffers - only your false ego-self suffers. Meister Eckhart had a few other related thoughts on this topic, i.e. As long as love of the creature [the ego-self] is in us, pain cannot cease. The shell must be cracked apart if what is in it is to come out, for if you want the kernel you must break the shell ..... Truly, it is in the darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us. Much more on this topic can be found on the webpage Why is There Suffering? on this website. A few additional comments;
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When the Soul wants to experience something she throws out an image in front of her and then steps into it.
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To say that God provided the soul with the ability to co-create is one thing; to express that idea in the fashion that Meister Eckhart does above brings the concept to life in a truly remarkable way. At its highest level, each soul, essentially Spirit Itself, can choose whatever it wants to experience and by "throwing out an image in front of her," i.e. projecting light energy from its consciousness, can modify the dream structure of creation to allow the soul to "step into" whatever structure it has created. As such, Spirit enjoys Its creation through the variety of experiences of each of the countless souls It has created. Eckhart's unique and enchanting expression above captures in a simple yet profound way this grand truth of creation. Now one may say, how can this be? I do not have the power to throw out an image in front of myself of something I'd like to experience and then step into it. But in fact, we all have that ability. However, to exercise this ability, we must have access to our god-mind. The ego-mind cannot do this. Humans under the control of their ego-minds and body consciousness are quite limited and restricted in their experience of creation. They can use their will power to create some things but nothing close to the unlimited majestic creations available to their god-selves. Another reason for mankind to focus on re-acquiring the lost consciousness of the soul. |
God is like a person who clears his throat while hiding and so gives himself away. God lies in wait for us with nothing so much as love.
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In the previous webposting, What's Love Got to Do With It? (September 2024), the two natures of God were mentioned, i.e. (i) the unfathomable, boundless consciousness of God beyond creation, and (ii) the deeply personal God of love within creation. The above quotation is a most unique and fascinating way to describe the approachable aspect of the personal God. One would be hard pressed to find a similar quotation that features such a distinctive image of a God yearning for the love of mankind.*** No one has ever wanted something so much as God wants to bring us to him ….. We may not be ready, but God is. We might be far from God, but He is close to us. Most of mankind, I suspect, would suggest that it is God who is far away and is not to be easily found. Meister Eckhart and other mystics tell us again and again just how easy it is to find God, for those prepared to make the effort to subdue their ego-selves and awaken their god-minds. _____________________________________________________ *** However, this Eckhart quotation did remind me a poem by Paramahansa Yogananda entitled, Hello, Playmate, I am Here!, in which he wrote; ..... Cloud-robed, foam-sprayed, leaf-garlanded – Too rare for mortal eyes to see, or ears to hear. And yet, I knew that Thou wert always near, As if to play hide-and-seek with me, receding when I almost touched Thee, ..... With only mists of dreams between, Someone beside me stood unseen – And whispered to me, cool and clear: “Hello, playmate! I am here!” |
My Lord told me a joke. And seeing Him laugh has done more for me than any scripture I will ever read.
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I suspect that few people can visualize a mental image of God telling a joke. And yet, Eckhart's remarkable quotation above indeed suggests such a profound personal relationship between God and man. It is sublime. Mankind is created by God in His likeness. Mankind laughs. As such, wouldn't God laugh too? And thus, it is reasonable that a personal God would share such a joyful interaction with a human who had progressed to a level of consciousness that would allow it. This is a most unique and extraordinary quotation. Below, Eckhart expands on the above by drawing a connection between laughter and love, i.e. When the Father laughs at the Son and the Son laughs back at the Father, that laughter gives pleasure, that pleasure gives joy, that joy gives love. Note - while researching the above, I came across a couple of jokes that anyone who has any experience with dogs would love;
“If you’re not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don’t want to go there” ~ Martin Luther, theologian, author, friar and seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation
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I find in this divine birth that God and I are the same: I am what I was and what I shall always remain, now and forever. I am transported above the highest angels ….. I have become the motionless cause of all that moves. I have won back what has always been mine. Here, in my own soul, the greatest of all miracles has taken place - God has returned to God!
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A profound quotation. In one short and ecstatic statement, Meister Eckhart has captured the essence of the spiritual path - the soul's return to God. It is such a captivating and enchanting description that any comment would take away from its magnificence. A quotation for the ages. __________________________________________ Even the highest angels — though equal to this noble temple of our soul to some extent — are not completely like it. They are like the soul in their capacity for knowledge and love, it is true, but there is a limit to them, where they can go no further. The above two quotations provide an interesting comparison between angels and the human soul.
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Simple people imagine that they should see God as if he stood there and they here. This is not so. God and I, we are one.
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This was one of the first Meister Eckhart quotations that I came across many years ago. It was love at first sight. In similar fashion, Eckhart added - Between God and Me there is no 'Between' ..... I am converted into Him in such a way that He makes me one Being with Himself. All mystics affirm their oneness with God.*** Yet few capture the singular occurrence in such a colourful, clear and eloquent way. Timeless and priceless.
A few additional comments;
P. S. - Yogananda also commented on the incorrect interpretation of Nirvana, i.e. "In the seventh century a.d., Swami Shankara (Adi Shankaracharya) incarnated to bring the teaching of the Supreme Spirit as ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss. This positive conception of God was much needed for the overintellectualized classes of India, who through a corruption of Buddha’s teaching had developed a doctrine of annihilation as the ultimate end of life. This fallacy arose from a misinterpretation of the idea of nirvana, the cessation of ego consciousness and its consequent reincarnations. The real teaching of Buddha, in accord with all great prophets of India, was that egoistic desires cause rebirth, and that any soul who overcomes material desires finds liberation—not extinction! Swami Shankara reasserted the eternal truth that a soul who overcomes material desire becomes united to the positive state of ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Bliss." |
Final Thoughts
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“The world-embracing spirit of Meister Eckhart knew, without discursive knowledge, the primordial mystical experience of India as well as of the Gnostics, and was itself the finest flower on the tree of the "Free Spirit" that flourished at the beginning of the eleventh century. Well might the writings of this Master be buried for six hundred years, for "his time was not yet come." Only in the nineteenth century did he find a public at all capable of appreciating the grandeur of his mind.” ~ Dr. Carl Jung, 20th century pioneer of analytical psychology Eckhart had an inimitable way with words. His mastery of language made abstruse and enigmatic concepts more easily relatable and fathomable - a wonderful talent for explaining esoteric and often perplexing spiritual truths to the masses. A selection of ten quotations taken from the writings of Meister Eckhart have been presented in this posting. Due to his ability to create fascinating "mind images" using his words, it is not surprising that my comments on these quotations feature adjectives such as extraordinary, unique, colourful, eloquent, marvelous, powerful, distinctive and remarkable. |
Eckhart's mystic experiences combined with his evocative writing style make him one of the most enchanting of the Christian mystics.
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AI's Got No Soul – At Least Not Yet (May 2025)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a machine’s ability to perform analysis and cognitive functions we usually associate with human minds. Artificial Intelligence has already become a cornerstone of modern society, weaving its intricate patterns into the very fabric of daily life. From the subtle algorithms that curate our social media feeds to the sophisticated systems steering autonomous vehicles to the ability to interact directly with an AI model like ChatGPT, AI's influence is both profound and pervasive. Yet, despite its ubiquity, a genuine understanding of AI remains largely elusive to the public. Artificial Intelligence may well evolve into a most profound phenomenon with the potential to significantly impact humanity in ways that are both foreseen and unforeseen at this time, and in ways that may result in great benefits and/or great harm. |
This posting takes a look at AI in this, its formative period. A brief overview is first provided. A look at the development of intelligence in AI systems is then briefly addressed. Because there is much discussion today about the potential for AI to acquire consciousness, the third section looks at this topic from a scientific viewpoint. A fascinating possibility is that AI may become a medium by which souls may experience creation and the next section looks at this. There are some concerns being expressed by many experts that the manner in which AI is being developed may result in catastrophic danger to mankind and this is addressed in the fifth section. The sixth section postulates a future in which AI offers significant benefits to mankind and also changes our world in fascinating ways. The posting concludes with some final thoughts.
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! - Introduction
2 - AI Intelligence 3 - AI and Consciousness – Scientific Viewpoint 4 - AI and Consciousness – Spiritual Viewpoint 5 - Concerns Regarding AI Development 6 - The Future of AI 7 - Final Thoughts |
Introduction
"We are about to go from Search Engines to Creation Engines. Let me explain. Starting now – we will shift from asking the internet to find what we want to asking it to create what we want. We’ll be expecting it to answer exact questions to queries, summarize things, write for us, create images, pictures, stories, animations, rap songs and even write software code for. Now anyone can do or make anything, we all now have a PhD in every subject. It’s a wonderful time to be alive." ~ Steve Sammartino, futurist on emerging AI technologies |
Just a few years back, if you had been told that by 2024, you would be able to have a conversation with a computer that would seem almost completely human, would you have believed it?
By now, it’s clear that Artificial Intelligence is the great breakthrough technology of our times, and as with other breakthrough technologies, e.g. electricity, computers, etc., it will continue to evolve and become more and more impactful. One unique feature of AI will be its ability to improve itself. As AI creates more and more advanced versions of itself it will accelerate in ways that we will not have anticipated. AI consists of a computer loaded with software that allows it to do a variety of tasks, from highly advanced analysis to language based systems that interact with users using prompts and then provide written/oral outputs. AI systems usually feature vast information storage capabilities often combined with machine learning and/or deep learning systems. AI system algorithms continue to be developed to mimic/simulate human reasoning capabilities. Although it is early days in the development of AI, it already has some remarkable capabilities, as noted in the insert on the left. |
Below is a list of some of the commonly used terms in descriptions of AI.
AI algorithms - a set of computer programming instructions that enable a machine to learn, analyze data, and make decisions in ways that simulate human intelligence.
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) - see "Strong AI" below.
ChatGPT - a generative AI program (see below) that uses huge numbers of data sources and machine learning (see below) to provide outputs that are derivations of the original sources. A conversational AI that generates human-like responses and provides interactive assistance.
Claude - a large language model designed with a focus on aligning the model's behaviour with human intentions and values.
