What is stunting your spiritual growth?

Time and time again, the enlightened ones tried to reveal the truth in their own way and everytime we clung to their words without digging deep for the message and in doing so distorted the truth. The reason for clinging to the ritualistic side is because it's physical, mindless and easy.

How do we manage to distort the true message everytime? It's because, we read, speak, listen and hear the message but evaluate it differently based on our limiting beliefs, values and social conditioning. 

What do you believe is stunting your spiritual growth? For me it's the worry of acceptance by the society. The inner self knows the truth and I feel that the only way I feel true happiness is when I have had a beautiful meditation experience. I know that when I continuously have great meditation sessions where I reach the void where there is no thought or worry and one receives inner guidance, the effect the people around me have is a certain magnetism. It's a very real change in the physical world. It's much easier to achieve anything just by mere thought. It's effortless.   The problem I face is that I start enjoying the state of void so much that I want to remain in it forever but then I have to go to work, need to communicate with my children and the world. The moment I enter that world, I worry about how people perceive me, hence the need to follow fashion, make and spend more money, create monetary wealth to gain respect in society. The inner world says to work for the good of the community and spend your money on it whereas the physical world suggests to become wealthy and look after your children and their monetary success. If one does a little good for others then the big ego comes to destroy that pleasure and tells us that I did it and it becomes a competition as well. Then you look around and note that every religious building, sect, person is trying to use their knowledge to create more wealth whether it's by selling books, cd or by creating retreats, schools, churches or temples. 

The pain of going to and fro between truth and falsehood, meditation and the physical world and the very different conditions of success in the two worlds, is too great and as a result it's just easy to do the religious ritualistic activity than sincerely do the real thing. 

Crossing the river

I heard from a lady that had near death experience that she saw a river. It was green, slimy and sticky. She found it very difficult to cross. She was given the knowledge during that experience that everyone needs to cross this river to get to the other side and those who slander others can't cross it.
I wondered about this river.  Gurbani mentions about a river that is very difficult to cross- 
 Bikham nadi jai tarni, 

A couple of days ago when I read about the physical location of the crystal palace and it's close proximity to 4th ventricle in the brain, I wondered if Gurbani indicates to this area of the brain when guru Nanak wrote Nanak Chauthe pad mein so jan gat pahen only because Chauthe means 4th. I have written a different meaning of this in a previous blog, associating it to the 4 stages of consciousness. My issue is that I am always looking for the physical location, or proximity for a clearer explanation and physical focus point.

One translation of the emerald tablet says, "
The river of life is cerebrospinal fluid that enters the brain through the FOUR ventricles, this cosmic energy, renews the mind, to gain cosmic consciousness." Source: www.maya12-21-2012.com/2012forum/index.php?topic=2612.0

Search for the crystal palace within

Long time ago, I had a great experience when I saw a emerald green crystal shape move down into the centre of my body, the heart chakra. It then crumbled into pieces that spread throughout my body. I worried at the time if it was good or bad for me. I was puzzled and questioned where it came from and what it meant. All I knew that after the experience I felt immense peace and my shoulder pain and lower back pain disappeared as if I never had a problem. I associated the meaning of  'Naam Japat Mana harya hovai' to this experience.

I rely on Gurbani, the writings in the Sikh scripture, so I understood that the words
Mat Vich Rattan Javahar Manik
mentioned in Japji Sahib does not simply represent something precious but literally means that within our brain are crystals and similar substances. Elsewhere in Gurbani, Guru ji writes Rattan Padarath Ladha, indicating that he has found the crystal substance.

Yesterday, I went to see the movie 'Song of the New Earth', not having a clue what it's about. In it Tom Kenyon talked about a specific experience where he fell down into a hole and saw crystal men who asked him a question. I found his experience weird and unlike mine but my concern is the crystals. So I went on Toms website to see if he mentions anything further explaining what he understood about the crystal men. I found no mention of that experience but instead a beautiful meditation called the crystal palace within focusing on four points. Read Tom's blog on crystal-palace-within. Reading it made me realise how and why I had the Crystal experience.

I have done similar meditations in 2009, intuitively. My blogs of the time should mention the points I use to focus on. In 2002, I attended a yoga class once for fitness, not realising that the practices taught would benefit  me in meditation years later. Kundalini Tantra book mentions about a meditation in which you imagine your body is hung on a piece of string. This naturally helps you focus on a point above your head at one hand distance. This point is vital to focus on. I have mentioned it in another blogpost and realisation of this point improved my meditation results immensely.
I had already started focusing on the third eye after reading Samuel Sagan's book but experiencing the power of points at one hand distance was a great accidental realisation for me. When I started feeling the pain in the third eye area and the forum discussions on the internet pointed out to stop focusing on third eye as I was trying to hard, instead of letting it happen; and instead I started focusing on the heart along with the above head point at one hand distance.

The realisation that I could focus on more than one point at a time was an exciting one. By now I had already focused individually on the three points mentioned above. The tree meditation where you are suppose to imagine that you are a tree and have roots going down to the centre of the earth had given me some practice of the focus on above the head as well as the centre of the earth focus but not both simultaneously along with third eye and heart chakra focus. So even though I thought I use to focus on three points, I was probably focusing on four points as mentioned in Tom Kenyon's meditation. So what he has mentioned in this meditation had come to my realisation over a long period practical trials.

Another website talking about the Crystal palace within is http://biologyofkundalini.com/article.php?story=TheCrystalPalace

So the point of the blog is to clarify that Gurbani mentions about this, we just think that it's symbolic of precious lifetime but not as a specific experience or place within us which is the truth.
Ratan tyag kaodi sang rachai, sach chord jhuth sang machai.
The above lines are literally suggesting to visit the crystal palace within us.

Regarding Tom Kenyon, even though I am not convinced about the earth talking to him about respecting it, I do agree with the overall messages given in the movie as I saw them to be in line with what Guru Nanak said and did. I am not elevating Tom to the status of Guru Nanak, not even comparing him in that sense; just mentioning the similarities in messages, even when Tom was not revealed the Secret whereas Guru Nanak was invited in Gods mansion.

Guru Nanak sang and requested Mariana to play his musical instrument saying 'Bani ai hai', the words are coming from God. That's why Sikh call it Dhur ki bani and Guru Nanak said music/ sound is the most direct way to connect to God.
 Kaljug  main Kirtan pardhana.
Guru Nanak also talked about Word / shabad / Akhar. He said
shabad guru, surt dhun (sound) chela.
.....Akhar Jin ok aya.

Guru Nanak travelled around the earth for 22 years spreading the message.
Guru Nanak spread the message to treat women equal, 500 years ago.