Read these words of Yogananda, from The Essence of Self Realization, speaking to that universal purpose that I am introducing here:
The fundamental instinct of life, then, may be summed up thus: as a desire for continued, conscious existence in a state of perpetual enjoyment…. Thus do all beings reveal their divine nature…. Complexities arise because soul-joy is forgotten, and because people substitute for it the fleeting pleasures of the senses. All things, however, came from Bliss, or God. Eventually, all things must evolve back to that Bliss-state.
When you understand these words and are able to live them for yourself, you will come to know that ultimately what all people seek is this eternal bliss. The complexities that have arisen on a personal and on a worldwide scale all derive from pursuit of the fleeting pleasure of the senses. It is here that we can see that the world, as we know it within, and as we perceive others within, can in fact reach the blissful state. In fact, if you stand way back in your mind, and look carefully from that distant invisible perspective, you will note that a revolution of spiritual dimensions is taking place right now.
WE ARE IN AN AGE OF SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION
Back in 1974 I was a university professor in the divided city of Berlin. I stood at Checkpoint Charlie and saw how the barbed wire and guards with vicious dogs kept the city divided. The wall was built to last a thousand years, yet today it is nothing more than a relic of an ancient, nonspiritual past. That shrine of tyranny is but one of many that are toppling faster than we can update the history books.
There is a new collective consciousness in the minds of people, and a new spiritual awareness is spreading throughout humanity. Nothing can stop it, for nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come. An idea is a thought—individual or collective—that, once spread to enough souls, manifests in physical changes. If the collective thoughts are of war, hatred, divisiveness and fear, those seeds are manifested in our physical reality. And indeed, we have seen those seeds blowing in the wind for a long time.
Now we see a new reality, a reality that comes from a new way of thinking, and this is the context of our spiritual revolution. This new way of thinking is consequently a new way of being for humanity. It may not be fast enough to suit your desires, but it is moving along at precisely the right speed. The leaders that are emerging from this new consciousness will be in the forefront of this spiritual revolution. You can be one of those leaders and be part of the changing paradigm that you are witnessing.
Consider some of the remarkable changes that are presently occurring. The Iron Curtain has disintegrated. In Eastern Europe, virtually all of the countries whose governments trampled individual rights have been transformed. The dictators have fled or been forcibly removed. It began with an idea in one country and spread rapidly across the entire region.
Communism, which insists upon atheism from its subjects, has been declared an international failure. No one can tell the people that they must disregard their spiritual nature in favor of a doctrine imposed upon them. Rulers can remove the outer places of worship, but the inner place, that invisible corner of freedom that is ever present in each of us, cannot be legislated. The inner voices of these spiritual beings having a human experience are connected in an invisible way.
We have witnessed miracles taking place all over our world recently. A playwright in Czechoslovakia, imprisoned for his radical ideas on the dignity of man, is elected to the presidency of his country only a few years later. A man imprisoned for his views on solidarity in Poland is elected to the presidency of his country. Dictators are forcibly ousted from Romania. The Balkan people declare their freedom from tyrannical rule to a listening world and attempt a rational discussion instead of violence. The top leader of the Soviet Union declares communism a total failure for the world’s ears to hear and report, and now that same union is a relic of the past. Wasn’t it not too long ago that one of those leaders pounded his shoe on a desk and said, “We will bury you”?
Each of those scenes is miraculous! They exemplify that thought in the shape of ideas can spread like wildfire through the universe. It does not need a physical vehicle to carry the message, it transcends such mundane methods. It is invisible, this idea, and it is spreading without any vehicles or carriers.
In China, where more than a billion souls are temporarily residing, one million of those souls faced tanks to demonstrate their desire for freedom. And while the messengers can temporarily be imprisoned, the message cannot be halted. In South Africa, all vestiges of apartheid have been declared to be illegal. In one miraculous instant, a man who had been imprisoned and kept from the public eye for more than a quarter century is suddenly released, with no conditions. Black people are playing on beaches in front of signs that say Whites Only. In Central America, a dictator is replaced by a housewife in an election of the people. In South America, a poet runs for national office.
These changes are all taking place in the minds of individuals and spreading to others to form a collective consciousness. Once the ideas become present in a large enough number of us, they become our reality. This number is called a critical mass.
According to the laws of physics, when enough electrons line up within an atom to form a position, then all the rest automatically line up in a similar fashion. This is called phase transition, and it is easily observable in the proper laboratory setting. What is the invisible force present within that atom that allows all the rest of the electrons to move into a new phase? It is nameless at the subatomic level, and it is nameless at your level of awareness. It is invisible, and since you are made up of those subatomic particles, it is not too big a stretch to say that you have some of the same properties.
