When Spiritual Awakening Begins

What was your spiritual awakening like?  Do you remember the differences in your life before your spiritual awakening began? How has your spiritual path since becoming spiritually awakened?

Children often ask spiritual awakening questions that begin with who, what, where, how and why.  As children, we questioned everything!  My questions centered on religion because innately, it never made sense to me.  Specifically, I questioned the creation myth, the timelines and the need to kill someone in the name of god. I never received an adequate answer from the clergy that fulfilled my quest for knowledge, so I put my questions on hold and let my spiritual path lead me to a time later on in life when the answers would appear.

In essence, my spiritual awakening began as a child and was continued in full force as an adult. There is a defining moment in your spiritual journey when everything seems to come together and it all makes complete sense.  You feel complete, whole and do not fear anything in life.

Your spiritual awakening also means that you will continue to make mistakes in life, but you’ll reflect differently on these mistakes.  You will realize that every obstacle that appears in your life is an opportunity to overcome that obstacle and it will benefit your spiritual evolution.  So, instead of being frustrated when an obstacle surfaces, you reflect on why this obstacle appeared in your life and you realize that you chose this incident knowing that it will help you to become spiritually evolved. through meditation or dream analysis, you may also find closure to certain issues.

When spiritual awakening begins, you no longer fear death, but view it as a temporary reprieve and an integral part of your spiritual evolution.  Death provides an opportunity to reconnect with Source and deceased loved ones, as well as our soul groups and those people who we made soul contracts with, and allows us to reflect on our accomplishments during our previous incarnation as well as our faults.  We realize that we are spiritual beings on a human journey and that the most important things we can do in this incarnation is to experience as much of life as possible while fulfilling our soul contracts.

When spiritual awakening begins, you may lose some long-time friends who have not begun their spiritual journey and do not understand your spiritual evolution.  While initially, this may be hurtful, you eventually realize that these people have already played an important role in your spiritual evolution, so you become grateful for the time they were in your life, knowing that some people come to us for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When spiritual awakening begins, your perspective on life drastically changes.  You don’t really ‘hate’ anyone, including your ex-spouse, former enemies or even politicians who work against the greater good for humanity.  Once again, you’re grateful for how they’ve helped you to become the person you are today.

When spiritual awakening begins, you view things differently.  If a world leader incites a war against another country, you realize that this leader’s actions will only help to awaken even more people to the atrocities and corruption of world governments and banking systems.  You become inoculated against all forms of propaganda and no longer buy into the fear factor.

When spiritual awakening begins, you realize that this is only the beginning of a long journey that encompasses many lifetimes and dimensions.  You are grateful that you incarnated to this planet at this particular time, despite knowing how much tyranny and oppression is going on. 

When spiritual awakening begins, you know that your presence is helping to counteract the negativity and you realize the importance of how your thoughts contribute to global consciousness, and how global consciousness creates reality.  This is why timelines have changed.  There has been talk about the creation of the North American Union under the Bush administration, along with the creation of the ‘Amero’ monetary unit.  There has been talk of the ‘New World Order’, ‘Codex Alimentarius’ and Project Bluebeam but none of these have ever come to fruition.  Despite the Fukishima nuclear meltdown in Japan, and the massive dumping of Corexit in the Gulf of Mexico, we are still healthy.  The timeline has changed and part of that is due to our collective conscious but we must also acknowledge our galactic friends for helping us, too.

When spiritual awakening begins, you lose your connection with ego and materialism. You realize that you would be much happier living in a tent than to be rich, living in a mansion and stressed out 7 days a week. You appreciate all of the simple things in life, such as when an animal crosses your path and you ponder on the animal symbolism and its significance. You marvel at the majesty of trees and think of their relation to alchemy with their limbs reaching toward the sky while their roots are firmly planted in the ground. You begin to see sacred geometry in everything. Fear in your dreams subsides or becomes non-existent. Your dreams will also become more futuristic when ego, fear and materialism are no longer part of your life.

When spiritual awakening begins, you feel a deeper connection to all of life, including every living and non-living thing on our planet and in our universe. In the past, you may have stepped on an ant, but now, you don’t because you realize that his life is just as important as yours.  You learn many things from the ant, such as architecture, how they work together as a team, perseverance, work ethic, patience and delegation of work responsibilities.  You feel a greater connection with the cosmos and might find yourself looking at a certain star for no particular reason, but wondering if your star family is from that star or area of the sky.

Once your spiritual awakening has begun, there’s no turning back.  Your life is forever changed in a positive way.  Enjoy the ride!

Reincarnation & Karma

Reincarnation and karma are core concepts for several religions of India, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.

Basically, both concepts have to do with an understanding of time and how we as human beings are propelled forward through life in time.

