As this series has unfolded, one respondent pointed out that the seven spiritual paths are more accurately described as levels or stages of spiritual growth. That seems fair to me, with this caveat. A person may have little idea of what spiritual stage he has reached; it is perilously difficult to judge such things either from the inside or outside. But a path is consciously chosen. Having chosen it, we may become confused along the way, change course, or give up for a time. There is considerable flexibility in these matters, given all the complexities of human nature. But a path nonetheless represents a decision to live a certain way with a certain vision in mind.
Another respondent asks what it means to say that "life is like a dream." Actually, it can mean many things. The dream can be a metaphor or a passing mood. It can be a statement about detachment fro the material world. It can denote that the mind has found a new, creative relationship to physical reality. Finally, it can describe a state of awareness in which the subtle aspects of reality dominate over the physical. Each person may find that experiencing any or all of these things is possible in one lifetime.
Path #7 -- The End of All Seeking, Unity
It has become increasingly clear on Paths #4-6 that the physical world is projected from consciousness. The source of consciousness feels at first like "me." I am at the center of my own thoughts. Gradually it becomes apparent, however, that consciousness has its own source, which is sometimes referred to as "It." Whether we use the label God or not becomes less and less important. The state of duality is temporary, because on Path #7, a person feels no separation between self and source. This is unity consciousness, the goal of all seeking.
Several things make it the goal. First and foremost is the end of struggle and suffering. As long as life remains a struggle, we experience fear and resistance. This denotes a state of separation, a lack of mastery over the events in one's life. In unity consciousness there is no suffering because one exists entirely in the self. There can still be physical pain, but the mind doesn't interpret this as anguish or fear. Secondly, someone in unity is detached from ego concerns. There is no longer a drive to maximize pleasure, to acquire material goods, or to resist others. Third, the sense of being an isolated individual has departed. In its place, one experiences "being here" as a fulfilled state.
The end of seeking is a huge achievement, but it needs to be remembered that we all have flashes of "being here," a calm inner state of satisfaction without restlessness or pain of any kind. Path #7 stabilizes this feeling and makes it permanent. Life doesn't stop here. The end of seeking is not the same as the end of experience. What lies ahead is more growth, but instead of being individual growth, it is more like being part of the expanding universe. One feels the growth of awareness throughout creation. This begins on a less than cosmic scale. At the outset of unity, awareness is still identified with human perspectives, which is why Christ and Buddha, for example, speak so compassionately about the entire human race. But we also know from more ancient spiritual documents that the human perspective can expand to the point where a great Vedic seer is capable of cosmic insights, knowledge about every fiber of creation from the finest to the grossest. The culmination of spirituality lies here, on the frontier of the infinite. Words can hardly express the state of unity, yet we are assured by the traditions of wisdom that such a state exists and is our birthright.
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