Goal of spirituality

What is the goal of spirituality?

"Why are you on this path? Did something happen in your life that led you to take this extreme step? What is your goal?"

These are very common questions. I still receive the first one from my mother, India (I lovingly call her Mom; her mothering constitutes the totality of all mothers in India, making her a Mother India). I have also been asked this question by a few friends who did not understand what I was trying to accomplish. This is partly because none of my childhood friends, family, or anyone I had met until 2012—when I started this adventure—ever said anything like, "It's time to grow; we should do something. Let's figure out how!" It is very rare to find someone who has been as detached as me since childhood.

I decided to write something so you don't have to wait another one or two years until I release my book and you know nothing tragic had happened in my life. (Just kidding!)

For a long time, I didn't understand it myself, even though my elder brother had been meditating since he was young. We even had orange-robed Swamis attend his wedding. I never thought to ask "Why?". Back then, it seemed like just another lifestyle choice, like playing tennis or going to the movies. I thought some people simply chose to be spiritual. One of my more extreme analyses was that spiritual people found life challenging and turned to spirituality as a means to evade harsh realities, using it as escapism and avoidance.

It was not until I met my current spiritual guide and Guru, our revered Sodashi Mataji, that I realized the importance of having a goal. Without a goal, it is easy to drift aimlessly in spiritual pursuits. Before meeting her, I was unaware of what was possible for me or what goals I could aim for. When I initially started my spiritual practice, I meditated for two hours daily and felt assured that I was advancing, though I lacked the words to describe what exactly I was progressing in.

Once the spiritual fire starts, it must reach its destination; it does not extinguish. Unlike a desire that is fulfilled and brings satisfaction, it is as if the essence of the soul awakens and cannot return to slumber. Can it be started by choice? Yes, many Gurus sow the seed of desire for spiritual growth. This is done during what is known as Diksha, or Initiation, by many institutions. Although it can be given remotely, it is often chosen to be a more sacred practice to retain the sanctity of the subsequent practices that follow. It is a gift to the soul and, therefore, treated as sacred.

"Why" can be a tricky question, but I will attempt to simplify it, so stay with me.

Why the need for something more?

Imagine I were a dog. I have been reincarnating as a dog for some time, experiencing life as a small dog, a large dog, a Pitbull, and a Great Dane. I've lived on the streets, enjoyed various adventures, been pampered by my owners with all the food I could ever want, and had many companions—in essence, I have relished every aspect of being a dog. Now, for the hundredth time, I have the option to be a dog again. This time, I hesitate. I might think, "Could I be a monkey? I could swing through trees!" Or perhaps a lion, to learn the art of hunting and killing.

Now, as a human, I have experienced thousands of lifetimes. I've been a man, a woman, an artist, a dancer, a celebrity, a beggar, an actor, a billionaire, a passionate lover, a caring mother, a protective father — again and again and again. You know the script; you have experienced all possibilities of being a human, you have lived through it all. You had owned all sorts of luxury cars and homes, been a influential person with name and fame, worn all kinds of exquisite jewelry, had all kinds of lovers; you have felt every maternal emotion. You've done it all, seen it all, and now it's become repetitive and starts to lose its charm. The next time you have the opportunity to reincarnate, you might ask, "Can I graduate from this role now?!"

Now, as a human, I sense something is missing, and it begins with detachment, a loss of interest in the very thing that excites everyone around you. Even the most fulfilling lives or the best relationships you have can reach a point of stagnation. You might not find them dull, but you start to feel the need for something new—new friendships, new experiences.

In India, people are rather clever; they've recognized this phase to be apparent, so they encourage newlyweds to have children before they have too much time to ponder and question. They anticipated that the occurrence of the emptiness is imminent, but their solution was to learn to live with it and avoid the obvious question. It's an unspoken trap passed down through generations. They've succumbed to a dull and boring monotony instead and decided to fill their lives with a noise that can drown their inner voice urging them to wake up. "This is life", they say. "We've lived it, and our ancestors lived it. Do you think you've experienced enough to challenge all that?" — Is this not what the entire system surrounding us is doing to us? Life is too short to question the system, so we go along with it.

The only thing constant is growth and the desire to grow; all other desires are merely reflections of this same craving. If two individuals aren't evolving together, regardless of the love they have for one another, they will ultimately grow distant until one is unaffected by the other or content with living a parallel life.

We cannot discuss spiritual growth without inherently addressing vibrational frequency. Given the prominence of the Law of Attraction in this era, it's relevant to include it here. You cannot truly connect with people who have a significant vibrational difference from you; they may appear incomprehensible. If only one of them is growing, the vibrational gap widens to the point where it feels like one person is making all the effort and the other contributes little to the relationship. It will start feel draining to the person who is at a higher frequency to continually lower themselves for the other. It might not be sustainable in interpersonal relationships.

Where do we come from, and where do we go?

"We come from Source, and we all return to Source"—this phrase is often repeated. This is a challenging question to answer, and I have not found a satisfying explanation. While many books address this, we cannot truly comprehend it until we experience it ourselves. Our subsequent explanations remain enigmatic to others.

We endlessly theorize about the existence of one unfiled field of consciousness (whether you call it Brahman, the Universe, God, or by another name) and remain fascinated by this concept generation after generation, despite centuries of discussion across religions and cultures. Westerners often express surprise and amazement, while Easterners may be desensitized to the information. As I mentioned, we don't live long enough to fully accept, acknowledge, and advance to the next step. Nonetheless, I would like to offer my perspective on what is immediately evident and tangibly measurable in our environment.

