Traveling at the speed of Light, the lower self, becomes the True Self.

This is a journey of Light. On the plane of Light, the soul must travel through 70,000 veils of Light, to return to oneness with its divine source, The Light. Before creation there was only Light. This Light wanted to be known. This Light polarized Itself, to see it Self. You are not only made in the image of God, You are God, manifest in human form, to see and know Itself, The Light. After creation there is Only God, Light. Man/woman is the mirror image of the Light of God in perfect manifestation. On earth as it is in heaven. On earth(physical plane/body/you) as it is in heaven(spiritual plane/spirit/God). As above(God), so below(You). What is In God is in you. God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. His Light manifest in a Lamp made neither of the east or the west. You are the God above, beyond duality, existing below, in a time continuum, returning back to God, Light true Divine Self.

All Is Light. Nothing exist but Light. Light is energy. E=mc2. Matter multiplied by the speed of Light squared turns back into Energy. This means that God-Light-Energy exist in multiple states vibrating at different rates. One example of this is ice, water steam. When the vibratory rate of water is heated(speeds up) in turns into steam. When the vibratory rate of water is slowed down it turns into ice. Just as ice and steam are One in essence, God and man are One in essence. God is Light. When light shines through a prism it produces seven different rays or colors. Each color is a different vibration of the One Light. The universe, uni meaning One, is verse meaning different. The universe is diverse Manifestations of the One Light/God in many forms.

Eye am an immortal being having a human experience. The soul is immortal. It is traveling through “time” back to its source, God. The soul of all creation is God. In fact, creation is an in-accurate word for the universe. The universe in the manifestation of God, not the creation of God. Creation implies a subtle hint of separation from the Creator, supreme Source. Manifestation implies a Oneness with the source of Manifestation. The soul, true self, is a Manifestation of the Divine Light of God, inhabiting the heart. The soul is the immortal time traveler, traveling from Light, to light, back to The Light. We have all come from LIGHT. We are all beings of Light, Just as sun rays are not separate from the sun, the soul it not separate from God.

Everything we see as physical, is actuality a manifestation of Light. Light upon Light. God is Light. The spirit is Light. The soul is Light. The universe/4th dimension is Light. According to the laws of physics, light slowed down creates matter. God is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The Light form of God manifested Itself as the Omnipresent Spirit. When this Light form slows down Its vibration it creates the plane of the soul. Why does a person point to their heart when you ask them to point to their self? It is because when God, the omnipresent spirit, individualized Itself on the plane of the soul, and became localized in the heart, it created a false since of individual self, because of its Divine decent into a time space continuum/consciousness.

In a state of Enlightenment, Consciousness is not localized in the body. Consciousness is experienced as omnipresent awareness. This omnipresent awareness is called the mind of God. The mind of God is all knowing, omnipresent Self awareness of truth and bliss. Our consciousness is the individualization of the Divine Mind of God localized in the body. At the time of birth this Divine Mind, goes to “sleep” and starts to identify with the body, 5 senses and the physical plane, forgetting its all knowing, omnipresent True nature. Over time the true Identity of the self as Divine Light/omnipresent consciousness is totally lost and forgotten. The path of awakening is a path of remembering the true nature of individualized consciousness, thus giving birth to the concept of the Self being God. This birth is seen as the virgin birth of Divine consciousness.

Know Thy Self. The true nature of Self is Sat(truth), Chi(consciousness), Ananda(bliss). the most important question a seeker can ask is “Who am I?” When Moses asked God His/Her Name the answer came back “I Am that I Am.” This is the answer to the question Who am I. I am that I Am is God saying “I Am the state of awareness, the state of I Am, that exist in you as You.” The I Am consciousness that exists in all Beings is God, the true Self. The fact that we can say the words “I Am” proves our identity with God. The very consciousness of I Am/Being/Existence is GOD. The sufis say “God is, and nothing exist but God.”

In Sanskrit the word “Atman” means soul. When the Atman (soul) is purified, the self regains awareness/consciousness of its ONENESS with the non-dual Atman(Spirit-God). The sufi way is purification of the soul. Even though a rope may be mistaken for a snake, its true identity was always a rope! The illustrious Buddha taught that “ignorance is the root cause of all suffering.” True knowledge of Self is true knowledge of God.

