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40 SPIRIT AND THE MIND
Nevertheless, I ask the reader to put aside, for now, any critical, perhaps biased mental sets in order to investigate seriously the possibility of an Avatar, and to consider the impact of such a being not just on the behavioral sciences but on our very way of life. For many, being open to this material will not be easy. Until recently, behavioral scientists have virtually ignored profoundly relevant discoveries by saints and sages—the scientists of consciousness in the spiritual world.4 But taking the risk of openness may bring with it considerable reward.
This is Sai Baba’s challenge to the behavioral sciences’ capacity for openness and change. For if we find that an Avatar is possible—that man’s true potential encompasses no less than divinity—then obviously the textbooks defining our human condition and identity would have to be completely rewritten. While this represents an exciting possibility for the truly adventurous, it may be precisely the cause of resistance in those who dread losing a sense of certainty when old concepts tumble.
Upon returning from my first trip to India, in June, 1972, it seemed to me that the first order of business was to confront this professional resistance. Can you imagine how naive I was? I returned from that visit knowing that I had experienced something profoundly important about the dynamics of man’s consciousness, and feeling that everyone would be immensely interested. Here was evidence that consciousness, not matter, formed the basis of all creation. Here were insights into how consciousness expanded—how it was interrelated with love and morality . . . how spiritual attitudes and practices like meditation, prayer, detachment, renunciation, devotion and faith related to the development of character—and how they deepened empathy, intuition and creativity and could therefore influence the therapeutic process. And here was a chance to broaden our awareness, to consider the possibility of previous lives influencing our present one—the continuation of consciousness after death.
And then the question of God: is He to be taken seriously after all? Could there be a Universal Consciousness and love that created the cosmos—and are we capable of realizing our connection with this greater dimension?
Psychology is primarily the science of consciousness . . . Psychologists are now returning to the essential questions of our discipline: How does the mind work? What are the major dimensions of human consciousness?


































































































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