Our world is experiencing phase transition. The invisible force that aligns the electrons within an atom, that spiritual intelligence that flows through all form, is reaching critical mass in a large enough number of humans, and the results are being manifested in our world. The force cannot be stopped. Some will try, but they will be swept away by the power of an idea whose time has come. It works in our personal lives and it works in our collective world as well.
We become what we think about all day long. When enough of us believed that we needed larger and larger weapons of destruction, we created a collective consciousness that forced us to act upon those invisible beliefs. We built bigger and bigger atomic weapons, and the madness of nuclear proliferation described our world conditions. When enough of us began to believe that a nuclear holocaust was too horrible to permit, we began discussing disarmament. The miracle of cooperation rather than competition is the beginning phase of a transition to a more positive, safe, loving world. It is an idea. It will catch on in the physical world if enough of us choose to so align ourselves in this spiritual manner. It cannot fail. It is in our atoms and molecules, so to speak.
The changes in the world are not restricted to political realignments and new nuclear policies. A new spiritual consciousness toward our environment has manifested itself into action as well. Earth Day, which had been overlooked for two decades, celebrated the new consciousness toward our planet. A miracle! The idea that we should treat the earth with sacred reverence is being translated into physical realities.
New legislation to reduce every kind of pollution imaginable is being mandated, along with penalties for those who violate these new laws. Automobiles that will not pollute the atmosphere are being mass-produced. Smokers can no longer pollute airplane interiors with nicotine. We have known for decades that it is immoral to force people in a restricted environment such as an airplane to inhale other people’s cigarette smoke if their personal choice is not to use cigarettes. Why is it now being outlawed with legislation and enforcement? An idea whose time has come. A miracle? Lawmakers are listening to the voices of those who are thinking in new ways. Those thoughts are invisible, but their physical-world equivalents are quite observable.
You are seeing the fruits of those thoughts blooming everywhere. You are seeing No Smoking
sections in restaurants, where they were not even considered a few years ago. You are seeing rivers and lakes, once so dirty that swimming was outlawed, being cleaned up and revitalized with a new consciousness as the driving force behind these moves. You are seeing noise-abatement legislation to eliminate noise pollution around airports and even at public beaches. You are seeing new regard for the dignity of animals. You are seeing labels on all of your food purchases so that you will know how much fat and how many additives you are consuming. All miracles.
These new laws and practices all originated in the minds of people, and those invisible minds created a new physical-world reality, a reality that is more spiritual in nature. The rights of an individual to live peacefully, in harmony, lovingly and on purpose are all reflections of a new way of thinking.
All of the changes you see taking place around you that reflect growing concern—for the individual, for a peaceful, safe, harmonious world, for the right to be able to choose life, liberty and the pursuit of blissful happiness—are part of a glorious revolution that is taking place first and most importantly in our thoughts. You are a part of that process. Whatever thoughts you have can and will be spread to those around you. You influence the physical world with your thoughts; of that you should be most convinced if you have read this entire book.
Your thoughts create either prosperity or scarcity in your life. Your thoughts create either joyous or miserable relationships. Your thoughts create your personality, and the very physical circumstances of your life. Those same thoughts affect others around you. The pure thoughts of a spiritual being affect the physical conditions of the environment; they literally raise the consciousness of the people around that spiritual person. You and your thoughts, and the millions of others who are selecting similar spiritual inner thoughts, are creating a phase transition that has brought into being this fabulous new spiritual revolution.
If this revolution, this new way of being, is to take hold and overcome all of the remaining nonspirituality that infects the world, it will have to reach critical mass in all areas of our existence. When enough of us align in each and every area of human activity, then the phase transition will take hold.
In 1988 I was invited to write a piece that was published in Time magazine as part of an advertising campaign. I wrote a letter to the people who will be occupying earth in the year 2088. I had no restrictions placed upon me by the advertiser or the magazine. Here is that letter as it appeared in the October 17, 1988, issue of Time. It reflects the message that I am offering in this book.
A LETTER TO THE NEXT GENERATION
As I prepare this message for people living in 2088, I find my thoughts are not about futuristic or scientific wonders you enjoy. My curiosity is not about your ability to travel to outer space. My curiosity has to do with this: Have you evolved into a higher human being than those of us on earth in 1988?
My message to you centers on the hope that you are more humane than we are now. I wonder if you are practicing the vital lessons a few of us in 1988 believe humanity will some day master. I wonder if you have been able to move beyond distrust, fear, and hostility. My message of hope is addressed to you in the form of four questions. Your answers will describe where you are in the evolution of this higher human being, now stirring to life here in 1988.
1. Have you learned that your humanity lies beyond the boundaries of the body? Do you know and live the idea that a person is much more than a pile of bones, blood, gristle, and skin? Do you recognize that within all form is an invisible intelligence? Is there general acceptance and delight in knowing that persons are much more than their packaging? Is it “socially acceptable” to develop the invisible aspect of yourself as we do today by choosing aerobics or jogging for physical development?