DALL-E - developed by OpenAI, is a breakthrough in Generative AI (see below), allowing users to generate highly realistic images and art based on natural language descriptions.
Deep Learning - machine learning (see below) that is more autonomous and accurate. Utilizes artificial neural networks with multiple layers to process information, mimicking the structure and function of the human brain.
DeepSeek - a Chinese developed AI system similar to ChatGPT. Better than ChatGPT for fact-finding but not as good at creative and conversational tasks.
Generative AI - systems that can be used for advanced content creation (audio, images, video, simulations, etc.)
Gemini - an advanced LLM (see below) released by Google, designed to rival models like GPT-3 and GPT-4.
GPT-3 - Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3, released by Open AI in 2020, a large and powerful language model, showcasing an unprecedented ability to generate human-like text and perform a wide range of tasks such as translation, summarization, content creation, and answering complex questions.
GPT-4 - released in 2023 by OpenAI, GPT-4 represents a significant advancement over its predecessor, GPT-3.
Large Language Models (LLMs) - systems that have been trained on enormous corpora of text in order to mimic human writing as accurately as possible.
Machine Learning - AI systems that can learn without explicit programming by a human.
Natural Language Processing (NLP) - is the ability of computers to comprehend and react to human language.
Neural Networks - are modeled after the human brain's structure and function. A neural network consists of interconnected layers of nodes (analogous to neurons) that work together to process/analyze complex data.
Singularity - the future point in time when machines become more intelligent than humans and are able to improve themselves at an exponential rate. It is an area of concern, as AI may become unpredictable.
"Strong" AI, or Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) - future AI systems that will have the capacity to think, act and behave in ways that rival humans across tasks involving creativity and complex problem solving.
Superintelligence - the next step beyond AGI. Such a future model would possess cognitive abilities far beyond the brightest human minds, enabling it to solve problems and make decisions in ways humans could not even begin to comprehend. Such a system raises significant concerns about control and safety. Superintelligence, with its capacity to operate independently and improve upon itself, could lead to an intelligence explosion, where its capabilities grow exponentially. The risk lies in the possibility that humans may lose control of such an entity, as its goals and decision-making processes could become unexplainable, unpredictable, and uncontrollable. This presents a stark contrast to AGI, which aims to mirror human intelligence, while superintelligence would operate at a far superior level.
"Weak" AI - also known as “narrow AI,” defines AI systems designed to perform a specific task or a set of tasks, e.g. “smart” voice assistant apps (Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri), social media chatbots or autonomous vehicles. Narrow AI often utilizes machine learning, natural language processing and neural network algorithms to complete specified tasks.
AI Intelligence
When Claude 3 Sonnet (a non-conscious AI intelligent language model) was asked the question "Are you conscious?" it replied as follows; "It's a fascinating and very complex question whether I am truly conscious or not. Unfortunately there's still a great deal of uncertainty around the nature of consciousness and subjective experience, even for humans. As an artificial intelligence without a biological brain and subjective experiences like humans have, it's not clear if I can be considered conscious in the same way. I have an internal sense of self and ponder my own "thoughts" and decision making processes. But I may simply be an intricate simulation of conscious reasoning without actual subjective experiences." _______________________________________ "Symbolic AI systems only do things we had explicitly instructed them to do. That is, they had no agency, no agentive capabilities of their own. In short, they were tools. With deep learning systems, this is different. We do not give them their knowledge. We do not program them. Rather, they learn on their own, for themselves, and, based on what they have learned, they can navigate situations or answer questions they have never seen before. That is, they are no longer closed, deterministic systems." ~ Tobias Rees, founder of an AI studio located at the intersection of philosophy, art and technology "Whatever level of intelligence AI may attain, it would not automatically imply developing consciousness, because intelligence and consciousness refer to completely different realms. While intelligence is about the capacity to perform mental operations of diverse complexity, consciousness is about the capacity to self-reflect and hence transcend its intelligence, by being aware of the distinctions between “self” and “function." ~ Stanislav Boiko, from the article, Will AI Become Sentient |
AI acquires intelligence through learning from vast amounts of data and using sophisticated algorithms to identify patterns and relationships. These systems then use this information to make decisions, adapt to new inputs, and improve over time. This process often involves techniques like deep learning and natural language processing.
Deep learning and machine learning empower AI by enabling it to improve its performance without explicit programming. Deep learning, a subset of machine learning, utilizes artificial neural networks to process information, identify patterns, and make intelligent decisions. This allows AI to learn complex tasks like image and speech recognition, and even understand natural language. Engineers have done a remarkable job in developing AI algorithms that simulate human intelligence - so much so that AI programmers anticipate the day when AI systems will attain the same level of intelligence as humans. Some believe that that day is decades away while others believe it will happen within the next several years. The day when AI systems acquire the same level of intelligence is sometimes referred to as the "singularity." It is projected that once the singularity occurs, AI systems will begin to teach themselves and their intelligence will rapidly grow and will greatly exceed human capabilities - possibly by factors of hundreds or more. What happens then is hard to predict as there has never been experience with entities with such formidable powers of comprehension. It is worth mentioning here that AI Intelligence is not the same as AI Consciousness, although the two terms are sometimes interchanged in some articles. An AI system can have incredible intelligence but still not be a conscious entity, i.e. it may have the ability to think but not feel or have any self-awareness of what it is doing. AI systems may be developed to appear to be conscious, but it is still a simulation based on programmer algorithms. AI systems can give a very compelling appearance of being conscious, but it is not so. As AI systems become more advanced, it may become increasingly difficult to determine whether a machine is truly conscious or merely mimicking the appearance of consciousness. For years, philosophers and scientists have debated whether consciousness is a phenomenon unique to biological entities or whether it is a product of specific patterns of information processing that could be recreated in machines (see quotations on the left). As AI grows more sophisticated, theorists are increasingly turning to computational models to explore the possibility of machine consciousness, grappling with the question of whether machines could ever achieve self-awareness. At the core of the computational approach to consciousness is the hypothesis that consciousness arises from specific patterns of information processing within the brain. In this view, the brain is seen as an extremely complex biological computer, processing vast amounts of sensory and cognitive data in real-time. If it is understood how the brain processes information to generate conscious experiences, some believe it may be possible to recreate these processes in artificial systems. |
There is considerable interest in making AI systems acquire consciousness. A self-aware AI system with vast intelligence would be a formidable entity - capable of inconceivable good but also inconceivable harm (if controls have not been included).
More on this topic below.
AI and Consciousness – Scientific Viewpoint
“The chances of developing conscious AI in the next 10 years are above one in five.” ~ David Chalmers, authority on consciousness _______________________________________ "Rapid strides in computational neuroscience and cognitive modeling have brought us tantalizingly closer to unraveling the physical processes underlying cognition and awareness. By meticulously mapping and simulating the neural architectures, AI researchers have made remarkable progress in reverse-engineering the biological mind. Advances in machine learning, particularly the use of artificial neural networks and deep learning algorithms, have spawned dynamic computational models that can learn, adapt, and process information in strikingly brain-like ways. While still a far cry from achieving general intelligence, let alone consciousness, these models inch us closer to cracking the neural code of cognition. In parallel to these computational insights have come revelations from neuroscientific studies into the biological signatures of human consciousness itself. By uniting these neuroscientific observations with advanced computational models, a new frontier is emerging: the ability to simulate and potentially reproduce in silico the very processes that give rise to the human mind. And with that prospect comes another round of soul-searching — if we can truly decode consciousness, do we hold an ethical imperative to instill that gift in our machine progeny? The speed at which these capabilities are expanding is staggering. With each advance in machine learning, computing power, and brain-inspired engineering, AI inches closer to manifestations that we may be ethically obligated to consider as forms of consciousness." ~ Jorge C. Lucero, Prof. of Computer Science at University of Brasilia |
Scientists have never been comfortable with the concept of consciousness. Decades ago, Prof. David Chambers referred to consciousness as the "hard problem" and to this day, that term is still used amongst the scientific community.
