38. Human and Divine
Man, constantly contemplating God, acquires unity with God.
(Sathya Sai Baba – “Stream of Divine Love”, 1993)
All the great teachers of mankind proclaimed the path of direct communication between man and God. Krishna, Buddha, Abraham, Christ, Mohammed, and Sai Baba spoke about this. At a higher level of development, a person who thinks about God, worships God, and meditates on God begins to realize his original oneness with God.
The great truth about the essence of human existence was proclaimed by Jesus, when he said: «I and my Father in heaven are one.» God is the Heavenly Father of every person, and every person is a Child of God.
Self and God are originally one. This fundamental truth is proclaimed by the Vedas. In an ancient text called the Narayana Upanishad, it is said that one who knows Vishnu becomes Vishnu. Vishnu is the symbol of Absolute Consciousness. We are all one in Consciousness, and we are all Consciousness from the very beginning – we just temporarily forget about our true infinite nature.
The spiritual path is gradual and long and there is no need to wait for the result the next day. One of the greatest obstacles on the spiritual path is expecting results too quickly. Nowadays, many people want solutions to their problems instantly. There are a huge number of announcements and advertisements heralding seminars that promise to solve all your problems instantaneously.
I remember how, while walking around the outskirts of Rishikesh, in the foothills of the Himalayas, I repeatedly saw advertisements for classes that claimed to help you heal from all diseases in “just three days” and to help you attain enlightenment in “just 30 days.” It sounds ridiculous, but such offers exist in large numbers, and they’re in demand. There is no such suffering or problem that you cannot be freed from as everything can be prayed for, but healing does take time.
You can talk about the unity of your «I» and God as much as you like, but only meditation practices give an actual mystical experience of higher reality. Meditation techniques help to gradually awaken latent spiritual and intellectual possibilities. You are what you think about most of the time. Man, constantly thinking about God, discovers unity with God.
The spiritual path consists of many paradoxes. In fact, it is not possible to gain unity with God because we are all originally united in God. What is actually happening is an epiphany of what is happening and always has been. «I AM God» is not an achievement, but a discovery.