Memories, thoughts, opinions, desires, feelings and images are but ideas in the mind. They constantly, speedily, and sometimes sneakily come and go. Life, like a dream, can be very illusory in character. Consciousness is the substance of all such thoughts and ideas that are constantly assailing our minds. But they are not reality. The liberation of this consciousness constitutes the attainment of a ‘real’ life. In fact the attainment of the kingdom of heaven is nothing but the achievement of a condition of inner ‘freedom’ or detachment. Jesus was once asked when the Kingdom of God would come. Jesus replied that it is not something people will be able to see and point to. ‘The Kingdom of God is within you’, he said. Every great religion or spiritual leader has stated that life’s ultimate truth, its ultimate treasure, lies within us. This inner treasure of life has had many names. Plato referred to it as the ‘Good and the Beautiful’, Aristotle as ‘Being’, Plotinus as the ‘Infinite’, and Ralph Waldo Emerson as the ‘Over-soul’. In Taoism it is called the ‘Tao’. The names may differ, but the inner reality they point to is one and the same. In every case it is understood that the inner, transcendental reality can be directly experienced. This experience has likewise been given different names. In the Indian context it is called ‘Yoga’, in Buddhism ‘Nirvana’, in Islam ‘Fana’, in Christianity ‘Spiritual Marriage’. It is a universal teaching based on a universal reality and a universal experience. Philosophers have written extensively on this inner kingdom of God and their personal experience of it. The spiritual vision of values or the spiritual way of looking at things – the development of a spiritual consciousness - is very different from our ‘normal’ physical orientation. It is not associated with any religion; it is not ‘bell-ringing’; it is not an activity that we perform. It is a spirit that rouses itself within us - which we ‘mistakenly’ label as part of religion. It is a new kind of awakening, a new life dawns in our hearts; it is a state of being; it is a journey to the highest reaches of consciousness; it is the path to Him – the infinite, spaceless and timeless. The path and the journey lead us to the discovery of the kingdom of heaven within ourselves. The kingdom of heaven means the kingdom of light and bliss. The kingdom of heaven is the being of God.
We have only ourselves to blame for the ‘problems’ that afflict us. First, we invite the past and the future to come and stay with us in the heart of today. And second, we try to solve all our problems in the twinkling of an eye. We often see the past negatively – as a reminder of unfulfilled desires, and the future as a big unknown. Let us have faith only in today. Today is our only friend. We must listen constantly to the dictates of the inner self and consciously surrender to His will. His will is our conscious acceptance of the divine light within us, and our acceptance of earth as the field for this divine manifestation. We have to bring our inner lights to the fore and to offer them to the world at large, for its illumination and salvation. Yes, the kingdom of heaven is manifest on this earth only. There is a saying that before one studies Zen, mountains are mountains; but after one practices Zen, mountains no longer remain mountains. And finally, when one attains enlightenment/illumination, mountains become mountains again. We can compare the mountains to the difficulties that we encounter when we enter the spiritual life. After a while we see that these mountains of difficulties can easily be surmounted. They are like passing clouds - the inner sun is bound to reappear. Finally, when we realise the ‘highest’, we see that the mountains of difficulties that we previously encountered have been transformed into mountains of opportunities - for progress, achievement and greater awakening in the ever-transcending experience of the highest Reality – the Kingdom of Heaven. Yes, a beginner to the spiritual life may find it extremely difficult to get even an iota of peace, light and bliss, no matter how bitterly he cries for it. But this beginner, if he perseveres, becomes a true seeker and finally will realise the ultimate truth. The persons who have practised meditation and attained this inner kingdom on earth have recounted the phenomena of ‘transcending’ as the settling down of mental activity - like waves settling on an ocean. Then, consciousness reaches its most silent state, serene and unbounded – an experience of pure consciousness. We realise that this is our true self, beyond time and space, infinite and eternal; we experience a unique state of restful alertness, a fourth major state of consciousness. Those who have attained it have detailed the innumerable benefits of this experience of transcendence – of reduced stress, greater happiness, increased self-confidence, increased intelligence and creativity, improved job performance and satisfaction, improved health, balanced personality development, improved interpersonal relationships, and increased peace and harmony in the society around us.
In each individual there are two beings: one wants material success, the other wants a life of inner solitude. Even when an individual achieves material success, he feels that something is lacking - something is missing. His life is still filled with problems. He is missing peace and tranquility. The other being has inner realisation, but the outer manifestation is missing (though not missed). Only when the individual goes deep within is he able to realise peace, light and bliss. It is akin to the earth-heaven syndrome. Earth’s problem is realisation; heaven’s problem is manifestation.
What is the world? Colour, sound and motion – that is the world.
The problem of the body is impurity; the problem of the mind is doubt; the problem of the heart is insecurity; and the problem of the soul is that it has not yet manifested its inner divinity here on earth. The body’s problem can be solved only when purity dawns; the mind’s problem is solved when it is illumined by divine faith; the heart’s problem is solved when the heart is flooded with the light of love; and the soul’s problem is solved when it becomes the breath of supreme confidence.
Dr. Rajesh Bhola is President of Spastic Society of Gurgaon and is working for the cause of children with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities for more than 25 years. He can be contacted at rabhola@yahoo.com
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