THE HUMAN ENIGMA by Felix Fojas

Man is a wonderful enigma and mystery. He has a sevenfold nature consisting of a physical body, an emotional or astral body, a mental body, a causal body, a Christ body, a buddhic body, and a paranirvanic body or body of bliss. Yet man in his ordinary state of consciousness is asleep, for he is completely under the control of his false self or ego. In turn the ego is subdivided into a physical or instinctive ego, an emotional ego, and an intellectual ego--which are fragmented and uncoordinated, each seeking to dominate the rest.

    Thus man lives in a hazy, subjective world, a shadowy globe which is molded out of pure fantasy and illusion, forever preventing him from perceiving objective reality as is. No wonder the life of a man in a waking-sleep is a continuous nightmare and he cannot experience leasting peace and contentment in both his internal and external life. Neither can he attain wisdom abd enlightenment in such a state of sleep where total chaos, duality, contradiction, and suffering reign.

     The key to man's redemption is how to transcend his threefold ego which is imaginary and does not exist in reality. This can be achieved through a two-step technique or method called self-observation

and self-awareness. Just by acting as an impartial or non-judgmental witness to the petty activities of his ego, one can pracice self-observation. If he makes a regular practice of self-observation from moment to moment--which can extend from a few months to many years--something that varies from one person to another, he gradually awakens into superconsciousness.

     There are seven types of humanity. Man number one is primitive man who is governed by his animal instincts. Man number two is the emotional type who feels and gropes at life. Then there is man number three, the thinker who uses his mind as his eyes to observe and understand the world.

     On the opposite end of the pole is man number four, five, six and seven. Man number four is one who  through self-observation and self-awareness, has partially awakened his authentic self and whose power of intuition guides his life towards achieving objective consciousness of his spiritual nature. Man number five is one who has fully awakened and has attained objective consciousness of his own being. At this point he becomes immortal and is conferred the title of  Master of Wisdom, the Christ-Man, one who has learned all the lessons he needs to learn on Planet Earth and has liberated himself from the Wheel of Birth and Rebirth. Man number six is one who has achieved objective consciousness of both his own being and the universe itself. Man number seven is the apex of spiritual evolution possible for a human being in which one has become the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega, and is transformed into a wave of bliss that has fully merged in the ocean of the Absolute. If ever man number seven is reincarnated on Earth, assumes the rolle of an Avatar, a great spiritual teacher who has taken the path of sacrifice in order to spur all of humanity to a higher state of divine

consciousness.

     To hasten one's spiritual development it is imperative to understand and abide by the following cosmic laws:

     1. The Law of Three

     2. The Law of Seven

     3. The Law of Karma

     4. The Law of Love

     5. The Law of Abundance

     6. The Law of Compassion

     What is the Law of Three? It is the cosmic law which is based on the principle that energy, whether physical or spiritual,operates in the universe as a triad composed of three elements. In Christinaity the Law of Three is symbolized by the concept of the Holy Trinity composed of God the Father, God the Mother or the Holy Spirit, and God the Son or the Christ. In Hinduism, this is represented by Shiva the Trimurti, which consists of Shiva the Creator God, Kali the Goddess of Destruction, and Shakti which is the Preserver aspect of God. On the other end of the spectrum in quantum physics, there is the electron, the neutron and the positron.

     Let us now proceed to the Law of Seven. This law states that the universe, as far as Earth's humanity is concerned, is divided into seven dimensions or planes of existence. In the absolute sense there are ten of more planes of existence but this is beyond human understanding. The seven planes relevant to mankind include the physical, emotional, mental, causal, the Christ plane, the buddhic plane, and the paranirvanic plane. There is another plane which is the etheric, but it still belongs to the physical plane and is its most subtle part. In turn the seven dimensions are further subdivided into fourteen, twenty-four,and forty-eight subplanes.

     What is the Law of Karma? It is simply the law of cause and effect and which is substantiated by and made flesh in the biblical passage "As ye soweth, that ye shall reap also." In other words, If one sows a negative deed, that individual will also reap something negative in the shape of a curse or bad luck. This is precisely why Confucius, the great Chinese sage, advocates the observance of a strict ethical or moral code, which is encapsulated in the Golden Rule "Do unto others what you wish others to do unto you."

     Next is the Law of Love. Love here requires a definition since there are many kinds of love. By love we are not referring to mere physical or romantic love. The type of love in focus is objective, unconditional love. Or love in a pure, unadulterated state. Which means that one must love everyone else equally, fairly, and with no strings attached. In short, a person must love for the sake of loving without expecting anything in return. Always bear in mind that divine love, which radiates from the Supreme Creator, is the greatest force in our universe and beyond. As such there is no other force in existence, whether positive or negative, that is greater than or can equal the power and intensity of Love.

     The Law of Abundance pervades both physical matter and spiritual energy. Simply put it is based on the eternal law that abundance is the birthright of man and he deserves to receive infinite blessings and prosperity from God. However, if a person is not getting his just rewards, it is because something is blocking him from God's blessings--perhaps the possession of negative traits such as jealousy, pride, selfishness and greed. Man is God's steward of wealth on Earth. Hence abundance and prosperity is man's natural state. There is no gainsaying the fact that those who are generous to others and engage in philanthropic causes become richer, while those who are miserly towards their fellowmen become poorer and poorer, Charity, aside from from Hope and Faith, is one of the exemplary virtues that benefit both the giver and the receiver.

     Last but not least, the Law of Compassion deserves an explanation. This law is based on the sacred injunction that "we are our brother's keeper." Thus we must always, as soul workers or as disciples of a true Spiritual Master, care for and serve others wholeheartedly and without conditions. This act of caring for others should not only be exclusive to our fellow human beings, but must also include animals, plants, and minerals--other forms of being, whether animate or supposedly inanimate, which is a misconception because even a humble stone, or a grain of sand, or enery for that matter, has a consciousness.

     Aside from understanding and applying the aforementioned cosmic laws, one must simultaneously engage in seven lines of work to achieve a balanced spiritual life and find a shortcut to the Kingdom of Enlightenment. The frist line of work is ASSIMILATION. In this work one must take the initiative of accumulating knowledge in both theory and practice in the hope of finding the real answer to the what, who, when, where, why and how of our existence. Of course in this line of work practice makes perfect and there is no substitute for experience.

     Objective knowledge or wisdom, which involves soul-understanding and research, must replace subjective knowledge or mere ego-learning. In the words of the Russian mystic George Gurdjieff, "to strive to know ever more and more about the laws of world creation and world maintenance." In assimilation the keynote is attention. Will power is needed here to concentrate one's attention single-mindedly upon a subject or object to acquire total knowledge of its essence. One must have the capacity to possess and be possessed by a thing in order to know it inside out, before that something reveals its entelechy or spirit.

     The second line of work is STRUGGLE. Struggling with one's weaknesses is only possible if a man is detached from his ego, his lower self. In order to affirm one's essence, one must deny or negate the body, the emotion, and the mind-centered ego. Pain and suffering is involved here because doing something that the lower self or ego does not want one to do creates a lotof friction or tension not only in the physical body, but in one's feelings and thoughts as well. But once a man suffers pain to the limit, he is automatically jolted out of ego-induced sleep into wakefulness in spirit land.

     The third line of work is SERVICE. It means helping one's fellowmen individually, by directing the work to a single person, or collectively by rendering service to the community. The third line of work involves a lot of sacrifice and responsibility. The best way of doing service is just by performing a helpful action without expecting anything in return.This is known as selfless service, which is an effective act or technique of renouncing one's ego. The third line of work requires a social conscience, a sense of duty or responsibility. There is a need to get something done and one must simply do it. Contrary to the egoistic attitude that one is not his brother's keeper, if he wants to evolve spiritually, it is imperative that he attends to the needs of his brother with the same urgency and attention he is giving his own personal needs.

     The fourth line of work is MANIFESTATION. The work manifests itself. One has nothing to do with the action either actively or receptively. One is just fulfilling a role and one's ego or personality has nothing to do with it. Action is performed with a sense of detachment. The measure of success in this line of work is if the manifestation is genuine. Only by fulfilling one's work with quality, with a labor of love, can the Work truly manifest. Note here that work is spelled with a capital "W" which stresses that work must be done by the Spirit and not by the ego.

     The fifth line of work is RECEPTIVITY. This kind of work has something to do with one's willingness to receive help. This is difficult work because very few poeple are humble neough to admit that they need help from others. In sprituality, as in ordinary living, "No man is an island..." to quote the English poet John Donne. Thus a spiritual seeker needs the help of an incarnated physical master, ascended masters, spirit guides,and the company of invisible helpers like devas or angels, to assist him in his quest for enlightenment. Moreover, a person--who has a mindset and whose thoughts and ideas are petrified--cannot be a repository or holy grail for new wisdom .An aspirant must take full advantage of the darshan or personal blessing from a spiritual  master, or baraka or spiritual energy that radiates from holy shrines associated with saints and divine beings. It is therefore important for one to have absolute trust or faith in a spiritual guru or master.

     The sixth line of work is SUBMISSION or SURRENDER. One must sacrifice the lamb of one's ego upon the altar of selflessness. To find the Master within, one must surrender to the Master without, to an external spiritual guide.This work requires mastery in the art of letting-go. Submission requires that we unlearn everything we have leanred in the past to allow something totally new and different to enter our consciousness.

     The seventh line of work is ACCEPTANCE or PURITY. The student of the spirit must accept his being or essence, as well as the essence of other beings without any bias or reservation. One must wholeheartedly accept his or her present condition in life as well as that person's assigned spiritual mission on Earth. This predicates that one must not compare oneself to others. The practice of total acceptance of oneself and the selves of others ultimately leads to Purity. It goes without saying that Purity is the twin flame of Acceptance. Purity implies that one must be pure in word, body, action, feeling, and thought--in all departments or spheres of life.

     The topics discussed here are the golden keys that open the door to enlightenment. There is nothing more to be added or subtracted in order to achieve total mastery of oneself.  So let us conclude by reflecting on  the sublime words of an unknown ancient sage: "Who is the greater man, he who has conquered the whole world, or the man who has conquered himself?"