Neil Armstrong’s image of Planet Earth from the moon is a reminder of how paltry our terrestrial conflicts can seem when viewed from outer space. The image speaks to us because we are aware, on some level, that we are not just residents of the earth, but citizens of the universe.
Universality is an existential truth, not an idea. Individuality, on the other hand, is an idea, a construct. The yogic system speaks of chitta vritti nirodha. That means that if the modifications of your mind cease and you still remain alert, you experience a profound state of oneness with existence.
The human body is undeniably the most sophisticated gadget on this planet. What makes it unique is that the very source of life has infused itself into this wonderful machine. Consequently, every human being retains a subconscious awareness that there is more to life than the mere gift of the physical.
There are two basic instincts within us: the self-preservation instinct and the urge to become boundless. These seemingly contrary longings – to preserve and to expand – are intended to work in collaboration. One force helps you root yourself well on this planet; another takes you beyond. Self-preservation needs to be limited to the physical body. But if you are deeply identified with the physical, these longings become a source of conflict.
Robert Frost hit on a moment of deep truth when he wrote, ‘Something there is that doesn’t love a wall’. The human longing to transcend physical limitations is entirely natural. The journey from the boundary-based individual body to the boundless source of creation is the very basis of the spiritual process. But because you are ruled by your self-preservation instinct, unconsciously you keep building walls. Today's walls of self-protection become tomorrow's walls of self-imprisonment.
In their search for the boundless, however, human beings have mistakenly turned outward. The assumption is that the answers are to be found in external expansion and conquest. And yet, as films like Start Wars depict, even when our sphere of activity turns intergalactic, the same transactions and conflicts endure. Mere physical expansion will not enable us to access our universal nature. If we truly want to make a journey from the individual to the cosmic, there is only one way: to turn inward.
How do we turn inward? Definitely not through physical means. The sense organs – those wonderful instruments of human survival – are of no use when turning inward. They give us a distorted impression of reality because they perceive everything only in comparison with something else. Psychological means are not adequate either. Acquiring a new set of beliefs or philosophies can help polish your ignorance, so it may even shine! But it will bring you no closer to your universal nature.
Yoga empowers you to journey towards the experience of existence as borderless unity -- not as an intellectual theory but as a living experience. Borderless unity as a living experience can deliver you to an altogether new dimension that allows you access to the very source of creation.
Turning inward to reclaim your true nature does not mean acquisition but realisation. This is why the yogic system does not talk about God or the Universal Soul. It talks only about attending to your self-created walls of resistance. When these walls crumble, your humanity will overflow. When humanity overflows, divinity has no choice but to follow. Dismantling these walls is all you need to do in order to regain your authentic and original nature as a cosmic being.
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