Submitted by anaditeaching on Mon, 07/22/2013 - 17:17.

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Why does the spiritual path not seem to work? Followers of different gurus or traditions might get upset by this statement as they try to convince others, and above all themselves, that they are benefiting and progressing spiritually. But is it really true? Having been deeply involved in many traditions and lived among various ‘gatherings’ of seekers, I have not seen anyone who is really awakening or evolving. On the contrary, I have seen people getting worse, becoming more messed up, more confused, more deluded and, above all, more lost. Human beings have mastered the art of living in denial and when that line is crossed, innocence is lost; there is no more space for questioning things and the mind becomes a wall. The human psyche, in order to cope with constant uncertainty and fear, has developed all kinds of strategies to protect itself with an armor of self-deception. However, there are those few who still have enough honesty and sincerity to question their spiritual reality and enough courage to acknowledge the fact that after many years of being on the path they are stagnated and that nothing has fundamentally changed. They were, are and remain lost.

During the many years of my personal quest and many years of teaching, I have not met a single person who really had a clue what awakening means. For instance, I have met thousands of seekers, and many teachers, who spoke about ‘consciousness’ and yet not a single one of them really knew what they were talking about. I have met seekers who after many years on the path did not even know that consciousness is realized in the headspace! There is no teaching that is able to pinpoint the difference between the consciousness of me and the higher consciousness of the soul, between awareness and consciousness. How could they? They do not understand what ‘me’ – the very one who is seeking – is. Instead, they have generically called it ‘ego’, hated it, foolishly negated it or tried to get rid of it.

We have all heard the cliche countless times, repeated over and over like a broken record, that consciousness is ‘everywhere’ and therefore cannot be located in the body. But what is actually being said is that consciousness is nowhere, because those who adhere to this belief are not truly conscious. They live in a spaced-out, subconscious state of mind that has been programmed into a certain Advaitic belief system. Moreover, to believe this statement is to not see the fundamental difference between universal existence and the realization of our higher being, our soul. Without seeing this difference, the nature of the spiritual path cannot ever be grasped. Cheap teachings speak about presence, being, consciousness and the now. They hypnotize the mind with empty words which carry no meaning, because the intelligence behind them is locked in the mental construct: it thinks it is experiencing reality but it is still experiencing itself. The mind is desperate to experience something beyond itself, but it cannot access it. That is its tragedy – it has no way out of itself. It is this kind of nonsense that distorts the very essence of the spiritual path. Is this really the golden age of spirituality? If ignorance is gold in color, it is indeed the golden age.

What is awakening? What types of awakening are there? How does awakening affect our human nature, our emotions and desires? Is awakening the end or just the beginning? What are the false awakenings, the altered states of mind or consciousness that not only do not point to our pure nature, but take us even further away from our soul?

This article is directed at those who have a certain requisite spiritual maturity. The majority of humans are too young spiritually to walk the path to self-realization. Theirs is the path to becoming true human beings, to purify their psyche, heal their neurotic tendencies and learn how to love. The spiritual path, the path to awakening, is the path which goes beyond the construct of our psychological identity in order to realize our original nature. This should not be confused with renouncing our humanity or renouncing the joy, beauty and sadness of human existence. Rather, it is about realizing our higher being, our soul, and then living as a true human from that deeper dimension of light and consciousness. Needless to say, very few have this longing and even fewer have the capacity to go beyond the construct of their human identity.

Blessings, Anadi

For a glossary of the terminology used in this teaching and for further resources, please refer to our website www.anaditeaching.com