As more people realize they have been played for fools by the insiders of the markets, and by many other liars seeking their own slefish interests, it is the perfect time to ask this question...
Why are we here?
The answer to that question is both simple and complex; it can be a paradox. Many of the realizations that come on the spiritual path seem to be paradoxical in nature. It is complex, because it at once draws into being many aspects of our self that are relative to our life, and it also brings into consideration our essential nature, which is Divine. Yes, that is right! Our essential nature is Divine. I know that is a divergence from the general view we have of each other, but it is a great point in which to consider, when starting to look at meaning in our life. This will become more obvious as we continue through the seminar, but it would be good for you to remember this point as we proceed. Our essential nature is Divine.
It draws in questions surrounding our dharma. Dharma has several levels of meanings, but for the moment we will focus on personal dharma or life purpose. The simple aspect of this paradox, is that ultimately we have the same dharma, and that is to become liberated from the limitations and suffering of this transitory world and merge into the highest states of Divine Bliss. This is the highest dharma for each soul.
The process through following spiritual practices takes considerable time and effort, but at least the direction can be understood easily enough. To quote Joseph Campbell “Follow your own Bliss.” We are all looking for Bliss or lasting happiness but we have been fooled by the senses into thinking it is to be found somewhere outside our self, but ultimately it can only be found within.
This search for happiness, or everlasting bliss is at the very crux of the human condition. It highlights the soul’s condition of being ensnared on the wheel or life, death and rebirth. It is the very spot upon which Krishna draws up the chariot for Arjuna, so that he can view the battlefield, that exists within us all. It is the place in which we are called to battle, for the sovereignty of our soul and its rightful place in transcendental existence.
When we look at the forces arrayed against us, some of which are our cherished concepts and habits which we love, and realize they all must be wiped out in our struggle for liberation, we can lose our will.
It is here that Krishna starts to impart Divine wisdom to Arjuna about the soul, its eternal nature, and its inevitable victory over the forces arrayed against it. It is here also that we can all take comfort, that by surrendering to the Divine, we can and will prevail over our inner enemies. All our entanglements in this world arise from our eternal enemy…desire.
A person’s highest personal dharma is the taking of action, which is in harmony with Divine will; while understanding the underlying unity of consciousness and striving for liberation from this ocean of suffering.
For the spiritual warrior it is essential to be aware of one’s relationship to the Divine at all times. This allows the intuition to reveal the right course of action in any given circumstance. This will always allow for the best possible outcome, for all concerned.
Depending on the spiritual evolution of the soul, one will be intuitive according to the degree of its development. The more aware a soul is of its intimate relationship with the Divine, the more the will be guided by their intuition.
The ego with its sense of limitation, sense of unworthiness and sense of separateness makes our soul lose its awareness with the all-pervading consciousness. The various attachments arising from desire create emotions and a sense of doer-ship that contributes to the accumulation of karma. The senses and lower emotions of passion will pull a person into action. Action motivated by selfish desire creates the subtle, but powerful bonds that chain us to the wheel of karma. This by its very nature further entangles the soul in the physical world and ensures further suffering and attachment.
It is for this reason, that one of the keys to unlocking the chains of karma is to work selflessly. To work without attachment to the results.
Krishna says, “You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction. Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass spiritual wealth. “
The challenges and inclinations of various souls towards the realization of the highest dharma will depend on how evolved that soul is already, and the nature of their present karma. Our karma is intertwined with our perception, the views and the conceptual filters we hold on to. However transforming and helpful to our development in time imprison the soul. Even our most cherished concepts, which may have been a necessary part of our growth, will in time imprison the soul, if we are unwilling to evolve with our unfolding consciousness.
Knowing that you’re highest good is to merge your consciousness into the deepest levels of awareness that exist within you, raises another question.
Spiritual Qualities
What are “Spiritual Qualities”?
Let me mention a few and the elaborate on each of them to some degree.
Devotion – Selfless Service – Discipline – Faith – Perseverance – and the Master Key is a Spiritual Guide that has crossed over the ocean of suffering and is established in that state. Rare though they are, they do exist and are of immense benefit to our progress into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Let us start with that first quality that I mentioned called devotion. If we look up the meaning in the dictionary this is what it states: 1. A deep, steady, affection; a feeling of loyalty; faithfulness: 2. The state of being devoted; 3. Earnestness in religion; 4. Religious worship or observance; divine worship.
