I am cradled in the Divine Presence, wrapped in His Bliss in a happy hangover after Easter. I think over the weekend’s activities celebrating Divine Resurrection—the kirtan at Jerry and Lois’s, Easter Service, Potluck and seeing so many devotees of God glowing in His Light, the little ones hunting Easter eggs, then watching Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth—starting with the powerful scene of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead to the Christ’s resurrection. After the disciples had dispersed during the Master’s arrest, they gathered again after the crucifixion. Peter, talking about his denial of Jesus said, We all abandoned him! But, he has forgiven us, forgiven us all. A statement of such pure compassionate truth.
This morning God has been talking to me—it is very interesting in the way He does this. In the stillness of my mind a teaching flows in as pure thought. This stream of Consciousness is clearly from above, and I am but a witness to the thoughts, pictures, and wordless-words that manifest on my mental screen. It is an intimate union, and He tells me the most wonderful things. His expositions are often about the path to realization. With a fine scalpel of discernment, He cuts away gross and subtle falsehoods, those things that can derail us, and reveals the Way.
This morning the Lord picked up on a theme He spoke about on Sunday—Jesus fell three times while carrying his cross—or the body—up the hill of Golgotha—meaning Hill of the Skull (i.e. ascending spinal consciousness to the higher centers of the brain). Of course, this story of Christ from two thousand years ago is conveying what happens in everyone’s spiritual journey to complete realization. When we are put through the Mystical Crucifixion we are tempted, and tempted hard, even as Peter was in his fearful denial of Jesus. In that temptation we may fall—three times the Christ fell, and he was born an incarnation of Divinity.
Mother and Master also made mistakes on the way up, and this is true with all ascending souls. We have all fallen short of the goal of perfection—Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. And here we tread a fine line in talking about the ways great masters fell when on their upward journey to spiritual perfection. There are those who are too apt to see their spiritual heroes as being too good to make mistakes, and any so-called imperfection threatens the picture-perfect image they have created of a master—if they encounter a flaw their entire worldview is threatened. And then there are those who glory in their fellow man’s imperfections, thus we have tabloids appealing to the voyeur who gets a charge from tantalizing details.
To have a realistic view of the spiritual path upon which we tread we must know that, “Yes, we can fall,” and, “Yes, we can recover.” None of us would like to be defined by a past when we were not at our best; we must have the freedom to learn and to grow from our experiences. And while we need not shamefully hide away unlovely truths about ourselves, we should also not get overly fixated on the faults or shortcomings of another. This is the razor’s edge, to know the whole truth of a soul’s journey, and not get hung up by something negative when the bigger picture reveals a soul ascending beyond those falls on their way to spiritual perfection.
“So,” one may ask, “how do I discriminate between a true spiritual master, who made missteps on the way up, and those who portray themselves as spiritual adepts, but in reality are hypocrites, wolves in sheep’s clothing?” For that we carefully observe—what happens next? When one falls, then tries to cover it up, continues to stumble from one fall to another and casts the blame on others, not doing the hard work to change oneself—that is the very definition of a hypocrite. When, on the other hand, following a fall the aspirant continues to strive for God; through repentance or turning away from temptation the sincere seeker makes reparations where possible; and by intense sadhana—deepened meditation, humility and surrender—comes into contact with the fabric of God’s Being and is renewed in Spirit—then that one grows, and in time he or she is perfected. Humble tenacity that never gives up, and never gives in, is a sign of a true aspiring spiritual master.
A boxer may get knocked down with a terrific blow. But then comes that critical moment, does he get back up or stay down on the mat? Even though the athlete may go down, the champion gets back up, shakes off the blinding pain and continues—and may very well go on to win. The sign of a champion athlete is not that he never stumbles, but that he never gives up. So too for the spiritual champion. One may take a knock, but what comes next is not to grovel in the mud and give up, but to pick oneself up, wash the muck off, heal the wounds, and get right back on the path to Self-realization.
As our dear Lahiri Baba prescribed, striving, striving, striving, behold, one day the Goal! There is a saying that, “Rust never sleeps,” so too with ignorance, it never goes on vacation. Every day proves the necessity for striving in our spiritual practice. Ego’s default is to seek out the muddy puddles of ignorance—where it feels at home. However, there comes a day through ever-deepening practice when we feel more at home swimming in the Ocean of Light and Bliss, inwardly attuned to Spirit—this then, is the new normal.
I have put to words here what my Lord was speaking to me wordlessly. May these teachings be one of healing the past, and renewed hope for what is to come—a deepened understanding for your own journey and compassionate clarity for the lives of others. As an aspirant you must work and strive with all of your heart, mind and will, you must hold the highest standards ever before you. Attaining the supreme truth reveals that real discernment is always saturated with compassion for all those who strive. We are all on our journey, and everyone must return to the Source from which we have come. The wise make straight the way of the Lord; the wise do not look left or right, but ever strive and ultimately achieve the purity of the highest realization.