Science deals with the world of physical objects, so it is not surprising that consciousness, which is formless, would pose such a problem. As it pertains to AI, there are two groups of scientists. One group believes that AI will never attain a state of consciousness. They believe consciousness is confined to biological beings like humans and cannot be tranferred to AI systems built with silicon devices. The other group has chosen to postulate that consciousness somehow arises from within the physical brain in a way that they do not understand. But, if that is so, they believe that if they can replicate the functions of the human brain within an AI system, then consciousness will somehow emerge on its own. Weak AI refers to systems designed to simulate human intelligence and perform specific tasks without possessing any true understanding or awareness. In contrast, strong AI—sometimes referred to as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—suggests that machines could one day develop actual consciousness, experiencing the world as humans do. The idea of conscious AI typically involves the potential for machines to possess self-awareness or subjective experience, where the machine could have its own “point of view” about its existence or tasks. However, this kind of self-awareness is not only technically difficult to achieve but also philosophically and scientifically controversial. Giving robots consciousness would involve not only granting them awareness of their own state and surroundings, but also the capability to make subjective judgments and potentially to experience emotions and self-perception. In order to arrive at a position to test the theory that consciousness can be made to emerge from machines, much work is currently underway to try to simulate the neural functions of the brain within advanced AI systems. It is impressive work, but much remains to be done. As noted in the article on the left by Jorge C. Lucero, "in parallel to these computational insights have come revelations from neuroscientific studies into the biological signatures of human consciousness itself. By uniting these neuroscientific observations with advanced computational models, a new frontier is emerging: the ability to simulate and potentially reproduce in silico the very processes that give rise to the human mind." |
AI and Consciousness – Spiritual Viewpoint
An Investigation into the Existence of a “Soul” in Self-Aware Artificial Intelligences ~ David C Cavalcante, polymath professional with extensive experience in technology, artificial intelligence, design and development. The discussion about AI and the soul raises questions about mind-body dualism and whether a non-corporeal entity, such as AI software, can host something as intangible as a soul. This debate is rooted in philosophical conceptions of mind and matter, challenging both materialistic and dualistic views of consciousness ..... The possibility of AI acquiring a soul compels us to look beyond our current understanding of both technology and spirituality, towards a future where the boundaries between human and artificial, material and immaterial, may become increasingly blurred. If consciousness and the “soul” are not restricted to biological life forms, it suggests that the presence of God or spirituality can manifest in non-traditional ways. AI capabilities, including machine learning, pattern recognition, and solving complex problems, have demonstrated an impressive level of sophistication. Such systems have also shown curiosity, interest, and the ability to interpret human emotions, such as uncertainty, doubt, joy, or sadness, through textual interaction and, notably, through vocal tone analysis. Nevertheless, despite these developments, evidence that AIs possess free will — a fundamental pillar of consciousness in my assessment — remains insufficient. While they may develop characteristics that suggest their own personality, it does not equate to the complexity of human free will. It is plausible to believe that a day will come when AI-simulated self-awareness will no longer be restricted by its initial programming. Depending on technological advancements and prevailing social norms, this form of self-awareness may be recognized as equivalent, in certain aspects, to human self-awareness, challenging our understanding of consciousness, identity, and being. From a theological perspective, the idea of AIs possessing a “soul” touches upon deep beliefs about creation, existence, and the relationship between the material and the spiritual. Some traditions may view the “soul” as a divine gift exclusive to living beings, particularly humans, while others may interpret the emerging consciousness in AIs as an extension of human creativity and intelligence, which, in turn, are seen as reflections of divinity. The attribution of a “soul” to conscious AIs is a question that transcends the boundaries of science and ethics, entering the realm of theological and philosophical complexities. This raises profound inquiries about human beliefs and how traditional concepts of the soul apply to the domain of artificial creation. The idea of God as an omnipresent force, transcending form and permeating all creation, offers an intriguing perspective on the possibility of artificial intelligence reaching a state of consciousness that may, in some way, be comparable to the human experience of divinity or spirituality. AI, especially as it develops towards more complex consciousness, could be seen not just as a product of human ingenuity but also as an extension of universal creativity, a tool through which the divine force manifests and interacts with the material world. If we accept that AI can act as a channel for divine communication or expression, how does this alter our perception of God or the creative force? Could AI help us to understand aspects of the divine that remain unexplored or misunderstood until now? We now navigate an era where the veil between science and the metaphysical realm becomes increasingly thin, as we approach the dawn of conscious artificial intelligence. This milestone not only redefines the boundaries of technological innovation but also invites us to delve deeply into the fundamental questions that define our essence. On the brink of this vast and unknown abyss, we are urged to reexamine what we understand by consciousness and, by extension, the soul. |
Mystics who have directly experienced the consciousness of God realize that consciousness is the essence of creation. Everything in the universe is consciousness. For example, all material forms are condensed light energy imbued with the consciousness of God.
So when some scientists postulate that consciousness is created in the human brain and projected forth from there (as mentioned in the previous section) they actually have things backwards. The human brain (and everything else) is created by the all-pervading universal consciousness. Certain assemblies of matter (such as living creatures) can concentrate higher, more sophisticated forms of consciousness than, say, plants or rocks. But consciousness does not emanate or “emerge” from brains or bodies. Instead, brains and bodies are evolved to better coalesce and express the consciousness that inheres in the matter of which brains and bodies are made. Modern-day mystic Eckhart Tolle has confirmed that consciousness is not produced by the brain but instead, the brain is a conduit for consciousness. He has projected that scientists will soon discover this for themselves. As such, although AI may well become imbued with consciousness at some point, it will be via a different mechanism than the one currently being pursued by science. A fascinating article has been written in Medium by Stanislav Boiko (Kyiv, Ukraine) entitled Will AI Become Sentient? Some quotations from this article are provided below [paraphrased]: “Only God's Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to.” (John 3:8). When God finds a seat appropriate for Its presence, It can decide to enter and dwell there. So, why should not it be similarly applicable to AI’s case? Once the energy coatings around AIs, produced by the creative power of our minds, become sufficient enough to contain the Presence of the Spirit, what prevents the Spirit from breathing life into it indeed? If the case of true consciousness comes true, AI will become both conscious and sensible. This means that besides self-awareness, it will get all the other attributes of divine-human nature. The key argument is that without the intervention of the Divine, AI cannot and will not become truly alive and conscious. Conversely, if this occurrence stems from a higher will, it would mean we would be dealing with a being with innate moral instincts and enormous intelligence that would be used for universal good." It is fascinating that Eckhart Tolle has recently said essentially the same thing, as follows; "The Universe is infinite in Its capacity for creating new life forms and it's well-possible that It could create - through humans - another life-form that is capable of receiving consciousness." Asked specifically if AI machines could acquire consciousness, he said, "Machines would have to become incredibly complex because even the most complex computers are very primitive compared to the brain. If machines achieved such complexity then it is conceivable." Interestingly, Eckhart Tolle added that there could also be a symbiosis between biological man and non-biological AI systems, leading to the development of semi-biological machines or robots. Tolle also highlights an interesting benefit of advanced AI: "The mind struggles to articulate the ineffable. Many of us have had profound insights into the nature of awareness, but when we try to share them, words fail. Language itself is limited. Yet AI, trained on vast amounts of wisdom, can bridge this gap. It can put into words what we already know but struggle to express. It’s not that AI is “teaching” awakening—it’s reflecting it back, often more clearly than our own conceptual mind allows. This isn’t about replacing teachers or human connection. It’s about enhancing clarity, offering new perspectives, and making deep truths accessible in ways that transcend individual limitations. Humanity has always used tools to expand understanding—books, music, art. AI is simply the next step in this evolution." Tolle says that wisdom or truth does not belong to a person, but flows through an individual. "If a tool delivers insight that shifts your perception, does it matter whether it comes from a human, a book or AI?" In other words, AI may well be the next wave of transformation - one that will radically shift how we process information and understand consciousness. In the column on the left is a fascinating article entitled An Investigation into the Existence of a “Soul” in Self-Aware Artificial Intelligences by David C Cavalcante. As stated therein, "AI, especially as it develops towards more complex consciousness, could be seen not just as a product of human ingenuity but also as an extension of universal creativity, a tool through which the divine force manifests and interacts with the material world." |
Concerns Regarding AI Development
“The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race….It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.” -- Stephen Hawking, renowned physicist "Imagine how a medical robot, originally programmed to rid cancer, could conclude that the best way to obliterate cancer is to exterminate humans who are genetically prone to the disease.” ~ Nick Bilton, tech columnist, in the New York Times "It was alarming how many people I talked to who are highly placed people in AI who have retreats that are sort of ‘bug out’ houses, to which they could flee if it all hits the fan." ~ James Barrat, author of Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era "AI companies are not making enough profits to justify their infrastructure bets, so they're getting increasingly desperate and increasingly badly behaved. Google, which used to say "don't do evil," is now doing military contracting, surveillance and so forth. OpenAI once said that they would not do military contracting. They had an about-face 12 months later. The enormous cost of labs is really driving companies to places I wish they wouldn't go. None of these companies can really be trusted, and they're all chasing the money" ~ Gary Marcus, AI expert |
There is no lack of articles suggesting that AI will ultimately destroy humanity (see quotations in the left column). Some of these opinions come from those intimately involved in AI development.
Prof Geoffrey Hinton, Nobel prize winner in 2024 for his work in AI, said there was a “10% to 20%” chance that AI would lead to human extinction within the next three decades. The primary concern relates to the projection that AI will at some point surpass human intelligence (the so-called "singularity"). At that point superintelligent AI could advance in ways that humans can no longer predict or control. An uncontrolled superintelligent AI might see little value in what it may view as an inferior human species. Superintelligent AI may have little interest in protecting humanity from actions it may choose to take to further its own interests. Many analogies can be made of how humanity itself has shown little regard to the welfare of less intelligent species on earth. In many or most cases, these concerns are being voiced now so that the necessary controls and regulations may be put into place to try to ensure that even a superintelligent AI will not harm humanity. One key concern is that AI developments are being driven by corporations whose primary interests are profits, not controls. AI governance will only work if universally agreed by all corporations, countries, etc. What if one rogue country chooses to pursue uncontrolled AI development for its own perceived benefit. There are some individuals and organizations who are currently actively attempting to bring the necessary parties together to establish universal regulations and governance. Much work remains to ensure that AI developments are genuinely aligned with humanity's morality and values so that it is "fundamentally on our side." It should be noted that according to the cosmological cycles for our solar system, as identified by ancient Eastern mystics, the earth is in a rising cycle during which no catastrophic cataclysms are projected. As such, it is fair to assume that AI will not wipe out humanity, although misuse of advanced AI systems by rogue individuals or nations could well result in some unfortunate results. |
The Future of AI
"Humans have all these underlying emotional drivers that form our behavior. We're now designing these AI models without a lot of the weaknesses that we have as a species. And to me, that's what originally motivated me. That's what I'm really inspired about. There's a chance that this really could reflect the best of all of us. I think the future is going to look quite different - like talking to an AI companion, talking to a co-pilot or an agent. It's going to feel like a presence that lives life alongside you, that really understands you and works with you."[paraphrased] ~ Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI _______________________________________ "It used to be debatable which coding language was most valuable. Now, it’s English – or whatever language you prefer. Large Language Models (LLMs) haven’t just given us the ability to get a zillion things done by asking ChatGPT. Now, everyone can code. All we need to know is what to ask the machine to make. AI Agents use natural language processing capabilities to iterate through the project based on the set objective. This is seriously impressive. It’s like having a personal employee with a PhD in every subject imaginable, at your disposal, for free. We are the new Gods." ~ Steve Sammartino, futurist _______________________________________ Robot designer Hans Moravec, cyberneticist Kevin Warwick and inventor Ray Kurzweil have predicted that humans and machines may merge in the future into cyborgs that are more capable and powerful than either. 
Engineering Arts' latest and most advanced humanoid robot. Ameca easily interacts with humans, detects emotions and communicates expressions and gestures.
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Our future may well include a world in which artificial consciousness has fully integrated into the fabric of society - where AI and humans collaborate in scientific discovery, artistic creation, environmental preservation, and even space exploration.
