It’s About Time
What do we see when we look into the mirror of our mind? Fragmented memories of a youth long gone? Or perhaps, the glimmer of hope and expectations for a better tomorrow?
The intricate mosaic that looks back at us is a face which most certainly reveals the memories of life’s many past years – the pleasures and the regrets. And perhaps it also exposes the anticipation – the impatience for harvests that we desire, yet to be fulfilled. It is a face that embodies the two elements that impede us from true freedom – our past and our future.
Look more carefully and that face invariably will reveal both sadness and joy. It will likely render courage yet despair, confusion yet understanding, and maybe even anger yet composure – all the bipolar symptoms of that abstract thing called duality. It is a mixture of precisely opposing emotions and states of mind, which mystics explain is brought about because this is our condition – we are trapped in the grip of duality.
So what is duality? It is a realm of existence governed by opposing forces. A sphere or world within which every thought, word and action is counterbalanced by an equal and opposite thought, word or deed. And our entire universe is in that sphere. The bubble of our existence, encapsulated by the concept of the equal and opposite, processing in an infinite loop – the unending actions and reactions trying to attain the perfect balance which in turn keep the universe in existence.
And the fabric of duality? It is those four dimensions we think we are restricted to live within. The three dimensions of space, which are the foundation of the physical world, and the fourth dimension – that which enables the physical world to be animated: time.
Sant Mat explains that karma is the construct of duality. It is how karma works, and why it exists. It tells us the mechanics of the trap, and the nuances of the perfect system of justice. Then, having explained everything in lucid detail, the mystic adept presents us with one more thing: the most profound, penetrating element of the teachings – the gift of freedom.
It is duality that is the problem, but Sant Mat reveals that there is something beyond this: an existence outside the limited sphere of space and time. These ancient teachings that have been handed down from mystic to mystic through the aeons tell us of another world – the real universe, within which our world of duality exists simply as a speck of dust. And in that real universe, there is no sorrow or happiness, no rich or poor, no despair or contentment. No opposites - just unity. No duality, just oneness. To enable us to transcend to that existence of oneness, Sant Mat teaches a specific method of meditation. It is the key to freedom from this prison of duality.
What is the nature of oneness? It is the state of perfect spirituality, beyond the limitations of physical dimensions, and more importantly, beyond the realm of time itself – it is a state of timelessness. This is one of the outcomes of meditation, as taught by the perfect mystic; to be released from the clutches of the past and the pulling gravity of the future, and to exist only in that instant called ‘now’.
It is said that the search for the true self begins by looking into the mirror of our own mind. With grace and perseverance, perhaps one day soon when we look within, we will manage to see ourselves without baggage of the past, and without expectations of the future. It is only with diligence and devotion that this is attained. And in one instance of timelessness, that perfect focus and stillness in meditation is finally achieved, and the true self is observed – just in the now. Sant Mat teaches us the exact method, and the mystic assures us that it is not only achievable – it’s about time!