On another occasion when Jesus was threatened with stoning for claiming that he was God, he clearly answered that we all are gods: “Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?’ ‘We are not stoning you for any of these,’ replied the Jews, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods?'’” (John 10: 31–34). The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene is equally overt: “Beware that no one lead you astray saying lo here or lo there! For the Son of Man is within you. Follow after Him! Those who seek Him will find Him” (Chapter 4: 34–36). It is perhaps the biggest miracle of all: There is only one Actor playing all of the parts in this story.
Apostle Paul compares Christ to a body of which we are members: “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ, we who are many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12: 4–5). A more modern way to describe our condition would be to compare us to cells or even atoms in the body of Christ. And yet each of these atoms, like a hologram, also contains the whole of Christ and God. “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12: 12). “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12: 26–27).
(2) The disturbing aspect of that truth is that you are the One. It may sound exciting at first, but if you actually experience being the only person in the whole universe, you will find that it is very disturbing to be utterly alone indeed. In other words, from one point of view everything and everyone else you see are just illusions—nothing exists except you.
You are not merely a human being like you thought you were. In fact, you are the whole world you see, and you are walking inside your own mind…. You are both God and God’s only Son. Just like an electron can be both a wave and a particle, paradoxically each individual contains all of the Godhead inside, and yet others (who don’t exist from one point of view) also contain all of the Godhead within. Mind boggling, isn’t it?
One possible reason for the suppression of Gnostic gospels in the West was the metaphysical terror experienced by those who experienced the truth firsthand and stopped exploring beyond that first experience. There is only one of us, totally alone (and this has to be experienced to understand that anything is better than such loneliness—even wars, pain, and suffering that we encounter in this world!), separated from God, and stuck in Hell.
We can’t really die, and it may appear that there is no way out of this nightmare. Without the knowledge of our condition we repeat mistakes and reincarnate over and over again—that is, until we learn who we really are and decide to awaken. Resurrection means freedom from endless cycles of reincarnation. This theme has been explored in movies such as Open Your Eyes (and its Hollywood remake Vanilla Sky), Cube, Groundhog Day, The Fountain, and many others.
Ignorance is bliss, as some say. Certain people may have believed that it is better to protect people from this horrible truth (especially that all of these apparently separate individuals are really you). So, according to this view, it is an ultimate virtue to protect others from anything that would shorten the bliss of ignorance. When people get inevitably unhappy (since nobody in this world is spared from disease, suffering, and death), they may start seeking and they might discover the truth of their real condition and experience again the terror of ultimate loneliness. That experience of total loneliness may have discouraged many from venturing further into spiritual realms. This is something that one would rather forget, but it is impossible to banish it from memory once you have experienced it firsthand. The troubling and astonishing aspect of discovering who we really are is the realization that each seeker is simultaneously both God himself and the only Son of God, and that as such he or she is utterly ALONE. Firsthand experience of this metaphysical terror is very painful and troubling. Some seekers may also find it upsetting to discover that what we consider a reality is an illusion and that most of us live in a profound trance-like stupor.
This knowledge is not only disturbing but also very valuable, since it brings the understanding and appreciation of the purpose of Creation: God created the universe so that He doesn’t have to be all alone. When all people on our planet awaken to their Christ identity, the purpose of Creation for our world will be fulfilled: Our planet will be inhabited by gods in human form. This insight gives one motivation to persist on the spiritual path of service to others—we will reach perfect happiness only when everyone on our planet is fully awake.
Some people have interpreted this type of spiritual experience in a very different way. It gives them an excuse to be totally selfish, since “nobody else is real” and “nobody really gets hurt” when we serve only ourselves instead of serving others. This interpretation is the result of an incomplete understanding of what constitutes our “self”: We are not just individuals—each of us is a walking projector and the reality we see “outside of us” is in truth a projection of our own mind. Thus, when we are selfish, we neglect or hurt parts of ourselves and we end up creating suffering for ourselves. The latter group of people preferred to keep this knowledge a secret, using it as the means to gain power, to control and manipulate others. Books such as The Secret and The Law of Attraction reveal some of the spiritual principles that allow people who are selfish to succeed in our world. The principles described in these books work for anyone, whether one chooses to move towards the light (service to others) or towards the dark side (service to self).
