God is always good and the evil in life is the ego. In the course of one's journey through the ages of evolution one has been devoted to many things in many ways. Finally, one approaches the last stage of devotion, which is true devotion, devotion to God. And this devotion is not for the sake of some selfish gain, but for the sake of the love for God only. The spectrum of one's love grows and becomes brighter and fuller as we also grow. However, it is a long way from selfish love to selfless love. Yet each human must make this journey before reaching liberation.

Individuals who have lived for ages in the bright colors of life have no idea of what the white light of divine love is like. To really know the white light one must first transcend manifestation and then merge into the light of reality. It is also true that all forms of love that the human goes through are all derived from the one divine love. However, since we have been partitioned we could only know a segment of true love and not true love in its fullness.

In a partitioned state we only respond to and develop one limited type of love at a time. Yet, through this process we grow and this is life. What we are devoted to and to what degree depends entirely on where we are in consciousness, and where we are in consciousness shows how much we have grown, or rather how much we have learned from our experiences in life. Real devotion is intense love directed towards God.

The fusion of consciousness of the devotee with the consciousness of God can only be compared to the striking of a bolt of lightening with the earth. It is when the love between the devotee and God reaches an intense degree that a partial fusion of consciousness takes place and then the devotee realizes what divine love is really like. As this takes place again and again, one experiences more and more intense forms of love along with the finer and subtler levels of bliss corresponding to them. Gradually, one becomes established at higher and higher levels of consciousness and corresponding finer levels of love and pure bliss. This love flows in a very deep channel, with perfect balance, serenity and peace where turmoil or emotional disturbances no longer exist.

The image we have of God is not the important thing in our quest for God since love is a state of the mind and not the image in the mind. So, whatever image we have of God is not too important. It is the quality of our love that counts.

It is very hard for a human to envision anything outside of a human looking form and certainly God is not this. Again, how we view God is not relevant to the purpose of our quest. It is the intensity of our devotion, our self surrender and the purity of our minds that is all important, for it is this that brings down the grace and blessing of the object of devotion upon the devotees. In the final analysis, the consciousness of the devotee fuses, not with the image, but with the consciousness which the image represents, for in the union the image always disappears.

In human relationships when we love someone we are not just communicating with the body and with the mind of the individual concerned. Rather, it is the spirit which is communicating with the spirit through the veils of the body and the mind. Without the spirit being present there would be nothing to communicate with. We imagine that our personal relationships are based on our personal level, but actually they are at the level of the spirit and the bodies involved are merely veils which cloak the true participants in their actions and reactions. Incidentally, karma also works through the spirit.

So, the reality of this situation is that it is not the image in our minds which is the object of our devotion, but it is universal life and divine consciousness which is behind it, and it is the same for all kinds of images.

Ananda or bliss is our innermost essential nature and we cannot live without it. Also, it is the one thing that will free us from our lower desires, because every time a desire is satisfied it temporarily makes the mind tranquil and in this briefly tranquilized and harmonized mind a little of the ananda filters down from within ourselves. This is the cause of the temporary pleasures or satisfaction we feel when a desire is fulfilled. However, this does not last long and the mind again loses its equilibrium. Then the desire is again aroused and causes us to seek satisfaction in external things when all along the real sower of happiness is actually inside of ourselves.

When we are in love, and some seek this on a constant basis, we are partially and temporarily in touch with the source of ananda. When this occurs we are, to a certain degree, independent of external objects which provide us with ordinary pleasures or happiness. Also, when we are in touch with ananda we are for a time self-satisfied even though the object of love is outside of ourselves. In the case of love between a man and a woman, in the beginning there is exhilaration and deep passion. However, the exalted state does not last and our self-sufficiency is gone. Then again one seeks happiness in external objects and pursuits.

It is only when true divine love is born within us and begins to flow steadily through our hearts that we become self-sufficient permanently and completely, for now we are established in the very source of love and ananda. Now we need nothing from the external world, we may recede from the world or we may stay active in the world and help others, but in either case we are now permanently Self-sufficient and the fountain of bliss and joy is eternally playing within our heart.

This love we now have is flowing at a deep level and is the nature of an experience. It is not an emotion, not a thought, not even a perception of the higher mind or buddhi; it is awareness, an awareness of the divine life and consciousness, and this awareness is the result of the fusion of the two.

Acquiring a righteous life and a spiritual foundation is very important because it is the only thing that can assure our safety, especially in the higher states of consciousness when powers begin to appear naturally and when we are greatly tempted to misuse those powers for our personal ends. Also, it is the only thing that can assure the absence of inner conflict which constantly disturbs the mind and prevents it from being calm and harmonized. Again, without righteousness it is not possible to open up the mind to the influence and illumination of the light of buddhi. It is only through a mind based on a perfectly righteous or spiritual life that divine life and consciousness can function. It is on the rock of unrighteousness or resistance to spirituality that the lives of many initiates are wrecked.