With that definition we have a place to start assessing if we have this quality. I believe we all have devotion, the degree to which it is evident differs of course, but it is a natural characteristic of our heart. If we haven’t felt this quality in our heart’s before, then the exploration to uncover it will be a great exercise in reclaiming part of your soul.
Before I speak about the significance of this quality I want to let you listen to the words of a Spiritual Master on the importance of making God our Friend.
Understanding that God is your friend and that He wants to up lift you from this ocean of suffering; is the right understanding, to start with as we seek to uncover our devotion. If we find this shining light of devotion in our heart, we can then approach this Knowledge in the right spirit.
This is the King-Knowledge, the King-Secret, it is the pure and supreme light which one can verify by direct spiritual experience; the very law of being. (But faith is necessary). The soul that fails to get faith in the higher truth and law, not attaining to Me, must return into the path of mortal living subject to death, err and evil.
Under my watchful eye the laws of nature take their course. Thus is the world set in motion; thus the animate and inanimate are created.
The foolish do not look beyond physical appearances to see my true nature as the Lord of all creation. The knowledge of such deluded people is empty; their lives are fraught with disaster and evil and their work and hopes are all in vain.
Now why would Krishna say that? Why are the lives of those who live their lives as total materialists, fraught with disaster and their hopes in vain? And to take the point even further Krishna states in no uncertain terms even the those who follow vedic rituals, and offer sacrifices, and though they reach heavenly realms, when their merits are exhausted there, must return to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Why do you think they would all be subjected to endless rounds of birth and death?
The answer is all their action is motivated by desire!
Krishna continues; I am the ritual and the sacrifice; I am the offering and the healing herb, the transcendental chant, I am the butter and the fire and He to whom it is offered.
I am the goal, the sustainer, the Master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and one true friend.
Those who worship Me and meditate on Me constantly without any other thought, I spontaneously bring every good.
Even those who sacrifice to other Godheads with devotion and faith, they also sacrifice to Me, O son of Kunti, though not according to the true Law.
It is I myself who am the enjoyer and Lord of all sacrifices, but they who fail to realize my true nature must be reborn. Those that worship the devas will go to the realms of the devas; those that worship their ancestors will be re-united with them after death, and those that worship spirits go to such realms; but My devotees come to Me.
Whatever I am offered in devotion with a pure heart – a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or water, that offering of love from the striving soul, is acceptable to Me. Whatever you do, the food you eat, the sacrifices, whatever you give, whatever effort your soul puts forth, make it an offering to Me.
Thus you will be liberated from the good and evil results which create bondage, then with your soul in union with the Divine through renunciation, thou shall become free and attain to Me.
Even if a man of evil conduct turns to Me with a sole and entire love, he must be regarded as a saint, for his will of endeavor, is a right and complete will. Swiftly he becomes a soul of righteousness and obtains eternal peace. This is my word of promise, O Arjuna, that he who loves me shall not perish.
Those who take refuge with Me, attain to the highest goal.
Fill your mind with Me, be my lover and adorer, sacrifice to Me, bow thyself to Me, thus being absorbed in Me you shall attain the supreme goal.
Now can you not see how Devotion is one of the most important qualities to unlocking the treasures of your heart and soul?
Lord Krishna again returns to this theme in the last chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita, so as to leave it fresh in the mind of Arjuna, so that he may make the right decision, and undertake the struggle we must all undertake to battle for the freedom of our soul.
18:57 Make every offering to Me; regard Me as your only protector. Relying on interior discipline, meditate on Me always. Remembering Me, you shall overcome all difficulties through My grace. But if you do not heed Me in your self-will or egoism, nothing will avail you.
The Lord dwells in the hearts of all creatures and whirls them round upon the wheel of illusion. Surrender to Him, take refuge in Him with all your strength, and peace will be yours through His grace.
Be aware of Me always, adore Me, make every act an offering to Me and you shall come to Me; this I promise; for you are dear to Me. Abandon all supports and look to Me for protection. I shall purify you from the sins of the past; do not grieve.
