Dilemma of a Seeker
Dilemma of a Seeker
The plight of the modern-day seekers
You cannot just become a seeker of SELF without having previously developed this spiritual desire through the evolution of your own inner consciousness. Not everyone desires to know SELF and Its infallible truth, nor does the realization of the true SELF have much universal draw in our highly technological world, and therefore the subject matter of this book will not appeal to everyone. Only those who have searched the globe high and low, desperately looking for some divine light will find some sort of guidance in it. It is my sincere desire that true seekers wherever they are should benefit in some way by perusing these pages to achieve a deeper insight into their unique situation in their lonely search for Truth and SELF.
What is intended here is to introduce to you a system of thinking which is impossible to avoid in your life. Logic, argumentation, conflict, strife and fear, battle, war - do they succeed finally? An amiable nature, a smiling face, a love, a consideration, a goodness, an acceptance of the nature of another person, an acceptance of the nature of the world as a whole, and an acceptance in your heart of the nature of SELF - that is what succeeds. I am particularly going to introduce you to a way of living that is determined by love of SELF. You may be wondering: What it means the love of SELF; while SELF itself appears as an illusive idea in the beginning.
How do you call SELF? Do you know how you can call SELF? "Oh! My dear" It is not enough if you say that. SELF is not merely dear; He is something more. You become crazy when you love something. You get drowned in honey, in nectar! You get drowned in your own soul! You get drowned in the soul of that which you love! Where there is no movement of the heart, there is no affection. A stone heart cannot love anything. Love is a melting process of the very being of you.
Devotion works wonders in this world. Devotion may be to SELF, or even to a friend, a human being or to any mission. By the path that you call devotion or love, will introduce into your own being another thing that formerly appeared to be outside of you. If I really love you, you become part of me; you don't stand outside me. Your soul enters my soul, and my soul enters you. Love, truly speaking, is about friendship. A friendship, though it is very deep, there is a possibility of separation because most of the types of friendship prevailing in the world are conditioned by social circumstances, personal prejudice included. But love is supernal in its nature. It arises from the depths of your spirit in the recognition of the spirit that is outside, the spirit that is operating in the world as a whole - the supreme spirit, SELF himself.
Honest spiritual seekers are searching for a Path that transcends all personal ills, carrying them past the stultifying conditions of institutionalized religion and past the conventional and traditional ideals of modern society. True seekers are wary of preachers in their ivory towers declaring their outrage at those who do not believe as they do. They are exasperated over the plethora of cultish leaders and pseudo gurus springing up all over the globe. The seekers of truth have become all too knowledgeable with the emptiness of ritualistic and ceremonial worship, wisdom that is out of date, and past Masters who have come and gone. The seekers are dismayed with how spirituality has been commercialized, how seekers are being exploited for money, and with the performance of vows and disciplines that bring no appreciable gain to one's own evolving spirituality. The plight of the modern-day seekers has them wondering if a true Path even exists, or if anybody really knows or can guide them aright to SELF's door. Spirituality has been so ravaged and overworked that hardly anyone knows with certainty what a true spiritual Path even consists of.
No wonder the seekers of truth are still disillusioned and disenfranchised with the current state of all spiritual endeavors as presented by our world and culture. Many seekers have simply quit their search; others feel it is hopeless to continue searching; some are so discouraged and dismayed that they wonder if truth even exists, and if it does the near impossibility of ever finding it still remains. Is there an adequate explanation for these spiritual maladies? Is there a rhyme or reason for this spiritual crisis? Yes there is, but we must continue our investigation into the plight of all modern-day seekers, for at the heart of this dilemma lie the answers to the seeker's redemption and liberation.
All spiritual doctrines, philosophies, psychic sciences, and metaphysical pursuits, have all been created and founded by humans. Furthermore, all spiritual interpretation as to what spirituality really means, and the way to liberation and salvation, has only come from humans as well. All enmity and discord amidst religious circles, coupled with abundant argumentation and bigotry, have all issued forth and been a by-product of human beings walking this planet, whether in the misty past or in present times. These last points should be considered very carefully and calmly, for they fully answer the human and institutional dilemma facing all spiritual seekers today. All things are in such disarray that only human beings could be responsible for such a folly and rivalry. To imagine for an instant that these diluted forms of spirituality actually reflect and portray our Divine Creator, a Being perfectly pure in every regard, adds nothing but more confusion and perplexity to the discovery and attainment of the spiritual truth, and is simply not in accordance with SELF's divine will. Are we to just shake our heads or lie down in defeat, or do we rebel, languish, or silently weep in despair?
