ROLAND R. ROPERS

TheFullnessofEternalLifeBeyondthepermanentchangeofBirthandDeath

TheConsciousnessofImmortalityintheRealmofNirvanawherenothingdies

MytalkattheUniversityofGoaon7thMarch2016ca.200studentsattending

BRAHMANistheImmortalInnerSourceofourBeing.(N.B.NottobeconfusedwiththeIndianGodBRAHMA)InChristianterminology:„TheKingdomofGODiswithinyou!“(Luke17,21)RITAVIDYA (theKnowledgeof theCosmicOrder),This so farnonexistingSanskritworddawnedonmeatdawnon5thMarch2016inGoa.

Goa–ArabianSeaTheMultitudeofWavesandOneOcean

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“Greater than all is Brahman, the Supreme, the Infinite. Hedwells in themystery of all beings according to their formandnature.ThosewhoknowHimwhoknowsall,andinwhosegloryallthingsare,attainimmortality.IknowtheSpirit,radiantlikethesunbeyonddarkness.HewhoknowsHimgoesbeyonddeath,for He is the only path to life immortal. His infinity is beyondwhat is great or small, and greater thanHim there is nothing.LikeatreeeverlastingHestandsinthecentreofheaven,andHisradiance illumines all creation. Those who know Him who isgreater than all, beyond form and beyond pain, attain immor-tality. Concealed in the heart of all beings lies the Atman, theSpirit,theSelf;smallerthanthesmallestatom,greaterthanthegreatestspaces.IknowthatSpiritwhoseinfinityisinall,whoisever one beyond time. I know the Spirit whom the lovers ofBrahmancalleternal,beyondthebirthandrebirthoflife."

(SvetasvataraUpanishad)

TheSpiritistheSource,theGroundofallBeing“EverythingcomesfromtheSpiritandreflectsitsPowerofLight.

TorecognizethedependenceofallcreaturesontheInnerLightandPoweroftheSpirit

istopartakeoftheSpirit'sownwisdomandimmortality.

Torefusetorecognizethisdependence,toseektobeautonomousandto

controltheworldistotakethepathofdeath.”

(DomBedeGriffithsO.S.B.,1906–1993)

RitavidyaKnowledgeoftheCosmicOrder(RolandR.Ropers,Goa5thMarch,2016)

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LastCurtain„Iknowthatthedaywillcomewhenmysightofthisearthshallbelost,andlifewilltakeitsleaveinsilence,drawingthelastcurtainovermyeyes.Yetstarswillwatchatnight,andmorningriseasbefore,andhoursheavelikeseawavescastinguppleasuresandpains.WhenIthinkofthisendofmymoments,thebarrierofthemomentsbreaksandIseebythelightofdeaththyworldwithitscarelesstreasures.Rareisitslowliestseat,rareisitsmeanestoflives.ThingsthatIlongedforinvainandthingsthatIgot-letthempass.LetmebuttrulypossessthethingsthatIeverspurnedandoverlooked“.

(RabindranathTagore,1861–1941)Wearelivinginatransitionperiodwhereeveryoneshouldbereadytowakeup.Inasensetherearetwoworlds:• One is the land of ever-changing phenomena, of birth anddeath,causeandeffect:theworldofduality,whichmanyofusbelieveisourrealhome.Itisnot.

• Our native land is altogether beyond these: aworldwhich istheverysourceof lightand life,beyondallchangeandthere-forebeyonddeath.Inthislandthereisonlyoneinhabitant:theSelf,theAtman,theDivineSourceandSpirit.

Fromeveryageandtradition,wehavepersonaltestimonythatthereissomeimmensely far realmwheredeath cannot reach. Inmore scientific language,there is a stateof consciousness inwhich there isno identificationwith thephysicalbody,no imprisonment in themindorego,butonly lifeat itsmostabundance. Just ashighmountainshavea timber line abovewhichno treesgrow,thepeakofconsciousnesshasanirvanalineabovewhichnothingdies.In this realm there is no distinction betweenmine and yours, his and hers.Everybody`swelfareisourwelfare;everybody`ssorrowisoursorrow.Inenteringthisrealm,wedonotleavethephysicalworldbehind.Wearecalledtorediscoverthedeepestrealmwithinourselveswhich isournativestate.DomBedeGriffithsoftenrecitedhisbelovedpassage fromtheChandogya-Upanishad:

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„InthecastleofBrahmanisasecretdwelling,thelotusoftheheart.