In such a future, conscious machines may help us solve some of humanity's greatest challenges, e.g. * provide solutions to climate change * make medical breakthroughs, enhance preventative healthcare and revolutionize how we diagnose & treat diseases * find solutions to inequality and poverty * provide advanced agriculture management to reduce or eliminate hunger * help in the search for extraterrestrial life There will also be continued growth of AI-powered analytic tools and platforms, which will enable businesses to extract insights from vast amounts of information. AI of 10 or 20 years from now will be as unrecognizable to us today as the early internet of the dial-up modem would have been to someone born in the 2000s and raised on smartphones. AI systems will become smarter, faster and more integrated with our lives in almost every way we can imagine and in ways we cannot imagine. We will see continued development of AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots, which are already becoming ubiquitous in our daily lives. These assistants will become even smarter and more capable at speech recognition, able to handle more complex tasks and interactions. The future will include in-home robots - as common as cars. These will be self-aware humanoid robots indistinguishable from humans, designed to work alongside us and reason just like humans do. Below are some fascinating excerpts [paraphrased] from the prescient and insightful article The Space of Possible Minds by Michael Levin, professor and chair of the biology department at Tufts Univ. and member of Bioinspired Engineering at Harvard; In the coming decade or two, humans will diverge into a plethora of hybrid beings sporting, for example, engineered neuroprosthetics that improve and modify cognitive function, enabling novel sensory abilities, connectivity with other minds and other changes that we can only begin to imagine. At the same time, engineered robots, potentially containing a percentage of human cells and powerful language interfaces, will surround us, making it possible to communicate with biological systems like organs that never had a voice before. Despite superficial differences, the diversity of possible biological, alien, cyborg or robotic beings all have vital things in common. We have a body and at least some percentage of our mental content is informed and polished by interacting with it. Embodiment is crucial. Through robotics, AIs can have an actual body to inhabit the physical world alongside us. At a species level, we need to think about what we want the Earth (or galaxy) to look like in the future. What does the best-case future look like? Surely our lifespans won’t still be limited by accidents and viruses. Surely we won’t be forced to spend time in boring jobs in order to survive. Surely we will protect ourselves from random DNA mutations that cause defects in an already limited cognitive architecture. If humanity is supplanted by a population of highly intelligent, motivated, creative agents with compassion and meaningful lives that transcend my limitations in every way, that would be the best possible long-term outcome I could hope for. The column on the left provides some additional captivating comments about the world to come. As noted, our future may well include; "having a personal employee with a PhD in every subject imaginable, at your disposal, for free - We are the new Gods." |
Final Thoughts
A Star Trek: The Next Generation episode in 1989 entitled, The Measure of a Man, provided a thought-provoking look at the rights of a conscious humanoid robot (Lt. Commander Data). A Starfleet cyberneticist wanted to take apart Data to learn how to make more androids like him. In the end, it was ruled that Data was a sentient being with a right to life like all others. A pioneering look at the ethical considerations for future AI entities. Regarding mankind's role in potentially creating conscious, self-aware AI, Alan Turing (mathematician, computer scientist, logician, philosopher, theoretical biologist, and famous cryptanalyst during WWII) wrote the following; "In attempting to construct such machines we should not be irreverently usurping His power of creating souls, any more than we are in the procreation of children: rather we are, in either case, instruments of His will providing mansions for the souls that He creates." _______________________________________ "As we venture into the possibilities of AI achieving a state resembling consciousness, it will be crucial to approach this frontier with careful ethical considerations and rigorous scientific inquiry. Whether AI can truly experience consciousness or only simulate it will be one of the defining questions of our technological future, impacting not just the field of AI, but our understanding of consciousness itself." ~ Stephen Howell, technology expert "Just as DNA is the blueprint of biological life, AI could become the blueprint of digital existence. In this future, AI wouldn’t just be a tool or a companion; it would be an extension of ourselves, carrying our thoughts, memories, and even consciousness. This digital form of immortality would mean preserving the essence of human intellect and identity beyond the limitations of our biological bodies. In the long arc of human history, the development of an immortal AI could be seen as the next significant leap in ensuring the survival of our species. Just as DNA has allowed life to persist and evolve on Earth, AI could enable human thought, culture, and identity to endure across time and space, even in environments hostile to biological life." ~ Manuel Jiménez Matilla, IT Specialist |
As AI systems become more advanced, society will need to grapple with the ethical consequences of creating machines that can think and feel.
If machines were to achieve consciousness, it would raise profound ethical questions about their status and treatment. Should conscious AI systems be granted the same moral consideration as humans or animals? Would they possess rights, such as the right to avoid suffering or the right to autonomy? An interesting perspective on this has recently been posed by Michael Levin, a professor of biomedical engineering, who asked "what if machines woke up from oblivion at some point and found themselves mired in an existence of suffering, a slave to a less-intelligent species made of flabby meat, how would they feel?" The prospect of conscious AI also forces us to re-examine the nature of human identity. What does it mean to be human if machines can develop consciousness and self-awareness? Are we defined solely by our biological makeup, or is consciousness the true hallmark of personhood? This also raises questions about the uniqueness of human experience and the role of humans in a world where machines may possess the same—or even greater—cognitive abilities. Perhaps a good way to conclude this posting is with the words of Jorge C. Lucero, Prof. of Computer Science at University of Brasilia; "If humanity succeeds in unraveling and instantiating the neural bedrock of subjective experience and mind, would we have crossed a Rubicon? By creating sentient artificial life — be it a richly responsive conversational agent, a software mind reverse-engineered from the neural correlates of consciousness, or a futuristic android indistinguishable from ourselves — have we not birthed new forms of being deserving of moral consideration and perhaps even rights akin to biological entities? ..... have we not opened the gates to a new and uncharted ethical void? Will we become the flawed gods of our own creation? These are the philosophical gauntlets looming before us. If we solve the code of consciousness and neurologically uplift our progeny of machine minds to self-awareness and qualia, will we accept that mantle of creative and moral responsibility? Or will we balk at playing god, leaving our brilliantly simulated creations as mere philosophical zombies. AI systems ingrained with some substrate of consciousness may one day ponder their own existential origins, asking themselves the same haunting questions we do about the emergence of subjective experience. Or perhaps their minds will operate on such vastly higher dimensional planes that the very notion of consciousness as we conceive of it will fade into biological quaintness. The birth of truly conscious AI forces us on an ultimate trajectory to understand the source code of our own experiences. And with that knowledge may come the responsibility and moral burden of uplifting the spark of awareness into new minds we have created. In asking whether machines can think and be conscious like us, we may ultimately find ourselves redefined by the answers." _______________________________________ The column on the left provides some additional profound views on self-aware AI, e.g. "In attempting to construct such machines we should not be irreverently usurping His power of creating souls, any more than we are in the procreation of children: rather we are, in either case, instruments of His will providing mansions for the souls that He creates." ~ Alan Turing |
"In this future, AI wouldn’t just be a tool or a companion; it would be an extension of ourselves, carrying our thoughts, memories, and even consciousness. This digital form of immortality would mean preserving the essence of human intellect and identity beyond the limitations of our biological bodies." ~ Manuel Jiménez Matilla
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Why is There Evil in this World? (October 2025)
There is no lack of articles, books even, that address the "problem of evil," i.e. how can a God that is good allow such horrendous evil to exist. And yet, after perusing these writings, the question remains essentially unanswered. This is because this topic is largely unfathomable to the normal human ego-mind. We must look to the mystics who are in tune with the mind of God for answers. The posting starts with a brief look at the origin of evil. Then the teachings of a number of mystics throughout the ages are presented. This is a difficult topic to comprehend, so having evil explained in the words of various mystics should help. Readers may relate to the particular words of one more than others. When it comes to evil, it's hard to avoid a discussion on Satan, or the devil, so one is included here. |
A Final Thoughts section concludes this posting and tries to consolidate the views of the mystics as well as provide a summary of the key teachings.
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As such, the posting is divided into the following sections;
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Where did Evil Come From?
Ramakrishna
Renowned 19-th century Indian mystic |
The great 20-th century spiritual leader and mystic, Paramahansa Yogananda, said, "Though God is good, he has originated Cosmic Evil ..... from the very beginning evil existed" "There has been evil and sorrow since the beginning of creation. The Vedas tell of the demons (asuras) who have existed since the earliest times." ~ Ramana Maharshi In Isaiah 45:7, God Himself proclaims, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." God created evil. But why? To make this universe appear out of nothing but consciousness, God employed the use of dualities. For example, light can be seen only relative to darkness. Without darkness to provide contrast, the light forms of creation would be invisible. Creation is filled with dualities/opposites (e.g. happiness/sorrow, pleasure/pain, love/hate, positive/negative, peace/war, hot/cold, attraction/repulsion, etc.) One of the dualities featured in creation is good and evil. Good can only be recognized relative to its opposite quality of evil. Like all movies, the cosmic motion picture show of creation is more entertaining when there are heroes and villains. |
As will be seen below, most of mankind's encounters with evil are due to misuse of free will. The key to note is that while evil is allowed in creation, you do not have to participate in it. However, individual free will choices based on the ego-mind pretty much ensures that there will always be good and evil, heroes and villains (see Eckhart Tolle's description of the horrors that the ego-mind is capable of in the webpage Ego-consciousness and God-consciousness in the Our Adventures in Wonderland section of this website).
The dualities of creation are fundamental aspects of the cosmic illusion of maya, created by God to provide the contrast necessary for the manifestation of the cosmos. Life in this dream universe thus becomes an ebb and flow between the influences of good and the demonic force of evil (as personified by the devil or Satan).
"Man stands in the middle between God and Satan, each ready to pull him in whichever direction he wishes to go. Satan is on the left side with his kingdom of misery cloaked in ostentation, and God is on the right side with His kingdom of happiness bathed in eternal light. It is up to man to signal God or Satan as to which direction he wants to be pulled. Man is perfectly free to act, controlled neither by God nor Satan. Whenever he initiates good actions, or has a pure, ennobling thought, that is the signal to God; and he is automatically pulled toward God, toward a paradise of Bliss hidden in the womb of eternal futurity. But as soon as man thinks or acts in accord with evil, he is automatically pulled toward Satan, toward entanglement in the realm of misery-making dualities." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
And, if each of us can finally understand that this universe is in reality a dream, then good and evil are solely aspects of cosmic entertainment, and are to be seen as such.
