September 1966
Dear Friends:
The Spiritual Travelers refuse to consider themselves as
intermediaries between the Divine, the universal mind and
man. Of course, they are agents of God, but they will not
allow themselves to be used by anyone to rely upon them as
a support. The purpose is to teach every man to take his own
responsibility and stand on his spiritual feet anywhere at
anytime.
The attitude of Eckankar is the very independence of Soul.
Therefore, we must cease to cherish opinions as Seng Tsán,
one of the great patriarchs of Zen Buddhism, tells us. The
essence nature of Eck is, hence, freedom from all things. Not
only is the attachment to an idea a factor that conditions the
mind and holds Soul in bondage to it, but the simple preference
for one idea over another, for one opinion above another, and
for value of one thing or idea rather than the other; all and
equally enslave Soul to mind, thus chaining the Divine, if pos-
sible, to the lower aspects of God.
Soul is the central reality of the individual; Soul of Itself
dwells in the Ultimate Cosmic Consciousness, God-Realization,
at all times. Unless, of course, mind gets too strong and becomes
wild and tries to pull It down to the lower levels of the universes.
This is hardly possible, for when this happens, Soul withdraws and
leaves the mind to run body, which it will do, but to the detriment
of the physical body. Soul, being a happy entity, will not be con-
trolled by anything other than the Holy Spirit. Thus we must devote
ourselves to the practical work of our daily lives and try to
realize the guidance of Spirit in every affair. This depends on the
non-attached attitude and the realization of doing everything for
the Universal, or the totality of God.
From the moment when we start creating special points, ideas and
distinctions, we exile ourselves from the state of God-Consciousness,
and miss the infinite freedom of Reality. Actually underlining the
teachings of Eck, we can see that the Illuminated Way to God does not
have any difficulties, except that It refuses to become attached to
any preferences. As Buddha once said, the only difference between Heav-
en and Earth, is that of a hairline. Then we are aware that an absence
of dogma exists, and it is only when we are seeking anything other
than God and living in the area of rituals and dogma that we suffer
from desires that are unworthy.
Since freedom of Soul is here and now, all we must do is recognize
and live in the assumption of our knowledge; we must feel the extra-
ordinary sensitivity and delicacy of our relationship with the sense of
freedom. But this will bring up questions from dogmatic thinkers when
speaking of freedom of Soul, who will not admit to the possibility of
a fundamental freedom and a non-conditioned mind. The real polemic will
defend his particular views and beliefs with arguments by which he iden-
ifies himself. he wants his own personal ideological preferences to tri-
umph. But here is the point: we have nothing to defend because we have
no personal idea on anything; we possess nothing, therefore, we have no
reason to fight, for wisdom consists in not cherishing opinions.
The philosophy of nothingness is not a pretense on the part of the
Spiritual Travelers. They are aware that pure freedom is the essential
Law of God for such freedom is never conceived. It lives, but only be-
comes alive when all concepts cease. We do not revolt against dogma and
beliefs, but allow Soul to become the impersonal channel of the Holy
Spirit which uses It as the means to uplift the world of matter. Then
we become the pole of God power to change the consciousness of all with
whom we come in contact. We know the difference between being awake
and sleeping, light and darkness, freedom and slavery. There can be no
halfway for the Traveler. The passage from one state to the other con-
stitutes a spiritual transmutation. Hence, there is an essential change,
or the sudden change in one who has experienced the true God-Realization
and the liberation of Soul.
God-Realization is often sudden, unexpected and spontaneous. When
the mind gives up its inner tension, this experience of Light and Sound
comes pouring into Soul like a burst of thunder and lightening. It lifts
us into the heights of the True Kingdom and snaps us out of the sleep
state into the consciousness of awareness. We are now alive and, at once,
become the mouth-piece of Truth. The whole secret of our power lies, not
in the fact that we have the secret of power, but of Life Itself.
The problem of Saints within organized religions lies in the thought
that once they have reached the Formless – that of the True Kingdom of
Heaven – they begin to make the mistake of putting themselves into the
limitations of symbols and cherished opinions. All experiences of the
mystics within religion have done this, and find themselves limited by
the mind which intervenes and creates tragic anxiety within the symbols
of the adored formless vision and sound. Therefore, in spite of their
lofty thoughts, they are able to penetrate onlty the limits of the men-
tal plane and have a physical sensualism accompanied by a psychic exper-
ience. A study of the mystic experience will bear this out.
The Spiritual Traveler does not need discipline, nor is his realization
of the spiritual self of an emotional or mental nature. He transcends be-
yond the mind and definitely frees himself from identification with the
body, the mind and thoughts. This is the state which we are seeking, the
place in the Ultimate Realm of Heaven that we are living in NOW; and it
takes only self-recognition to assure us of this state. All can dwell in
the consciousness of God, here and now.
I am always with you.
Affectionately,
Paul Twitchell
From The Illuminated Way Letters © 1983 Eckankar
