When one is on the path of liberation and is moving toward the end of life’s long journey and the causal body is fairly well formed and the ego is pretty well developed, the chief trouble often at hand is the communication between the ego and the lower personality. This is due to the impediments created by evil karma in prior lives. As soon as this karma is worked out, the ego begins to shine through the personality and it appears as if a miracle of development has taken place.

There is a situation that often arises and that is the relationship between the personality and the ego. It is the personality that comes out of the ego; it is an emanation of the ego. But during the time it is here on earth, in the process of formation, it develops a semi-independent life of its own which may or may not be in accord with, or subservient to, the interests of the ego. If the personality aligns itself with the interest of the higher Self and can be used by the latter for his higher purposes, then the life at hand provides a rich harvest of virtues for the higher Self to use in its development. If, on the other hand, the personality takes off on an independent course of its own and becomes caught up in the trivial and non-productive activities of the lower world, then there is very little or no harvest forthcoming in that life. One, you might say, has become lost in the veil of mayas.

The two are really one. However, because the veils of maya in the physical world are thick and hard to pierce, the sense of unity and the consciousness of one's divine origin are lost. This is when the false sense of “I” enters the picture and distorts the real purpose of life on this earth. Although the personality is based upon and derived from the higher Self and ultimately from the monad, it functions as an independent entity, unaware of its divine beginning and oblivious of the purpose for which it exists.

But, now is the time when the personality must become the servant of the higher Self. This condition, for the most part, lasts through the one life of the personality, who then disappears at the end of each lifetime. From one ego arise many personalities through the lower worlds of illusion. In each incarnation the new personality brings forth just certain aspects and manifestations of the higher Self; that is, manifestations best suited for the karma to be lived in accordance with the requirements of the soul. This is held to rather narrow limits as to the number of qualities that can be handled by the personality in a given life.

It is when one steps onto the spiritual path that one comes into an awareness of the relationship of the lower and higher Self. Then, one of the first things to be accomplished is to bring the lower personality under the control of the higher Self. Transcendental Meditation does this in a very efficient manner. Also, there comes, very rapidly, the realization that the lower self, who acts in the lower world, really and truly is evanescent and illusory. And, one becomes aware that the true purpose of this life is to gain an absolute, cosmic, eternal status. One now realizes that it is necessary to make the lower self an expression of the higher Self.

Now comes the time when we can, in earnest, develop the higher mind who is working through the causal body. We do this by right thinking and right action and this comes with the regular practice of Transcendental Meditation.

The causal body grows by impulses that come from the physical, astral and the lower mental planes along with spiritual forces acting upon it from the buddhic and atmic planes. Spiritual development of the higher Self provides the most powerful impetus to the development and growth of this body. This accomplishes, in a few lifetimes, what otherwise would take many lives over a long period of time.

The functions of the physical, astral and lower mental bodies cannot be separated in the life of the personality. And, the functions of the atmic, buddhic and higher mental vehicles cannot be separated in the life of the individuality. When the lower mind is exercised, it is not just the lower mental body that improves. The causal body is like a mirror that has the ability to reflect truths present in the universal mind into the lower mind. So where the causal mind is sufficiently developed and is in communication with the lower mental body, the lower mental body then is able to contact the universal mind to some degree. From this comes a source of unlimited and true knowledge. This then makes one independent of external sources of knowledge. Transcendental Meditation purifies and harmonizes the mind and causes a direct contact of the lower mind with the higher mind, causing one to be able to contact the universal mind.

When this is established, knowledge about the inner realities of life begins to appear within one's mind in different ways, which must be experienced in order to be appreciated; there is no substitute for experience. In having the experience, one then truly knows. One does not embark onto earnest spiritual evolution until the soul has developed, to a considerable extent, its lower vehicles of consciousness.

The development of buddhi starts the beginning of that phase in our inner unfoldment which we associate with spirituality. The functions of buddhi transcend those of the mind and cannot be judged by the criteria of the intellect, which the average person feels to be conclusive and final. The mere intellect cannot understand the finer perceptions which have their origin in buddhic consciousness.

So, this is an overview of how we grow into spirituality.

Incidentally, those who came to spirituality by intent in this life are indeed high souls and have earned this highest of all teachings brought by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi to the world in the New Age.