This gives us an understanding of the importance of devotion in reclaiming our soul.
What is the mystery of Selfless Service?
We can get some idea of the mystery and profound reason for selfless service, from some of the verses of the Bhagavad-Gita.
Not by abstention from actions does a man attain the state beyond Karma, and not by renunciation alone does he approach perfection.
Indeed, no one, even in the twinkling of an eye, ever exists without performing action; everyone is forced to perform action, even against his will, by the qualities which originate in material nature.
Perform your duty, for action is indeed better than non-action, and even the mere maintenance of your body could not be accomplished without action.
Aside from action for the purpose of sacrifice, this world is bound by action. Perform action for the purpose of sacrifice, Arjuna, free from attachment.
And this point is essential to understand if we are going to free ourselves from this ocean of suffering. Any action we take in life not intended as sacrifice is binding. All our actions motivated by desire bind us as if by an invisible thread, that keeps us revolving on the wheel of life death and rebirth. It is important even if doing daily tasks to offer your efforts up to God.
Krishna says to Arjuna:
O Arjuna, the turbulent senses carry away by force
The mind of a wise person
Even though he strives to control them.
This is because the mind is full of impurities, tendencies, desires, and restlessness.
Krishna continues,
When a person thinks of objects,
Attachment to them arises;
From attachment, desire is born;
From desire, anger arises
Now I want to mention two things, first that is why advertising works. They plant the seed in your mind and by continuing to expose your mind to it, that seed grows into a desire, that desire turns into money for the marketing firms and the producers of the products. You spend your money on it only to find you don’t really want, or need it any way, you have been deceived again.
Our society is not founded on spiritual principles that respect the divine being that resides in every person’s heart. It is not based on respecting others, or offering to help without thought of reward. It is founded on exploitation, greed, corporate slavery, media manipulation and distortion of the truth, fear, and deceit. Is this something we want to past down to the next generation?
Second if you don’t get what you want, this gives rise to anger however subtle it may be. If repeatedly denied something you want, frustration gradually turns into anger. From the repeated feelings of anger, samskaras or subtle impressions are created in the mind, which are like groves. These groves become channels for the negative energy and as the experience of anger is repeated the response becomes automatic. The anger will pull the soul into a downward spiral causing destruction, hate, cruelty, arrogance, suffering and negative karma for the future.
It takes conscious effort on the part of a person to resist the natural inclination of these negative habits that can range from hate greed, lust, and selfishness, to the darkness of delusion and serious mental illness. Because if they are not checked by self discipline they will lead ultimately to ones destruction.
How many here have walked or passed through the lower east-side of Vancouver and watched, even briefly, the lost soul’s there? Have you seen that state of misery in which these souls struggle?
Have you not had the thought, “Oh God how can they live like that?”
Are they not deluded and fast approaching the destruction of their bodies, and further degrading their soul? Think about this for a moment, because it is very important, to realize that we look just as bad off to higher evolved souls. They too can see the degree to which we are also being degraded by desire and the ego. It is pride that blinds us to the critical state of our own soul, so think about this point for a moment.
Krishna says,
When anger increases,
When its fire blazes higher and higher,
A persons becomes deluded
Gradually a person no longer really controls their mind, but it is run by the one’s unconscious energies. These negative unconscious energies make a person act impulsively, when they become strongly ingrained.
It is with this knowledge, that I would like you to examine the insidious nature of advertising and the promotion of materialism.
Television is nothing more that a device created to expose you to a constant brainwashing of consumerism, coated with mindless entertainment, designed to keep you there as long as possible of your own volition, so they can expose you to more of their manipulation. There must be at some point a conscious decision to break from the herd, to break the spell of advertising hypnosis, and say NO to this insidious form of media manipulation.
(And you wonder where the stress is coming from?)
Have you not heard the saying, “what does it profit a man if he were to gain the world, but lose his soul”?
I want you to think about that for a moment…
Even if you have the karma to create a Microsoft Corporation and become a multi-billionaire what is the point really, if you have no idea of what your life purpose is in this lifetime.