Naturally, unenlightened human beings are not concerned with this spiritual downfall, but those keenly yearning for a higher and more fulfilling truth are bewildered by and ashamed of such degrading misrepresentation, undeniably knowing that this could not in any way properly reflect the majesty and profundity of the Supreme SELF. Be not deceived, SELF is not mocked. Be not dismayed as well, for the truth does exist. There is a solution to this divine mystery, and many have found it, but it lies in the opposite direction of mankind's search for SELF.
Rudderless at sea and without a compass, does the individual attempt to cross the ocean of empirical existence. Blown about by chance winds and detoured by inclement weather, does the soul strive to secure its spiritual moorings. Without the Master at the helm, without precise directions over stormy seas, it becomes impossible to arrive at the other shore.
There is a true Path, but you must give up your external search to find it. There is a true doctrine, but you must close the outer books of scripture to read it. There truly is a transcendental Guide, but you must forfeit your own mental counsel to find Him. And there is a true SELF deep within your being-ness, but the bigger small SELF must make way for the smaller big self (bio-self) within you. There is a secret Path leading to His door and, although it is enshrouded in mystery, it opens up to the truly sincere lovers of SELF. All Saints of the past, present and future know of this secret passageway, this royal road that indelibly connects the soul to its SELF-hood.
The consummation of the spiritual journey transpires only upon the attainment of SELF. Enlightenment, cosmic consciousness, and the religious experience of redemption will not suffice in regaining the true personal identity as promised by the theologians and psychic gurus, for only SELF-realization can accomplish this august achievement.
The honest seeker who squarely faces his/her own human dilemma desires to remedy the situation as quickly as possible. Many byways are adopted with the hope that the gnawing pains of separation and isolation will subside, but hardly anything effectively works anymore. Those who experiment with drink or drugs with the dim and fading hope of forgetting or suppressing their personal dilemma only make it worse, although sometimes this experience is needed in the overall unfoldment of the consciousness. Some individuals abandon themselves to the pleasure principle, avoiding pain and heartache as much as possible, but this too boomerangs upon the seeker, for one's reliance and refuge is still being placed in the external world, and pain follows pleasure like the darkness follows light. The majority of individuals enlist the help of four major institutions such as religion, philosophy, yoga, or metaphysics, with the expressed desire of alleviating the metaphysical problems that have become palpable and acutely present.
The seeker enlists the help of external institutions with the desire to find reconciliation and resolution of one's difficulties. And yet the plight of spiritual institutions is more aggravating the circumstances the individual finds and perceives within oneself. The institutions of the world are pointedly more concerned with their own collective survival than they are with emancipating the individual soul and relieving it of its unsettling conditions.
The current dilemma that each honest seeker faces is only the by-product of these sterilized approaches. Religion and philosophy were initially meant to redeem and liberate the soul of the seeker, but by following these doctrines centuries later, after they have been ravaged and overly editorialized to the point of their original purity being unrecognizable, one only sinks deeper into the morass of externalized opinion coming from those supposedly in the know. It appears that our own religious and spiritual leaders of today are as ignorant of the truth as are their followers, and as a result they both fall into the ditch.
Many spiritual seekers are not happy in this outer world of excessive materialism, for no matter how much or how little one acquires; an ever-present emptiness remains. Likewise, the same seekers uneasily sense that they are not in harmony with their subjective reality, those prevailing thoughts and feelings that constantly follow one in the waking day-to-day life, whispering messages of either support or the lack thereof. And lastly, there are those who, having sensed their lack of fulfillment, have embraced a system of spirituality that has not produced the desired relief nor adequately taught the means of transcending their personal dilemma. Out of yearning and sometimes desperation, seekers attempt to find another spiritual doctrine that will put an end to the confusion or somehow shed some light and meaning upon their own search for spiritual growth.
When the individual attempts to sift through the labyrinth of psychic paths available in the marketplace, one can become confused and misled with the excess of New Age mania. As a result, the seeker can become wary and suspicious, filled with doubts and skepticism about any path, whether traditional or contemporary, and the hope and trust of ever finding some means of escape fades before one's own very eyes. Consequently, the universal mantra has become: "What doctrine can I really trust? Which teacher or master is actually telling the truth? Where am I to turn, with some degree of provisional faith, in order to find the purest truth about myself?” Subsequently, the seekers of the world can sometimes wage a needless war of words and doctrines, feeling their enemy to be outside themselves, while simultaneously their hearts remain burdened, harmony is fleeting or forever lost, and the fresh breezes of love, power, and wisdom fall to the ground like autumn leaves.
