Page 188 - Mystic Pathways through the Bible

d
182 Mystic pathways through the bible
In Vedantic teachings, seeing God—the ultimate blessing experienced by the pure in heart—is characterized by brahmakara-vritti: the unceasing, unimpeded ow of mind to God. Although an aspirant must exert considerable self-effort to succeed in sadhana, those efforts are all ultimately aimed at stilling the mind so that the effortless, intuitive revelation of the Self can spontaneously occur. In that stillness there blossoms a perpetual awareness of God as the only Reality behind all that exists.
Imagine, for a moment, that a lake in its agitation is trying to capture the sun by producing numerous waves. However, if the waves on the surface of the lake all shimmer so much in the light, the sun cannot be seen clearly in its entirety. When the lake reaches a higher state of wisdom, it realizes that creating more waves doesn’t capture anything new. Therefore, it should just quiet the waves and remain still. The entire sun then majestically appears in the lake.
Similarly, the human heart longs to recapture its Oneness with God, but the agitation of the externalization of mind makes that impossible. As profound devotion and wisdom unfold through sadhana, mind discovers that the same Reality— Brahman, the Divine Self—is behind everything in this world of apparent multiplicity. Therefore, mind becomes placid and is no longer distracted by desires for objects and circumstances in the world