Ponderings on identity, life, and the meaning of it all

Woke up this morning and did some reading on some links i've had open for ages, but just never got to reading. Or i got to reading, but kept the links because they contain nuggets of goodness i don't want to lose.Here's a short excerpt from Dada Gunamuktananda. I love this man. He is an incredible speaker with such clarity in his eyes and peace in his entire being.What is this thing called true self? Does self or truth even exist?

It’s the essence of yourself. Your inner self. Your greater self. We are one with it, just as a wave is one with the sea. Even though the wave is an individual for a brief time, it is essentially one with the sea forever. But to try to explain it is futile. You have to find it within yourself. You have to rediscover it – realise it – in order to attain what you are ultimately looking for.

How do you know when you’ve found it?

In the same way that you know that the sun has risen after a dark night. There is no doubt about it. All the knowledge of the universe comes to one who is self-realised, including the knowledge of self.

What caused you to take such an unconventional path?

I was looking for a deeper meaning in life; a purpose beyond all the purposes that we are conditioned to believe are our primary purpose. But really all those are just secondary to the primary purpose of self-realisation. Only self-realisation can give us what we ultimately want: the permanent experience of perfect peace and contentment; infinite happiness, bliss.

What are your challenges and struggles with maintaining and growing your spirituality?

As human beings we are predominantly intellectual in the way we function but we are continually being pulled in two different directions: the physical (instinctual) and the spiritual (intuitional). The main struggle is to move towards the spiritual, and that takes work. It takes regular and persistent practice because without it the movement towards the physical is very instinctual and easy. It is easy to regress; not so easy to progress.

What’s the biggest mistake pilgrims make on the spiritual path?

To leave the path. Or not to even begin walking on the path. To dabble in spirituality. Spirituality is not something to be dabbled in. It requires dedication and commitment. You need to make it part of your life because it’s about you. It’s about finding the truth within yourself. Not to do so would be to deny yourself. Many of today’s problems – personal and social – are owing to people denying their essential existence and denying the essential existence of others. We have to keep on the path: keep realising ourselves as the Greater Self and realising others as that same Greater Self. This is what will lead to peace and fulfilment in the world.

What inspires you most about people?

Everyone is a manifestation of consciousness, an expression of the divine. What inspires me about people (and also animals and plants) is when I see the divine shining through in their divine qualities. Even not-so-divine qualities are expressions of the cosmic drama, or play, and so are also entertaining, if not inspiring! The more one evolves on the spiritual path the more one sees all of creation as an expression of the cosmic consciousness. The greater your expansion of mind, of self, of consciousness into the infinite consciousness, the greater the radius of your love. You see all as beautiful manifestations of divine love.

I love how it all ties together. The structure of scientific revolutions, the more beautiful world, this blog post - it's all about how the world is facing a spiritual crisis because that underlies everything that we believe and accept about the world. The Story of Separation and the Story of the World.. and the challenges of moving into the Story of Interbeing.