The common denominator in all separate paths is their insistence that truth and SELF are not within your own body. There are over fifteen thousand separate paths in the world today, and few embody the axiom of cutting edge spirituality - that the truth is found within the temple of the human vessel. The vast percentage of spiritual endeavor directs the seekers to pursue a Deity that is outside of them - one that cannot be accessed, seen, or heard, and therefore any definite means of verification as to the integrity of their claims cannot be substantiated. All devotees are subjected to this universal dilemma, with no means of validating the principles and truth being purported.
Before the Divine Deity can be found and worshipped properly, the individual must discover one's own divine essence within oneself, which stands as the intermediary bridge between the Lord and the mind within the human vessel. Without realizing the soul within, the mind easily takes the ascendant and leads the seeker astray. To be "led astray" means that the material, emotional, causal, or mental states of consciousness have taken precedence over the soul of the individual. The soul, in contrast, is our true Self, while the mind and emotions are faculties given us to assist in the discovery of the divine essence within us. This at once is the biggest distinction between a Path of spiritual truth and a path of universal mind power. The Path of truth adorns the soul, while the path of mind adorns the sensory-intellect consciousness.
First come SELF-realization, where the human consciousness realizes that it is from the first cause. Then come Spiritual realization, which inculcates the oneness of all life, of all paths, and the overriding realization that it is the Divine's Essence, which creates, sustains, and directs all life, whether it is the atom, molecule, plant, animal, or human being. Every true spiritual seeker should realize that the truth for which one seeks is never outside of oneself, but always within. Seekers must find their own divinity within themselves before they can properly relate to anything divine outside of themselves.
The honest seekers of today are simply searching for a path that transcends the boundaries of traditional and conventional approaches to spiritual attainment. The seekers have traversed the globe in hopes of finding their truest self, but it has been projected into other people and onto external and outer doctrines rather than ultimately realizing that it is reposed within one's own being. I ask you to lovingly reconsider the direction of your pursuit, for the purest of truths and the highest known Path is not far away, for you are the Master and you are the Path.
Love is a voyage in the infinite. Love alone is the path to attain SELF-realization. The more we try to elaborate the love at mind level the more it escapes the clutches of understanding. Love as a force of attraction operates at different levels: the material, the human, and the spiritual. On the material level it draws together the particles of an inanimate object; on the human level it joins friend and friend, parents and children, husband and wife; and on the spiritual level it unites a man with SELF. The real source of attraction is SELF; a particle of matter cannot of itself attract another particle. Because SELF as spirit pervades the whole universe and He is the inmost SELF of all beings.
All pleasures experienced through the physical body and mind reach a peak and then decline and also cause exhaustion in the sense organs. But transcendental pleasures are ever increasing. In order to experience transcendental pleasures, we must look beyond the physical body and mind. Each one of us is inherently different from his or her physical body and able to function independently of it. We falsely identify with the physical body because we have forgotten our transcendental nature. This false identification has existed for millions of years during our journey from the remote past to the present day.
Knowledge or wisdom will dawn by itself when we practice love as a spiritual discipline. Love is the pleasant, smooth, direct road to SELF. Love is sweet in the beginning, sweet in the middle and sweet in the end. It gives the highest, everlasting bliss. The simple way to understand the true meaning of love is to experience it.
The discipline of love is the easiest and most natural of all spiritual disciplines, because it does not demand the suppression of normal impulses; it only tells the devotee to turn them to SELF. Experience of love cannot be called a spiritual experience if it is not guided by the parameters envisaged by truthful lovers of the past. There are certain characteristics that are to be met by love before it is enthroned as divine love. The lovers of SELF must show these qualities or convictions in their deeds and actions:
- No reason but SELF (God) alone should be the cause of love. One cannot fully enjoy the love of SELF unless he or she does not raise above all worldly attractions.
- No personal benefits should be sought from love. The devotee wants SELF and SELF alone. There is no selfish expectation here. There is not a trade bargain or expecting of anything in return. This higher feeling is indescribable in words. In this type of highest love all attraction and attachment that one has for objects of enjoyment are transferred to the only dearest object, viz., SELF. This leads the devotee to an eternal union with his Beloved and culminates in unity.
