The Guru is within.

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

I AM - THE FIRST NAME OF GOD

 

David Godman

 

 

 

.....................................

 

 

So far as I am aware, only one Christian group has given pride of

place to Jesus' revelation that He is 'I am', and that is a modern

twentieth century organization, 'The Infinite Way', which was founded

by the Christian mystic Joel Goldsmith. After many years in the

Christian Science movement, the inner 'I' revealed itself to him. By

abiding in it he came to realise that this inner 'I' was God Himself.

This gave him new insights into the nature of Christ's teachings,

particularly those that were revealed in the Gospel of John. He

eventually started his own group, teaching all who came to him that

God is within, shining as the 'I'. More than twenty books appeared

under his name, most of them being edited collections of his

teachings. I have selected a few of his statements on the nature of

God as 'I' or 'I am' and given them below. All of them have been

taken from The Mystical 'I', a book that relates the author's own

experience of 'I am' and also gives his explanations of the 'I am'

statements that appear in John's Gospel. Readers will note that his

exegesis of the biblical texts is very similar to my own, and that

his teachings on the nature of 'I' and the means by which it can be

experienced are very similar to those propounded by Ramana Maharshi:

 

'I stand at the door and knock.' Who is this 'I' standing at

the door? And at what door is this 'I' standing? At what door but the

door of your consciousness? 'I' stand at the door of your

consciousness and knock, but you must open the door and admit Me,

for 'I am the bread of life … I am the way, the truth and the life …

I am the resurrection and the life … I am come that you might have

life, and that you might have it more abundantly.'

 

The 'I' that is standing at the door of your consciousness and

knocking is the 'I' that has come that you might have life more

abundant. When you admit that I' into your consciousness, you have

admitted life eternal: the bread of life, the water of life, and the

wine of life. You have admitted into your consciousness the power of

resurrection …

 

Close your eyes and within yourself, silently, sacredly,

secretly and gently say the word 'I, I'. That 'I' in the midst of you

is mighty. That 'I' in the midst of you is greater than any problem

in the outside world. That 'I' in the midst of you is come that you

might have life and have it more abundantly. That 'I' has been with

you since 'before Abraham was', waiting your recognition and your

acknowledgement. 'Know ye not ye are the temple of God?

 

Know ye not that the name of God is 'I' or 'I am', and that you

are the temple of God only when you have admitted 'I' into your

consciousness and held it there secretly, sacredly, gently,

peaceably, so that at any moment you can close your eyes and just

remember 'I'? …

 

When Jesus speaks of the Father within and when Paul speaks of

the Christ that dwells in him they are speaking of the I AM, the

very 'I' that you are, the 'I' that you have just announced, that is

in the midst of you.

 

 

It may take a month or a year, or ten years before you can break

the crust of personal sense and finally hear that still small voice

within yourself, but when you do it says to you, 'Be still and know

that I am God'. It does not say that Joel or Mary is God. No, no! It

does not say that William or Robert is God, or Mildred. It always

says 'I'. And do you know what else it says? 'Fear not for I am with

thee … I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.' Fear not. Though

your sins be scarlet, in the moment of your recognition of 'I' in the

midst of you, you are white as snow.

 

 

To be sure that no one misses the way, we caution our students

never to say, even to themselves, 'I am God'. It is not even wise to

voice such a statement as 'I am the son of God'. The ideal way is

just to say 'I'. And think what It means. Then in time, as the

listening ear is developed, you will hear the voice say, '''I'' in

the midst of you am God. ''I'' who am closer to you than breathing am

God.' When you hear this, you have made contact with your source.

 

 

The unveiled truth in every age has always been the revelation

that 'I' am He: there is no other. There is only one Ego, only one

Selfhood, the AM THAT I AM, that 'I' in the midst of us, the divine

Selfhood of you and me.

 

Abide in the word 'I'. Let this 'I' abide in you and recognise

its identity. Never let anyone veil It for you again. Keep it sacred

and secret.

 

 

The minute you have an image of God in your thought, you are

personalizing, and you are expecting that concept to be God, and a

concept cannot be God. Only 'I' can be God, and you cannot have a

mental image of 'I'. That is the one word that defies description.

Try as you will, you cannot make a mental image of 'I'.

 

 

Whether you say that God is Omniscience, Omnipotence and

Omnipresence, or that Jesus is Omniscience, Omnipotence and

Omnipresence, really makes no difference, because in either case you

have set up God and Jesus as separate and apart from the Self which

you are, the 'I' which you are. When, however, you bring it all down

to 'I and the Father are one', and know that 'I' is Omniscience,

Omnipotence and Omnipresence, in the oneness you are infinite in

being. In this oneness the 'I' of you is immortality.

 

 

One of the most important statements in the New Testament is the

passage, 'I am the way'. The incorrect interpretation of these few

words has kept the world in spiritual darkness for seventeen hundred

years …

 

Rightly interpreted, the words 'I am the way', mean what they

say. The way, the truth and the life more abundant are to be found

in 'I', the 'I' that I am, the 'I' that you are, for you have been

told that you and your father are one … It is in his word 'I' that

you find the entire secret of the spiritual message given to the

world by Christ Jesus.

