We know that humans have been evolving for millions of years. Well, the homo sapiens started to exist only 300.000 years ago. And we know this evolution is being rapidly accelerated in our times. But it is only limited to the evolution of the mind. People are becoming smarter in the mind, but not necessarily more intelligent. Intelligence is not about being smart, but about being wise, and wisdom has not evolved but rather devolved in our times. Additionally, emotionally, humans did not evolve even a bit. If anything, because of the mind becoming so dominant, they have regressed emotionally and got even more disconnected from their body. What about the spiritual evolution of the human kind? And by spiritual I refer to the process of awakening to our true self. I do not consider religions to be spiritual, but rather as superstitious belief systems that brainwash people, enslaving their minds into the pitiful creatures that they have become..
The golden age
Humanity was spiritually asleep most of the time. The spiritual awakening, as far as we know, began in ancient India. It was the golden age of spirituality on this planet, and it lasted more or less up to 1000 AC. The Indian sages were very deep, highly intelligent and possessed a great enthusiasm to explore the nature of reality. They were the first people on this planet that discovered ‘self’ and based their teachings on the knowledge of self. You can read Upanishads to see how that knowledge came to be. This was the amazing India, the land which gifted the world with such astonishing revelation. However, for some reason, Hindu philosophers were extremely intellectual in the negative sense of this word. Reading their writings as they were trying to prove their points with some kind of dry, entirely robotic or even inhumane logic is unbearable and gives one a headache; it is just too much mind. Wanting to prove their conclusions they were relying too much on the primitive part of the mind, as opposed to feeling and intuitive intelligence. You cannot prove through the mind the existence of Me; one has to feel it.
Another problem was their dogmatic tendency to submit to the authority of the Vedas. They all tried to prove that their interpretation of the Vedas was the most accurate. They all saw the Vedas as indisputable and absolute authority on spiritual matters. Why actually? It is similar to how Christians view the Bible. In this age, people are still so naive and religiously fanatical; for them truth has been replaced with religious dogmas. Even Osho said at some point that the Bible is garbage; he was referring to its spiritual value, or just did not like the story. Apart from some sparks of wisdom, now and then, I would say that the Bible is simply a work of fiction that perhaps is historically valuable but spiritually bears hardly any significance. But must we really look for the confirmation of truth in the past? Learning from the past is essential, but for what reason exactly would we assume that ancients possessed higher knowledge than us?
There were so many extraordinary discoveries in that golden age of spirituality. And it was also the time when Buddhism was born. Buddha’s contribution to human spirituality is doubtlessly enormous. Because Buddha had no interest in following the authority of the Vedas, in that freedom from Hindu dogmatism, he was able to gain understanding which in some areas surpassed Hinduism. But Buddhism was evolving too, and its further teachings went beyond the initial conclusions of Buddha himself. It is worth noting that later on Adi Shankara in his vigorous fight against Buddhism, at the end himself incorporated many ideas of Buddhism in his version of Advaita.
Spiritual awakening began in India
The spiritual awakening began in India but then it migrated to other countries, such as China, Korea and Japan. Not Hinduism, but Buddhism was the one that migrated. In China many great Zen masters arose and their teachings were very impressive. Many great masters were also teaching in Korea and Japan.
Meanwhile, the West was pretty much in a deep spiritual slumber. A few Christian mystics, such as Mester Ekhart, had some mystical insights, but they were too oppressed by the dogmas of the Christian church to express themselves freely, in fear of getting burnt at the stake.
After that amazing period in India, gradually the new age of spiritually was coming to an end. Many western seekers still believe that India is the center of spirituality, but in reality it is merely grasping at straws. It is still a very special place, and the energy of it is very supportive for spiritual evolution. It is like something from the past, from that past opening, is still present in India. You can feel it in the air.
In that spiritual decline that followed, now and then teachers of a higher degree were emerging, like stars in the dark sky reaching us through the clouds. As an example, Ramana Maharishi who through his humble but profound presence brought new inspiration and hope to many people. There was Nisargadatta Maharaj, a very original teacher, who uncompromisingly delved into the nature of the self. He became a source of inspiration for many people too, including myself. There was Anandamayi Ma, a beautiful soul who embodied the divine quality of the universal me. In more recent times, I can think of Krishnamurti and Osho who both were able to awaken the spiritual interest, fascination, inquisitiveness, and passion in a multitude of people. And let’s not forget that it was also the time of the Hippy movement that had spiritual value too; people as much as they were lost, they were questioning reality and looking for an alternative way of life.
