August 8

We Are All Spiritual Beings

Question: I am part of a women’s group. Please advise us of any special chants or prayers or observances that will keep us aware of who we really are. We wish to unfold gracefully in accordance with spiritual teachings.

Sri Gurudev: Well, if you want to become aware of who you really are, don’t even form men’s groups and women’s groups. Men’s groups and women’s groups are formed in terms of a bundle of flesh and bone. We have to rise above the physical level. We have to transcend the physical, and the mental also.

The spiritual state is a transcendental state. As long as we get caught in the body and mind, we are not going to recognize the spirit. So if you really want to know who you are, say, “I’m not a woman, I’m not a man. I’m not a scholar, I’m not a fool.” Yes. All this scholarliness and foolishness are in the mind. So know that: “I am spirit originally, essentially, using the feminine body, so I am calling myself a woman.” That’s all.

Because you have a little body, you call yourself a child. Because you have a wrinkled body, you call yourself old. So you are associating yourself with the body and mind. That is what creates all the problems. If we really want to know who we are, we must rise above all these things and say, “We are all spiritual beings. We are the image of God. We are all lights, burning, shining through different bulbs.” Some are good old 110 volt. There are also 108 volt. The minute you forget that, you revolt. So keep up the voltage.