Awakening to the Way

The inner search begins in complete darkness. To enter the path is to take a risk on the level of our very existence, because initially we have no real way of knowing what we lack or what we seek - we enter the unknown. No matter how much knowledge we gather, how much reassurance we receive from others, or how much we are inspired by the teachings of great masters, until we awaken to the way we simply cannot know if there is any substantial reality behind the search for spiritual enlightenment.

Awakening to the spiritual path is not the expression of a conclusion reached by the linear mind, which is unable to fathom the truth of the inner dimension. It is an existential opening to the beyond, a major breakthrough in our evolution as a human being. We make the decision to enter the path from a place of higher wisdom - the intuitive realm of the soul, the timeless intelligence of our inner being.

The Inner Call

From a superficial standpoint, entering the inner path is a choice, a positive exercise of free will. But seen from a higher perspective, we actually have no choice. The spiritual path is the only antidote for the fragmented, unconscious and painfully ignorant state of human existence. To be imprisoned in the human mind, in complete identification with the collective psyche defines spiritual amnesia and existential death. The mind may think that entry onto the path is elective, but the soul knows that the inner search is the only intelligent response to the ignominy of forgetfulness.

The unconsciousness of each individual reflects the unconscious condition of humanity as a whole, and can be transcended only through the initiative of one who becomes conscious of his capacity to evolve beyond it. This shift in the perception of our purpose on earth emerges from the core of our deepest intuition. We cannot enter the spiritual path unless we are called, summoned by our soul and exposed to the remembrance of our destiny that arises from the innermost recesses of our being.

To respond to the inner call, we must first awaken our spiritual intelligence. Spiritual intelligence is the highest kind of intelligence - not mind-based, but rooted in our sensitivity to the realm of pure subjectivity and founded upon the silent wisdom of the self. It is this type of intelligence that allows us to recognize the call of the soul, which although eternally present, has to be remembered and actualized in our conscious mind. Only our essence can remember the inner call and reveal the innate knowing of our evolutionary purpose.

The Role of Suffering

The experience of suffering can serve as a major impulse in our search for transformation and freedom. In the hierarchy of truth, suffering is inferior to the inner call as an incentive to awaken, because it is not based on a positive longing for self-realization, but still it serves as a valid motivational force.

Suffering is a fundamental characteristic of the earthly dimension. It does not occur exclusively during times of misfortune; it is a permanent shadow of the un-awakened self. We may disagree, citing the example of those who appear to be content within the confines of human existence. However, like most human beings, these people just do not recognize their suffering. Because it is habitual and existential in nature, suffering can only be seen for what it truly is from a conscious perspective. From that standpoint, it is obvious that most people who seem 'normal', or even 'happy', are only satisfied on the surface, and that humanity as a whole actually lives in a collective state of suffering due to its complete unconsciousness.

One has to employ sensitivity, wisdom, and imagination to recognize the condition of existential suffering. Most humans are too unconscious even to register that they are alive, let alone to recognize their suffering. Existential suffering only becomes an issue when consciousness has matured enough to register its condition as painful and dissatisfying. Awakening to the true root of this suffering represents a crisis of ego through which our mind begins to doubt its preconceived vision of reality stemming from the collective unconscious. It is indeed the shocking recognition of our suffering that compels us to seek a way out of it, and serves further to reinforce our sense of an evolutionary emergency. Suffering, in fact, is a passage between our past bondage and future freedom. Because the chief attribute of the collective mind is spiritual inertia, if not for suffering, in most cases there would be no real incentive to evolve.

Suffering is not only a painful characteristic of human life, but also an important tool in the development of spiritual sensitivity. Existence uses suffering to awaken the recognition of our incompleteness and lack of wholeness, an existential sense of discontent that points to the gap between our present state and the unfoldment of our potential: the awakening to our future self. The end of suffering cannot be reached by abolishing the causes of our anguish, since they are infinite; it can only be achieved through the expansion into spiritual light and our transcendence from the realm of illusion.