1994, India
When I came to India, in 1994, there was magic and spiritual excitement in the air. It was an exciting time. When I started to teach, a few years later, my students were very dynamic and enthusiastic, and very lovely, sincerely looking for the answer to their spiritual quest. Those of you who were present in those days can confirm it. But I wonder what happened to some of the students who were gone afterwards? For many it was just a straw fire, a fleeting romance with spirituality, lacking a real dedication. When existence opens certain spaces for us to grow into awakening, this happens in the collective mind, but since it takes two to tango, an individual needs to demonstrate his commitment. What happened at that time on our planet was one of precious spiritual openings for humanity, another opportunity. But then sadly that spiritual force lost its momentum and disappeared.
Remember that at that time, there was no internet. To receive my mail, I had to go to the Delhi main post office. Do you remember those times that you had to write letters or send postcards in order to communicate with people far away? Life was slower back then and there were no mobile phones, but everything worked just fine. Now everything is faster, and yet people seem to have less and less free time. Like in Alice through the Looking Glass, ‘in our world, it takes all the running you can do to stay in the same place’.
There is a direct connection of the recent spiritual deflation with the internet and social media taking over the collective consciousness. People are just becoming more and more disconnected from their essence. Their mind has been so bombarded with all kinds of useless information through their computers and mobiles, and the excessive human unconscious interactions that they are unable to even process all of it. And social media, which is meant to facilitate connections between people, is causing them to become more superficial and emotionally shallow; it is a mirage, an illusion of people connecting to themselves, because they are just getting more lonely. Are you wondering why is that? It is because social media makes people connect only through the mind alone without the physical contact, and creates this fantasy, this lie of being together. As I explained many times, emotions are not meant to be processed in the mind. But in the social mind, emotions are just in the mind. Anyways, when one closes the laptop or the app on the phone, what remains is total emptiness. Yes sure, you can use social media for practical reasons, but do not expect any emotional gratification from it, do not expect to find love there.
In our human emotional exchange we must have a physical contact for it to be real and rooted in the body and in the heart. It is the same with our teaching, you need a physical proximity of the teacher to truly grow. A physical contact or proximity is the full body-mind-heart-soul meeting of two people. Some of you appear to be content with learning online. Online retreats are certainly very beneficial, but they happen in virtual reality, without the body. It is not a complete and true meeting with the teacher, and I don’t even see you. And I do need to see you in order to reach out to your soul and help you directly. You may ask, about the video call meetings? They are more complete meetings, but still very limited. Keep in mind that we have evolved for millions of years to interact physically so that all our senses are engaged. Only in the physical meeting can the energy be fully exchanged between people. Some say consciousness is not limited or diminished by distance, but it is just their mind talking. Consciousness too is a subject to the limitation of space as it manifests in the body. Even I Am cannot enter here directly – it needs to enter through our physical form.
We are not ghosts but souls incarnated into the physical form that become real through and in this body. In order to connect with anyone, for it to be worthwhile, it has to be physical. Why? Because emotions are in the body, and when you interact with other people via social media in a disembodied way, as two incorporeal entities talking to each other, it all goes exclusively through the mind and your disembodied emotions simply cannot follow that interaction. The meaningful meeting between people must happen on all levels – physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
In the past, when you were receiving a letter written by someone you care about, there was no direct physical meeting, but at least while you were holding that precious piece of paper filled with words, you could feel almost physically the other person. It was this effort of writing a letter, sending the letter, the anticipation of receiving, and the appreciation of holding it physically in your hand that made that connection so much more tangible and real.
You may wonder how the subject of social media relates to the spiritual decline on this planet. It relates to it very much. When people become more superficial and emotionally shallow, they become also spiritually shallow. And if you consider the fact that social media is spread throughout the whole globe, what do you think it does to all the people, the collective mind and this planet? All of it becomes completely fake, just as most people who live through social media.
We all appreciate how the internet and mobile phones make our life easier. It is now difficult to imagine living without them. Now you can send an email to a person on the other side of the globe and he receives it immediately. But what this internet has done to people might not be worth the comfort we get from it. What happened is that the collective mind became an internet mind; and that mind has become so strong and so brutal that it has disconnected us from our body, our emotions and our true self, raping our soul.
I am not saying that we should go back in time or that the internet is evil. I am saying that it has to be used wisely and in harmony with the inner self. But people who tend to be like children fascinated with shiny objects, lost themselves in the Internet; they became the internet. That’s frightening, scary. Our world has become the monstrous mind of the internet, constantly processing information, constantly talking, never sleeping, dominating everyone. People think that they are so clever, but they are one idiotic and soulless mind of the internet, nothing more.
Forgetfulness of our true self is the starting place for everyone.
It is the intuitive recognition of that forgetfulness that motivates us to enter the spiritual path. It starts with remembering that one has forgotten. But the internet took this forgetfulness to another level, to such a level that people are just too far gone to remember that they have forgotten. It is like one level of forgetfulness is added to the usual human forgetfulness. They did not just forget, and forgot that they forgot, but also forgot that they forgot that they forgot. They still have a chance to change, but a new opening is needed and something really has to transform in this world. Some kind of spiritual revolution is needed.
Are the spiritual openings on this planet random, or do they happen for a reason? They occur closely in alignment with the state of the collective consciousness at the time, but they are also a reflection of our own individual evolution. When there are more people with a certain level of consciousness awakened, the universal me can come through more. It is all about how much the universal me can enter this realm, through the personal me. In ancient India, it entered strongly because there was a larger group of evolved people. When all these high teachings developed, they were coming from the universal me, though expressed within the limitation of human intelligence.
Spiritual crisis
The spiritual crisis on our planet is directly related to the fact that the universal me cannot enter because there is almost nobody through whom it could enter. Humans at present are mostly spiritually blocked. Remember that universal me can only enter through you, as it entered through me. We must all become an open door for I Am to come here and breathe the air of this world. Our teaching is the teaching of the universal me, but to embody it fully as a student, at some point Me needs to be realized and one has to surrender to Me. Then it becomes truly our teaching or our path, mine and yours. I often use the term ‘our teaching’ instead of my teaching, because it is meant to be ours.
Everyone is part of the collective mind, and is deeply affected by it. Those with more developed individuality are strong enough to resist the negative influences from the collective mind. But the majority is fully identified with the collective mind; they become whatever the universal mind becomes.
It might be just that we are about to enter another dark age of spirituality, as there is great madness in the direction where humanity is going. Yet, the destiny of this world is not fixed, and no one knows, even I Am does not know, what will happen. To think that destiny is fixed or this reality is fated, is an outdated idea. There is no fixed destiny because No One has ever planned it. If so-called God supposingly planned the final outcome of what is to come from this reality and all of us, and each of us, this would be preposterous. God would have to be as mad as a hatter, and this could not even work. The world is not a simple algorithm that can be predicted, but rather it is a creative process. Existence is playing this by the ear. All of us are creating it. We have a situation of spiritual impasse on our planet, but this planet depends on us; it can change only if we are able to change.
Sadly, some of my students are also unconsciously identified with the collective mind which has nowadays become non-spiritual or even anti-spiritual. By succumbing to it, they lose connection to their spiritual essence, they lose themselves. However, the thing is that they don’t even know what is happening, cannot register it, or if anything rationalize their spiritual lack of inspiration and lethargy with all sorts of excuses. Or they say, ‘I meditate every day so I am doing just fine, I am ok’. Really? It is not enough to meditate every day. Some of them are not ok and are not doing fine, because they are simply not doing anything, not doing the work of a lifetime. We must evolve, move forward, transcending our limits and restrictions, becoming the river of light that flows into the future. What is the point of meditating every day if one has no spiritual fire and lacks the spiritual longing for Me? It is ok to get distracted or lose spiritual inspiration at times; it is natural. But we must rise again and remember our yearning for Me.
Opposing the lower influence of the collective mind
It is an imperative that you oppose the lower influences of the collective mind through your own intelligence, wisdom and spiritual integrity and dedication. This world is shaping you, but you are also shaping this world. What it will become, will be your doing and your responsibility. You must do some soul searching and introspection, and honestly feel what has happened to you, and what is happening with you, and whether it is even you. Is it still you? People in general are not themselves, due to the lack of individuation. But our evolution is about us becoming ourselves, about you becoming you; about embodying that which Me wants you to be through its incarnation as you.
I am aware that for some of you the idea of the universal me is unclear and abstract. But it is not an idea, but reality that needs to be actualized. I spoke about conscious incarnation meaning that you enter your whole body with consciousness, with Me. But for our incarnation to become fully complete, the universal me has to enter us, and through us, this world. Is this world real? Unless the universal me enters here, the world is unreal, it is no more than the subconscious dream of I Am. It becomes real only when illuminated from within by the universal me. Then it is no longer a dream, because Me has become conscious in the world and as the world. The Grand Plan is that Me becomes the world. You might ask if after the awakening of the personal me the world still remains unreal? Let’s say that it becomes more real, because it makes you real, and this dream becomes a conscious dream.
We must oppose the spiritual regression on our planet through our evolution into the light of self. There has to be another spiritual opening on our planet soon because people are drifting rapidly away from their essence. Shouldn’t we take responsibility for our world? We must become the doorway into the world for the universal me. We are capable of reaching the spiritual heights that surpass even the golden age of ancient India. Why not? We have many advantages over the sages of that time. What is our greatest adventure? It is having the intimate knowledge, clearly explained, of the universal me and I Am, and its relationship with our world. While the mystics and philosophers of ancient India had profound insights into the realm of self, they were also confused in many ways. Their understanding was far from being complete, and somehow fell short from capturing the truth. And we are not confused! Not anymore.