Why Are We Here?
What is the point of myriad existences and lifetimes? The answer comes from a simplistic interpretation of a creation story reduced to its essence.
Existence within space and time is simply God’s version of Distance Education, or Virtual Learning. It doesn’t matter how long this education takes, because time is part of the illusion. The outcome is inescapable. Sufficient experience will eventually ensure that consciousness will discriminate between truth and illusion. And since we are merely viewing a sequence of states as one would view frames of a movie reel, the universe doesn’t even get used up in the process.
Whether one approves of God’s education system or not, the only path to freedom seems to go through and beyond the realms of time and space. And the most straightforward means of achieving this appears to be the development of separation of consciousness from body and mind, under the guidance of one who has mastered the technique.
It is said that when one attains mastership of consciousness, one gains the freedom to choose how to interact within the universe. Physical birth is no longer necessary. Once mastership has been obtained, it is only necessary to manifest a body within any particular realm. The entire universe is available to you, as it is, and always has been for all consciousness.
All of the foregoing exists as a means to understand the true nature of the universe, which allows us to function with complete freedom within it. There couldn’t be a chapter in the Bible about The Big Bang, because the concept didn’t exist when it was written. But now that we have developed a sufficient understanding of quantum mechanics, we can see that an empirical understanding of the universe can only be attained by going beyond time and space.
If you find this to be sufficient motivation for your personal pursuit of Enlightenment, the universe awaits you. But remember, the universe is very large. It doesn’t matter whether one’s initial motivation comes from an NDE, a meditative vision, or perhaps an astral travel experience, one needs sufficient motivation to pursue the ultimate. The spiritual journey is all about personal, empirical experience, but mystical teachings warn us that if our experiences are only within the realms of time and space, the End-of-Life will necessarily result in the continuation of the cycle of reincarnations. Since the realms of time and space are infinite, experience while within them can never be complete. If we choose to have complete spiritual freedom, we must focus our attention beyond the lower realms.
The only way to reliably complete this journey in a single lifetime is to have a guide. And that guide must be completely familiar with the entire path necessary to accomplish your purpose. Such a guide will often be referenced in the materials which follow, so it must be defined as clearly as possible. The guide will be referred to as Spirit.
God is the Source of All, and Spirit is its Voice.
There are many Spiritual Guides who serve as channels for Spirit.
These Guides Dwell in God Consciousness Continuously and are Always Available.
If you are tired of creeping along, lifetime after lifetime, locked within time and space, the focus must shift to the attainment of Universal Consciousness within that lifetime. It can be done, with the attainment of complete freedom as a result.
Mission
Since contemplation provides the means to achieve realization beyond time and space, it is necessary to understand the spectrum of teachings available to explore existence beyond the physical realm, as they are not all equivalent. First, the most common spiritual experiences don’t go very far beyond the physical realm. Many of the spiritual offerings on the web speak of teaching communication with those who have passed away, astral travel, or spiritual healing and the like. These can all be valid and potentially beneficial pursuits, but they don’t take one beyond the realms of time and space. However, even though these out-of-the-body activities might be within the realms of time and space, they can be sufficiently dramatic and euphoric that many feel there couldn’t be anything greater. It took me twelve years after my own Near-Death-Experience to conclude that I hadn’t visited Heaven that day. And no out-of-body experience should be demeaned, as developing facility in leaving the body can be immensely valuable.
However, if you prefer to not be bound to reincarnation, many spiritual teachings agree that only God Consciousness can fulfill that desire. If this is the case, the study you choose should clearly identify this as the fundamental focus of the teaching, and provide the means to obtain it. This will be explored further in the study materials to follow. However, keep in mind that whatever teaching you follow, it should affirm two principal points from the introductory videos:
- Causal Existence within Time & Space is Illusory
- Conscious Existence Outside the Body and Beyond Time & Space is Possible, and Provides the Means to Explore the Universe and Attain God Consciousness
As a generalization, any teaching which does not embrace and promote the attainment of God Consciousness is fundamentally equivalent to the acceptance of endless rounds of reincarnation.
Of those teachings which explicitly mention God Consciousness, the Vedanta Society maintains a clear position on the attainment and significance of God Consciousness. They teach that it can only be attained through realization and practice.
Kabbalah, the mystical side of Judaism, speaks clearly, if infrequently, of the experience of God Consciousness. In Kabbalah—Tradition of hidden knowledge, Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi describes the experience: “A heightened physical awareness changes into a psychological lucidity which then transforms into a profound consciousness of the totality of the universe and the Presence of Divinity. One is in direct contact with all the Worlds at once, and perceives both the complexity and the unity of everything. Although the moment may last just one second, it is always unforgettable.” This statement is consistent with first-hand accounts of the event, although I find it puzzling that God Consciousness is mentioned so rarely in Kabbalah.
I have studied Eckankar for over 40 years. It is a revival of a teaching that is said to have existed throughout time, emerging in different countries at different times in history. It is headquartered in the U.S. and offers courses of study throughout the world. Eckankar acknowledges that there are many paths to God Consciousness, and prioritizes spending as little time as possible in the realms of time and space.
There are other historical mystical teachings which similarly embrace the promotion of God Consciousness and no one teaching will be best for everyone. It is not uncommon for an individual to study more than one teaching before finding the approach which suits them best. And remember that an exalted state of consciousness is attained through empirical means. The experience of such states depends completely upon your willingness to attune yourself to the Voice of Spirit, whether it is channeled through a Spiritual Master who has completed their own such journey, or directly from Spirit Itself.
According to Buddha, Meditation without Understanding is Blind. Going a step further, Life without Understanding is also Blind.
There are 5 questions that must be answered to be able to achieve the most fundamental goals of existence.
What Are We?
Where Are We?
Where Are We Going?
How Do We Get There?
Why Are We Here?
