The Development of Consciousness

by Sylvan Levey

Those Souls who are fortunate enough to have been led to the Spiritual Path – especially that of the Master, Sant Kirpal Singh – are in the final stage of their earthly evolution. For some of them, this stage may last no longer than their current incarnations. For others, perhaps a few more lives may be required to complete the last steps to achieve liberation from the wheel of birth and death.

How quickly we reach the glorious goal depends largely on our efforts. The effort we make, in turn, depends on our motivation. And motivation is influenced by an understanding of what is at stake in the most vital decision a human being can make: whether to turn towards God or to remain enmeshed in worldly strivings. The Master can help us to make the correct choice and to shake off the fetters of worldly existence but He cannot do it all for us – that would be interfering with our free will, which is one of the Divine Gifts given to man by God … and not to any of His other creatures.

For the Master’s initiates, the road back to Divine Consciousness is illuminated and shortened by the loving Grace of that Great Soul. The secrets He unfolds to His followers serve as guides and passkeys through the tortuous maze of the lower planes of the cosmos, with their many temptations and tribulations. The more we learn to tune in to the flow of His vibrations and messages, the more rapid will be our progress in our Spiritual Evolution. His wisdom serves to instruct us, His Love strengthens us, and His power carries us to a certain extent through our struggles with our lower natures developed in earlier lives and in our prehuman existence.

Some philosophers – known as dualists – have claimed that the temptations and trials of the physical plane are the workings of an evil power or powers that are antagonistic to God. And so it might well seem to the unthoughtful observer of the miserable state of the world. But this would imply that there are other powers in the world than that of God. This would make God less than omnipotent, hence, less than Himself – an obvious contradiction.

Looked at from a higher perspective – sometimes known as monism – it can be seen that every temptation is a challenge to the Spiritual Aspirant and an opportunity for him to try to overcome a worldly pleasure and thus to strengthen his will and purify his character. A tribulation, on the other hand, is a test of faith and endurance. If the jiva – or incarnated soul – can learn to accept his setbacks and sufferings in the proper spirit, he will not have to repeat those experiences at a later date or in a later incarnation.

What is the proper spirit for our moments of trial? Detachment, of course, is the best attitude – a refusal to react emotionally to our experiences. After all, it is our reactions to our experiences which sow the seeds of our future karma. The experiences themselves are predestined, having been called forth by our behaviour in previous lives. Therefore, our only freedom in this, our present, incarnation, lies in the attitudes with which we receive those experiences – whether they be pleasant or unpleasant.

It is relatively easy to understand this concept when applied to those so-called ‘negative’ experiences – the hurts and disappointments of life. We can perhaps accept them as just punishments for earlier lapses or as lessons we must learn and thus to swallow the bitter pills of our misfortunes as we were taught to swallow our medicine when we were children – with a minimum of complaining, possibly even with detachment or indifference.

But things get a little more complex when we try to apply this concept to the so-called pleasures of life. Here we are faced with some very subtle tests of our understanding of the Master’s teaching. Shall we embrace our good fortune with joy under the rationalisation that, after all, we must have earned our reward by noble behaviour in this or in previous lives?

It is interesting to note that we usually call pleasant experiences ‘good karma’ and unpleasant ones ‘bad karma,’ when, in truth, from the Highest Perspective, one type of karma is no better or worse than another. It is only our limited, human understanding that sets up this dichotomy. Karma is merely an impersonal law that acts according to our own behaviour. There is no judge up there passing judgement or sentences on us. God and the Master never cease to love us because of any less-than-perfect actions we may perform.

Therefore, so-called good karma must be received in the same spirit of detachment as our less pleasant karma. Otherwise there is the danger of becoming attached to the ‘rewards’ of our good actions – whether it be in the form of material, emotional, or mental benefits. And when we become attached to anything we put ourself in bondage to it to the degree that we give our attention to the enjoyment of that particular pleasure or benefit. All attachment is a form of bondage – bondage in the form of dependence on worldly attractions. And bondage to pleasant experiences may hold us in the world longer than suffering. At least suffering usually awakens the urge to escape from its bonds, but enjoyment keeps us enthralled. And the time and energy spent in indulgence of worldly pleasure is time and energy taken from one’s sadhana – or Spiritual Program. Further, worldly enjoyment tends to create a taste for more of the same, thus creating an endless cycle of dependency on non-spiritual activities. Thus we see that the fear of pain and the attraction of pleasure may distract us from our Spiritual Paths for longer or shorter intervals. These detours for initiates of the Master are, of course, less frequent and lengthy than those for the mass of unguided mankind. But even sincere devotees may find themselves confused by the entanglements of maya – or the world of illusion –, for the greater the progress one has made on the Path, the more subtle are the temptations to which he is subjected. The battle for awareness has to be refought every day, and today’s battle may be different from yesterday’s challenge.