Reincarnation is sometimes called transmigration of the soul. To believe in this is to believe that the soul migrates through many different physical lifetimes. The soul undergoes rebirths into different kinds of lives - human, animal or even supernatural - until it reaches its final destination.

So, reincarnation implies a cyclical understanding of time instead of a linear understanding. In the Western world, people tend to think of time in a linear way - you are born, you live, then you die. Depending on one's belief about afterlife, the soul may live forever in a place of suffering or blessing. But, it does not return to earth to live again as a human or animal.

Those who believe in reincarnation, however, hold to a cyclical view of time in which the soul undergoes cycles of life, death and rebirth. The soul may be born into a human body and then, when the human body dies, it may be reborn into an animal body or the body of a supernatural being (angels, demons, etc.). This cycle may be repeated many hundreds of times.

What propels the soul forward from life to life? What determines the kind of rebirth or life the soul will have in the future? The answer is karma.

Karma refers to the energy that accompanies actions of moral worth. Not all actions have moral worth. For example, you may pick up a stick. In itself, that action has no moral worth. However, picking up a stick and hitting someone with it does have moral worth - of the negative kind. On the other hand, picking up a stick and using it to plug a hole in a levee so that the city is not flooded also has moral worth - of the positive kind.

Karma is the positive or negative energy that accompanies all actions of moral worth. Hitting someone with a stick brings negative karma to the person who does it. Using the stick for a positive reason brings positive karma to the person.

So, each person - each soul or atman - goes through life doing both positive and negative actions (hopefully more positive than negative) and accumulating the karmic energy or "baggage" that comes with them. The nature of one's karma determines the nature of one's rebirths in futures lives. Negative karma over many lifetimes will cause an unfavorable rebirth as an animal. Positive karma will cause a favorable rebirth as a human or auspicious spiritual being.

This belief in karma and its impact on future rebirths is at the heart of basic ethical sensibilities in Hinduism and in all the other religions that affirm it. People should do good actions and avoid bad actions so as to not accumulate bad karma to themselves. 

Atman & Brahman

The phrase "atman is Brahman" captures the Vedanta school's primary view about ultimate reality and our human relationship to it. The Vedanta school of Hindu thought is one of the largest and most dominant perspectives in Hindu philosophy.

What does "atman is Brahman" mean?

Let's break the phrase down into its two basic concepts.

First is "atman" - loosely translated, this means "soul" or "individual soul." Atman refers to the essence of each individual living thing - its soul or primary living energy. Each living thing - people, animals, plants - have an atman that forms each thing's eternal essence. The atman is not the body; the body is not eternal. The body houses the atman until the body dies. Atman is immortal and eternal.

Brahman is "world soul" or "cosmic soul." It is the eternal essence of the universe and the ultimate divine reality. It is the life source of all that has been, is and will be throughout the entire cosmos. It is not an individual being - it is more like the primal ground or reality of all being and existence.

So, the phrase "atman is Brahman" is saying, quite simply, that the individual soul is the world soul.

In other words, each individual soul - say, yours or mine - comes from and is made of the same reality as the world soul. There is no distinction between us, on the one hand, and the ultimate divine reality, on the other.

This is an amazing concept!

It basically means that in our deepest selves, we are divine. All living things are divine in their deepest selves. Now, that divine self may be hidden or covered over by hatred, envy, fear or other negative things. But, it is there nonetheless and it is our "true" and "eternal" selves.

Maybe you've heard people say hello, goodbye or greet people with the word "namaste" accompanied by clasped hands and a bow. What this greeting means is something like "the divine in me honors the divine in you." This statement makes sense because of the belief that "atman is Brahman" - all living things are ultimately divine.

This concept is at the heart of much of the non-violent tradition in Hinduism, and is has spread throughout the world into other systems of thought.

For example, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. studied the teachings of Gandhi, the famous Hindu leader, and learned this concept of atman is Brahman. Dr. King incorporated it into his own Christian theology and used it as a central idea in his theory of non-violent, passive resistance in the American civil rights movement.

Civil rights demonstrators were not to strike back at those who made fun of them or harassed them for their stand for equal rights under the law. Why? Because even the worst racists - even the members of the Ku Klux Klan - have an atman, and that atman is Brahman. Therefore, they are divine in their deepest selves and that must be respected despite the hatred they express.

Atman is Brahman for everyone - not just the nice people.

Imagine the strength it took to not lash out against those who spewed hatred!

Indeed, the concept of "atman is Brahman" has had a powerful impact in the world - even in communities that don't practice Hinduism. 