Is it only to take your next birth with the impressions of materialistic desire more deeply imprinted on your soul? If you only acquire for the sake of selfish desires, to cater to uncontrolled senses, not knowing your life purpose, you will have lived your life in vain.
It will only add to the mountain of impressions you have to burn up in the fire of your spiritual practices, in truth it can be a set back if you are doing the work with any desire for reward. What we need to do is to gradually detach our self from these tendencies that have been running us at this frantic pace to acquire and consume, and be a politically correct mindless slave to corporate rule and social acceptance.
We must use a very refined sense of discrimination to distinguish the real from the unreal, the temporary from the eternal, and the fleeting pleasures from effort to acquire spiritual wealth and divine wisdom.
I would like to take some quotes from the Bhagavad-Gita at this point to help us understand more about the nature of the soul.
“That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one is able to destroy that imperishable soul.”
Ch.2 – 17
“The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by wind.”
Ch.2 – 23
“This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same.”
Ch.2 – 24
“As a person puts on new garments, giving up old ones, the soul similarly accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones.”
Ch.2 – 22
So knowing that the soul within us is eternal, we have to consider that all our actions, and intentions, will bear fruit that we will one day have to eat in this life or in the next, bitter or sweet. This puts the responsibility for our progress exactly where it must be. So if we pick the forbidden fruit, and get lost in the garden, our indulgence will become evident when we get up to leave.
So we have to ask ourselves, in the ultimate scheme of things what will be of real benefit to our growth and happiness?
Let me also be very clear about something that is often misunderstood about following the spiritual path.
First the acquisition of wealth is not wrong, unless you are only acquiring it for the sake of attainment, without understanding anything about its relationship to your life purpose. If you understand your dharma in the sense that it relates to life purpose, and you use your resources to fulfill that dharma it is rightful use of resources and will support your spiritual growth, and this is how it should be. Even so one still must act without attachment to those resources, using them with discrimination for the best possible good.
The Bhagavad-Gita says,
Therefore, without attachment, always perform
The work that has to be done,
For a person reaches the Supreme by doing work
Without attachment
The first thing to be realized on a true spiritual path is that you are involved in a war for the liberation of your soul, against an enemy that is called desire. Desire is a very deceptive shape-shifter. If you have the strength and resolve to defeat desire in one area of life, it may retreat for the moment from that area of your life and approach you from another angle, with an entirely different face.
Desire does this always with the same underlying intention, to keep you ensnared, in a world of change and suffering. This is no easy challenge that you can do on some weekend when you are not too busy, what is at stake here is your complete freedom from all suffering, forever.
It takes time and serious resolve to walk a true spiritual path, and it takes tremendous discipline and intention. But considering you are striving after the greatest prize of all, liberation, that is how it should be.
I have made mention of a true spiritual path, and I feel I should make clear what I mean by that. I mean a path that is alive with God’s grace and under the guidance of a living Master. Truth is not contained in a book even though time and again we refer to scriptures. Truth is alive in the eternal now. Religions even the great religions have become fossilized. Through many translations by lesser-evolved souls, the message becomes distorted from the original intention of the great teacher.
Now we must begin to understand that our real reason for being here is much more profound, than you have ever been lead to believe, that the stakes are much greater than you could ever have imagined. We must seize every opportunity to wake up and evolve in consciousness.
So let us consider something deeply for a moment, while we prepare to take our first steps in this direction, and that is:
Time is NOT money, Time is your LIFE, value it!
Here in the west we are up against a torrent of forces driven by the philosophy of materialism. Corporations naturally have a vested interested in keeping you enslaved to their view of the world. Considering that they also influence governments either overtly or covertly, own most forms of media and sources of information, shaking off their influence, will not be met with much support from those people that are caught up in that slavery, unless they are on a true spiritual path.
It is much easier to manipulate people if they see things in terms of there is only one life, and we must consume everything possible and have every kind of experience possible while we have this fleeting chance. Verses this being one step, in a series of lifetimes towards our merging into a blissful state of God consciousness.
That said, I would not want to give the impression that because we go from body to body that is doesn’t matter, you can get to this liberation stuff in another life. Nothing is of more importance that your relationship to the Divine, and having a direct experience of the intense love and bliss that exists within us.
Recognition by God is far more important than corporate accolades, regardless, of their significance to others.