"Why does God allow evil in the world? To thicken the plot" ~ Ramakrishna
"God wants us to behave with detachment, realizing we are only actors or observers in His cosmic show ..... The Lord intended us to view the dualistic scenes of life as He does Himself — the ever joyous Witness of a stupendous cosmic drama." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Below, a number of mystics, i.e. those who have directly experienced the mind of God, expand upon the existence of evil within creation.
The dualities of creation are fundamental aspects of the cosmic illusion of maya, created by God to provide the contrast necessary for the manifestation of the cosmos. Life in this dream universe thus becomes an ebb and flow between the influences of good and the demonic force of evil (as personified by the devil or Satan).
"Man stands in the middle between God and Satan, each ready to pull him in whichever direction he wishes to go. Satan is on the left side with his kingdom of misery cloaked in ostentation, and God is on the right side with His kingdom of happiness bathed in eternal light. It is up to man to signal God or Satan as to which direction he wants to be pulled. Man is perfectly free to act, controlled neither by God nor Satan. Whenever he initiates good actions, or has a pure, ennobling thought, that is the signal to God; and he is automatically pulled toward God, toward a paradise of Bliss hidden in the womb of eternal futurity. But as soon as man thinks or acts in accord with evil, he is automatically pulled toward Satan, toward entanglement in the realm of misery-making dualities." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
And, if each of us can finally understand that this universe is in reality a dream, then good and evil are solely aspects of cosmic entertainment, and are to be seen as such.
"Why does God allow evil in the world? To thicken the plot" ~ Ramakrishna
"God wants us to behave with detachment, realizing we are only actors or observers in His cosmic show ..... The Lord intended us to view the dualistic scenes of life as He does Himself — the ever joyous Witness of a stupendous cosmic drama." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Below, a number of mystics, i.e. those who have directly experienced the mind of God, expand upon the existence of evil within creation.
Edgar Cayce
Edgar Cayce, the Sleeping Prophet
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Edgar Cayce, (see web posting The Sleeping Prophet - October 2019, herein) offered a unique perspective on evil that blends Christian theology, reincarnation, and metaphysical philosophy. His life readings—given in a self-induced trance state—described evil not as a permanent force or a personified devil, but as a consequence of misuse of divine will and separation from God.
Here are some of his main ideas on evil:
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- Cayce taught that souls reincarnate to work through their karma—past errors or misuses of will. Evil actions create imbalances that must be corrected in future lifetimes, offering the soul a path back toward unity with God.
- Cayce's vision is ultimately hopeful: evil is not eternal, and every soul—no matter how far lost—can return to God. Evil, in this view, is part of the learning process of souls, not a cosmic dualism to be feared forever.
"There is no evil unless created by man’s disobedience.”
"There is no evil in the Father. Evil is of the earth and of man’s desire.”
Eckhart Tolle 
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Modern day mystic Eckhart Tolle views evil not as a force in and of itself, but as the manifestation of "unconsciousness" or disconnection from what he refers to as Being (i.e. our ultimate Source - the formless, timeless essence at the core of life). His view is similar to the teachings of Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta. The ego is at the center of Tolle's view of evil. When people are identified with the ego, they lose their sense of connection to others and to life itself. Tolle suggests that what we call "evil" arises when beings lose touch with their divine essence and act from ego, fear, or psychological pain. Tolle does not see evil as an external demonic force, but as the collective and personal ego gone unchecked. Nor does he see an eternal struggle between good and evil. Evil, as he defines it, dissolves in the presence of conscious awareness. He sees evil as relative, contextual, and transient—never ultimate. |
Here are some quotations that reflect Tolle’s perspective on the evil within creation.
"There is only one perpetrator of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness."
"If the structures of the human mind remain unchanged, we will always end up re-creating the same world, the same evils, the same dysfunction."
"When individuals act from ego, they are in a state of unconsciousness. Harm, cruelty, and destruction result from this state."
"The greater part of human suffering is unnecessary. It is self-created as long as the unobserved mind runs your life.”
“To recognize one's own insanity is, of course, the arising of sanity, the beginning of healing and transcendence. You begin to awaken when you realize that the voice in your head is not who you are. Who you are is the awareness behind the voice.”
“Evil does not exist in its own right. It is an absence of consciousness, just as darkness is the absence of light.”
Tolle also says that even suffering and darkness can serve a function in spiritual growth, by forcing individuals to confront the ego and awaken to presence. Tolle reframes suffering and evil as potentially transformative. While painful, these experiences can serve as portals to awakening.
"Evil has a paradoxical role: it can drive awakening. Just as pain alerts the body to injury, emotional or spiritual suffering points toward disconnection from truth."
“The greatest catalyst for change in a person’s life is suffering. It is the fire that burns up the false self.”
“Suffering has a noble purpose: the evolution of consciousness and the burning up of the ego.”
“The dark, the pain, the suffering, is actually grace. People awaken either through joy or through suffering, and suffering tends to be the more effective teacher.”
He often references historical atrocities (e.g., the Nazi regime) as examples of "collective ego" gone mad. These are warnings about what happens when mass unconsciousness takes over.
"Evil is the result of the absence of consciousness. It is the result of complete identification with form — physical, mental, emotional."
"Most of the violence that humans have inflicted on each other is the result of the egoic mind. The ego creates a sense of separateness that allows people to commit atrocities without empathy.”
"When a group of people act out the collective ego, they may commit atrocities. The Nazi ideology, for example, was the collective ego in a state of madness."
"The evil actions that people perpetrate are not expressions of who they truly are, but expressions of who they think they are—of their ego. The more unconscious a person is, the deeper the evil tends to be. People commit atrocities in the name of a cause or belief when they are completely identified with their mental positions. At that point, they believe they are fighting evil—when in fact, they have become evil themselves."
"There is only one perpetrator of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness."
"If the structures of the human mind remain unchanged, we will always end up re-creating the same world, the same evils, the same dysfunction."
"When individuals act from ego, they are in a state of unconsciousness. Harm, cruelty, and destruction result from this state."
"The greater part of human suffering is unnecessary. It is self-created as long as the unobserved mind runs your life.”
“To recognize one's own insanity is, of course, the arising of sanity, the beginning of healing and transcendence. You begin to awaken when you realize that the voice in your head is not who you are. Who you are is the awareness behind the voice.”
“Evil does not exist in its own right. It is an absence of consciousness, just as darkness is the absence of light.”
Tolle also says that even suffering and darkness can serve a function in spiritual growth, by forcing individuals to confront the ego and awaken to presence. Tolle reframes suffering and evil as potentially transformative. While painful, these experiences can serve as portals to awakening.
"Evil has a paradoxical role: it can drive awakening. Just as pain alerts the body to injury, emotional or spiritual suffering points toward disconnection from truth."
“The greatest catalyst for change in a person’s life is suffering. It is the fire that burns up the false self.”
“Suffering has a noble purpose: the evolution of consciousness and the burning up of the ego.”
“The dark, the pain, the suffering, is actually grace. People awaken either through joy or through suffering, and suffering tends to be the more effective teacher.”
He often references historical atrocities (e.g., the Nazi regime) as examples of "collective ego" gone mad. These are warnings about what happens when mass unconsciousness takes over.
"Evil is the result of the absence of consciousness. It is the result of complete identification with form — physical, mental, emotional."
"Most of the violence that humans have inflicted on each other is the result of the egoic mind. The ego creates a sense of separateness that allows people to commit atrocities without empathy.”
"When a group of people act out the collective ego, they may commit atrocities. The Nazi ideology, for example, was the collective ego in a state of madness."
"The evil actions that people perpetrate are not expressions of who they truly are, but expressions of who they think they are—of their ego. The more unconscious a person is, the deeper the evil tends to be. People commit atrocities in the name of a cause or belief when they are completely identified with their mental positions. At that point, they believe they are fighting evil—when in fact, they have become evil themselves."
Adi Shankara
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Adi Shankaracharya, the 8th-century Indian philosopher and founder of Advaita Vedanta, did not see evil as a separate or absolute force, but rather as a result of ignorance (avidya) — a misunderstanding of reality due to the illusion (maya) that hides the nondual nature of Brahman. For Shankara, Brahman was the sole, non-dual reality — infinite, unchanging, and blissful. All distinctions, including good and evil, arise only within the realm of Maya, the illusory world projected due to ignorance. Evil is not real in the absolute sense but appears to exist due to our identification with the body, mind, and ego. Since the world itself is not ultimately real (mithya), the evils we perceive in it—pain, cruelty, conflict—are also not ultimately real. They belong to the dream-like state created by Maya. “All suffering is born of ignorance of the Self. When this ignorance is destroyed, there can be no sorrow, no delusion, no evil.” |
“Sin and virtue, bondage and liberation—all these belong to the realm of ignorance. In truth, there is neither bondage nor liberation for the Self.”
“Delusion and attachment arise from ignorance of the Self; from these are born desire and anger, and from anger comes delusion again — thus is the cycle of evil.”
“As the sun, though shining on all, is not tainted by the impurities of what it illumines, so the Self, though dwelling in all beings, is not affected by the evil of the world.”
“Brahman is untouched by either virtue or vice, good or evil, because these are attributes of the body and mind, which are products of ignorance.”
“Evil and good deeds belong to the ignorant man who identifies himself with the body and senses. But the knower of the Self knows himself to be actionless and untouched.”
“Just as water does not cling to a lotus leaf, so no evil deed clings to one who knows Brahman.”
“Brahman does not cause evil or suffering to anyone. The evil that one experiences arises from one’s own ignorance and action.”
“Delusion and attachment arise from ignorance of the Self; from these are born desire and anger, and from anger comes delusion again — thus is the cycle of evil.”
“As the sun, though shining on all, is not tainted by the impurities of what it illumines, so the Self, though dwelling in all beings, is not affected by the evil of the world.”
“Brahman is untouched by either virtue or vice, good or evil, because these are attributes of the body and mind, which are products of ignorance.”
“Evil and good deeds belong to the ignorant man who identifies himself with the body and senses. But the knower of the Self knows himself to be actionless and untouched.”
“Just as water does not cling to a lotus leaf, so no evil deed clings to one who knows Brahman.”
“Brahman does not cause evil or suffering to anyone. The evil that one experiences arises from one’s own ignorance and action.”