The good news is that the above-described experience of metaphysical terror is just one small step on the road to awakening. Metaphysical loneliness is a reflection of our separation from God. We are never lonely when we are connected to our Source. Those who persist on the spiritual path of service to others will eventually reap the rewards and connect back to the Ground of Being, becoming one with God. People who search for happiness or salvation outside of themselves or at the expense of others will fail in the end.
It is also very disturbing to experience our oneness with everything and everyone and then return to the world to see the depth of suffering and confusion caused by our ignorance. Since there is truly only one of us playing all the parts, we hurt only ourselves when we do harm to “others.” The depth of insanity that has taken hold of our planet is simply mind-boggling. It takes a lot of time to come to terms with these and other mysteries of existence. Fortunately, another facet of the mystical experience is the realization that everything is perfect just the way it is. The sufferings we experience are simply birthing pains for humanity: God is finally coming to inhabit our minds and bodies. When that process is over, we will be fully human and divine at the same time.
(3–4) When you realize your destiny and awaken, anything is possible—the whole universe is your Kingdom. It is not like the earthly kingdoms, since it is ruled by the Law of Love. Love is the universal currency in the Kingdom of Heaven. Since each of us is everything that exists, by giving to others we give to ourselves and by serving others we serve ourselves. When the race to awakening is over, we can rest and enjoy the Paradise that we have created in the process of changing ourselves. There will be no need to struggle or even work anymore. We will do what we love and everything else will be added (Matthew 6: 33). We will abide in eternal peace and joy, able to experience ecstatic union with God whenever we wish. The whole universe will become our playground, full of wonderful surprises and adventures, perfectly safe, full of love and life. All of our wishes will be fulfilled even before we voice them. This is our destiny. The rest that we attain when our spiritual quest and all of our efforts come to fruition is achieved when we unite with God, experiencing the “peace that passes all understandi
ng” (Philippians 4: 7).
3. (1) Jesus said, “If those who lead you say to you, ‘See, the Kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. (2) If they say to you, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you. (3) Rather, the Kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. (4) When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the children of the living Father. (5) But if you do not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty.”
(1–3) Please compare with Luke 17: 20–21: “Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of Heaven would come, Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of Heaven does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘here it is,’ or ‘there it is,’ because the Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” The Kingdom of Heaven is a state of consciousness available to each of us right now and right here if we chose to follow Jesus’ example.
(4) The ancient Greek aphorism, “Know thyself,” which was inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, was a part of perennial wisdom, common to many ancient cultures. “When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known,” suggests that distinction between subject and object disappears when we enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Each one of us is both God and the child of God. Recognizing the presence of God within allows us to see others in a brand new light. Jesus meant it literally when he said that Christ dwells in each of us. This understanding is reflected aptly in the Indian greeting “Namasté,” which can be translated as “the God in me salutes the God within you.” When we mutually acknowledge His presence within each of us, we take a major step towards peace, brotherhood, and equality. Would you be rude or nasty to God if you met Him in the supermarket or in your office?
Psalm 46 tells us that we have to become still in order to experience the Divine Spirit within. Stillness on both the physical and mental levels can be achieved by meditation, prayer, and other spiritual techniques. In the process of learning about ourselves we reach deeper and deeper within, peeling away layers that hide our true nature; and in the process we get closer and closer to the stillness, eternal joy, and peace within. Eventually we discover a world of freedom, love, joy, and never-ending life, a timeless realm of eternal NOW. The narrow gateway to that realm is inside each of us, and it can be opened through diligent and patient effort. Once we enter through that gateway, the inside becomes like the outside—we return to God and become again united with the whole world, visible and invisible.
(5) If you don’t discover your true identity, how impoverished you are, indeed! When one experiences the ecstasy of union with God, one realizes that there is no need to change the world or to convert others to your faith. Rather, each of us should focus on healing and awakening ourselves first. There is no need to suffer or to be unhappy ever again. Our lives are meant to be a joyful celebration and an amazing adventure. And we all have the potential to awaken to who we really are. When we awaken from the nightmare that we are experiencing right now, this world will turn into a Paradise.
4. (1) Jesus said, “The man old in days will not hesitate to ask a small child seven days old about the place of life, and he will live. (2) For many who are first will become last, and the last will be first; and they will become one and the same.”
