Lesson 20 - Meditation Q&A – Enlightenment without God?

From: Yogani
Date: Sun Nov 30, 2003 4:02pm

New Members: It is recommended you read from the beginning of the
archive, as previous lessons are prerequisite to this one. The first
lesson is, "Why This Discussion?"

Q: I am an atheist. A friend told me about this group. Frankly, I
find the religious overtones annoying. But I was curious and tried
the meditation, and have been pleasantly surprised. I would like to
continue because it calms my nerves, and I remain curious as to what
I might learn about myself. But I am still an atheist! Is there such
a thing as enlightenment without God?

A: There is enlightenment both with and without God. This is because
human beings are inherently enlightenable, transformable to a higher
state of evolution, regardless of the belief system utilized. We
could say that all of existence is headed in that direction, from the
rocks up through all the kingdoms of living things. Everything is
moving forward. Humanity is no exception. We humans have an added
ability to consciously accelerate the process, to choose a fast
track, which is what advanced yoga practices are about. We can turbo-
charge the evolutionary process.

There has always been a mystique about human spiritual evolution. It
is a practical mystique, a mystique with a purpose. The conception of
God by humanity has been a necessary relationship structure. It has
enabled humanity to surrender to its higher destiny, and approach it
enthusiastically. At it's best, this is what belief in God is –
Belief in humanity's highest destiny, emerging from within us, and
ultimately experienced all around us. Belief in God helps people to
personally participate in the most exciting part of the human
journey – the enlightenment process.

Is it necessary to believe in God for this unfoldment to occur? No.
But it is necessary to believe in something in order to move in the
direction of enlightenment.

If we are sitting in a café in New York, and I tell you there is a
wonderful place called California three thousand miles away and that
you should go see it, why would you go? Suppose you didn't believe
me, didn't believe such a place existed at all. How could you find
the motivation to go? It would be hard. Having never been west of the
Mississippi River, you might believe that everyone who has gone past
the Mississippi fell off the edge of the earth. This is, in fact, how
Europeans felt about the Atlantic Ocean until people like Columbus
and Magellan proved that there was a new world on the other side, and
more.

To be motivated to do something about moving forward, you have to
believe in the possibility of the destination. For many, the journey
toward salvation is fueled by a belief in God. But it doesn't have to
be about God. It can also be about truth, and believing that there is
a final truth about us, in us, and that we can live it, become it. It
can also be a belief in a personal process of transformation, and our
own experience of it as we practice meditation and other yoga
methods. Experiencing the journey naturally unfolding through
practices can be more than enough to believe in, once the process has
gotten underway and our experiences of deep silence and bliss light
the fire of our desire to go for more and more. Whether we are
selling out to our own rising experience of peace and bliss, or to
the idea of pursuing the ultimate truth of life, or to a relationship
with God, the result will be the same – an unwavering devotion to
becoming one with "That" which is true.

Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you
free."…No mention of God there.

The word "God" does not exist in Buddhism or Taoism. Each has found
its own intellectual and emotional motivations for approaching the
infinite within. In all approaches it is the same thing that is
sought, that great inner truth which lies deep within our heart, mind
and senses -- That which we can merge with by direct means, which, in
turn, brightly illuminates our heart, mind and senses. This is the
joining. By any name or belief structure, the outcome will be the
same, so long as the aspirant has found the motivation to apply the
methods of transformation on a daily basis.

So, it does not matter exactly how you have come to believe in a
place called, "California." You may even call it by some other name.
If you believe enough to keep putting one foot in front of the other,
you will eventually be dipping your toes into the Pacific Ocean. If
you don't believe it is there, you aren't likely to put forth the
effort to get there. It's that simple.

Think of enlightenment in whatever way that inspires you the most,
and use that inspiration to meditate every day…

Be tolerant of your brothers and sisters who cherish beliefs that are
different from yours. We will each develop our own unique passion for
the journey, and we are all headed home.

The guru is in you.

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