As you may recall, I reread "Perennial Philosophy" from time to time. It is one of the top most meaningful books in my spiritual life. This morning the below quote caught my eye.
Direct knowledge of the Ground cannot be had except by union, and union can be achieved only by the annihilation of the self-regarding ego, which is the barrier separating the “thou” from the “That.”
I had vision of all the range of preachers shouting out their sermons, as if they, and only they, knew the absolute truth. I saw the pumped up egos, the pulpit pounding, the distain for other ways, the shouting down of descencion, the punishing of those called "other." I read yesterday there are 45,000 "Christian" denominations worldwide and at least 30,000 in the U.S.! Each has a variation of what it means to be a Christian. Each is sure they are right. They bear little resemblance to what we know of Jesus.
In the quote above, it is suggested that a person can only Know God/The Ground of Being, by direct experience, and that is possible only without ego. To go on an actual spiritual adventure, the ego must be left at the door. The ego is the wall that blocks entrance to The Ground.
Whether people know it or not, knowing directly is the inner yearning that calls to us from somewhere deep within our souls. It is the place we often try to fill with other things, things that can never satisfy. There is no drug that will do it. There is no amount of money that will do it. Only knowing God directly can fill that yearning.
It might be called Jesus' pearl of great price. We each must ask ourselves how important is it to enter The Ground of Being and have our yearning filled? Is this the life we drop the ego and sincerely enter the Spiritual Quest? Or do we want to hold onto our egos for yet another life?
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