CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS

 

The important thing of the man called Jesus was that spirit of his which we call Christ. And what we are interested in is not the man called Jesus, but the consciousness within him, which is Christ Consciousness.

You have the same thing in every theology, just with a different label. You could have Moses Consciousness, Krishna Consciousness, Buddha Consciousness or Christ Consciousness. It means the same thing. It means “that” consciousness to which man as to aspire. And that is the true meaning of the words that, “No man goes to the Father except through me.” It means that: “Reach the stage of consciousness that I have reached, and then you become one with the Father.”

This consciousness, although in an embodied form, is a universal consciousness; and, being a universal consciousness, it is in all of us. It permeates every cell of our body. But the difference is that, although it permeates within us, it is lying dormant, while in the realised man it is awakened. That is the difference!

All spiritual practices are meant to awaken that Christ Consciousness within man. It is not something gained from outside, but it is there inside, within you, all the time.

It’s like going to a doctor. A doctor can never cure you, but he could give you the medicines which will stimulate and help to bring about the balance within you to get rid of the illness. That means you cure yourself, and the physician gives you what is required to bring that balance. That is what the teacher does.

YOU HAVE TO EVOLVE YOURSELF

The teacher shows you the path, but you have to walk with your own feet. There is no other way. No man can evolve you. You have to evolve yourself.

That is why Jesus said, “I am the way.” Or rather, Christ said, “I am the way.” And the way is to reach that Christ Consciousness, for that is the way.

When a person reaches that pure level of consciousness, then one really knows what life is. Most people in the world don’t really live. They just exist. It is just existence, not living, for to live is to be awakened. To live is to be alive, alive to all the forces of nature around us, in that deep alertness.

Deep alertness means that vast awareness, where the entire universe is comprehended. And when that is done, you are in the realms of that pure consciousness that we can term “Christ Consciousness.” When that is completed and having reached the personal God, you automatically can merge away into that which is impersonal.

Every man has the ability within himself to reach that pure consciousness, and one does that by doing one’s spiritual practices. When one reaches the pure level of pure consciousness, it does not mean that you are adding to that consciousness, for in this universe you cannot subtract one ounce of energy and neither can you add on one ounce of energy. It remains a quantified whole.

ENLIGHTENMENT

That is why that consciousness is already there within each and every one of us requiring and awaiting awakening — waiting for the light to shine through. And that is called enlightenment.

When the light shines through, it’s enlightenment. And when enlightenment comes and when the light shines, it’s called illumination. You illuminate yourself and your surroundings. These are just terms which signify the same thing all the time, that purity of consciousness which is Christ Consciousness.

There is only one interpretation to that pure consciousness — that when that stage is reached by man, then he feels totally integrated within himself. And when he feels totally integrated within himself, he feels that all this is but one and no separation exists.

You can discard the entire Bible if one factor can just be remembered: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” That is the most important teaching. That is the butter or cream that is churned up from this vast vessel of milk. “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” But to truly love thy neighbor as thyself one must recognize the oneness between you and I. There is no you and I.

……… Gururaj Ananda Yogi: Satsang US 1979 – 24