Withinthisdwellingisaspace,andwithinthatspaceisthefulfilmentofourdesires...

Neverfearthatoldagewillinvadethatcastle;neverfearthatthisinnertreasureofallreality

willwitheranddecay.Thisknowsnoagingwhenthebodyages;thisknowsnodyingwhenthebodiesdies.“

ThelandoftheEternalLifeisnotavisiblelocalityonlyWe live in the state our mind is in, and as long as the thinking process isactive,wemaypassourvisibleliveswithouteversuspectingthereisanotherrealm. But when the mind is completely still, we see all life as whole. Ourconsciousness is utterly transformed. We are the same person, yet whollychanged;andsimilarly,theworldweseeisverydifferenttoo.Oncewe finallyenter into theunitivestate,ourpassport isgoodandvalidinbothworldswhichareultimatelyone.We can learn to function freely in theworld of duality, yetwe never forgetwhoweareandwherewereallylive.ButtheworldofdualitycannotissueapassportthatwilltakeusintowhattheIndiansageRamakrishna(1836–1886)calls„Thelandwherethereisnonight.“Thesensescangopartofthewaywithus,buttheyquicklypassoutfromlackofstimulation.Themindcangofurther,butitcannotlivewithoutchangeanymorethanafishcanliveoutsidethewater.Aswegetclosetothefrontier,itliesdownandgoestosleep.Thisfrontierisachasm,anabyss.Whenwelookacross,weseeontheothersidenochange,noseparateness,notime,nocauseandeffect.Theintellectgetsterrifiedandruns.Buttheegostaystofight.Butbythetimewegettothefrontieritisoutintheopen,fightingforitsverylife.Inthisfight,theBhagavadGitasays,wehaveonlyoneally,thewill.Andwehaveonlyoneenemy, self-will. Thewhole ofSadhana, the path toSelf-Realization is onelong struggle to unify our desires until thewill becomes unbreakable, for awillthatisunbreakableisourbridgefromseparatenessintotheunitivestate.

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Once the bridge is crossed, themystics say, the individualwillislostinthecosmicwill.In every human being this chasm, this split in consciousness is present. Itshowsitselfinvacillation,inadividedwillandinthemultiplicityofdesires,intheunabilitytomaintainconcentrationonaproblemorloyaltyinarelation-ship.Everywhereitmeansconflict:betweentwodesires,betweentwopeople,between a hope and a contrary fear, but always at bottom between twowarringpartsofourownmind.Wecantalkaboutthisdivisioninconsciousnessinallsortsofways.Ifyoulikea horizontal picture, it is a tug-of-war between the selfless in us and theselfish. Again, we can call it a struggle between two selves: a higher, per-manentSelfandalower,impermanentego.Intermsofphysics,itisthewarbetweenlightanddarkness;intermsofmeta-physics,itiswisdomversusignorance.(Sanskrit:Vidyavs.Avidya)Whatever the language, unifying this split is a spiritualchallenge.Onlytowardstheendofthisgreatconflict,whenwereachthehumancontext,doweevenbegintofightback.ThatisthebeginningofSadhana.Herewearecomingslowlytowhattraditionalreligiouslanguagecallsgrace.Graceisreal,butitisnotoutsideus.It can be described as a tremendous force in the depths of consciousnesswhich,whenwearereadyforit,beginstoreshapeourlives.Theword“grace”derives from the Latin: “gratia” (joy, gratefulness), engl.: “gratis” (free ofcharge.TheBenedictinemonkandmysticDavidSteindl-Rast,whowillcelebratehis90th birthday on 12th July 2016 has successfully established the spiritualnetwork:www.gratefulness.orgThousands of people inmore than 200 countries are regularly visiting thisinspiringweb-page.Bliss(Sanskrit:Anananda)isthepeak-experienceofinnerliberationandjoy.This canhappenveryquietly. For somequite sensitivepeople, there simplycomesatimewhentheyarereadytoreceiveinstructionintoahighermodeof