Longing for the Light

When the inner call is recognized, it naturally gives rise to spiritual longing. The birth of inner longing indicates that we have matured enough to rebel against our fundamental unconsciousness. To evolve to the point where we can identify our longing for the self is itself a sign of awakening, because it suggests an activation of a profound thirst for spiritual fulfillment - a thirst not of the earth-plane, but of the beyond. This dimension has in fact been designed to veil true reality and seduce the soul into a state of forgetfulness. All our thoughts, concerns, disturbed emotions and infinite desires actually are the tentacles of lower intelligence holding us captive in the plane of ignorance.

We begin our spiritual journey in darkness and move towards light. Even though our inner longing initially lacks clarity, it nonetheless sets in motion our future split from the plane of forgetfulness. While in its nascent stages, inner yearning remains vague and fragile, and can easily be disturbed by the forces of ignorance, if not obliterated. Only with the passage of time, practice and guidance does this spark of spiritual intuition become transformed into the light of clarity, true understanding and unbroken certainty. The more we awaken, the more darkness is dispersed as we approach the bright sun of the self. The light of the self has a naturally magnetic force that pulls all souls to its source; however, it is our openness, our yearning and our yielding to that light that make the miracle of illumination possible.

Conscious Seeking

There is often a significant gap between the awakening of inner longing and the conscious commencement of the spiritual journey. Even after their longing arises, most seekers grope in darkness for long periods of time, having no clarity whatsoever about the nature of their search. Such is the sad truth revealed by a careful examination of today's spiritual environment. Spiritual seeking seems to have become just one more expression of the collective unconscious.

Most seekers seem inauthentic and fragmented, lost in the pursuit of an idea of enlightenment that lacks any connection to the reality of I am. Locked in the unconscious mind, they seek in a fantasy world, totally unable to relate their quest to the truth of the self. This type of unconscious seeking defines one of the ways that the collective mind distorts the real meaning of the spiritual path, molding it into the likeness of ignorance. Seeking that is not anchored in a connection to our essential nature has no relevance to the soul's purpose.

What does it mean to begin the inner search in a truly conscious way? The heart of conscious seeking is the deep recollection of the fundamental truth that enlightenment signifies our return to the state of pure subjectivity. Conscious seeking, by its very nature, must point directly to the essence of consciousness, the light of I am.

Meeting a Spiritual Guide

For many seekers, the spiritual search remains equivalent to 'finding a master'. The true purpose of the inner search, however, is to seek oneself, not merely a master to whom to surrender. To seek an outer master without being in touch with the essence of the path is no more than a displacement of our avoidance to take responsibility for our own awakening. It is the self that is the supreme master - and this master is within, not without.

Our progress requires that we intelligently balance receptivity with self-reliance, vigilantly avoiding overdependence on a teacher at one extreme, or willful independence at the other. Even though the spiritual search essentially takes place in our aloneness, we always need a spiritual friend to aid our progress. An intelligent seeker is never closed to receiving help and guidance, because he clearly recognizes what a great blessing he receives when he meets a true teacher in human form. Those who believe that they do not need a guide most often are caught in idealistic or naive notions of enlightenment, or have an overblown sense of self-importance.

A spiritual friend is an experienced guide who has already traversed the inner territory of the unknown and embodies self-realization. Because he holds the secrets of the path and the key to the inner realm in the very molecules of his being and consciousness, he has the ability both to transmit the conceptual understanding of the path and to energetically initiate the soul of a seeker with the seeds of awakening. What matters most for a student is a natural openness to learn from someone who has completed the path, or a large portion of it. He should not relate to his teacher through the energies of unconscious devotion or imbalanced surrender, distorting the reality of inner work with spiritual projections. However, a sense of sacredness, natural respect and gratitude should permeate the connection to a spiritual guide. It is important to bear in mind that such a relationship is not personal, but takes place on the inner plane of truth and light.

Most seekers find it extremely difficult to discern whether a particular teacher is genuine and offers the necessary tools of awakening. Although open-mindedness is essential in the search for a guide, a seeker must also be judicious. The clearest indicator of whether or not we are receiving the proper guidance is our progress or lack of it; it is through our own awakening that we gradually develop trust and confidence in a teacher.

The manifestation of a spiritual guide on our path is the natural response of existence to our passion for truth and our dedication to the inner quest. The depth of our aspiration, the intensity of our longing, the capacity of our intelligence and the sincerity of our intention are the factors that determine the quality of the spiritual guide who comes our way.

Return to http://www.anaditeaching.com/teachingentry1.htm