 

 

God is not a person … God is not localized as the mind of some

one person: God is being. But God is infinite being; therefore God

must be your being and my being. That is why we can accept 'I' as the

name of God because I have the name 'I' and you have the name 'I'.

Each of us is 'I' … Each one of us is 'I' and God is that

infinite 'I' in us.

 

 

When you know the secret of 'I', you abide in stillness and

let 'I' do its work; not you - 'I', that 'I' that is in the midst of

you. You need no thoughts, since you cannot and need not enlighten

God.

 

.............................................................

 

www.davidgodman.org

ONS....Tony.

[Guest guest]

Tony - that is catch 22 situation. If one knows that Guru is within,

half the problem is solved. Second half of the problem is to recognize

that there is neither guru nor sishya.

 

But to be even in the first state of the problem - one needs a proper

frame of mind. It is not the same medicine for all. Inappropriate

medicine at inapproiate time can kill the patient completely.

 

Hari OM!

Sadananda

 

=====

What you have is His gift to you and what you do with what you have is your gift

to Him - Swami Chinmayananda.

 

 

 

The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

http://search.

[Guest guest]

advaitin, kuntimaddi sadananda

<kuntimaddisada> wrote:

> Tony - that is catch 22 situation. If one knows that Guru is within,

> half the problem is solved. Second half of the problem is to

recognize

> that there is neither guru nor sishya.

>

> But to be even in the first state of the problem - one needs a

proper

> frame of mind. It is not the same medicine for all. Inappropriate

> medicine at inapproiate time can kill the patient completely.

>

> Hari OM!

> Sadananda

 

Namaste S,

 

Yes but one has to really 'Know'/Vidya, that the Guru is within. That

is the point you seem to be making. For those at different stages a

human form Guru may be necessary on the 'Outer'. I went through that

experience myself, and even though the Guru was not 'True', good

things can be learned from bad Gurus, because good things come from a

universal truth.

 

However if one concentrates on the feeling of I, or 'Who am I?' one

will make progress anyway........ONS...Tony.IMO

[Guest guest]

--- Tony O'Clery <aoclery wrote:

>

> However if one concentrates on the feeling of I, or 'Who am I?' one

> will make progress anyway........ONS...Tony.IMO

>

 

Tony that is not true either. If one is not blessed with proper

understanding 'who am I', it becomes only a japa with no meaning. Who

am I? is an inquiry.

 

As a matter of fact I will be giving a spiritual camp on Bhagavan

Ramana Maharshi's text 'Upadesha Saara' during the Memorial Weekend at

Chinmaya Mission, Washington - where I will be discussing exactly the

teaching of Bhagavan and what exactly involved in the 'who am I'

inquiry.

 

Hari OM!

Sadananda

 

=====

What you have is His gift to you and what you do with what you have is your gift

to Him - Swami Chinmayananda.

 

 

 

The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.

http://search.

[Guest guest]

advaitin, kuntimaddi sadananda

<kuntimaddisada> wrote:

>

> --- Tony O'Clery <aoclery> wrote:

>

> >

> > However if one concentrates on the feeling of I, or 'Who am I?'

one

> > will make progress anyway........ONS...Tony.IMO

> >

>

> Tony that is not true either. If one is not blessed with proper

> understanding 'who am I', it becomes only a japa with no meaning.

Who

> am I? is an inquiry.

>

> As a matter of fact I will be giving a spiritual camp on Bhagavan

> Ramana Maharshi's text 'Upadesha Saara' during the Memorial Weekend

at

> Chinmaya Mission, Washington - where I will be discussing exactly

the

> teaching of Bhagavan and what exactly involved in the 'who am I'

> inquiry.

>

> Hari OM!

> Sadananda

 

Namaste S,

 

The 'I' is the feeling of the Being, not a pronoun. Some languages

don't have it all. However I agree with you to a point, that one has

to have a certain amount of spiritual maturity to carry this out.

If one doesn't have much at then one is better with the dualistic

religions, and Guru worship, for that is the level of awareness one

is at...........ONS.....Tony.

[Guest guest]

Note from the List Moderator:

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===================

 

Hello:

Two books by Freke and Gandy, "The Jesus Mysteries" and "Jesus and the

Lost Goddess", have spawned a small movement. They're based in the UK,

but their books are available form the major outlets (Amazon, etc.).

I read the second book (shortly after sensing the watchful and

compassionate 'I'), and I must say it's very apropos to what you're

saying here.

As an aside, it appears that all of the major religious systems (and a

host of 'smaller' ones) have at their core some form of the perennial

philosophy. I'm following the Advaitin group postings because the

Advaitin system(s) represent one of the first human understandings of

Truth. And, Advaita Vedanta doesn't have the perennial philosophy at

its core but as its entirety. Just my two cents.

 

Peace.

Chris