What is the answer? Can one repress a fear or a temptation? Unfortunately, the act of suppression itself is a diversion of energy and attention, and it merely keeps the fear of temptation out of sight until it gains the strength for a comeback when one is least prepared for its resurgence.

Is it necessary to renounce all pleasures? Such an ascetic approach is foreign to the teachings of our Guru – although it has been adopted by many Sanyasins – or renunciates – of the past.

The safest way to handle every experience is to accept it as a gift from Master – whether or not it comes in a form suitable to our taste – and to dedicate every action to Him. With such an attitude we can avoid creating new karma for ourselves.

Don’t give up every pleasure, but don’t give yourself up to them – and certainly don’t dedicate your life to searching them out. Don’t run from unpleasantness, but do not seek it masochistically. It is not our prerogative to reorder our lives or the world. Only the Master knows what we need – and He sends us everything we require to learn the lessons He wants us to master.

Our main task in life is to tune in to His messages and to raise our awareness so that we can do so accurately.

The goal of evolution and the purpose of earthly life is the development of consciousness – another way of saying to return to God. The most important technique for raising the level of our consciousness is, of course, meditation. In meditation one latches on to the Master’s coattails, as it were, for the guided tour inward and upward to the celestial realms where consciousness becomes One with Truth.

But Master does not limit His contact with us only to meditation. He speaks to us in every moment of the day.

For instance, does a fellow employee try to sabotage your work? He may have been sent into your life by Master to test your ability to overcome your habit of resentment when ill treated, possibly even to learn to love that person – the most certain way to overcome his hostility. Perhaps you mistreated him unjustly in a previous incarnation, and you are now being given an opportunity to square your accounts.

Did you have a gratifying success in your work or profession? This may be a test of your ability to remain humble and to avoid the inflation of your pride. This temptation is a particularly tricky one. It can be fought by reminding yourself that you are not the doer of your deeds, that everything you accomplish is done by God through you.

Did someone make a fool of himself in your presence? Remember Master’s injunction against passing judgement on any other person because, as He said,

No human being can know the full story about another.

After all, we are all One – there are no separate souls in reality. Separateness is an illusion the greatest of all illusions perhaps. When we truly realise this, we realise not only that we are not superior to others – but we are those others. That is why every attempt to purify yourself in any way is a purification of all mankind, and every injury to another is an injury to yourself.

When you raise your awareness to this level of understanding you will feel responsible for every act or thought as having an influence on the whole of creation. This is the beginning of your conscious cooperation with God in His administration of the universe. Such understanding will prevent you from engaging lightly in frivolous actions or thoughts – in the knowledge that their vibrations will spread to the outermost limits of the cosmos.

Even such a routine activity as eating will become fraught with cosmic significance. You will become aware that, just as indulgence in sex for any purpose other than that of procreation is an unholy use of a sacred function, so eating primarily for pleasure rather than merely for sustaining the body is sacrilegious – in the sense of using God’s gifts for purposes, other than those for which they were intended in the cosmic scheme.

There are many other traps into which we can fall when our consciousness is disengaged from the Divine. One of the best protections against this danger is to think about the Master frequently. For the mind has the power to mould the personality and we begin to resemble that upon which our mind dwells. That is why Master warns us to be ever alert to our thoughts, preoccupations, and the company we keep. Thinking about the Master and performing Simran silently will help to keep a tight rein on the wandering tendency of the lower mind-which has a predilection for following the senses in their constant explorations of the physical environment. But what about the higher mind – that which dwells on the mental plane?

Some people feel righteous about the fact that their interests are loftier than those of the mass of mankind – as for instance in intellectual studies, education, artistic creation, political reform, social work or other such activities. No doubt, devotion to such mental interests may have a higher vibration than the pursuit of sense pleasures. But unless these activities are dedicated to God, they may merely serve as ego satisfactions or worldly attachments. The humblest manual labour is holy if performed in the spirit of service to God.

Whether you are in the tavern or in the library, unless your consciousness is with God, you are not in your Father’s house. And it is only there that we are our True Selves – and safe from the endless repertory of maya, which is devoted to keeping us from our heritage.