Can you see yourselves as spiritual beings having a human experience, rather than human beings who may be having a spiritual experience? This is what I mean: My three-year-old daughter presented me with a make-believe meal on her plastic toy dishes. On that level, it was a physical, form-only interaction that could have been considered unimportant. On another level, the invisible, the formless part of her was expressing, “Daddy needs to eat something warm, and I want him to have a special dinner. I love my Daddy, and I want to take good care of him.” My awareness of that invisible part of her, her thoughts and feelings which are pure love, transformed the plastic toys and make-believe food. I could almost touch those beautiful caring thoughts in back of her actions.
2. Have you learned and adopted the understanding that we are all connected? Here on Earth, in 1988, we seem to know intellectually that we are living in the same house, and that when you live on a round planet, you can’t afford to choose sides. But we continue to choose sides. Do you live with the awareness that each human being is a “me that is we”? Do the majority of people see that one cell within an organism, which has no reference to the whole, will destroy adjacent cells, eventually killing the entire being while destroying itself in the process? Are you guiding your young people to develop serenity and ease within themselves, so they will cooperate with the cells adjacent to them? Are your nations at ease within, or are they still acting out their aggressive images on their neighbors? Are you in 2088 seeing and experiencing the belief that each human being on our planet is just as interconnected as geographic neighbors, and that the total being called human being cannot function harmoniously when the components are in conflict?
3. Do the majority of you see that what you think about expands? As I write, some of us are nurturing these ideas like seedlings:
• The power of thought is enormous.
• We can create thought.
• Out of thought comes the entire direction of our lives.
• We act on our thoughts.
• We become what we think about all day long.
• In the dimensionless world of thought, everything we think is here.
• We have the ability to turn any thought into form with the power of mind.
• Thought is a formless energy which comprises our essential humanity.
• Our lives are what our thoughts create.
We are just beginning to recognize the importance of thought as the most powerful force in the universe. There is a new awareness and application of these ideas. Instead of being against terrorism and war, we are shifting our thoughts to being for peace and cooperation. We are beginning to recognize that a war on drugs, poverty, hunger and crime is not as effective as being for an enlightened, educated youth, a higher standard of living for all, and respect for each other’s rights and possessions. Do you understand that what we think about expands into action? And therefore, cultivating thoughts of what you are for results in a healthier, happier and more peaceful society. Do you recognize that being against anything weakens you, while being for something empowers you?
4. Have you discovered the other side of “I’ll believe that when I see it”? In 1988 there is an awakening to the idea that the development of a higher human being is a process involving the understanding that you see what you believe, rather than you believe what you see. Has this belief system led to the development of a higher human being? In 1983 I wrote a parable in which a higher human being named Eykis visits our world. She brings gifts in the form of thoughts to assist us in transforming ourselves and our planet. Her message proclaims, “You’ll See It When You Believe It.” Did these beliefs which Eykis describes move you toward this kind of thinking in 2088?
• Quality rather than appearance.
• Ethics rather than rules.
• Knowledge rather than achievement.
• Integrity rather than domination.
• Serenity rather than acquisitions.
If the answer is “Yes,” then indeed a higher human being is in process, and the trend toward destroying this being called human being has been reversed. My connection to you is pure, formless, dimensionless thought, and so too is your link back to me in 1988 and forward to infinity.
YOUR PLACE IN THIS SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION
Throughout this book I have reminded you of one central theme: Your thoughts create your physical reality. Your relationships to those in your life are essentially located in your thoughts. If you see love in those around you, that is what will expand in your experience of others. This is also true of your worldview. The physical universe that you see is all in your mind. When you turn your mind off, or become unconscious, the physical universe, for you, disappears. Then, when you awaken your consciousness, the universe reappears magically. Quite simple really—no thoughts on your part, no physical world. As Walt Whitman succinctly stated: “The whole theory of the universe is directed unerringly to one single individual—namely to You.” Without your mind to process it, the universe simply disappears into nothingness.
The most important question to ask yourself as you seek your place in this spiritual revolution I have described is, “How do I see the world I live in?” Keeping in mind that thoughts are yours to create, and that your mind is the repository for all that you experience, take a good look at how you use that mind.
If you want, you can deny that spiritual revolution I have described, and instead see a world that is slowly but surely deteriorating into a nonspiritual morass. You can cite crime rates, starving populations, natural disasters, greedy politicians, inconsiderate young people, increased drug dependence and so on, and you can make a strong case for a nonspiritual environment. If you choose to use your mind in this way, that will be your experience of the world you live in. That is what you will see each and every day. In other words, you will see what you believe. You will explain away the changes that are of a positive nature by insisting that they are only exceptions to the rule. And for you, that rule is whatever you have convinced yourself is the true nature of where humanity is headed.
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