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living. This development does not depend upon education, sex, socialstanding, race, or anything external characteristic. All of us have a littlewindow into deeper consciousness, and before that window opens drivingquestionsareofnomorethanintellectualinterest.Whenthewindowopens,theysuddenlybecomepersonal,literallymattersoflife.Suchawakeningoccursinatimeofcrisis.Tothemajorityofhumanbeings,livingonthesurfaceofexistence,thestormsof life are turbulent but superficial. They do throw us into turmoil, butafterwardswecontinueinthesameolddirection:tragedymaystrike,butwedonot learn from it.But there is a rarekindofhumanbeingwho respondsdifferently.Becausetheirawarenessgoesdeep,apersonalcrisiscanshaketheconsciousnessofsuchpeopletotheverydepths.Theturmoilcanbringgreatsuffering,physically,emotionally,andspiritually.Butafterthestormsubsides,theyhavereversedthedirectionoftheirlives.Thedesiretochangethedirectionoflifeisoneofthesurestsignsofgrace.Forawhile youmay not know the direction inwhich to go. But youwill knowwithoutdoubtthatthedirectionyouhavebeengoinginiswrong,andyouwilllookeagerlyallaroundforsomeonewhocanthrowlightonwheretoturn.If your Sadhana is sincere, there comes a stage when you can trade yourbucket for a Persian wheel. A Persian wheel has several buckets affixedaroundit,andasitturns,wateriscontinuallydrawnupandemptiedintoanirrigationcanal.Youhavebeendoingallyoucan,sotheSelfhasbeguntotakeyou seriously; now it begins to work along with you at a deeper level ofconsciousness.Finally, at the very end ofSadhana, grace comes like a steady rain. You nolonger have to carry water consciously now; it is present in a continuousstream,andyouhaveonlytodirectthechannelsthroughwhichitflows.Dedicationistestedoftenonthespiritualpath,andnottoseeexternalresultsforalong,longtimeseemstobethestoryofalmosteveryspiritualaspirant.Actually, though we do not see it, changes are taking place deep within usfrom the timewe learn tomeditate.Andoneday, ifwe goonwatering andweeding faithfully,wewill go out confidently expecting to see no results asusual and therewill be a little tendril poking up from the ground. Thenweknowthatourworkisbearingfruit.Whenalldesiresarepullinginthesamedirection,thewillisunifiedfromtopto bottom. That is as far as human effort can reach; we are ready for theclimax of Sadhana. In Sadhana success goes to those who learn to traintwenty-fourhoursaday.

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Sharplikearazor`sedgeisthepathIf you have seen a straight razor, you know why using one requires con-tinuous concentration. If you let your mind wander, you may end up inintensivecare.Thiskindofskillisnotlearnedfromabook;youasksomeonewithexperience.Howmuchmorenecessaryisagoodteacheronthespiritualpath–someoneyoucantrustcompletely,whoknowsevery footof thepathandcanshowyouhowtoguardyourselfagainsteverydanger.InthefinalstagesofcontemplationIdonotthinkthatanyhumanbeingcanmake progress without loving, experienced and utterly dedicated guidance.When awareness is deep, just when we are getting confident about ourprogress,wearereallyputtotest.Circumstancesdevelopinsuchawaythatwehavetogiveupsomeintensepersonalattachment.Andthereisnootherway.Whenwehavegoneasfaraswecanonaparticularlevelofconscious-ness,wesimplyhavetoletgoandjump.Justobservetheskillofcircustrapezeartists.Theywouldtakeaswingortwotogetmomentum;then,at just therightmoment, theywould letgoandsailthroughtheairtocatchholdofanothertrapezeseveralmetersaway.Thatisverymuch like changing levels in consciousness.Our first idea is usually tokeep a tight grip on one trapeze and still try to jump; all we get for it iswhiplash.While we are on the first trapeze, this is a terrifying prospect. We havesomethinginourhands;ifweletgo,wethinkwearelosingsomething.ConsciousnessinanunbrokenchannelAllwearelettinggoofisinsecurity,self-will,sometenaciousattachmentsthatkept us from making progress. But it is terribly distressing. Physical andemotional suffering is badenough, but this isworse.Theonly comparison Icanthinkof is that it is likeaweldingtorchburningaway inconsciousness;buttherearenogogglesyoucanputon,becausethistorchisnotoutside.Andit bursts in your awareness at the most unexpected hours. When you areasleepyoumaysuddenlywakeupwiththistorchburningaway,andtheonlyhelp available is yourprayeror your individualMantram. It hurts somuchthat thevery thoughtof thenextapplicationof that torch turnsyourwill tojelly.Yetallyourdesiresareunifiednow,andthereisalittlepartofyouthatsaystimorously,infearandtrembling:„IthinkIcanstandonemoreattack.“Thishappensoverandover,until suddenlyyoumove intoadeeper levelofconsciousness. Youhave burnedout a number of selfish attachmentswhichwereholdingyouback,andnowthattheyaregone,youbegintounderstand.