From this day forward know that the true Self is God! The worst slavery in the world is the false teaching that God is outside of Self. May this wisdom of Self Knowledge rid us all of this poison, and be an aid to Self-God Realization. Non Dual Advaita is the science of God based on ONEness. Advaita does not see duality between man and God. One of the founders of this school of philosophy was Sri Sankara. A Hindu proverb says that “knowledge is a benefit to people, and Sri Sankara was a benefit to knowledge.” Sri Sankara’s thought was revolutionary in the time period that he came. Hinduism has 108 deities. Sri Sankara clarified the understanding that all of the Deities that the Hindus worship are manifestations of the ONE Supreme Brahman. Just as in Islam we worship Allah who has 99 attributes. In Hinduism Brahman has 108 attributes, that are worshiped as individual Deities. The 7 principles for Self realization are explained in Sri Sankaras short text “Aparokshanubhuti-Self Realization.” This text serves as a summary, and introduction to my favorite philosophy, Non Dual Advaita. In reality, the 7 principles are qualities that a seeker must have to take the journey to Self Realization.

The first principle is indifference. Indifference means that the seeker should have no attraction to the material things of this world. The example in the text given is that the things of this world should be viewed on the same level as cow dung. Pure indifference means that the seeker is not even interested in the rewards and blessing one may receive from the Creator in another life time or heaven. Ckeikh Abdul Qadir Jilani alluded to this level of pure indifference when he said “sufism is two steps, a step out of this world into heaven, and a step out of heaven into the Divine Presence.”

The second principle is discrimination. Discrimination is having the knowledge to know the difference between what is Real, and what is illusion. In Buddhist dharma, this is almost the same as the concept of impermanence, which says that all things in the universe are impermanent, and therefor have no real existence. Discrimination is the ability to know/see God as the only reality, and untimely to see and know that the Self is God. One of Sri Sankara’s famous teachings is that “a rope may be mistaken for a snake, but upon finding out that it is a rope, the false existence of the snake disappears.” In his philosophy, the universe and the false self, ego, are represented by the snake. Upon Self realization the Self, God, and the universe are seen as ONE and the same Being, Brahman.

The third principle is abandonment of desires. In the text Sri Sankara says that this means turning away completely from all sense objects. It is previous impressions laying dormant in the mind as well as the contact of the mind with external objects that creates desires. To abandon these desires the mind must become disassociated with the two main causes of desire by purification and meditation. Impressions laying dormant in the mind can be purified and removed by the use of sufi zikr or sacred mantras from Hinduism and/or Buddhism. Meditation, and the development of focusing the mind on the Divine, through developing one pointed-ness of the mind, remove the mind from contact with sense objects.

The fourth principle is endurance of all sorrow and pain. One sufi master from our sufi order, Cheikh Ibra Fall used to say “the harder the better.” Our beloved prophet Muhammad(peace be upon Him) has said “if you love Allah, prepare for trials.” In the Holy Quran Allah says ” I test those who try to come close to me. Do not think that you can come close to Me without being tried like those who came before you.” The sufi way is patience during test and trials, and thankfulness during times of affluence and blessing. From the viewpoint of Non Dual Advaita test and trials are the same as affluence and abundance.

The fifth principle is implicit faith in the words of the Holy scriptures and teachers(Gurus or Cheikhs). It is said in the sufi way “if you doubt you are out.” The seeker must have faith in the teacher, and the method he/she is teaching for Self Realization. The first level of faith is belief. The seeker must believe in the words of the scriptures and the teacher. The seeker must travel from the level of belief, to the level of certainty. It is at the level of certainty that the fruits of the path come to fruition. In this faith principle we find the subtle implication that the scriptures alone are NOT enough for Self Realization. One must find a Self Realized spiritual guide to help guide them on the path.

The sixth principle is concentration of the mind on God, the ONLY Reality. This principle is the end result of Realization. The mind of a Self Realized being is absorbed in God. The mind of a Self Realized being does not see any existence other than God. In the sufi way one of the main mantras/zikr is LA EE LA HA ILL ALLAH. The esoteric meaning of this zikr is God is the only Reality. Constant repetition of this zikr is one way to bring the mind to absorption in God.

The seventh principle is burning desire in the heart for God. This burning desire in the heart for God is the ONLY desire that a seeker should have. This burning desire is a flame in the heart that burns all and everything, leaving only the presence of God. This burning desire for God is a flame that has the power to burn the negative karma of a seeker, opening the way for the seeker to reach Self Realization. Once while sitting with our beloved master Cheikh Betcio in Senegal he said ” I can do anything for a disciple on the path, but if the disciple does not have the internal desire to reach God, there is nothing I can do for him.”

These are the 7 requirements that a seeker must have to journey on the path. Before Sri Sankara starts his explanation he says “only the pure at heart” should meditate on theses teachings. So in essence the 1st and most important unstated principle is having a pure heart. In the Holy Quran Allah says “he indeed succeeds who purifies it.” It, refers to the heart.