We have the great challenge of “owning” our selves with honesty so that we may take responsibility for everything that happens.  Such is our karma.  The fate of the soul is not in the hands of strangers, but in the deliverance of our brothers.  Each transgression or deed is due; that we may look within, see the negativity harboured there and possibly think kindly on them who transgress.

Our problem is that we see ourselves in the world separate from everyone else.  We think God is “out there” and not “in here”.  It is a predicament that displays itself in cruelty and violence towards others.  The criminal mind justifies hatred, the abusive husband justifies his violence, but how can aggression be right?  When I hurt you, does it not hurt me too? God is the in dweller of all beings.

It is written in the great teachings of Yoga that the mind is like a body of water, with all its mind chatter representing the ripples.  One of the ultimate goals of Yoga is the clarity of the pool, achieved mainly through meditation and the higher paths of service and devotion.  Physical yoga prepares the mind for the long journey to enlightenment; however the goal of Self reflection comes in stillness, not in movement.

The stillness of the pool is known as the mind becomes clear of thoughts.  There is peace there, residing as if for eternity.  The mind chatter dissolves and the mirror of consciousness then reveals its splendour.  To look within, to see the vast waters residing there, to know that the Self is beyond all worlds yet is wholly apart, is to be Self Realized.  And breathtakingly we are the miracles of creation.

When we look into the mirror, the mind fears its negative stowaways, but the image we see is Love of immeasurable proportions.  What keeps us from looking at ourselves is the basic belief that we are separate and that our whole reality is based on the need for separateness.  This speaks favourably for a path of service.  It is phenomenal how good we feel with charity, as the dismal life gives opportunity for the fortunate to become sanctified and visa versa.

Reality is a unified whole.  What is separate is limited in time, but Reality is limitless eternal glory.  It is within reach, known traditionally to the sage and accessible to any aspirant.  We practice, contemplate, and devote our lives to something greater than ourselves in order to achieve even an ounce of truth, which, when weighed against the entire known universe, is omnipotent.  And the truth doth set thee free.