In this world there is no real awakening until one hears the call of the Divine to return to one's true home. The real world will always remain a mystery to those who are still caught up in the illusions and attractions of this world. Yet, there must come a day in a life experience on this earth when one hears the call of the Divine and from that moment one is homeward bound.

The world of the mind and the world of matter are the expressions of a subtle real world which, by its nature, produces phenomena based on the subject-object relationship. It is possible to transcend the phenomenal world and to know this real world which casts its shadows in the form of these phenomena.

The reason we take such an interest in the unreal and temporal world in which we live is the fact that these phenomena are the shadows of realities which are within us, though unseen. It is this fact alone which imparts the feeling of reality to these shadows and makes us take them as real until we finally discover that shadows are only shadows.

When we embark on the voyage of self-discovery we are merely trying to leave the shadow in order to grasp the reality by which these shadows are cast in our consciousness. From time to time we are given the opportunity to see and experience the real through the shadow screen. This is simply our being able to see the reality which is within us. It is from the center of our consciousness that reality exists, that part of us which is eternal. As initiates, we are moving inwardly toward this reality, God and Self.

To be successful on the path we need to develop a strong attraction toward the divine life which lies within us and which will draw us toward our true Self, and thereby provide the necessary motive power which we generally lack. The motive is really nothing more than our love for God. Most religions express this outwardly, vocally, but persons of higher levels of consciousness express God silently and inwardly.

Our love for God, combined with the regular practice of Transcendental Meditation, will stimulate the intuitive (buddhic) faculty within us. And as we come into the buddhic plane, our problems begin to be resolved and our inner life also begins to unfold.

We must have strength, unselfishness and purity, which must be acquired to a great degree, if we want to prepare ourselves systematically for the descent of the divine life within us.

Each person will trod the path he feels best suited to. Nevertheless, whatever the path, we have to be the ones who slay the slayer. We must conquer the mind which is the great slayer of the real. So, again, we must learn to control the mind and to see through its illusions and we can only do this if we are able to focus the light of consciousness on the mind. When we can do this, we will be able to see how the mind modifies and distorts everything before it reaches our consciousness.

Also, we must develop discrimination, the faculty which, in its highest form, gradually destroys the unreal world and reveals the real world to us. This is not something one can think oneself into, rather it is a level of consciousness one ultimately attains. The mind is always engaged in ceaseless activity and what the mind fixes on makes all the difference between a criminal and a saint. This is why the center of consciousness must be shifted from the region of the mind to that which is beyond the mind; the region of buddhi. When this is established the thoughts coming into the mind are true, clear and inspirational. Gone are the plagues of the mind, such as fear, doubt, uncertainty, greed, ego, mistrust, depression, and so forth. Now one sees a person as they really are, for now one is able to see behind the facade. Now a great feeling of peace reigns over one and there is an inner tranquility that surpasses all else. Now one is truly born of the spirit and this is what is referred to as Heaven on Earth. Now truly one is on this earth, but no longer of this earth.

This has great meaning for now the mind is tranquil and loneliness is gone, for now one is able to live within one's own Self and the need for companionship is gone and so are the world's cares.

There also comes the time when the consciousness of the devotee and that of God are fused together in an ecstasy which always precedes the vision of God and then one realizes that he and his object of devotion are not two, but one. Now one is forever changed. This now ties one to the spiritual path, never to leave. And God is always with one and the light of God always shines forth. One is now a light in the world, to guide those who are still groping in darkness.