The Atma - Our Divine nature - Atma, the God within Part 02

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The traditions of self realization are not unknown to Western

religion. Witness the teachings, for example, of St.Ignatius Loyola

(the so called classic method of meditation), the Orthodox Churches

(the Prayer of the Heart, a method of repeating the name of the

Lord), the Suplician Oratorian Fathers (the " head " and " heart "

meditation), Martin Luther (structured meditation, but to be

abandoned in the Presence of the Holy Spirit), the Kabbala, the

Quakers (hearkening to the " inner voice " ), and especially, perhaps,

Meister Exkhart, the German muystic, and Jan van Ruysbroeck, the

Flemish mystical theologian.

 

However, the systematic understanding of the divine journey has been

more notable in the Eastern disciplines. For thousand of years, a

great spiritual tradition has flourished in India. the ancient

teachings of realized sages have been passed from teacher to student.

The Vedas, particularly the Upanishads, contain the teachings

necessary for self transformation. They illuminate the message of the

divine selfm the atma, characterized by being, consciousness, and

bliss. The atma resides in all of us as our guide and goal - the

identity sought in the question, " Who am I? "

 

" The atma is immanent in everyone. It is the spark of divinity which

gives him light, love and joy " Baba

 

Because divinity is inherent in all, we all have an opportunity gor

God realization. realization can be achieved by the beggar or the

king, the educated person or illiterate. it is not dependent on sex,

age, or status, only on the spiritual consciousness of the seeker.

The goal is the same for all. All are finally driven to achieve that

victory by the growing experimental knowledge of who and what we most

essentially are.

 

" There may be difference among men in physical strength, financial status,

intellectual acumen, but all are equal in the eyes of God; all have the right

and the potentiality to achieve the goal of merging in him. Note that everyone,

from the begger to the billionare, is prompted by the urge to achieve ananda,

supreme bliss, based on inner peace, unaffected by ups and downs. every

activity, however elementary or earth shaking, is subservient to this deal "

Baba

 

Due to our own misunderstanding, some people fear the loss of individuality that

liberation seems to imply. However, the truth is that we are not the small body

or personality with which we identify. we are greater and more complete than the

wave: we are the ocean.

 

A story is told about the king of the god's, Indra. He once had to take birth as

a pig, resulting from the curse of a great holy man. after some time, Indra

forgor that he was king of Go's. He wallowed in the mud of his yard and took on

the cares of an ordinary hog. His only concern was for bhis piglets, his sow,

and his geed trough.

 

When the other God's came to wake him from his pitable state, he cried in grief.

He did not want to be removed from his sty and his porcine family. He had

forgotten his blissful divine nature. but upon awaking from that life he

realized his error. Similarly, we have forgotten our divine nature and become

attached to the petty pleasures and griefs of our small concerns.

 

" But please do not be afraid of reaching the goal of moksha (liberation)! Do not

conceive that stage as a calamity. it is the birth of joy, a joy knows no

decline, and the death of grief, grief that will never more be born " Baba

 

Continued..The Atma - Our Divine nature - The source of Understanding Part 03