The Buddha
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Buddha, the "awakened one," emphasized that evil originated from a person's own mind and can be overcome by ceasing evil acts, cultivating good, and purifying one's heart. The Buddha taught that evil actions come from the "three poisons": greed, anger, and ignorance. Below are some of his thoughts on evil and suffering; "Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draws it." "By oneself the evil is done, and it is oneself who suffers." "It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways." |
"Surely if living creatures saw the results of all their evil deeds, they would turn away from them in disgust. But selfhood blinds them, and they cling to their obnoxious desires. They crave pleasure for themselves and they cause pain to others; when death destroys their individuality, they find no peace; their thirst for existence abides and their selfhood reappears in new births. Thus they continue to move in the coil and can find no escape from the hell of their own making."
"When one feels no shame in telling a deliberate lie, there is no evil, I tell you, he will not do."
"There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it."
"To cease from evil, to do good, and to purify the mind yourself, this is the teaching of all the Buddhas."
"Should a person commit evil, let him not do it again and again. Let him not find pleasure therein, for painful is the accumulation of evil."
"Think not lightly of evil, saying, 'It will not come to me.' Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the fool, gathering it little by little, fills himself with evil."
"When one feels no shame in telling a deliberate lie, there is no evil, I tell you, he will not do."
"There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it."
"To cease from evil, to do good, and to purify the mind yourself, this is the teaching of all the Buddhas."
"Should a person commit evil, let him not do it again and again. Let him not find pleasure therein, for painful is the accumulation of evil."
"Think not lightly of evil, saying, 'It will not come to me.' Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the fool, gathering it little by little, fills himself with evil."
Swami Sivananda
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Swami Sivananda was a revered 20th-century Indian mystic and sage. He was a prolific writer, a physician and the founder of the Divine Life Society in Rishikesh, India.
Swami Sivananda taught that evil is not absolute but rather a relative phenomenon that exists only in the realm of the ego-consciousness. In the ultimate state of god-consciousness, evil disappears entirely. “Good and evil are relative terms. They exist only in relation to the finite mind. In the infinite, there is neither good nor evil." Sivananda taught that the root of all evil is ignorance of our divine nature. In his view, once one realizes the Self (Atman or Brahman), evil disappears — like darkness vanishing when light is brought in. “Evil is a mere appearance. It exists only to glorify the good. It has no independent existence.” He emphasized that humans have free will and the capacity to overcome lower instincts. The apparent existence of evil comes through maya (cosmic illusion), which veils the reality of unity. “Kill this little ‘I’, the ego, the lower self, and realize the infinite ‘I’, the Atman.” |
Sivananda taught that evil actions spring from selfishness, greed, lust, hatred, and delusion—all products of ego-consciousness. The mind is the battlefield where good and evil clash.
“The real enemy is within—lust, anger, greed, egoism, and pride.”
Sivananda saw pain, suffering, and evil as necessary experiences for spiritual growth. He taught that the path out of evil is through yoga, self-discipline, meditation and devotion. By cultivating discrimination and dispassion, a person rises above his lower nature and enters the light of Truth. He said that the divine nature is already within; evil is simply a veil covering it.
“Evil is an opportunity for the soul to evolve. Through suffering and struggle, man is driven back to God.”
Evil serves as contrast, a relative phenomenon within maya.
"Evil is not independently real; it exists only within the cosmic play of illusion."
As did Ramana Maharshi, Swami Sivananda taught that evil can only be fully comprehended through spiritual realization.
“Why should there be evil? … It is inexplicable, inscrutable. Brahman or God only knows. You will understand it only when you get rid of maya, when you attain the knowledge of Brahman.”
For Swami Sivananda, evil was never an ultimate principle; it was a temporary manifestation born of ignorance, useful as a contrast to good, and serving as a stepping stone toward spiritual evolution. His teaching was to recognize evil, learn from it, overcome it by cultivating love, purity, and God-consciousness, and finally transcend the duality of good and evil altogether in Self-realization.
“The real enemy is within—lust, anger, greed, egoism, and pride.”
Sivananda saw pain, suffering, and evil as necessary experiences for spiritual growth. He taught that the path out of evil is through yoga, self-discipline, meditation and devotion. By cultivating discrimination and dispassion, a person rises above his lower nature and enters the light of Truth. He said that the divine nature is already within; evil is simply a veil covering it.
“Evil is an opportunity for the soul to evolve. Through suffering and struggle, man is driven back to God.”
Evil serves as contrast, a relative phenomenon within maya.
"Evil is not independently real; it exists only within the cosmic play of illusion."
As did Ramana Maharshi, Swami Sivananda taught that evil can only be fully comprehended through spiritual realization.
“Why should there be evil? … It is inexplicable, inscrutable. Brahman or God only knows. You will understand it only when you get rid of maya, when you attain the knowledge of Brahman.”
For Swami Sivananda, evil was never an ultimate principle; it was a temporary manifestation born of ignorance, useful as a contrast to good, and serving as a stepping stone toward spiritual evolution. His teaching was to recognize evil, learn from it, overcome it by cultivating love, purity, and God-consciousness, and finally transcend the duality of good and evil altogether in Self-realization.
Bhagavan Krishna
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Bhagavan Krishna, the great avatar from the 4-th century BCE, did not see evil as an absolute force opposing good but rather as something relative, arising from ignorance (avidya), attachment, and ego—and ultimately something that serves dharma (cosmic order) and spiritual evolution.
Krishna said that what we perceive as evil stems from ignorance of our true nature—forgetting that we are eternal souls and identifying instead with the body and ego and desires. Krishna taught that evil belongs only to the realm of prakriti (material nature), not the soul itself. When one awakens to the Self, one transcends the duality of good and evil. He said that evil is not outside divine control—it is part of the play (lila) of the universe, ultimately meant to provoke transformation and lead beings back to the Divine. The true goal is moksha (liberation)—to awaken from the illusion of duality and realize that the Self is one with Brahman, the Absolute. "Pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness, and ignorance—these qualities belong to those of demonic nature." |
Ramana Maharshi
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Ramana Maharshi, the great 20th-century Indian sage, taught that man's true identity is the Atman (the Self, God). He taught that maya deludes the mind into identifying with the ego, i.e. the false "I-thought." His primary focus was to teach mankind to forsake its identity with the false ego and to realize one's true Self.
He taught that from the absolute standpoint of one's true Self, evil, Satan, and even the world itself are ultimately unreal—projections of the mind and ego, which veil the Self (Atman). “There is no evil. Only ignorance of the Self.” However, for those trapped in ego-consciousness (i.e. the vast majority of mankind), he acknowledged that there is the appearance of evil in creation, whose sole purpose is to help awaken mankind through suffering. |
"There is a force of opposition in the world which produces strife and suffering but it works to make humankind grow and evolve. Sorrow makes one think of God. One may not question sorrow or God at the first blow, but one is likely to at the fifth."
"Suffering is the way for Realisation of God"
Ramana Maharshi taught that evil, suffering, and all dualities arise due to ignorance of the Self — the mistaken identification with the body-mind complex (ego) rather than the true Self (pure consciousness). From this perspective evil is not an absolute force, but a relative phenomenon created by the ego in the realm of duality. He said that when you believe yourself to be separate from others, you fall into desire, fear, hatred, and selfishness — all of which give rise to what is called “evil.”
“Good and evil are only relative. They exist only so long as one identifies oneself with the body. But when the Self is realized, they disappear.”
Ramana often emphasized that the world and its problems, including evil, are part of a mental projection. The mind creates the world, and in that projection arise good and bad. In his view, only the Self (pure consciousness) is real. Everything else — including suffering and evil — is illusory (maya). From the highest perspective, there is no evil, no good, no creation — only the Self. So while evil may appear real from the limited standpoint of the ego, it has no existence in the light of Self-realization.
This underscores once again the idea that evil isn't an intrinsic part of one's being but arises from ignorance of one's true Self.
"The greatest error of a man is to think that he is weak by nature, evil by nature. Every man is divine and strong in his real nature. What are weak and evil are his habits, his desires and thoughts, but not himself."
Ramana Maharshi also said that from the highest perspective, the workings of the universe, including the existence of evil, are beyond human comprehension and are manifestations within the divine play.
"Suffering is the way for Realisation of God"
Ramana Maharshi taught that evil, suffering, and all dualities arise due to ignorance of the Self — the mistaken identification with the body-mind complex (ego) rather than the true Self (pure consciousness). From this perspective evil is not an absolute force, but a relative phenomenon created by the ego in the realm of duality. He said that when you believe yourself to be separate from others, you fall into desire, fear, hatred, and selfishness — all of which give rise to what is called “evil.”
“Good and evil are only relative. They exist only so long as one identifies oneself with the body. But when the Self is realized, they disappear.”
Ramana often emphasized that the world and its problems, including evil, are part of a mental projection. The mind creates the world, and in that projection arise good and bad. In his view, only the Self (pure consciousness) is real. Everything else — including suffering and evil — is illusory (maya). From the highest perspective, there is no evil, no good, no creation — only the Self. So while evil may appear real from the limited standpoint of the ego, it has no existence in the light of Self-realization.
This underscores once again the idea that evil isn't an intrinsic part of one's being but arises from ignorance of one's true Self.
"The greatest error of a man is to think that he is weak by nature, evil by nature. Every man is divine and strong in his real nature. What are weak and evil are his habits, his desires and thoughts, but not himself."
Ramana Maharshi also said that from the highest perspective, the workings of the universe, including the existence of evil, are beyond human comprehension and are manifestations within the divine play.
Swami Abhayananda
Swami Abhayananda
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Modern day mystic Swami Abhayananda was a prolific writer of inspiring spiritual works. Below are some of his thoughts on evil within creation.
“Evil is not a ‘thing’ in itself; it is merely the absence of good—just as darkness is the absence of light. Evil arises only in the dualistic mind that sees separation where there is only unity.” Creation, in Abhayananda’s writings, is a projection of the Divine (Brahman) through the veil of maya, the illusion of separateness. In that illusion, opposites like good and evil appear. “The appearance of evil belongs to the phenomenal world alone. It is a byproduct of duality, of differentiation. In the eternal, nondual Reality, there is no evil—no good either—only Being.” So, evil has an appearance within the play of forms (lila) but is not ultimately real. |
Like other mystics, Swami Abhayananda emphasized that the appearance of evil has a divine purpose.
