Life on this planet offers many opportunities, outwardly and inwardly. Most human beings, however, are lost in the externalization of the mind and remain unaware of their inner realms. While religious practices take us somewhat inside, they too soon become organized into activities that feed the ego. Thus, notwithstanding the true import of religions, the mind continues to remain externalized. As a result, the habitual neurology of human beings keeps them arrested in self-centered activities. That is how the ‘I’, ‘me’ and the ‘mine’ dominate our waking consciousness. In this manner, right from the age of three or so, the mind becomes a slave to self-importance. Consequently, there is aggressiveness in the individuals that spreads to the whole humanity. It can be seen to permeate the religious field too. These things have gone unnoticed for centuries on this planet, except by a small percentage of reflective people who received the messages from the Masters and did not allow them to feed their ego. Over the last 30 years, attention has been drawn to the short term mortality (NDE) from different parts of the world. The messages from such ravishing experiences are similar to those from the Masters in that they invite us to visit the wider consciousness in us. The universality of those messages is what characterizes NDE as a non-sectarian experience, even though here too man’s ego tries to interpret NDEs from a sectarian point of view.
In order to understand the journey of life, we should embark on an inward journey towards the unspoiled consciousness in us. Dissolution of the externalized state of mind takes place when there is simple self-awareness. It is a spiritual awakening not based on any man-influenced system. The inward dive is not one of psychological introspection, nor is it one of intellectual analysis. During the inward journey, deep passivity characterizes the mental state. Some issues serve as guide-posts and keep us focused on the intriguing puzzle of the inward journey. They usually arise as questions in the following manner:
1. Why is it that, even after practicing a religious system for years, freedom from fear, attachment and hatred does not take place? The practice only puts a lid on them and makes it appear as if they are gone. (Smug satisfaction may be there in the thought that one’s seat in heaven is confirmed!)
2. Why are the antagonists too – the atheists and agnostics – who put themselves against the ‘religionists’, do not find that freedom?
Both the protagonists and the antagonists of religion seem to be barking up the wrong tree!
3. Do the shocks in life try to wake us up to something?
4. Can the philosophical content of Death serve as an affectionate teacher and let the unconditional compassion in us flow out?
5. What roles do light-heartedness and cheerfulness play in the inward journey?
6. Is the beckoning of sorrow in life an invitation to visit the hidden corners of ourselves?
7. Unknowingly, we build a psychological wall around us through self-importance. Are there pointers in our daily life that can alert us to that fact and, perhaps, open a door in that wall?
A strange self-awareness begins to settle in us as we apply ourselves to those puzzles. A natural tenderness towards everyone and everything becomes a concomitant factor. The website http://spirituality.yolasite.com deals with similar issues.