(1) As we grow older we accumulate a vast store of beliefs and assumptions about the world and other people that we tend to confuse with knowledge. This is the foundation on which we build our whole worldview. Eventually we don’t even bother questioning our unconscious assumptions and we reject outright everything that doesn’t agree with our fundamental convictions. Our thoughts travel only along well-established pathways and we end up thinking that we know everything about the world. We “know” what is possible and what is not. We “know” what others like and how they think. We “know” what is good for everyone and what is not. We judge others without really getting to know them, we become self-righteous, and as a result we disconnect and dissociate from reality. We become lost in the dream, unable to extricate ourselves from illusions. We take it for granted that we have to die, that our lot in life is suffering and disease, and that wars and hatred in the world are inevitable. Yet none of these things are true!
To see the wisdom of a seven-day-old child one has to recognize the deceptions that begin on the eighth day of life. Jewish boys were circumcised and named on the eighth day of their life, thus becoming official members of the Israeli tribe and taking on a new, separate identity, differentiating them from everyone else. That’s how our separation from God begins. For that reason, a seven-day-old baby is just like the first human being on the seventh day of creation: nameless, totally innocent, untouched by suffering, free of fear, open to love, and still connected to God. A child that young is practically egoless: It does not assume anything, does not judge or condemn, doesn’t harbor any secrets, and is free of fear, guilt, and shame. Each of us has to return to such child-like innocence in order to awaken.
What is the place of life? Life is within each of us, not in the external world where other “places” are. The baby knows nothing of the places in the physical world, but it is much closer to God, since it only recently came from the Source from which we all come and to which we all return. An old man must realize that he knows exactly as much about the spiritual world as the newborn baby knows about the physical one—nothing.
A person who wants to be saved has to let go of his/her ego, arrogance, and pride, and become humble and open to learning from everyone—even from infants. God speaks to us every day through other people, but few of us notice and care to hear the call to love. When we slow down and pay attention to other people, we see how hungry everyone is for love. Each of us can become the unlimited source of love for others if we chose to open up and to forget about our limited self. More and more of us discover this amazing secret: When we transcend our own pain and suffering to help others, our suffering also melts away.
(2) Those who rule the world today may be the “first” in the eyes of the world, yet in their quest for power, money, and fame they trample over others and thus delay their own awakening and bring suffering to themselves. One can imagine how humbling it will be for someone like that to be the last person to awaken. And yet, even those people will eventually return home, thus completing the work of salvation.
5. (1) Jesus said, “Recognize what is in front of you, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. (2) For there is nothing hidden that will not become manifest, nor buried that will not be raised.”
(1) We don’t have to look very far to find God. He is right in front of our faces every day, speaking to us through other people, looking towards us through the eyes of animals. There is nothing outside of God—thus, everything we see is part of God. God is revealing Himself to us through the beauty of spider webs glistening with dewdrops in the morning sun and in the colors of fall leaves fluttering in the wind. The beauty of the Divine design is apparent even in the trash heap, in rotting wood and grains of sand. We can see it everywhere if we only slow down, become more present, and pay attention to the world around us. “The universe is the outpouring of the majesty of God, the auspicious one, radiant love. Every face you see belongs to Him. He is present in everyone without exception”(Yajur Veda). For this reason, Jesus asked us to see Christ in everyone else.
(2) Once we learn to see God in everyone and everything, the secrets of the invisible spiritual realm (the ultimate reality) will also be revealed to us. Since God looks through our own eyes, in reality there are no secrets in this world that He doesn’t know about. Even the most obscure secret, such as the taboo concerning our true identity, will not be hidden or buried within us forever. It will be raised to the surface when we awaken.
6. (1) His disciples questioned him and said to him, “Do you want us to fast?
(2) How shall we pray? (3) Shall we give alms? (4) What diet shall we observe?”
(5) Jesus said, “D
o not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of heaven. (6) For there is nothing hidden that will not become revealed, and nothing disguised will fail before long to be made public.”
(1–4) Jesus taught over and over again that our life should focus on striving for the Kingdom of Heaven, yet his disciples were unable to understand his teachings and kept asking for rules that could be followed without thinking. There are no rituals that can make you a good, loving person. That’s why Jesus ignored their questions as irrelevant in this passage. We should remain flexible and open-minded, instead of fixating on rituals and superficial rules that may actually lead us away from God. When we remember who we really are and focus on a life of service to others, full of loving kindness, then everything else will fall into place. Fasting, diet, prayer, and almsgiving by themselves don’t have any value unless they are informed by the higher purpose. External behaviors need to reflect internal insights and should be directed by love. Jesus tells the disciples to work on themselves and to focus on the inner rather than outer. Inner transformation is much more important than external, superficial things that pass for piety and religiousness in this world. See also Saying 14.
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