- Flame of love should be inextinguishable. Love must remain throbbing and warm throughout the life span of the lover.
- Love can move forward through rituals as well as without rituals. Rituals are not compulsory condition for the play of love. Love must bear the stamps of devotion and surrender. Love without trust is love without soul.
- Love is not the act of lover but rather lover acts as trustee. Love emerges through mind but mind is not the maker of love. Ego is the fuel of love not the custodian of it.
- Love softens the heart and removes jealousy, hatred, lust, anger, egoism, pride and arrogance. It infuses joy, divine ecstasy, bliss, peace and knowledge. All cares, worries and anxieties, fears, mental torments and tribulations entirely vanish. Lover attains the immortal abode of everlasting peace, bliss and knowledge.
- A SELF seeker must also negotiate the problems in life that all of us encounter, and which are inescapable even to the best of us: problems of despair and uselessness; the feeling of inadequacy; a sense of inner guilt and shame; unrelenting strife and tension; overwhelming loneliness; the inescapable date with death; a gnawing doubt and growing skepticism with external authority; an inexplicable loss of our spiritual bearings; constant assaults of anger, greed, lust, vanity, and attachment; not to mention debt, problematic children, unruly mates, and the loss of our own personal tranquility. Heap onto this our growing dissatisfaction with the religious torch bearers, social and political reformers, and therapists of every kind, alongside the alarming reality of pharmaceutical companies advertising, through subliminal projection, the promise of having it all by just taking a pill.
- And lastly these qualifications have not been manifested in the seeker free of charge, for life's experiences are sometimes very difficult. Lifetime is needed to gain the necessary purification in moral and ethical conduct, and numerous byways must be traveled before a human being even desires the truth that will set him/her free.
- When your external search has ended, when all the byways and detours have been explored, when your heart is flayed and truth is nowhere to be found, simply have trust in your lord and be persistent in your love; all conflicts will miraculously end.
Ladla Sarkar, A Love for the Self: within and Without, pp. 17-25
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Web (October 19, 2014)
NOTE: If this page was accessed during a web search you may wish to browse the sites listed below where this topic or related issues are discussed in detail to promote peace, religious harmony, and spiritual development of humanity based on the advent and message of the promised Spirit-Paraclete who—already manifested in various forms over the ages as His Spirit (Shakti)—now brings eschatological closure and commences the Resurrection (Al-Qiyamah):
www.lalita-devi.org/ — Divine Mother (Hinduism)www.holyspirit-shekinah.org/ — Divine Mother (Christianity)
www.tao-mother.org/ — Divine Mother (Taoism)
www.prajnaaparamita.org/ — Divine Mother (Buddhism)
www.aykaa-mayee.org/ — Divine Mother (Sikhism)
www.great-spirit-mother.org/ — Divine Mother (Native Traditions)
www.adi-shakti.org/ — Promised Return Of Divine Mother (Hinduism)
www.ruach-elohim.org/ — Promised Return Of Messiah (Judaism)
www.Spirit-Paraclete.org/ — Promised Return Of Paraclete (Christianity)
www.ruh-allah.org/ — Promised Return Of His Spirit (Islam)
“Now, the principle of Mother is in every, every scripture - has to be there.” The Paraclete Shri Mataji, Radio Interview Oct 01 1983—Santa Cruz, USA
"It is the Mother who can awaken the Kundalini, and that the Kundalini is your own Mother. She is the Holy Ghost within you, the Adi Shakti, and She Herself achieves your transformation. By any talk, by any rationality, by anything, it cannot be done.” The Paraclete Shri Mataji
"She is your pure Mother. She is The Mother who is individually with you. Forget your concepts, and forget your identifications. Please try to understand She is your Mother, waiting for ages to give you your real birth. She is the Holy Ghost within you. She has to give you your realization, and She's just waiting and waiting to do it.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji, Public Program Mar 22 1981—Sydney, Australia
“The Kundalini is your own mother; your individual mother. And She has tape-recorded all your past and your aspirations. Everything! And She rises because She wants to give you your second birth. But She is your individual mother. You don't share Her with anybody else. Yours is a different, somebody else's is different because the tape-recording is different. We say She is the reflection of the Adi Shakti who is called as Holy Ghost in the Bible.”
The Paraclete Shri Mataji, Press Conference July 08 1999—London, UK
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