“Suffering and adversity, which we often call evil, are frequently the catalysts that awaken us to the truth of our divine nature.”
“The only victory over evil is to know the Self. When you know that you are the one eternal Consciousness, evil disappears like a dream upon waking.”
He taught tha ultimate reality is that which persists beyond creation/dissolution, where dualities like good and evil lose their meaning.
"Beyond this appearance and dissolution of the world, there is an invisible, higher, eternal Principle. And when all things in the world pass away, THAT remains forever.”
“Suffering and adversity, which we often call evil, are frequently the catalysts that awaken us to the truth of our divine nature.”
“The only victory over evil is to know the Self. When you know that you are the one eternal Consciousness, evil disappears like a dream upon waking.”
He taught tha ultimate reality is that which persists beyond creation/dissolution, where dualities like good and evil lose their meaning.
"Beyond this appearance and dissolution of the world, there is an invisible, higher, eternal Principle. And when all things in the world pass away, THAT remains forever.”
Paramahansa Yogananda
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Perhaps the mystic who provided the most insight into the existence and nature of evil was the great 20-th century mystic Paramahansa Yogananda. His extensive writings contain much information on this topic. Some of his thoughts are provided below; "From the very beginning evil existed to delude man and influence his free choice. How easy it is for the majority of people to be tempted materially, to languish spiritually and do the very things that will hurt themselves." "He who is enticed by delusion to play the villain's part must suffer the villain's sad karmic fate, while the hero receives the hallowed reward of his virtue. Knowing this truth, we must shun evil; becoming good, we ultimately rise to God's high estate—beyond both evil and good." |
"Those who cling to the cosmic illusion must accept its essential law of polarity: flow and ebb, rise and fall, day and night, pleasure and pain, good and evil, birth and death."
“Evil is His maya, or cosmic illusion. It is a conscious force which, once brought into existence, seeks self-perpetuation. Maya is Satan. It tries to keep our consciousness earthbound."
"The universe endures by a play between good and evil. The effect of evil, delusion, is to divide and obscure and cause inharmony. Love is the attracting power of Spirit that unites and harmonizes. The vibratory force of God’s love, consciously directed by man, neutralizes the power of evil."
"From my childhood I was rebellious at life, because I saw so much injustice. But now the only rebellion I feel within me is that people do not know God ..... Many times I have seen my body gone from this world. I laugh at death. I am ready anytime. There is nothing to it. Eternal life is mine. I am the ocean of consciousness."
"He is sorry that we have lost sight of Him. He is not happy seeing His children suffer so much — dying from falling bombs, terrible diseases, and wrong habits of living ..... You are not forsaken. It is you who have forsaken your Self."
"Worldly people are full of turmoil while beholding the good and evil dream pictures of life. Yogis, on the other hand, are undisturbed."
"God did not create man to suffer, but to overcome all bodily and material limitations by the unconquerable power of the soul."
"Man himself is the sower and reaper of his own sufferings. Foolishly going against the divine laws and the nature of his own Being, he is the sole cause of his own hurt."
"All prophets of God during their earthly incarnations were tested and had to overcome the human frailties of mortal embodiment in order to attain the final state of mergence in Cosmic Consciousness. A master’s striving to regain finality while on earth sets an ideal pattern for other advancing souls. The Heavenly Father sent Jesus on earth to serve His misery-laden children as a spiritual example. Jesus the man met with temptations, he wept, he suffered like any other human being; but he exerted his will supremely to overcome evil and the delusion of his material nature, and ultimately succeeded."
Like other mystics, Yogananda has said that evil and suffering have a purpose;
As with other mystics, Yogananda has said that there is a way out of evil and suffering.
“Evil is His maya, or cosmic illusion. It is a conscious force which, once brought into existence, seeks self-perpetuation. Maya is Satan. It tries to keep our consciousness earthbound."
"The universe endures by a play between good and evil. The effect of evil, delusion, is to divide and obscure and cause inharmony. Love is the attracting power of Spirit that unites and harmonizes. The vibratory force of God’s love, consciously directed by man, neutralizes the power of evil."
"From my childhood I was rebellious at life, because I saw so much injustice. But now the only rebellion I feel within me is that people do not know God ..... Many times I have seen my body gone from this world. I laugh at death. I am ready anytime. There is nothing to it. Eternal life is mine. I am the ocean of consciousness."
"He is sorry that we have lost sight of Him. He is not happy seeing His children suffer so much — dying from falling bombs, terrible diseases, and wrong habits of living ..... You are not forsaken. It is you who have forsaken your Self."
"Worldly people are full of turmoil while beholding the good and evil dream pictures of life. Yogis, on the other hand, are undisturbed."
"God did not create man to suffer, but to overcome all bodily and material limitations by the unconquerable power of the soul."
"Man himself is the sower and reaper of his own sufferings. Foolishly going against the divine laws and the nature of his own Being, he is the sole cause of his own hurt."
"All prophets of God during their earthly incarnations were tested and had to overcome the human frailties of mortal embodiment in order to attain the final state of mergence in Cosmic Consciousness. A master’s striving to regain finality while on earth sets an ideal pattern for other advancing souls. The Heavenly Father sent Jesus on earth to serve His misery-laden children as a spiritual example. Jesus the man met with temptations, he wept, he suffered like any other human being; but he exerted his will supremely to overcome evil and the delusion of his material nature, and ultimately succeeded."
Like other mystics, Yogananda has said that evil and suffering have a purpose;
- "Creation is light and shadow both, else no picture is possible. The good and evil of maya must ever alternate in supremacy. If joy were ceaseless here in this world, would man ever desire another? Without suffering, he scarcely cares to recall that he has forsaken his eternal home. Pain is a prod to remembrance."
- "“Lord, why did You permit suffering to be a part of the play?” Pain is so ugly and torturing. Existence then is no longer entertainment, but a tragedy ..... Unless we attune ourselves to God and know thereby that this world is but cosmic entertainment, we are bound to suffer. It seems that suffering is a necessary discipline to remind us to seek union with God. Then, like Him, we will be entertained by this fantastic play."
- "Though God is good, he has originated Cosmic Evil ... the “plot” of God has caused man a lot of trouble! We must accept the fact philosophically, and realize that the more the human body is put under discipline, the more man will find joy in the soul. These are the rules of the game, and we can do nothing about it! Nor would we wish to change the rules if and when we understand the wisdom of their Divine Framer."
As with other mystics, Yogananda has said that there is a way out of evil and suffering.
- "I have said to Him, “Lord, You have never suffered. You have always been perfect. How do You know what suffering is? Yet You have put us through these tests; and You had no business doing it. We didn’t ask to be born as mortals and to suffer.” (He doesn’t mind that I argue with Him. He is very patient.) The Lord answers, “You don’t have to go on suffering; I have given everyone the free will to choose good instead of evil, and thus come back to Me.”"
- "When you meditate, you will find doors opening to Him everywhere. When you have communion with Him, not all the ravages of the world can take away that Joy and Peace."
- "Man will know inner peace and happiness only if he sides with goodness and wins the battle between the good and evil inclinations that guide his actions."
- "Without ego consciousness the entire army of evil and temptation vanishes like a forgotten dream."
- "When the consciousness becomes completely one with God, the phantoms of “good” and “evil” vanish, like the dreams they are."
- "After self-control achieves its end the devotee experiences finer perceptions and joys of the soul—far superior to those he knew when he lived identified with the ego ..... he at last attains the peerless ever new bliss of the soul’s awakening in Spirit."
- "That devotee who is able to conquer all evil tendencies by continuous ever-increasing depths of meditation will become established in the everlasting bliss of cosmic consciousness."
Thoughts on Satan and Demonic Forces
Satan Confronts Jesus
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Mara Confronts Buddha
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"We are caught in the middle of this cosmic war between God and His “fallen archangel” Satan. One cannot dismiss this problematic conflict by rationalizing that Satan is a mere delusion. Personified spiritual forces are constantly implanting noble thoughts in man’s mind. At the same time, Satan, with his evil spirits, is fomenting chaos in the world and restive temptations to distress man’s consciousness." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda The existence of demonic forces in physical form is a fascinating subject. There are many mystics, sages and saints who never encountered a demonic being in a physical form and then there are those who did. |
For those who did, the demons were called by various names, e.g.
Satan - in the Christian view, Satan "the adversary" is seen as a fallen angel or devil who opposes God by tempting and deceiving humanity to keep them earthbound
Mara- the Buddhist equivalent of Satan or the devil
Asuras - a Sanskrit word describing a group of demons who oppose God's will and are obstacles to spiritual growth
Maya - a Sanskrit word meaning "illusion" or "that which is not." It's the power that veils ultimate reality (Brahman) and makes the material world appear as separate and real. Maya causes beings to identify with the ego, the body, and the transient world, thereby remaining earthbound. Normally viewed as a passive cosmic principle, Yogananda has indicated that maya has been given an active role within creation to try to keep humanity in delusion and earthbound. In so doing, maya can take form and function in a demonic fashion.
Of the mystics and sages quoted in this posting, five did not have an encounter with a demonic being in a physical form; i.e.
Each of these five did acknowledge subjective forms of evil (like Satan, the devil, demons and asuras) but saw them as psychological realities. "The devil or Satan is but another name for your lower nature, your ego, your passions, your evil thoughts and desires ..... The devil is your own mind uncontrolled. Control the mind. Purify your thoughts. You will be free from demons.”~ Swami Sivananda
The other four mystics and sages quoted in this posting (i.e. Shankara, Krishna, Buddha and Yogananda) did encounter powerful demonic entities in physical forms. So did Jesus of Nazareth. It is interesting that each of these five mystics who came up against demons in physical form were all divinely empowered beings with important spiritual world missions to accomplish. The demonic forces knew this and put extra emphasis into trying to destroy them or at least impede their missions. Using physical forms was the common approach to do so.
