Meister Eckhart once wrote that the essence of all creatures is nothingness. At other times he said that the human soul was at one with the Godhead, that there is no essential separation of the human soul from God. I believe these are different ways of expressing the unity of all spirits and their essential divinity. Only as separated beings are we nothingness. Separation is nothingness because it is not real. It is very similar to the yogic idea of the unity of the Atman (individual soul) and Brahman (the universal soul). A yogi meditates on the idea that any form of individuality separate from the whole is nothing but self-spun delusion based in fear and mundane desire. Realizing the bliss of unity with the infinite is the only way to liberate oneself from this incessant suffering and nothingness. Such mystical realizations that liberate one from the relative world can also help one to create new ideas in this relative world. Instead of abandoning this world for some transcendental form of bliss beyond the world, our spiritual efforts can help us break down all of the personal and social barriers that keep us trapped in our separateness, suffering, and alienation. True happiness consists of trying to help others find happiness as well. While striving for personal liberation we are also striving for collective liberation in that we redirect our will towards self realization and stop participating in narrow, selfish and destructive patterns that destroy human society and the planet we live on. Instead of living for selfish ends we begin to live for the well-being of all because we are each the all.
The idea of the universal, spiritual, human family is a pure essence beyond any social or organizational manifestation of this idea. As a universal idea, it can sprout in any heart and mind anywhere, yet cannot be patented by any one group or individual. The idea is embedded in the essence of the Godhead, the source of all divine creation, to use this term of Meister Eckhart’s (which is a term used by other Christian mystics as well).
Personally, I have come to deeply mistrust organized religion and spirituality. The best examples of universal love that I have seen have emanated by strong individuals who are not selfish in their individuality and truly think of and act for the welfare of others. Spiritual societies often give one a place in the human social world and hopefully teach one how to behave but rarely propel one toward mystical realization or revolutionary actions. Perhaps sincere expressions of universal love have existed in certain religions at certain times. These expressions are very relative and often do not endure before they are tainted by some sectarian superiority complex which eventually leads to downfall, hypocrisy and degeneration.
I had a few friends and students who entered a yoga society even though I told them about the problems with that group. I do not blame them because I tend to agree with the philosophy and spiritual ideals of the movement and met some really sincere people who manifested these ideals. That was a long time ago, and the situation has entirely changed, yet I did tell them that it was all once real despite what has happened. It is understandable, their joining this society: being all on one’s own practicing yoga, meditating, and being vegetarian makes one bit of a social outcast. It is only natural to want to seek fellowship and inspiration with like-minded aspirants. For the sake of upholding a great ideal I would participate in such a society if it did not require me to be incongruous and distort reality by trying to rationalize too much hypocrisy.
So if one cannot depend on some existing society, one must retreat into essence and find the oneness of the soul in all beings, not just humans but in all forms of life. Existing in a state of spiritual unity with other beings is true society and connection with others, even if conventionally minded people do not understand. It is better and more wholesome to exist in truthfulness with a few than to co-exist in great lies that many believe in. Yet existing with kindness and compassion is felt by others and helps breaks down our artificial, self-spun separation at least a little. Even the most mean minded people are capable of awakening. And if more people awakened spiritual consciousness in their lives, then we would have more possibility of creating a human society based in spiritual consciousness. If certain individuals can evolve into more sensitive and conscious beings then it is a possibility that the rest of the species can also, in time, make this leap. And what better time than now with the planet in such a precarious state? It is a do or die situation. We must evolve or be extinguished. Seeing the essential divinity in all is the universal panacea for all of the troubles that plague this planet. By being more conscious one becomes consciousness, and this consciousness extends in to every one and everything. One’s mind becomes a laser that penetrates and burns through the distortions in the collective consciousness, thus breaking down the collective obstacles little by little. The vital notion of the conscious, human family can break down all forms of rigid and violent nationalism and racism, lessen social disparities, and unify all societies. Extending this spiritual sentiment into the non human world and into nature will heal all of our environmental imbalances as well.
For an informed and rational mind it is very difficult to have optimism in these times. The planet is literally burning up with record breaking droughts, heat waves, flooding and forest fires. The human social world is on fire with the threat of another world war with the conflict in Ukraine and also with the tensions between China and the West. And all the while the entire world is slipping into economic recession.
On the morning before the news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine I had a spiritual experience while waking from sleep. I felt the kundalini rising up my spine and my sense of self disappeared into a tunnel of light. I could still feel my physical chest where the kundalini had risen, in the Anahata spiritual heart. There hardly remained any notion of physical forms, just light and pulsating, flowing energy that radiated through the Anahata out into the entire universe. It was infinite bliss and if the experience would have continued any longer I am certain I would have left my physical body once and for all. My heart was at one with the energetic heart of the Macrocosm. The only thought and words that came into my mind during this experience were “thank you” repeating over and over again. I woke up and there was hell on earth: Russia had invaded Ukraine, there were droughts and floods and heat-waves over the entire planet.
I recalled my first kundalini experiences that I had in my last year in the university. I hardly was able to finish my studies due to their intensity. I lost all interest in worldly pursuits and only wanted to dissolve in the infinite light that I was experiencing. These awakenings continued for several years with great intensity. Many of my monastic friends said that I would die before I was 30 or 40 because such experiences take on so far beyond the physical world and the mind immersed in spirit loses parallelism with the body. Yet I found other adventures to keep me grounded in the world.
These experiences returned to me again years later while I was in the desert fending off the narcos from our community. I wrote in the essay, a-requiem, about how when the narcos came for me one night with a chainsaw outside of my house. I heard the chainsaw start up but then I started to hear the Om sound with its infinite bliss and the Om sound became so loud it drowned out the sound of the chainsaw. I entirely forgot about the narcos as I was in a trance for several hours. When I returned to bodily consciousness I was fine, with all of my limbs still intact! The kundalini is indeed a divine force, the seed of the Macrocosmic divinity within the human microcosm. The kundalini created a spiritual shield during those intense years of fighting off the narco assassins. There was death and horror all around but internally everything was in harmony.
I still am not sure about why these experiences occurred again recently but when news about this hellish world makes me miserable I remember these experiences and never forget the words of Anandamurti which have proven so true time after time: “The Supreme Consciousness is always with you, even in hell.”