We are on a spiritual journey. Our aim is to evolve from earthbound materialistic humans into self realized beings, at one with divinity (God). We work on ourselves to move from the darkness of the ego towards the light of divinity.
We often speak of spiritual awareness in terms of "higher" and "lower": the higher our spiritual level, the greater is the amount of divinity ("God principle") manifest in us, and the lesser the influence of ego. We can see "higher" as heavenly and "lower" as earthly. Alternative terminology is "inner" and "outer": we "go within" to transcend the mundane "outer" world.
Whatever terminology we use, spiritual transformation requires that we follow with determination a personal spiritual path, which leads us through many experiences and initiations, as we gradually increase our spiritual awareness.
We can see ourselves as eternal divine souls, radiating golden spiritual light energy, surrounded by layer upon layer of lower energy forms, which are the result of our many earthly experiences incarnated in various bodies. As we progress, the darkness around the soul gradually dissolves away, until ultimately the soul shines through. Then, although we are still "in the world", we are no longer "of the world": we have attained divine consciousness, the awareness of the oneness of all being. We have become identified wholly with the soul or inner self, and we are no longer identified with our bodily senses, our emotions or our intellects. We then know that we are divine souls, and we have become the living embodiment of this understanding.
As we become enlightened, we develop an acute and accurate sixth sense, through which we can recognize the level of awareness in others. This level of awareness cannot be measured by any scientific equipment, nor can it be ascertained intellectually with any accuracy. Only the enlightened can accurately recognize the state of enlightenment in others.
Most people today have a level of spirituality that is just above that of an inanimate object: they have not even begun the spiritual journey, and they are not interested in doing so. Those of us that do seek enlightenment will progress through various stages:
1) we become curious about spirituality, and start reading spiritual books, visiting places of worship, going on pilgrimages etc.
2) we become more single-minded about spiritual growth, and we pick a singular path to proceed on
3) we want to serve spirituality at all times, and we prefer to remain in spiritual company
4) we are willing to sacrifice body, mind, and wealth for spiritual growth
5) we gain access to absolute knowledge and we get answers from within (realization)
6) we become selfless, and we see divinity in everything
7) we are at one with the universe, in a state of bliss
Some of those who reach the last three levels become teachers (gurus), and act as beacons of spiritual knowledge in our highly materialistic world, but the majority remain incognito and influence others subtly through their vibrations.
As we progress, our attitude and perspective to life changes dramatically. Those on lower levels of awareness find it very difficult to relate to those on a higher level of awareness, and vice versa. This can create incompatibilities between lovers, friends, and family. Even if two people are at the same spiritual level, differences in desire for spiritual growth can cause incompatibility, as can differences in path. So, we may find our life circumstances changing radically as we change spiritually.
The ego is ignorant of our true state of existence, as eternal divine beings, and is encouraged in this ignorance by our modern education systems and society: we are taught to identify with our body, mind and intellect, and we have to undo these teachings and realize that we are actually the Soul within. It is one thing to understand intellectually that there is a soul within us, but another to actually perceive or experience that reality.
As we progress, we remove the ego or darkness around the soul, and we identify more and more with the soul.
At the start of the process we are very self-centred, self-conscious and we only think about ourselves. As we do spiritual practice our body awareness reduces. We become able to accept criticism calmly, able to accept our mistakes, able to withstand discomfort and suffering, and able to take praise without letting it go to our head. We pay less and less attention to our own happiness, and we become more expansive and truly interested in the happiness of others and society as a whole. Paradoxically, as we attend less to our own happiness, we become more content and happy. We start to experience periods of bliss, a superlative state which is far above and beyond happiness. Ultimately, as we reach the highest levels of awareness, we become blissful at all times.
As we evolve, we become capable of doing more and better spiritual practice: the more we stretch ourselves, the more we develop our "spiritual muscles". As we grow, we go beyond sectarian spiritual practice (that of any one religion), and we take up progressively higher and more subtle spiritual practice. We may start by worshipping God through bodily rituals, then progress to chanting and mental worship of God, and finish by simply being at one with the universe through meditation (ie union).
As we evolve, we become more focused on our spiritual growth, and less interested in indulging in worldly attachments and achievements. Accordingly, we spend more and more time in spiritual practice. We do not necessarily give up our material life or profession, but the focus shifts from worldly progress to spiritual progress. We care less and less about what we earn, or what others think of us, and become much more interested in how Godly or divine we are becoming.
We learn to transcend emotion. Although it is better to have positive emotions, espe
cially concerning others, than to be ruthless and unemotional, all emotion is a function of the mind and is part of the darkness covering the soul: it keeps us away from experiencing our inner divinity. The soul is beyond psychological emotions and is naturally in a constant state of bliss. As we grow spiritually, we are less likely to act out of emotion. We achieve a more balanced state of mind, and no longer oscillate between highs and lows due to events around us. Emotion is replaced by spiritual feeling: we experience an intense awareness of the divinity that is in everything. We feel the presence of divinity even as we carry out our everyday activities. We become loving and very alive.
As our spiritual awareness increases, we experience more and more the divinity in every aspect of life, and we become able to surrender to that divinity. Once in that state of surrender, the "God principle" can then work through us: we experience the flow of divine energy through us, and others around us also experience that flow. We accept with grace whatever happens to us, and no longer react emotionally. We see that everything is as it should be, at all times.
As we grow spiritually, we get access to the divine spiritual power inherent in the soul. Most people who seek power are seeking some form of physical power, such as wealth, fame or political power. Some operate on astral levels, such as white or black magic etc. But divine power (the "power of purity") effortlessly transcends and deflects any physical or astral power. Ghosts, demons, devils, negative energies, and the like all shun divine power, as do all of those people who seek to use the lower powers for malevolent purposes. Through spiritual growth we become immune to possession and psychic attack.
Spiritual evolution can be very challenging at times, and requires dedication and courage in the face of many obstacles. But the end result more than justifies the effort.
inspired by "What is spiritual level" by the Spiritual ScienceResearch Foundation
