Descend to Ascend!

The law of spiritual pursuit is wonderful, like that of a tree. In case of a tree, deeper the roots, longer are its branches which bear more flowers and fruits. Like roots go deep and fruits appear above, spiritual pursuit takes place inside and the accomplishment appears outside. And, the day a seeker touches the final stratum of his inner abyss, that is the day he attains the soul's ultimate height – Liberation.

This requires freedom from indolence – that is, full awareness. First, comes awareness of the known, then awareness of the knower and then awareness of awareness itself – where there is no thought about known or knower, where one has transcended thoughts and there is only knowledge. When awareness turns within and becomes steady there, there manifests pure knowledge – Omniscience.

Indolence and Awareness
Psychology and parapsychology say that the human personality is like a seven-storey building. Generally, all humans live and die on its level one – the conscious level. Immediately below, in the basement, is the unconscious level. The next level below is the collective unconscious level. The last floor beneath is the cosmic unconscious level. Similarly, above the level that we live on are the superconscious level, collective conscious level and cosmic conscious level, in that order.

With three floors above and three floors below where we generally are, it is like a seven-storeyed building. The spiritual practice of self-realisation is to become aware of these seven levels. None of these should remain unfamiliar because that alone is bondage. Ignorance itself is defeat and knowledge is the journey to victory.

Unfamiliarity is Indolence
In this seven-storey life, we know only one level, where we are; the conscious level. Continuing to remain stuck here is indolence, that is, unawareness or slumber. We live in such indolence that we don’t realise that there is a manifold extension of our personality, our life, our being. Spiritual practices are for breaking this indolence. A man owning a seven-storeyed house but living only on one level, not knowing about the other levels, is asleep! If he were awake, he would undoubtedly be familiar with the rest of the levels.

How to Proceed?
We are familiar with the conscious mind, but unaware of the levels above and below. So how do we proceed to familiarise with and experience them?

Until we are asleep on the level of the conscious, we will not be able to experience the other ones. However, one who knows that he is sleeping, begins to awaken. When one wakes up and becomes aware of the activities of the conscious mind, he reaches the ladder to the level below; the door to the unconscious mind opens for him.

The formula to get down to the unconscious is to wake up in the conscious mind. Whenever a thought arises, try to know it by staying detached from it. In this way, by waking up, one enters the unconscious and can remain aware even in sleep and dreams. Maintaining awareness in sleep, the state of the mind will change. By being aware in the dream, the dream will collapse and one will become free from it. With increasing awareness at this level, one enters the collective unconscious.

As seen earlier, the deeper the spiritual practices, the higher we rise in our accomplishments. When a seeker passes from conscious to the unconscious, suddenly he finds that a higher door – to the superconscious – too has opened for him! Likewise, as he advances to enter the collective unconscious, another door opens above to the collective conscious. Similarly, when he goes into the cosmic unconscious, he realises that even the door to the cosmic conscious has opened. Thus, the deeper we go, the higher we rise. So let's stop worrying about soaring heights and be earnest about achieving depth. Let's start right from where we are.

In Depth, All are One
The seeker who remains aware in the dream enters the collective unconscious. The collective unconscious has its distinct activities, which people call religious experience. However, principally it is an experience at the subtle level of the mind, not a realisation of the pure self. The collective unconscious of all is the same and therefore in the profound depths, everyone has the same experience. And so, matters that are related to great depth have little difference; in the words that describe them, but not in their experience.

Like, dance arises from the collective unconscious; therefore language is no barrier in understanding it. If an Englishman or a Hindu dances, a Chinese or a Muslim respectively can understand that dance. Similarly, you don’t need to know the French language to understand the painting of a French artist. This is because it is something that originates from our collective unconscious.

There is a striking resemblance in the symbols adopted amongst all the religions of the world. The sound of 'Aum' has been adopted with a few minor modifications - 'Aum' for Hindus, 'Amen' for Jews and Christians and 'Amin' for Muslims. The words of the English language - omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent stem from 'Aum'. All these modifications have risen from great depth, not out of culture. The sameness that exists in the languages of the world is the sameness of the collective unconscious. Deep down, at subtle levels, our mind is same, we are one.

Cosmic Consciousness
If we become aware of the activities of the collective unconscious, we will descend to cosmic unconscious; as well as rise to and become established in cosmic conscious.

The enlightened ones say that the nature of all souls is of the same type. The process of accessing it is by awareness. Start waking up right where you are. The day you wake up there, you will find the key to the door below. Then start waking up at that level and you find the key to the next door below and so on. As long as you are at the conscious level, you cannot rise to the superconscious.

Your roots have to descend into the unconscious. The day that happens, your branches will rise and spread into the superconscious.

To Reach Heights, Go Deep
Life is always twofold. As much as it is above, that much it is below. The only difference is down underground, it is in darkness; above in the open sky, it is in the light. The way to go up passes from below. If you want to go into the experiences of spirituality, you have to descend first.

A tree that would touch the sky has to muster the strength to reach its roots to the lowest stratum. It takes courage to descend from the conscious into the unfamiliar unconscious. But the more you descend into darkness, the more you become qualified for light. Stepping into the dark brings courage and worthiness.

Descend into your deepest stratum to scale the heights and reach liberation! This will be possible only through awareness, by transcending indolence. This is not possible by any other means. Wherever, how much ever and by whomever it may have been said in the world - whatever all Enlightened ones have to say is summed up in this little word – 'Apramaad'; Awareness! Therefore, live consciously, with discretion, with awareness, not in unawareness.

Authored by: Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji