ONENESS

What is ONENESS?
Oneness basically means merging with the ONE or uniting with God.It can also be called becoming part of ALL THERE IS.These sound very mysterious but in reality are very simple concepts,just like the unbelievably simple person one becomes on merging with Him.The difficulty is in getting or making this to happen!
This may never happen by just READING books on Religion or spirituality or those on self motivation,since by reading alone one may imbibe tremendous knowledge about a particular subject, but this knowledge is of little use till it is actually channeled correctly.To give you an example,one cannot become a specialist in one’s chosen field till one learns to actually practice it after being taught by a teacher,a surgeon cannot become a skilled surgeon by just watching another one operate unless and until he hones his surgical skill by carrying out operations himself,initially under guidance and later by himself.So many analogies can be given.

Similarly,sermons/lectures/meetings certainly do help in PROVIDING knowledge but this knowledge is not of much use till one learns to ASSIMILATE this knowledge,just like the mere act of eating food is not going to be of help to a person till it is absorbed and assimilated by the body,it is only then that the nutrients/vitamins/proteins etc present in the food are going to help.Someone has very correctly said that “Knowing about others is knowledge while knowing about yourself is Enlightenment”and this is what one wishes to achieve by being ONE with HIM.
How does it Happen?
One comes across so many people who can recite the Vedas/Geeta/Bible etc but have they actually been able to LIVE what they preach?The true purpose of every religion is to teach one the way to the Almighty(to become ONE with Him) and it is a God Realised Guru/Swami/Teacher,who himself has become ONE himself, who can do so.
Why should one aspire for ONENESS?
We have a mind,body and spirit or soul.The soul or Atma is a part of Parmatma to which it always wishes to unite and just wants TO BE,while the body believes in action guided by the mind.The soul never imposes itself,it only “whispers”its wish,interpreted as “intuition” but the body only responds to this whisper when the mind is conditioned for the same.When one realises and starts listening to the soul that one tries to merge with Him for it then dawns upon one that the “whisper” or ‘intuition’ is actually God’s way of communicating with one.As this happens one begins to “get ready” for someone who helps one move forward.It is at this juncture that one starts “seeking”the truth.
Someone has so very beautifully compared us to a bubble in the ocean which is made up of water just like the ocean,of which it is a part,but is separated from it by a very thin membrane,which in our case is our EGO.When the bubble bursts it again becomes part of the ocean and no trace remains of the bubble.Similarly when our ego disappears we become part of the ONE.
Many people may,however,still wonder as to WHY should we turn towards Him?After all,many feel that they have most of the material things they wish to have and for all intents and purposes are happy.But on deep introspection they would probably understand that happiness accruing from material things is transitory and disappears once that object is no longer there.The happiness may then be replaced with feelings of sadness/dissatisfaction/sense of loss etc.
This cycle continues and in its wake leaves behind unhappiness/sadness/hurt etc.If,however,one wishes to remain forever happy then one needs to try to achieve BLISS which one can do only by becoming ONE with Him.Bliss is something which cannot be described but can only be FELT and can occur only on becoming ONE with HIM .Once this feeling has been tasted it is impossible to do without!
What are the external and internal manifestations of ONENESS?
Becoming one with Him takes place very subtly and one gradually notices many changes in one,often appreciated by others even before one does himself.The changes can be both EXTERNAL or INTERNAL.The internal changes are the changes in our thoughts,which finally lead to changes in our actions.One starts to “notice”the beauty of nature(nature’s beauty has always been there for us) to see but for the first time one actually ‘feels’ that beauty.A flower suddenly starts giving a feeling of happiness,a plant’s greenery and shade begins to appear as a gift,the myriad shades of a sun rise or sun set makes one realize the beauty of colours,sunshine starts to envelope one in its warmth…….and rain in its coolness.
Gradually a transformation starts taking place and one starts to actually “see” a person’s inner beauty,ie the beauty of the person’s soul as one becomes much more intuitive and seems to get clarity about many things/people/situations/circumstances and it appears that some sort of an inner communication is taking place.One’s instincts become sharper and often answers to questions appear in the form of “feelings”which act as guides and help in taking decisions which turn out to be “correct”.These feelings could be those of happiness,uneasiness,happiness,joy etc. Often one “knows”about an event before it has actually taken place and one can accurately predict(in one’s mind)about many developments which are yet to take place!(A true God realized soul will,of course, refrain from voicing these thoughts,though).
One begins to realize that people around one are probably not as bad as one thought,one begins to feel for them and when hurt by them,gradually understands what forgiveness is(forgiveness does not actually mean that one has condoned that person,nor dies it mean forgetting the incident,but assumes relevence when one actually feels for that person’s well being and sincerely and genuinely wishes him well)!This feeling occurs because now one has realized that anyone who has caused harm in any way is ultimately going to pay for it based on his bad Karma but the one on the path of oneness dose not want him to suffer because one u now “feels” for him even though harmed by him.Feelings of hate/jealousy/envy become almost non existent and are gradually replaced by those of warmth/love/attachment towards humanity.One stops wishing bad for anyone,and gets enveloped in sadness on seeing someone suffer.A feeling of compassion develops for everyone around him.One genuinely feels happy in someone else’s happiness, material things do not carry as much importance as before and a gradual feeling of contentment and happiness sets in.One now realizes that a sense of greed,which may have been a part of one is replaced by just a sense of need which means that one’s requirements now become “need based” rather than ‘desire based”.(This,however,does not mean that one should not live in comfort or not enjoy the good things in life as long as one remains “connected “to Him.This also does not mean that one should sacrifice everything,one’s home,family,etc and go elsewhere to find HIM.One needs to “realise “Him wherever one is,be it home/place of work/a garden,anywhere).As one starts getting ONE with Him,one KNOWS this to be true,rather than” believing “it to be true.One now KNOWS that ‘whatever happens is for good” rather than believing it be so.One understands that if something apparently does not work out the way one wanted it,one KNOWS that it not working out is for one’s good,and that God in His wisdom has probably planned something better.(What is important here is,however,whether one did one’s very best to achieve what one wanted to do or not.If one has done one’s very best and not achieved what one wanted,one should accept it gracefully).One realises that one is supposed to do one’s duty but not worry about the result(Bhagwat Geeta).With gradual ONENESS one knows this to be the “gospel” truth.
Our decisions, which were earlier based on FEAR are no longer so as the feeling of fear gradually ceases to have any meaning.One learns not to be afraid nor to cause any one else to be so as one’s faith in Him becomes unshakeable.Very soon another transformation takes place,that of looking at the world as an “observer’,which means that one understands that all the events/upheavals/good and bad things which earlier affected one so much are just a part of life and one sees them as one watches a movie,without being actually involved!This is what is meant by being “attached yet being dettached’.This happens because of increasing attachment to Him.For detachment to take place first and foremost,one needs to get attached to Him,only then is detachment possible.This does not mean,however,that one stops loving your near and dear ones,since the love for them still remains.
Along with the above changes,one becomes increasingly humble,as slowly but surely our ego starts taking a back seat as one now knows that we are all part of the ONE and no one is bigger or smaller.This translates into respect for our fellow beings,and the barriers of caste/creed/rich/poor/religion/nationality lose their importance.
All these good happenings are also associated with plenty of trials and tribulations as often after a very smooth run suddenly one gets a “setback” which could be in any form but the one on the True path takes it all in his stride despite the fact that these events could recur.
Another form of test is the one when one often “sees”the earlier births of certain human beings one is associated with and the relationship one had with them in the past life or lives.Initially these feelings are uncanny and may cause some confusion but later one realizes not to attach any importance to them and not to get affected by them.

A great sense of “positivity”prevails as one learns to look at things and developments with a positive frame of mind(every event can be viewed both positively or negatively but the one on the path of ONENESS chooses the positive scenario).This positive feeling attracts positive feelings or vibrations(our emotions are energy particles in motion,positive emotions like love/joy/compassion etc attract similar emotions from people or surroundings while negative emotions like hate/anger/jealousy/greed/fear etc invite the same feelings from those around us.The one on the path to God becomes quite choosy about the company he keeps……he chooses not to mix with those who manifest negative emotions and looses interest in gossip and refrains from making negative comments about others.He looks for faults in himself which need correction rather than blame others or find fault with them.
The above mentioned changes make the one travelling on the path of ONENESS a calm,serene and a very peaceful person.His mind is no longer filled with the clutter of gossip as he has now learned to associate himself with only things and events which nourish his soul,the foremost feeling in his mind is that of LOVE,the highest emotion and closest to God.Slowly at first but quite rapidly later all his conditioned responses,feelings and thoughts,which he learned as age advanced(irritation/anger/jealousy/greed/envy/hate etc)are now replaced with the higher emotions of love/forgiveness and joy.The conditioned responses get peeled off like the rings of an onion till only a beautiful core remains!He becomes like a child,shorn of all negativity,after all an infant is the purest stage of a human being,closest to Him!
All this translates into a being who radiates a beautiful aura of love and affection with tremendously positive vibrations,whatever he utters has a divine quality,his demeanour radiates peace,and his presence inspires confidence………..his foremost emotion is the highest one,that of LOVE and BLISS…..and GODLIKE!