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Whetherromanticorspiritual,lovedoesnotbarter.Justasinlove,onecannotset conditions in Sadhana. Otherwise these experiences cannot come; yourheartisstillpullingindifferentdirections.In the last stage ofSadhana,we are trying to keep consciousness in a con-tinuous, unbroken channel. Awareness must become one smooth-flowingstreamfrommorningtonightandthroughthenightuntilmorningagain.Inasense, it is like taking two ends of consciousness and trying to bring themtogetherintoaclosedcircle,sothatthereisnoleakageofPranaatall.Words cannot describe the deepest experiences. They are so farbeyond the realm of everyday thought and sensation that in bothEastandWest,aspirants fallbackhereonpoetryandthe languageofalovertohisorherBeloved.Intheselaststages,theSufissay,allveilsbutonehavefallenfromtheobjectofourdesire.WecanmakeouttheeyesoftheBeloved,thehair,thesmile,butnothing clearly, and all other desires are consumed in the overwhelminglonging to tear that last veil aside. Every day there is this delightful pain ofseparation, this impatient patience. You expect the veil to fall that veryevening,yetyouarepreparedtowaitanotherdaymore.Mysticseverywherespeakthisway,andscholarsjustthrowuptheirhandsandleave.Theywantrational talk and all they get is contradiction. It is not that mystics areinadequatewhenitcomestologic;theinadequacyisinlanguage.Givethemalanguagethatembracesopposites, thattranscendsthesenses;thentheywillexpressallthis.Otherwisewordshavetofail.All sorts of signs comenow that the endof one`s yearsof searching is verynear. It is likewaiting for thecurtain togouponaplay forwhichyouhavebeenwaitingahundredyears.Youareseatedinthefrontrow,thetheatreisfull: now the lights are dimmed and everyone falls still in breathlessanticipation.Behindthecurtainyoucanseetantalizingglimpses:propsbeingadjusted, the last-minute movements of stagehands, a ripple of the heavydraperies as someone brushes by. Every morning in contemplation, everyeveningasyoufallasleep,itisasifthewholeuniverseiswaitingfortheplaytobeginatlast.Andfinally,justwhenyoudonotexpectit,thecurtainrisesandyouare lifted out of time and space into the unitive state, beyondchange,beyondbirthanddeath.Christians,generallyspeaking,arecompletely ignorantof thepowersof theunconscious. Our belief system is on the conscious level which we have

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developedquitemarvelously.Butbeyondtheconsciousareall thesepowersoftheunconsciouswhereweareOnewithNature,withthedynamicforcesin the unconscious which are tremendously powerful but which can becontrolled, and you can learn to control them, in nature and in your ownbeing.InIndiawetalkaboutJivanmukta:thepersonliberatedwhilestillalive.Theultimate state is the Primordial State, existing from the beginning, hiddenbeyondyourbody,senses,yourfeelingsandallyourlimitations.IntheHindutraditionwespeakofSaccidananda:beinginfullconsciousnessandabsolutebliss.ThatisthegoalforallHindus.Inthisstateyoudonotleavethe world behind. In the deeper traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism youhave to integrateall theother levelsof reality in theSupreme.Thephysical,thepsyche,withall aspectshave tobe integrated in theSupremeWisdom.ThisisJnana–therootjnabeingthesameastheEnglishknow–thedivineknowledge.InIndiawespeekofjnana,inBuddhismofprajnaandinGreekofgnosis, theDivineKnowledge. You share thedivineknowledgeandyouhavetheexperienceoftheInfiniteTranscendentOne.Whenyouhavereachedthatstateyouhaveintegratedyourwholebeing,thebeingofnaturearoundyou,thebeingofyourbody,ofyourpsycheandallitscapacities.Theyare all gathered intounity in theoneSupremeReality.Andthatisthegoal:toreachthattotaloneness.

LeadustoImmortalityBrihadaranyakaUpanishad1.3.28

LeadusfromtheUnrealtotheRealLeadusfromDarknesstoLight

LeadusfromDeathtoImmortalityLettherebePeace,Peace,Peace.

Goa/INDIA,7thMarch2016