The Basics of Hinduism

Hinduism is the major religion of India, and the vast majority of India's population today is Hindu; however, Hinduism has spread all over the world and is truly a "world" religion. Almost one billion people (approx. 900 million) practice Hinduism today.

Hinduism is arguably the world's oldest organized religion. By that, I mean that it has existed for 4000 years or so with some basic institutional traits, like priests, formalized rituals, consistent stories/myths, etc. Because Hinduism is so old, it is very diverse.

What's the connection between "old" and "diverse?"

Hinduism has evolved and adapted into many different forms over the centuries, in order to speak to human needs and to remain meaningful to people's lives. All of the large world religions have changed over time - they MUST change and adapt, as people change - in order to stay relevant. Old forms of spirituality within a religion pass away - although usually not completely - and new forms come into their place.

Therefore, when looking at the history of Hinduism, we see lots of different forms, ideas, practices, etc. that may seem contradictory to each other, but all of which form part of a large, complex tapestry of Hindu belief and practice.

Given this complexity, it is sometimes hard to describe Hinduism in simple-to-understand ways. Here, I offer a description that has been really helpful to my students over the years, and it revolves around three of the major sacred texts of Hinduism:

- the Vedas
- the Upanishads
- the Bhagavad Gita (part of the larger Mahabharata)

These texts come into existence at very different times in Hindu history and a certain form or mode of Hindu spirituality developed around each one. All three of these modes of being Hindu exist today in some form - yet, they are distinct from each other.

If you read nothing else on this site about Hinduism, learning these three modes of Hinduism will help you get "the big picture" in an easy-to-understand way. 

Key Concepts in Hinduism:

Even though there are different forms and schools of thought within Hinduism, a few core ideas hold true across the religion as a whole. These include:

Atman & Brahman 
Reincarnation & Karma 
Moksha & Samsara 

The Four Noble Truths & The Eightfold Path

The heart of Buddhist teaching is found in the Four Noble Truths. These truths are what Siddhartha Gautama became enlightened about when he became the "buddha" or "enlightened one." These truths are shared by all the different groups, schools of thought and divisions within Buddhism.

The Four Noble Truths are:

1. the truth of suffering - life involves suffering or dissatisfaction. Even the most privileged lives involve suffering or dissatisfaction of some sort.

2. the truth of desire - suffering is caused by desire, specifically unenlightened desire

3. the truth of the cessation of desire - when unenlightened desire is ceased or eliminated from life, suffering ceases as well

4. the truth of the 8-fold path - desire is enlightened through right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, right understanding and right resolve

The Four Noble Truths support the common characterization of the Buddha as a doctor or healer. He assesses the life's condition, makes a diagnosis, and provides a prescription for the cure. Life involves suffering, even for those who lead privileged lives. Bad things happen, people get sick, loved ones die, things don't go as planned, and so on.

On closer inspection, the suffering we experience because of these things comes not so much from the things themselves, but from how we think about them and how we "desire" regarding them. Generally, we want them to be different from how they are, or to provide something they cannot provide. We want people to live forever - they won't. We want relationships to stay the same forever - they won't. We want our bodies to stay the way they were when we were at our best - they won't. We want everyone and everything we love to stay the same and live forever - they won't. Our ignorant, unenlightened desire drags us into these false cravings that can never be satisfied, so we suffer.

The prescription, according to the Buddha, is to cease this ignorant craving - to enlighten our desires. And the way to do this is to embark upon the eightfold path.

The eightfold path comprises the essence of the Buddhist spiritual path. It includes proper skills and behaviors, proper mental states and conditions, and proper aspirations and intentions. In short, it is the complete ethical, meditative and spiritual life of Buddhism.

The fact that the Four Noble Truths do not involve worshipping a deity or even revering the Buddha himself make them attractive to people from other religious traditions, as well as to people who are more secular or philosophical in their outlook. These truths and practices can be grafted onto those from other traditions fairly easily. Thus, we have people who call themselves "Zen Christians" or "JewBoos" and who practice a blend of Buddhism with Christianity or Judaism.

Buddhism Basics

Buddhism is a major Asian religion that began in India in the 6th century C.E., spread to China, and then to the rest of the world. It is centered around the teachings of a man named Siddhartha Gautama who came to be known as "the Buddha" after he achieved enlightenment into true reality when he was about 35 years old.

Siddhartha Gautama, or the historical Buddha, was born a Hindu and grew up in Hindu culture. Therefore, Buddhist philosophy contains some basic Hindu ideas, much like Christianity contains some Jewish ideas. Hinduism is its "parent religion."

Buddhism, like any other major world religion, contains different groups within it. The three major groups are: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.

Theravada means "doctrine of the elders" and is one of the earliest forms of Buddhist religion. It is dominant in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand and other parts of southeast Asia. It focuses on the pursuit of nirvana, or extinguishing of unenlightened self and its desires.