So let us really get that before we go on!
Time is NOT money, Time is your life, value it!
How many people here have seen the movie the Matrix?
Well to quote Morpheus “You have been living in a dream world Neo.”
“You have been blinded to the truth by the world that has been pulled down over your eyes.”
First you have been subjected to information that was learned from parents, who were subjected to the same limited view of the universe. Through their indoctrination or education, call it what you like, it amounts to the same thing, you were given your first impressions of the world.
Depending on the degree to which they have bought into conventional views, and your own level of soul development, your perception begins to take on these influences. The nature of those influences can be seen in your Vedic Astrology chart, as they reveal the nature of the karma to be experienced by the soul depending on the time, date and place of its entrance into the physical level.
Many indications of the soul’s development and its inclinations can be seen from the chart, and we can get into this later for those that are interested in learning more about themselves through Vedic Astrological Knowledge.
So the parents or guardians make the first impressions upon our consciousness, for better or worst, this is how it plays out. And the planets also have a hand in shaping your perception, as they are known as the Lords of karma, because they are responsible for the when and how karma will be played out for your soul.
Then the so-called education system gets to force their views upon your young and impressionable minds this is the law.
You are not educated in the government approved indoctrination system; instead, you are being constantly shaped to be a servant to the elite, constantly evaluated, to see how your talents might best be exploited, criticized for originality, rewarded for submitting to conformity and punished for rebelling against them.
Many young people that are to some degree spiritually awake sense that there is something wrong with the picture, but can’t quite put there finger on what it is…
So they start to rebel in ways that reflect the inner conflict that is going on within them. In some cases they will drop out of school, and get into drugs as a means of escape and try to silence the inner conflict. They run away only to experience the coldness of our city streets, and in many cases, are exploited anyway by the bottom feeders, involved in the sex trade. They have also designed the system so that those that don’t buckle under and become happy mindless servants, in our free country, have no other means of providing for their self except some illegal means, which the system can and in fact does still manage to exploit.
So really the best of our children the most sensitive and vulnerable, yet spiritually aware are left to fall through the cracks, only to end up in the morgue form a heroin overdose, or slowly die of Aids because of their survival depending on the sex trade. Which is of course in one way or another is used as a threat to conform, comply, and do as you are told! Is this the best we can offer children? Is this education?
While I am on the subject I would like you to know something else about the main sources of drug supply. Unless you have done some research or have already ventured outside the box, you may be unaware that the CIA in America is one of the biggest suppliers of drugs to North America. And the Triads and Chinese secret police help to funnel heroin into North America, and Vancouver is part of its main supply route. For an excellent and detailed book revealing the CIA’s involvement in drug dealing I recommend Drugging America by Rodney Stich and Dark Alliance by Gary Webb. Mike Ruppert the ex LAPD who turned journalist has a good web site that has some excellent articles related to CIA drug distribution.
In some cases where the corporations are brainwashing our children with killer video games, insidiously disconnecting them from reality, and the consequences of killing others, compassion and natural kindness and manners that were once common place, have been systematically undermined. Those corporations are so blinded by greed, they are willing to profit despite the consequences or potential harm to innocent people.
Which brings to mind a point about western society. I want to mention in contrast to an eastern society like India. How many people here have heard of the caste system? I now wish to follow another tangent for a moment and contrast the social structures of a moment.
Points of interest: Brahmans at the top, Kshatriya second, Viyasha third, Servants last.
Western society, is controlled by an oligarchy, by such shrouded organizations as the Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, The Builderbergers, The Rockefellers, The Rothchilds, The Morgans, The Federal Reserve, several secret societies like the Illuminati, high degree Freemasons etc., controlled by the Jesuits, and Vatican, and some of their assets through various bloodlines. Then we are controlled through their instruments like banking, corporations, media, governments, and other organizations that control information and education, and their various enforcement arms like the military, and the alphabet soup agencies like CIA, FBI, NSA, DIA, DEA, CSIS, RCMP, etc.
Do you know the Federal Reserve is owned by private bankers?
How many people hear know the US dollar is basically worthless?
How many know the IMF is an agency of the UN?
How many people know Social Security Numbers are issued by the UN through the IMF?