Rebirth

One has always wondered whether rebirth does actually take place.To me it is a reality,though many doubt that it does,specially in the West.There have been many anecdotal evidences to prove it and lots of books have also been written on this subject.As far as I am concerned I know it to be true from personal experience.
Why does it occur?According to our mythology,when the human soul is about to leave the human body at the time of death,whatever form it wishes to take,it comes back again in that form.The human birth is supposed to be the highest form of creation in which God has bestowed upon us “free will”whereby we have choices to experience virtually whatever we wish to. Therefore the soul,in order to experience a particular type of life,reincarnates in that particular body to experience what it wishes to and evolves further(we are always evolving).This is of course,based on one’s karmas.
By the time one gets a physical birth,one has forgotten that one is a part and parcel of the Almighty,to which one should strive to return.If the soul wishes to experience God it gets born in situations or circumstances where it comes in contact with people who sort of act as “catalysts” to help it evolve further towards God.It is quite likely that at this juncture it meets a Being who teaches and shows the soul the path to God.This Being could well be a Guru/Prophet/Master,whatever one wishes to address him by(like Gautam Budha/Guru Nanak/Sant Kabir/Jesus Christ/Prophet Mohammed or a modern day guru who has actually traversed the path to Self Realisation).If,however,the soul has wished to experience something else,it takes the form of a of a human being with different charectaristics or traits and experiences something entirely different,but always keeps evolving.Sooner or later,(though it may take many births),it will heed the message being constantly communicated to it through intuition/instinct/sixth sense etc to follow the path of Truth,which the soul ultimately starts to seek.
The reality is that many of us are aware of our earlier births and perhaps feel excited about it and start seeing or meeting many of our friends/relatives/well wishers/enemies of an earlier birth and try to reestablish the same connection but one should remember that now the same person who may have been a brother/sister/friend or whatever had that specific role to play as THAT person in THAT particular birth but in the present incarnation the role may not be the same as before!Therefore one should not get too excited about it.The reality possibly is that this is just to pay back our karmic debt to each other and we assume different forms to do so.To give you an example.You find that your boss is overbearing and singles you out for “special” treatment.Perhaps you may not even be aware that this is happening to you only to balance out the way you treated him in an earlier birth, where perhaps you were bossing over him!Similarly,you suddenly find that you are stranded somewhere in dire need of help with no one in sight and you think you are” finished” but miraculously someone appears from nowhere and bails you out.Again a karmic debt is being paid.
The fact that most of the time we do not remember anything about our previous births is actually a blessing.You can imagine what would happen if you started recognizing all your earlier relatives/friends/enemies/well wishers/associates/bosses/subordinates etc and tried to maintain contact with all of them.You could have all types of feelings….. of love/hate/stress/fear with which it would be impossible to cope.In addition present relationships could also get affected.
Learning or knowing about your past life/lives can very well be a part and parcel of your spiritual growth and is often a by product of progress on your path to God Realisation,but here also,Gurus try to dissuade you from trying to unravel earlier mysteries for the simple reason that solving them or remembering your past serves no useful purpose at all as each birth and each relationship has a different purpose than the earlier one and could very well complicate your present life.
Often,some Psychiatrists can get a patient to remember his/her past life but here the purpose is often therapeutic as very often past mishaps could be causes of fear/phobias and a trained psychiatrist could help the patient get over the phobia by making him/her aware of the reason for it.
It is very common for reincarnation to take place in “clusters”,which means that many people you may have known in an earlier birth,may be born again around the time you are and may actually be ‘around you “!There is so much truth in the saying that “The world is a stage”!It actually is as we are all playing our role life after life,in one birth one could be a father, while in the next one might be born as the son to the person one fathered earlier!

If one were to realize this one would take a lot of things in one’s stride.This is one of the reasons why God Realised souls discourage you from saying bad or foul things about anyone(of course,the main reason is that since our Atma is actually a part of the Parmatma,when one says something bad about anyone, one is actually maligning God).
Very often one wonders why one takes a strong liking to someone one meets for the first time and gets a feeling that one has met that person before!But despite one’s best attempts neither can figure out when and where.It is quite likely that one has met someone one knew earlier in a past life.For no apparent rhyme or reason this relationship grows.Again,one must remember that though there is so much of familiarity the purpose of the present meeting may be entirely different from the one in the previous birth.
By the same token,one may come across some one to whom one takes an instant dislike even though one has never met that person before.This again might be a case where paths may have been crossed earlier in an earlier birth.As so often happens,such a person one seems to keep meeting over and over again,one may get irritated,angry or upset but this might just be a situation where both are actually meeting to balance things out.As you progress on the true path you realise that the purpose of such meetings is to reach a state of the highest good for both the concerned parties and you understand that your duty is to even things out,therefore,act in a manner whereby confrontation is avoided and an action done whereby reconciliation can take place and if posible real forgiveness and love.One,however,may fail once,twice or many times(meaning thereby that one has not acted in the manner commensurate with the highest good of both) but such events will continue to take place till the issue is resolved for the good of both(by such repeated events,one is being given a chance to correct oneself)!

Sooner or later one evolves to a stage when one starts “seeking the truth” and with the help of a God Realised soul starts traversing the path towards God and becomes One with Him.Once that happens this cycle of birth and death is broken and one does not come back again as one becomes a part of Him.It does,however,happen that a few chosen few(like Budha/Guru Nanak/Jesus Christ/Kabir/Prophet Mohammed) take birth to guide people and help them towards the path to God.