A real solution for the “human problem” is the true and immense awakening of the soul. When we look at human existence from a superficial perspective it seems okay. Maybe we have a romantic interest, some success at work, a good movie, a little bit of failure, etc. Life is pretty much okay. It’s mostly comfortable.
If we look at it from a bigger timespan and a little bit more existentially, we will begin to include imminent death, the death of loved ones, the inevitable end of relationships, the dissolution of the world and the universe. Death will definitely happen. Death is imminent for all of us.
If we contemplate what happened to the people that were here 300 years ago; maybe we know something about a few of them. Of the people that were here 10,000 years ago, we know nothing. Then why bother to go through difficulties if everything disappears? When we look at it more existentially it looks a bit more grim.
Yet luckily there is a higher and more complete perspective deep in the heart of everyone, including the biggest atheists and the most cruel tyrants. There is a vivid, living soul, an undeniable essence. It might not be directly accessed at this moment, but it is there, alive and burning. When the soul awakens, it burns and becomes visible. Then a great meaning appears, along with a tremendous, unshakable optimism, peace, hope, and love.
Life from the Ego
When we live from the ego it takes effort to be kind and loving. It even takes effort to act in a socially acceptable way. The perspective of the ego is speculative and involves constant imagination; “What if the soul doesn’t exist?”, “What if it does?”, “How do you discover it?”, “Do you need to believe in someone?”, “Do you need to adopt a dogma?”, “Do you need to pray in that direction or pay that priest?”.
You need to make the mind quiet. You don’t need to add anything in order to discover your soul; on the contrary, you need to reduce something. The ego does not perceive reality but it is loud. Very loud! The ego consists of the constant speculation of who we are. We can stop chewing when we finish eating, but we cannot stop thinking.
When we finish thinking we immediately start thinking again. If you look at all of your thoughts they always have an imagination of “me”; I am thinking of an argument involving me, a success involving me, a worry that concerns me, a memory in which I am in the centre. We think and imagine a “me” and we then get emotional about that imagination.
When we constantly think of “I” our soul becomes invisible and life sucks. We can stop it (with some training). 1 minute without thinking is enough to see the soul. With 5 minutes we get a whole wonderful view. In 20 minutes we see the full radiant glory of the soul. 20 minutes of a silent mind starts with the first minute.
The Voice of the Soul
There is somebody there quietly speaking all the time in the heart. They are polite and kind. There is another voice that is loud, rude, selfish, and it covers the deep existence of the soul. Once the ego subsides through silence the soul appears tremendously real.
The ego is no more real than a hiccup in front of the reality of the soul. You can reach the soul through a silent mind. You can reach the soul through intense love, through service to others, through empathy. You can reach the soul by near-death experience. People’s lives are transformed because they meet their soul.
Life from the Soul
When the soul is present life is not a result of effort. You don’t need to force yourself to be loving and kind. It just bursts out of you with so much love, life, kindness, care, compassion, joy, and creativity. Everything is transfigured in glory. The most difficult life circumstances are alchemized and continuously uplifted into something glorious. That’s what the soul does. That’s why life has such a tremendous meaning when it arises from the soul.
The soul is not an invention. It is the absence of all inventions. It’s not a human or social construct, not an imagination, not a speculation. In the absence of all of these ideas of who we are something very real appears.
There is a real presence speaking to us, but there is a radio that is so loud that we can’t hear the real voice. If we turn off the radio, we perceive the real presence and the radio doesn’t look so real anymore. If you look at life seriously, responsibly, and lucidly. If you are willing to experiment with silence, with love, with service to others, with intense spiritual practice, with something that leads you to your soul, you will get a glimpse of it.
Once you have that experience once, the only rational and responsible decision is to try to stabilize one’s life at the level of the Soul because meaning, love and peace come from there. Whatever it is that we are searching for on the outside, we do so in order to have meaning, love, and peace.
All of these qualities radiate out from the soul and then the soul will go and serve exactly where it’s supposed to. It will follow its dharma, its place in the universe. It cannot help it. It is the very nature of the soul and the only way to live a sane human life. The only real solution for the human problem is the true and immense awakening of the soul.
This article was transcribed and edited by Adriana from the following video: