20 Judgement

Crossroads

If 'Judgement' is thought of only as a singular event which occurs after death – a verdict, followed by a sentence to eternity - then our interpretations of what exactly occurs at that moment won't leave much to discussion beyond the dogma which lead to such a belief. If we understand more rightfully that assessment is continual as we move through life and lives, we should investigate more closely what that process might be. An examination of the word itself – 'judgement' – would be helpful in sorting out its meaning – does it even fit?The first question  to pose would be, who exactly is doing the judging? It's very difficult to shed the notion of being rewarded or punished by some higher power, as in a sense it's very true; cosmic mind is certainly a higher power – we do good, we feel good; we do something wrong and suffer. But if we hang tight to the belief that a force which exists only outside ourselves is metering out these edicts upon us, we will continue to remain in a subservient state of being. We ourselves are at the helm; this life is a continuation of conditions we've created in the past. Our actions today will determine how our life will continue into the future. An examination of the workings of karma will show us that causes and effects are interrelated, We create the cause, the cause creates the effect. Most of our causes are habitual; we keep on repeating them out of habit and until we can summon the strength to eliminate the cause, we'll stay in perpetual bondage to its cycle.

We are, when we strip away all our conditionings - a thorough replication of cosmic mind, and in no way separate from it. The 'spiritual path' is simply the process by which we arrive at our true selves, devoid of any compulsions of karma. At that point there will be nothing left to 'act against us.' The laws, physical and spiritual which govern the universe are within us as well as all around us; they only 'act against us' when we act against them. Our thoughts and actions then are the separating factor, which, when seen this way, makes it clear that our seeming existence outside the Universal Mind is simply the self-made illusion of who we think we are. It's an illusion that we have the ability to penetrate.

The 'Great Way,' the Dharma, the Tao, all are words to describe the spiritual path to enlightenment – the way of becoming in complete accord with the laws of the Universe. The important shift lies in our commitment to stepping fully and completely into personal responsibility for everything that we do and that happens to us. We then cease blaming circumstances and others for our shortcomings. We may then come into accord with our Divinity, and we will arrive into it either through our wisdom, or by way of painful teachings – this is largely our choice. Painful circumstances arise as teachings, not as punishments, and if we can accept this fully, we then begin to partake fully in our life's great adventure. For us to completely dissolve the sources of our difficulties is a life-long process which involves increasing discernment; we must keep our eyes and ears ever open - wisdom cannot be taught, only learned.

No matter what our faith, this is an infinitely loving and devotional approach. Deep prayer and meditation become the vehicles for our movement closer to the realization of our utterly complete involvement with the Miracle of the Universe. With this view we may become fully renewed and energized either within our own religion or outside of it – at this level of understanding there is no conflict – anywhere.

By Ananda G. Brady copyright 2011