So, what is this graduation about ?

Instead of discussing concepts from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which are often repeated but not fully comprehended, I prefer to use simpler language. I want to avoid terms like Nirvikalpa Samadhi or Savikalpa Samadhi, which involve controlling and withdrawing the senses to reach a state of Samadhi. Hundreds of online videos offer information on this, often lacking context. This sparked my curiosity but never motivated me to pursue it, as it always felt unattainable.

In this section, I will aim to create a compelling rationale for "why" someone should make an attempt.

Many yogis have discussed the following, but I will begin by quoting from Paramahamsa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi.

 "Man’s body is precious. It has the highest evolutionary value because of unique brain and spinal centres. These enable the advanced devotee fully to grasp and express the loftiest aspects of divinity. No lower form is so equipped."

Paramahamsa Yogananda and Paramahamsa Hariharananda, in the book "Kriya Yoga," stated that there is something special about being born in the human body. These books elaborate that, unlike animals, the human body is uniquely endowed with the omniscient "thousand-petalled lotus" in the brain and highly awakened occult centers in the spine. These spinal centers essentially offer the capacity to comprehend higher states of consciousness. They also discussed how this evolutionary biology gives humans an edge to achieve super-conscious and cosmic-conscious states while still being in this three-dimensional world.

If we focus solely on Eastern thought, we risk limiting ourselves. In my research, I found someone else who also discussed evolution and experienced it, although only momentarily. While many others might have done so, I particularly appreciate this explanation, and I have yet to find some more whose thought and experience aligns with how I wish to contemplate.

Below is an excerpt from Richard Maurice Bucke's book, Cosmic Consciousness. To truly understand the value of one's work, it must reach the right audience. At least a million people need to share his experience before anyone can confidently assert he was correct. Until then, the scientific community will merely label them as theorists.

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Simple Consciousness, is what is possessed by the animal kingdom. Animal like Dog is conscious of his own limbs and body and he knows that they are part of himself. Over and above this simple Consciousness, which is possessed by man as by animals, man has another which is called Self Consciousness.

By virtue of this faculty is he is not only Conscious of objects around him, his own body, but he becomes Conscious of himself as a distinct entity apart from all the rest of the universe. Further, by means of self-Consciousness, man becomes capable of treating his own mental states as objects of Consciousness. By this faculty of self-Consciousness man can step aside, we it were, from himself and think: "Yes, that thought that I had about that matter is true; I know it is true and I know that I know it is true."

The possession of self-consciousness created an enormous gap between him and highest creature possessing simple Consciousness merely.

Cosmic Consciousness is the third form which is as far above Self-Consciousness and is that above simple Consciousness.

As its name implies, a Consciousness of the cosmos, that is, of the life and order of the universe. Along with the Consciousness of the cosmos there occurs an intellectual enlightenment or illumination which alone would place the individual on a new plane of existence--would make him almost a member of a new species. To this is added a state of moral exaltation, an indescribable feeling of elevation, elation and joyousness and a quickening of the moral sense, which is fully as striking and more important both to individual and to the race than is the enhanced intellectual power.  With these come, what may be called, a sense of immortality, a consciousness of eternal life, not a conviction that he shall have this, but the consciousness that he has it already.

Cosmic Consciousness, then, is a higher form of consciousness than that possessed by the ordinary man.

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We assert that it is possible to evolve beyond the human condition while remaining human. Animals are unconscious and incapable of examining their emotions or thoughts, and hence devoid of self-awareness. A human, however, not only knows of their existence but also thinks, and knows that they think. Their knowingness of them knowing their thoughts, places them on a higher evolutionary scale. This self-awareness is the greatest key for the human being to reach the next stages of evolution. It is the faculty used to awaken beyond self-awareness within the physical body, leading to the next state: Cosmic Consciousness. In yogic terms, this is referred to as witness consciousness.

Now that we have established the reasons for engaging in spiritual practice and recognized it as a valuable chance to utilize the human body's faculties to advance our evolution, let's explore this further.

Here is an additional quote from Autobiography of a Yogi:

Grovelling, man knows well; despair is seldom alien; yet these are perversities, no part of man’s true lot. The day he wills, he is set on the path to freedom. Too long has he hearkened to the dank pessimism of his “dust-thou-art” counsellors, heedless of the unconquerable soul.

The term "dust-thou-art counsellors" refers to materialistic, dogmatic, or scientific voices that reduce human beings to mere physical bodies destined to decay and return to the earth. Yogananda warns that an educational or philosophical system viewing man only as a "higher animal" severs him from his divine aspirations. The book repeatedly challenges this physical-only outlook, noting: "If man considers himself solely a body, its loss indeed ends his identity. But if prophets from any religion down the millenniums spark with truth, man is essentially a soul, incorporeal and omnipresent."

Therefore, it's crucial to ignore the distractions from the vast majority of people, society, and the whole system designed to insist that you're merely a "higher animal" with the sole purpose of procreating and competing for survival.

“Divine union,” the Yogavatar proclaimed, “is possible through self-effort, and is not dependent on theological beliefs or on the arbitrary will of a Cosmic Dictator.” Through use of the Kriya key, persons who cannot bring themselves to believe in the divinity of any man will behold at last the full divinity of their own selves.

Throughout the book, Yogananda consistently emphasized the significance of personal will and self-effort rather than depending on the Universe. One of his disciples also noted that if you allow yourself to evolve naturally, it would require at least 4,000,000 lifetimes

Just leaving you with something to ponder until next time.

~ Shiva Tejo