Q: Who am I?  A: Consciousness

There are many ways of answering the question “Who am I?” In yesterday’s post I discussed how we generally answer it from the perspective of the body, it’s activities and possessions.

The Spiritual Science answers it in a totally different way – from the spiritual perspective, naturally.

At this point of collective understanding everyone seems to get it that everything is energy. Agreed. However, what is missing from the common understanding is that there are different categories of energy. The Spiritual Science explains this in more detail.

There is first the Source of the energies, and then there are several major divisions of energy:
the inferior, or material energy and the superior spiritual energy. These two have different and unique characteristics that separate them from each other:The material energy is by nature temporary and changing, unconscious and thus having no personality, no possibility of happiness, knowledge, understanding etc.

The spiritual energy is living, conscious, has complete knowledge, has personality, therefore has likes/dislikes, experiences pleasure/pain, happiness/distress, and is eternally existing, thus never changes and never dies.

These distinctions between the material and spiritual energies are of the utmost importance and form the basis of the Spiritual Science. Consciousness does not, and can never arise from any combination of material elements. The material energy is always UNconscious.
Instead, consciousness is a quality, or a symptom of the spiritual energy. Consciousness, and life, must always indicate the presence of the spiritual energy, a person. Another way of say that is we are consciousness.

And what are we conscious of?

Our present experience is one of being conscious of the material energy (this material world) through the medium of the material body and mind.

Further, at present we are in a state of forgetfulness of our actual spiritual nature. Being externally focused we identify with the material body and its activities, and in the process develop an identity with them. Identification with the temporary circumstances of material life is called ahankara in Sanskrit, which can be translated as “false ego.” It is an identity (ego) that is associated with the temporary things of this world that have no permanent existence, and no factual (eternal) connection with the spiritual energy. Therefore the Masters of Vedic Wisdom say that this identity is false. We remain the same being who witnesses the activities and changes of the body, but in the ultimate sense is unaffected by them.

The real ego, the permanent ego, is that of an independent spiritual being separate from the body. This is a totally and radically different perspective. That spiritual perspective is one in which the spiritual living being, in Sanskrit the jiva, is independent of the material body, as well as independent from the material experience. Mistakenly identifying with the material body however causes us to experience the happiness and distress of this world, along with its problems. Factually however, these are not much different than a dream. When the jiva frees itself from material identification it can free itself from the pain and suffering of the material experience. In that situation it is actually free. It can observe the circumstances of life as if watching a movie – seeing it but aloof from it. Further, from that spiritual perspective the jiva connects with its own inherent nature of bliss – supreme inner happiness which nothing material can disturb. This is the state of spiritual liberation.

This is the goal of the spiritual path – to achieve that spiritual state transcendent to the material experience, and live in the glory of its own wonderful spiritual consciousness. The Spiritual Science is meant to bring you to that wonderful condition.