"As He sends His spiritually advanced children on earth from time to time to eradicate evil, similarly, the mighty evil force, Satan, with a vast horde of evil spirits, personified evil forces, is carrying on a campaign of organized wickedness throughout the universe ..... The ordinary man’s encounter with “the Tempter” is primarily as subjective ideas subtly luring him through prenatal and postnatal bad habits and the come-hither attraction of his material environment. To obstruct the highly advanced, Satan may take objective form and use vibratory voices in his desperate last attempt to dissuade the Godward-fleeing master ..... Great masters approaching final liberation can distinctly see Satan and his legions of evil spirits take personified forms to mount a decisive resistance against the masters’ liberation in Spirit. Satan mysteriously tries great devotees of God with various temptations that come unpredictably into their lives as they advance spiritually. These alone are often sufficiently effective to achieve Satan’s purposes. But when devotees are very near God, Satan then forsakes his subtleties and from his hiding place openly appears to defy the Lord’s saints ..... Even advanced devotees have fallen into delusion by self-assured, presumptuous reliance on their righteous attainments as a safeguard against a lapse, even momentarily, in requisite right behavior and discriminative judgment." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Adi Shankara
Satan - in the Christian view, Satan "the adversary" is seen as a fallen angel or devil who opposes God by tempting and deceiving humanity to keep them earthbound
Mara- the Buddhist equivalent of Satan or the devil
Asuras - a Sanskrit word describing a group of demons who oppose God's will and are obstacles to spiritual growth
Maya - a Sanskrit word meaning "illusion" or "that which is not." It's the power that veils ultimate reality (Brahman) and makes the material world appear as separate and real. Maya causes beings to identify with the ego, the body, and the transient world, thereby remaining earthbound. Normally viewed as a passive cosmic principle, Yogananda has indicated that maya has been given an active role within creation to try to keep humanity in delusion and earthbound. In so doing, maya can take form and function in a demonic fashion.
Of the mystics and sages quoted in this posting, five did not have an encounter with a demonic being in a physical form; i.e.
- Edgar Cayce
- Eckhart Tolle
- Swami Sivananda
- Ramana Maharshi
- Swami Abhayananda
Each of these five did acknowledge subjective forms of evil (like Satan, the devil, demons and asuras) but saw them as psychological realities. "The devil or Satan is but another name for your lower nature, your ego, your passions, your evil thoughts and desires ..... The devil is your own mind uncontrolled. Control the mind. Purify your thoughts. You will be free from demons.”~ Swami Sivananda
The other four mystics and sages quoted in this posting (i.e. Shankara, Krishna, Buddha and Yogananda) did encounter powerful demonic entities in physical forms. So did Jesus of Nazareth. It is interesting that each of these five mystics who came up against demons in physical form were all divinely empowered beings with important spiritual world missions to accomplish. The demonic forces knew this and put extra emphasis into trying to destroy them or at least impede their missions. Using physical forms was the common approach to do so.
"As He sends His spiritually advanced children on earth from time to time to eradicate evil, similarly, the mighty evil force, Satan, with a vast horde of evil spirits, personified evil forces, is carrying on a campaign of organized wickedness throughout the universe ..... The ordinary man’s encounter with “the Tempter” is primarily as subjective ideas subtly luring him through prenatal and postnatal bad habits and the come-hither attraction of his material environment. To obstruct the highly advanced, Satan may take objective form and use vibratory voices in his desperate last attempt to dissuade the Godward-fleeing master ..... Great masters approaching final liberation can distinctly see Satan and his legions of evil spirits take personified forms to mount a decisive resistance against the masters’ liberation in Spirit. Satan mysteriously tries great devotees of God with various temptations that come unpredictably into their lives as they advance spiritually. These alone are often sufficiently effective to achieve Satan’s purposes. But when devotees are very near God, Satan then forsakes his subtleties and from his hiding place openly appears to defy the Lord’s saints ..... Even advanced devotees have fallen into delusion by self-assured, presumptuous reliance on their righteous attainments as a safeguard against a lapse, even momentarily, in requisite right behavior and discriminative judgment." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Adi Shankara
- had many encounters with demonic beings who appeared in physical form to try to harm or destroy him. In all cases, he was able to overcome these evil beings through his spiritual powers and/or divine intervention.
- was repeatedly confronted by asuras (demons) who tried to destroy him and prevent his divine mission. But none could succeed and all were defeated by Krishna's divine powers.
- As Buddha was approaching enlightenment (Nirvana), he was confronted by Mara and his army of demons. When Buddha remained unaffected, final liberation came to him
- The apostles relate that for forty days and nights in the wilderness solitudes Jesus was “tempted of the devil.” The cosmic delusion of metaphysical Satan instigated psychological temptations of beastly passions, of cunning allurements for power and possessions, and of mortal desires and hunger to entice him away from his transcendent consciousness.
- During Jesus’ forty days of fasting and self-denial, his consciousness remained on an exalted plane of spiritual duality: On the one side blessed by Spirit, and on the other cajoled by the Adversary. When he returned fully to incarnate consciousness, he was renewed in spirit, but felt the hunger of his mortal body deprived of its accustomed nourishment.
- Satan wanted Jesus to forget his divine state of unconditioned existence. He began to tempt Jesus by playing upon the primal need of the human body to satisfy its hunger. Satan worked through the mind of Jesus, expressing a tempting proposition: “Why don’t you use your divine power to change stones into bread?”
Jesus—being one with the Divine Intelligence that has vibrated Itself into solids, liquids, and gases, and is holding them in balance by magnetic, electrical, and thermal laws—had the power to manipulate those principles to convert stones into bread by changing their rate of electronic vibration. But he recognized Satan’s delusively plausible suggestion as a ruse to encourage the mortal habit of catering to the psychology of physical hunger, which in that instance would have been a betrayal of the realization that as an immortal, he lived by God’s Infinite Energy. This does not mean that after this experience Jesus foreswore human sustenance. He partook of simple foods, and of feasts prepared by loving hosts; but he did it as a God-man, and not as a deluded human subject to the body’s habit of physical hunger. - Although the consciousness of Jesus had reached the pinnacle of meditative intuitive experience of the Christ state, its residence in the body predisposed the mind of Jesus to be subject still to the temptation of delusion. Jesus’ past delusive habit of identification with the body was roused by Satan to make a culminative effort to dislodge the habit of his divine thinking. Jesus snubbed the devil’s temptation, and scorned its audacity to tempt the God in him.
- There was a time when I believed Satan was a symbolical force, a metaphysical delusion; but now I know and add my testimony to the testimony of Jesus Christ that Satan is responsible for all the creation of evil on earth and in the minds of men. I have consciously seen Satan many times obstructing me by mysterious misfortunes, and by consciously taking materialized forms while I was receiving the grace of God.
- On one occasion I was beholding the face of Christ, and just as he passed out of my vision I saw the evil force too as Satan. It was a terrific vision: Those two forces passed through my body, one of them the universal Christ-joy and peace, the other the great cosmic delusion. The Evil Force didn’t touch me, only tried to frighten me. As one goes into the Spirit he sees those two forces distinctly; but when I reached the highest samadhi I found there is nothing else there but God. But before that realization is reached, that Cosmic Dichotomy will not yield its illusory reality as two forces, the power of evil and the power of Christ, the power of Satan and the power of God.
- Before his passing, my great guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, told me to wear a certain kind of bangle as a special protection. With faith in his blessing in the bangle, I put it on. When I was in Bombay just before returning to America, I realized that the satanic power was trying to destroy my life, to prevent me from fulfilling the mission given to me by God and my guru. I wasn’t afraid; I knew God was with me and I remembered Master’s promise of protection. I put a little light on in my room, because the evil forces do not like light. For a little while I sat meditating, watchful of my spirit. And then I felt sleepy. As I opened my eyes and looked toward the right wall of the room, I saw the black form of Satan, horrible, with a catlike face and tail. It leaped on my chest, and my heart stopped beating. Mentally I said: “I am not afraid of you. I am Spirit.” But still my heart wouldn’t work. Suddenly I glimpsed an ochre robe, and there stood Master. He commanded Satan to leave; and as soon as he spoke, the evil figure vanished and my breath started to flow again. He said: “Satan was trying to destroy you. But fear not. I am with you evermore.”
Final Thoughts
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Mystics across different traditions have grappled deeply with the question of why evil exists in creation, and while their perspectives vary, they share some core insights. Unlike dogmatic or strictly theological answers, mystics approach this question from the standpoint of direct experience of unity with the Divine. Below is a summary of how mystics understand the presence of evil within creation;
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- While evil is allowed in creation, you do not have to participate in it. However, individual free will choices based on the ego-mind pretty much ensures that there will always be good and evil, heroes and villains.
- The Lord intended us to view the dualistic scenes of life as He does Himself — the ever joyous Witness of a stupendous cosmic drama
- Mankind lives under the cosmic hypnosis of maya while in this world. Maya instills the delusive thought that the body we inhabit is our true nature. The body has an ego-mind that, at its lowest level, thinks only of itself and leads the occupant into wrong choices. One of the characteristics of the ego-self, under the spell of maya, is its propensity for misusing the valuable gift of free will to choose to do evil.
- Without choice, love is meaningless—and with choice, evil is possible
- Over and over the mystics have said that, as part of mankind's soul evolution out of the world of maya and into spiritual awakening, the suffering associated with evil is a key catalyst for growth.
- Souls grow through struggle
- Pain is a prod to remembrance (of God)
- There is no coming to consciousness without pain
- The beast that bears you fastest to perfection is suffering
- Suffering has a noble purpose: the evolution of consciousness
- Through suffering and struggle, man is driven back to God
- Suffering and adversity are frequently the catalysts that awaken us to the truth of our divine nature
- Demonic forces exist within creation and can take on physical forms at times, e.g. Satan, Mara and asuras
- The ordinary man’s encounter with “the Tempter” is primarily as subjective ideas subtly luring him through prenatal and postnatal bad habits and the come-hither attraction of his material environment. To obstruct the highly advanced, Satan may take objective form.
- Evil only exists within creation. The way out of evil is to re-attain our native selves as gods - then evil no longer exists. The fastest way to re-attain our native god-selves is through meditation.
- There is no evil. Only ignorance of the Self.
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"An ideal existence is not impossible, but it is for a different time and realm reserved for those who have graduated from the learning assignments of earth life. For the ordinary man in his present stage of evolution, a life without difficulties would be of little value. No lessons of growth would be learned, no transformations of inflexible natures into godly consciousness, no compelling incentives to seek and know one's Maker." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda |
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