Yoga teaches us to go within for fulfillment and to recall, to mind and heart, the union of our individual consciousness with the Universal Consciousness. The path to enlightenment will take many different routes for each of us though there are aspects that will be realized by every soul as we progress. Doubtless conviction that there is one source of creation and belief in reincarnation are paramount in this quest. Though various religions and spiritual teachings will call the source of creation by many different names, the message at the heart of most religions is consistent. It is to love one another and to love thyself.
We are all gradually approaching our inevitable enlightenment. A belief in reincarnation is essential as it may take thousands and thousands of lifetimes of progressive assent toward that goal. There are many qualities that we will develop to the fullest as we drawn in the direction of enlightenment. Some are love, patience, compassion, forgiveness and kindness. Each lifetime presents self-chosen opportunities to cultivate these qualities to their perfected states. Life experiences show us what we chose to work on in the present incarnation. We must accept our life experiences as our teachers empowering us and never feel a victim of life’s lessons.
Meditation is a very helpful way of focusing the being and not wasting time and energy in distraction. And service, in any form is an equally instrumental way of unfolding spirituality. Intention, effort and the power of persistence are of prime importance. “The mind which thinks of the all-pervading divinity which it worships, is ultimately, through long-continued devotion, transformed into the likeness of that divinity.” We are our thoughts. We become what we dwell on.
Careful reading of spiritual texts, studying under the tutorage of wise teachers, quiet reflection, and practical application of the sensed truth and the intuited ideas, will gradually bring enlightenment. A steady, regular, persistent endeavor will carry us along that voyage.
