Gone Beyond

Beyond the senses are their objects, and beyond the objects is the mind. Beyond the mind is pure reason, and beyond reason is the Spirit in man.

Beyond the Spirit in man is the Spirit of the universe, and beyond is Purusha (God/Godhead), the Spirit Supreme. Nothing is beyond Purusha: He is the End of the path.

The light of the Atman, man's Spirit, is invisible, concealed in all beings. It is seen by the seers of the subtle, when their vision is keen and is clear.

[from the Katha Upanishad]

Most of the time I'm content to stay within the realm of the very first level - the level of the senses. There's not much depth - just getting by in life, spinning from this project to that project, feeding my belly and doing things that feel good.

Oh how much we miss when we choose not to delve deeper. As Deepak Chopra says, perhaps Jesus' condemnation of "the world" and worldliness is not so much a disdain for the things of this world, but rather an invitation to see outer things as a trap that keeps us from going within to deeper realities.

This is why the Buddhists say:

"Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha"

or

"Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely beyond, oh what an awakening!"