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December 10, 2009
perennial philosophy
The Perennial Philosophy is characterized by three deep convictions born of direct experience. First, underlying everything in the phenomenal world is a changeless reality, which most religions call God. Second, this changeless reality is present in every living creature and can be personally discovered by following certain strenuous disciplines that remove the layers of conditioning that cover it. And third, this discovery is the real goal of life. Whatever else we may accomplish, nothing will satisfy us until we realize God in our own consciousness.
One of the hallmarks of the Perennial Philosophy is the recognition that nothing separates us from God but self-will, the deep clinging to oneself as something separate from the rest of creation. The whole of the spiritual life is a systematic attempt to remove this illusion of separateness once and for all. The task sounds bleak until we see, through a living example, that this "zero" is what allows the infinitude of God to burst forth through the human personality. Meister Eckhart says inimitably, "God expects but one thing from you: that you should come out of yourself in so far as you are a created being and let God into you." And again: "God is bound to act, to pour himself into you, as soon as he finds you ready."
Eknath Easwaran
Posted by amin at December 10, 2009 2:00 PM