God
The Great Secret of the Narrow Gate
In ancient times it was not uncommon to be willing to die for God, but today if you even mention God, you can be met with a sideways glance, a roll of the eyes, or mercilessly ridiculed on social media. Of course, these days if you believe in God, you can easily be canceled or labeled a poor drunken sot with the intelligence of a bug. Well, this may be true, but if you had the merest glimpse of God, or the tiniest taste of this infinite love, you would be more like the ancient ones ready to lay down your life in service to that wonderous invisible all-knowing presence that fills every cell in your body with an indescribable all-consuming love that never ends. Sadly, God has been kicked to the proverbial curb by those who think God is a primitive superstition or ignorant idea. Often, they look down their enlightened noses at people who believe in God exclaiming, “You idiot! Believing in God is dualistic. Freedom is Oneness—the only Reality.” Of course, the people who proclaim this are certain they are enlightened, which more often than not lives in the abject arrogance of knowing far from the humility arising from not knowing—the deep clear perception of true enlightenment. But what if enlightenment is God? Who or what is God?
Certainly, the birth of Jesus is hailed as the advent of the miraculous birth of God—Emmanuel—God with us—the word of God—the trinitarian logos transformed into flesh in the arc of the covenant—the womb of the Virgin Mary. The birth of her son Jesus is the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah, “A virgin will conceive and bear a son and his name will be called Emmanuel—God with us!” For some of us this is a familiar story, but what if you stop to contemplate this more intimately, what does ‘a virgin will conceive’ actually mean?! Certainly, this makes her son more than a little unusual—his mom is biological human woman and his dad is the unseen power of creation—the Holy Spirit—the vast stillness of God that moves. This makes Jesus no ordinary human being. He demonstrated this over and over again, but even Jesus with his miraculous birth and healing powers was called a drunken sot during his life on earth. As he laments, 19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” (Matthew 11:18—19)
Certainly, over the centuries the wisdom of Jesus has been vindicated by his deeds. He healed the sick, made the blind see, the lame walk, the mute speak, lepers were cleansed and he could even walk on water. But was this the only purpose of Emmanuel—God with us? Jesus reveals, “For this purpose, I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth.” Pilate asks, “What is the truth?” (John 18:37) How does Jesus respond? He remains silent, which unveils the truth of God—a vast indescribable living silence. Basically, this means Jesus was born to make the invisible visible—the power of the word—the vast indescribable power of the entire universe alive in human form. You could say Jesus is E=mc2 a tremendous power. He was not born just to perform miracles—he was born to reveal God with us and in each and every one of us—the light of the world or you could say the unseen light of the entire universe. The real miracle of Jesus is himself—the unseen power that heals the body and the soul—the power to remove sin, which is invisible to the eye. But is it Jesus alone that heals?
Jesus is very clear he has no power at all without the unseen presence. It is the unseen intelligent presence of God that heals—I am That I am—the great I AM written on everyone’s heart—intimately felt but always invisible. As John explains in his Gospel, 18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” This brings us back to our original question; Who or what is God? To begin to unravel this mystery you must first examine the name of God. What is the name of God? I AM! Jesus reveals this power as this power. This unseen power heals the physical creation by the removal of sin—the veils of ignorance that cause suffering. As he illuminates, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? This statement more than any other unveils his true identity—I AM—the perfect union of the trinity—Father (God), Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit—the power of creation—the quantum reality. It is this trinitarian union that contains the intelligent power of the entire universe.
Are you left out of this Holy union? Or are you invited into this vast indescribable love of the trinity? Jesus illuminates, 20 “I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23) Ah, this is the nature of true Oneness, surely this will open the inner eye of our enlightened friends. But this leaves us with yet another question—how do you enter into this Holy Union?
Clearly, to consciously enter into this Holy Union you must find the gate that leads from the darkness of death to the light of eternal life. This sounds simple enough, but where exactly is this gate that leads to eternal life and how do you enter it? Jesus explains, 13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13—14) Hmmm….? What is he talking about? And why is the way of the wide gate easy and the way of the narrow gate difficult? And perhaps more importantly, why do so few people discover this mysterious narrow gate?
To unlock this mystery, you must first understand the nature of egoic consciousness. The genesis of ego can be found in the ancient story of the garden of Eden, which is the perfect description of the birth of egoic consciousness. What happens in this ancient garden? Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. (Genesis 3:7) This is the birth of self-awareness rooted in shame, guilt, and fear, which is the nature of egoic consciousness—identification with the body as the primary identity. This is paradise lost—separation from the source of life—the great exile from God!
To take this a step further you must discover the name of this primary identity. How does everyone identify with their own body? Naturally, self-awareness is rooted in the thought ‘I am me.’ This is the name of everyone’s ego. It is this ‘me’ that hides the gate that leads to life. This ‘me’ is death before death—a deep visceral identification with your body, which has no life in and of itself. This identification with your body is the root cause of all your suffering. The ego naturally seeks to avoid pain and the pursue pleasure in the world as a primal survival strategy. It is the easy way simply because it is the path of least resistance. The ego naturally pursues happiness in the world from the limited perspective of ego. It is the natural tendency of egoic consciousness. Many people unknowingly choose the wide gate simply because they are unaware that egoic identity is enticing them to pursue happiness in the world—the path of death.
It is the common human condition to unknowingly be at the effect of ego, which is the primary cause of desire, attachment, suffering, and sin. Egoic consciousness is deeply rooted in the unconscious trauma of being born into the world—you could call it the original sin or the original post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD)—the exodus from Eden. Everyone experiences intense fear and pain during the birth process. This trauma naturally goes completely unconscious after you are born into the world. Do you see? It is through the pain of birth into the world that we lose paradise—we are suddenly ripped away from the direct experience of total union with the pure bliss and the purest love of God in the womb. The birth of the body is the advent of your identification with the body as your primary identity. But how do you return to the paradise you experienced in the womb of your mother? Is this even possible?
Jesus illuminates, 3“Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again. 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So, it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:3—8) To return to the paradise of Eden—joy and happiness without end—you must be born again of water and spirit—reunited with the paradise you experienced in the womb (water and spirit)—the return to Eden. But how is this possible?
Certainly, as Nicodemus realized, it not possible to return to the womb of your mother. So here you are faced with the most important question of your life; where is the narrow gate? What is this gate and why do so few find it? Jesus illuminates, “9 I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 3:9—10) To emphasize this he proclaims, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) If he is the gate, way, truth, and life, well, where is Jesus? Are you supposed somehow manage to climb through the invisible Jesus or is he revealing something about himself in relationship to you?
We are back were we started with the name of God—I AM. Jesus is the way, truth, and the life—the gate. But, how do you enter through this gate—a gate so narrow, the ‘me’ you think you are cannot fit through it? Remember, Jesus said he and the father are one—I AM. If I AM is the gate—pause for a moment and contemplate where you find I AM in yourself? As Jesus illuminates, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) See God! The heart, absent of thought, is pure conscious awareness—I AM. Yes, when you turn your attention to this vast stillness in your heart you will see God. But are the swirling thoughts of your mind pure? No. As Jesus explains, 16“Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. 19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. (Matthew 15:16—19)
Evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, and slander are all actions deeply rooted in the egoic mind—the deep feeling of ‘I am me.” The egoic mind arises from the heart, but is sometimes felt in your head, because the brain processes your thoughts and generates your feelings, actions, and reactions to life’s circumstances. If, however, you are very quiet and pay close attention to any thought arising within you it is possible to realize all thoughts arise from your heart. So what Jesus is revealing is very true—anything that comes out of your heart can lead to the intense suffering of actions in the world. The egoic mind’s movement outward is the root cause of all forms of suffering. The way out of suffering is not an outward movement, but rather an inward movement through the narrow gate of your heart. This requires a silent inward focus.
Again and again, Jesus reveals the gate, 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light; 23 but if your eye is evil [focused outward on the world], your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters; for you will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [worldly wealth].” (Matthew 6:19—24)
How do your eyes become single? If you are looking outward to your surroundings, you have two eyes looking out, but if you look inside your own heart your eyes become one conscious awareness—falling through the I AM into the eternal light—then your entire body will be filled with the eternal light of God—blessed are the pure in Heart! This is what it means to enter by the narrow gate, but why is this way hard?
It has been said that the shortest distance and the longest journey in life is from your head to your heart. Why? Because of the power of the mind and the ego combined with your senses distract you with thoughts about you and your life. The mind constantly pulls your attention away from your heart. So, it is no small thing to enter by the narrow gate—and stay there regardless of what is unfolding in your life. How do you stay in the realm light?
Going through the gate is easy, staying there is difficult—it requires prayer and meditation—the way of total love. As Jesus illuminates, “Love God with all your mind, all your heart, and all your strength and all your soul”—a love so deep and wide eventually you will realize you are love.
When you intimately realize you are love you will naturally love your neighbor as yourself.
This is the way, the truth, and the life! Love everlasting.
Tat Sat
<’)
( ~ >