Mahayana means "great vehicle" which is a term that arose, to an extent, in opposition to Theravada. Mahayana refers to itself as the "great vehicle" and to Theravada as the "lesser" or "smaller" vehicle, implying that it is a superior path in some respects. Mahayana allows for more involvement of regular lay people in Buddhist practice than does Theravada (which tends to focus on monks and nuns). It also prioritizes the role of the bodhisattva, a person who achieves enlightenment and takes a vow to teach others until all are enlightened.

Vajrayana means "thunderbolt" or "diamond" vehicle and is a form of Buddhism prominent in Tibet and in other areas which feature tantric and shamanistic practices. This form also spread to Mongolia and India.

Other forms of the religion include Zen and Pure Land. Zen begins in China and spreads to Japan and elsewhere. It focuses on specific meditative approaches to the path of enlightenment. Pure Land is prominent in Japan and focuses on the reverence of Buddha Amida, or the Buddha of "boundless light." Pure Land adherents envision being reborn into the "pure land" of this Buddha, which is loosely similar to Christian notions of heaven.

Buddhist philosophy revolves around the central teaching of the Buddha, which is found in the Four Noble Truths. These truths contain basic ideas about the nature of life and our experience as human beings within it. Specifically, the Four Noble Truths offer an explanation for the suffering people experience in life and how to minimize it.

Buddhism is a philosophy as much as it is a religion. Like most religions, it is a set of beliefs about reality, and an approach to daily life rooted in those beliefs. However, it does not involve the worship of a deity or even of the Buddha himself. In its core, it is an "a-theistic" philosophy - meaning "no god."

The central practice of Buddhism, aside from the general ethical prescriptions, is meditation. It is a religion of the mind and, as such, its focus is on enlightening the mind through a range of practices including study and meditation. Ultimately, suffering in life can be minimized or eliminated altogether by strengthening and enlightening the mind.

How Siddhartha Gautama Became the "Buddha"

Siddhartha Gautama lived in northern India in the 6th century C.E. He was born into a Hindu family of the ruling caste. Ancient Buddhist texts record slightly different stories about his life and how he became a "Buddha" or "enlightened one." Here is the most common version.

Siddhartha was about 5 days old when his father called a group of priests together for a feast. He asked them about the infant's future. They prophesied that the infant would either become a great king or a great sage. The father preferred his son to become a great king, so he structured his son's life such that he never had to face any of the hardship or struggles of life.

Why?

Because in the Hindu tradition of the time (which you can read about here), those who became holy men or sages followed a path of renunciation. At a certain point in their lives, they would renounce what was called "householder" life - a life of marriage, family, work, etc. - and go live in the forest where they spent the rest of their lives in study, meditation and other spiritual practices.

Siddhartha's father did not want his son to become one of these renouncers, so he made sure his son's life was as perfect as possible, offering everything wonderful and nothing negative or upsetting. The father made sure his son was shielded from anything that would make him want to leave the kingdom.

One day, as Siddhartha was touring a park area of the kingdom, he saw four things that changed his life. First, he saw a sick person. He had never seen a sick person before and was shocked at the sight. Next, he saw an old person, someone stooped over and suffering the effects of old age. Again, he was shocked for he'd never seen this suffering before. Then, he saw a corpse! He'd certainly never seen a dead person before, nor did he even really understand the reality of death. His father had kept him sheltered from all these things, particularly death.

Finally, he saw a sage or holy man walking up the path. The sage passed by the sick person, the old person and the corpse - and as he did so, his face and demeanor was filled with compassion, peacefulness and joy.

Siddhartha at that moment recognized for the first time the profound suffering that even the best of lives involves. He resolved to be like the sage, who in the midst of sickness, old age and death could still live a life of compassion, peacefulness and joy.

So, he returned to the palace and made plans to renounce the kingdom and his life, and to wander into the forest to seek enlightenment.

Once in the forest, Siddhartha Gautama undertook the strict ascetic practices of the Hindu forest tradition, such as extreme fasting from food and water. At one point, the stories say, he ate only 1 grain of rice and 1 drop of water a day, and became so thin that he could place his hand on his stomach and close his fingers around his backbone!

He became emaciated and weak, so much so that he couldn't meditate or do the other spiritual practices of the tradition. So, he began eating again until he regained strength and then embarked again upon the meditative path in order to achieve enlightenment.

After a great struggle within himself and the "demons" of ignorance, he finally broke through the illusions of his own mind and experienced true Reality. He achieved enlightenment and became a "buddha" - an enlightened one.

What was his enlightenment? What did he become enlightened about?