How many people know what a legal fiction is?
Who thinks that attorneys work for their clients?
Why is all your identification in capital letters?
How many people think they own their property?
What is the number for on the back of the card issued from vital statistics?
These are just a few questions you need to ask to help you awake from the Matrix.
This is part of the modern form of slavery as it exists today. For a in-depth study of the subject I high recommend, “Rule by Secrecy” by Jim Marrs.
Now back to our indoctrination system… Lets take a look at those who finish their education.
Are adults that comply with the status quo are any better off with their toys?
I don’t think so in fact many become disillusioned in time and become bitter, that they wasted their life this way. It is the feeling
that haunts them in the quiet moments, when their soul still whispers to them those deep troubling questions like, why am I here? What is this all for? Is there some thing better than this? There must be something better than this!
But who can they talk to about it? Can they mention it to their drinking buddies? No they like to keep it shallow, sports is about as deep as it gets.
How about talking to the spouse? Well men in general tend to be under the impression that it is a weakness to not have the answers to begin with, and top that with the fact they might be seen as getting soft, well just forget that!
A mental health professional perhaps? Not! They have no insight into the meanings of these difficult questions. As far as they can tell, you are your mind and body, you don’t have a soul, you don’t go into the light upon death. That is some mysterious process that goes on in the brain after your dead, even though their e.e.g. says their was no brain activity. And they continue to down play and discredit the thousands of death experiences, of those that came back to the same body, after being clinically dead. So then who do you turn to in today’s western society for the Truth?
The challenge of going within…
It does not matter if you visit a thousand saints and sages and learn a thousand techniques for mediation, eventually in comes down to using what you learn and go within. Now having said that let me also be very clear that the blessing of a real saint, or initiation by a genuine Guru is a supremely important boon, but until then preparation of the soil to receive the sacred seed is crucial to progress.
The radiant Light of the great Self exists within us. The Self or the pure light of Being exists within us. Without the help though of a genuine Guru it is difficult to discover it, even though it exists within us.
Let me take a simple example of dreaming and the waking state of consciousness. When you are dreaming you are no longer aware of your physical body, and yet it does exist. Once you wake up from sleep it is natural to know it has been laying there all along while you were not aware of it. In the same way, once we understand that our consciousness is much deeper than we are now aware of, and we have a actual experience of what that state is, then upon returning to normal consciousness, we will know that all consciousness is in fact one and indivisible.
Because our experience of awareness or consciousness has been limited to the surface by the ego, we are denied access to this great awareness that has existed within all along.
Some people ask is it possible to have this experience without a Guru. The short answer to this question is, YES. But it is much easier to do so through the grace of a genuine Guru.
The consciousness that is aware of what I am saying, is the same consciousness that will experience Divine consciousness, since consciousness pervades all existence on every level. You can receive an initiation from a Divine Being, as there are beings that exist in the subtle realms that are not limited to only working in those subtle spaces. You can also be initiated by the Lord, or the Divine Mother at any time during your spiritual practices. This can happen in meditation or during a dream or while engaged in intense japa of the Divine name.
It can happen no matter where you are, the Divine and highly evolved souls are not limited by the constraints of time and space.
What is of most importance when pursuing enlightenment or liberation is humility, sincerity, a longing for God, persistence, faith, regular practice of worship or meditation, selfless service and maintaining the awareness that God exists in all beings.
What other sources of help are of benefit to our quest?
Now the first and foremost of all possible boons for a seeker of the truth is the blessing of a genuine Guru, or Saint and the association with other devotees.
Next I would have to say fire yagnas and pujas are of great assistance.
Because this is a work in progress and only the beginning of a more in-depth work, let it be enough to stir your interest in real freedom. I will answer questions if I have the answers, and aim to offer my insights into the entanglements that undermine our own greatness.
If I can be of help please feel free to email me at dawnofwisdom@pacificcoast.net and I will reply as soon as I can to all serious questions about getting into the heart of our life purpose; especially for those interested in gaining some insight into their karma through Vedic Astrology.
God Bless you all Glory be to the new awakening!
Copywrite to Donald Darrel Forsyth sui juris Sovereign person. Offered for fair use.
Original: Why are we here?