By Sara Lindsey

When considering the Bible as more than a literal transcription of actual events, the details interestingly become a bit more clarified. For instance, when considering the story of Genesis, it is apparent that the Garden of Eden represents the mundane; daily life without distinction grants no educational gain through the activities of life, but a continual stream of sameness. Through being tempted by the serpent, Adam and Eve then experience the biggest question of existence, while handed the opportunity to truly experience something new. Sure – it might be a bit painful, but life can only continue through change. This is what the Yugas are all about, after all. In order to grow teeth, we must feel the effects of teething. The moment the skin of the apple was broken in the Garden of Eden, the Age of Enlightenment ended, to give birth to a new age, then a new age, which would eventually swing back around full circle to another new, brighter Age of Enlightenment. Each cycle allows the world to grow and experience new levels of clarity. After gaining the insight of quantum physics in terms of Transcendental Consciousness, I realized that the fall of Adam and Eve was nothing other than the breaking of symmetry. These transformations of the world are completely in tune with natural law, because the cycles of the universe must be completed. There was no battle between good and evil in the garden, only the continuous motion of creation.

When Christ presented his disciples with his body and blood during the Last Supper, he is allowing them to, in a poetic tangible way, experience Unity Consciousness. He blesses wine and bread, and in doing so, transforms it on an energetic level to be a part of him, which they can then take in. This symbolizes his gift to them before his departure, which is also a symbol in itself. When Jesus allows himself to be taken and hung on the cross, it is as if the training wheels were taken away from his followers, and they were then left to continue on with their lives  with him in his heart; not so profoundly present, but more subtly so. This reflects the concept of awareness becoming refined, so that something does not necessarily have to be surface level, but rather seen at a grosser scale with finely tuned vision as one reaches higher states of awareness through experiencing the connection with God. Once Christ is supposedly deceased, and the material level of what he is is no longer  readily available, then the truth of what people’s motives and beliefs are come to the surface rather quickly. An example of this would be the apostle Thomas, who did not believe that Jesus had resurrected, stating that he had to feel the wounds in Jesus’ palms himself to believe it. When Jesus did arrive, he simply held out his hands, offering them to Thomas. This is to suggest that this particular apostle had faith, but not of the strongest caliber, and that nature always finds a way to quickly remind us that we are faulted by our doubts, and humbled by the worlds honesty.

However, another interesting example of a disciple who seems to fall from grace before the crucifixion of Christ is Judas, who is responsible for selling Jesus over to the Romans. This seemed to be an evil deed, but was in fact a subconscious act of servitude. Jesus was aware of the upcoming deception, yet did nothing. Why was this? Being an enlightened being, the Son of God (otherwise seen as being in Unity Consciousness, or in his case, expressing the idea of Unity Consciousness), Jesus knows that the plans must fall as they will in order to allow creation to continue in its natural direction. Judas is driven mad with self-awareness of doing something terrible, but according to oral tradition, he is pardoned since he was acting under God, doing what was required, even without knowing it. This could be in a strange way, described as spontaneous right action, which is his case is interpreted as something seemingly negative. However, tasks cannot be judged on a surface level when dealing with the Cosmic.

Once Jesus arises, followers know that he was never truly dead, but just away from them in a physical form. He leaves the body and manifests as pure energy, which is not visible, but is tangible within anyone willing to feel it. The Sacred resides in every living being, and this is known through the rising of consciousness. Since everyone has the potential to experience life on a higher plane, then they must certainly be part of the divine. From the perspective of a person in Unity Consciousness, there are no individual people or deeds left out of the equation.

Jesus represents the personified concept of Unity Consciousness, since he feels absolutely no judgement or hate towards anything. All is one, and he is all. This notion traces back to the old testament, when Gods voice is heard within a burning shrub. He states simply to Moses, “I am that I am,” reflecting the Vedic quotation “I am that, thou art that, all of this is that.” The voice of God is heard throughout all cultures and religions, making strangely similar statements. I do not see this as coincidence, but a very obvious truth that faith is found and expressed through the Self, no matter where you are in the scheme of the world. Through the practice of Transcendental Meditation, the surface level of religious faith is left behind as representations, replaced with deeper understanding of what the origins of religion were and still are. Religion is important when it is used as a true conduit for faith, however, it is often seen as a tool for structure and control. When one discovers God, they should be allowed to understand their personal relationship to the cosmic divinity of God, while simultaneously becoming educated with the tradition of religion. This allows the subtle and gross levels to be experienced at the same time. Meditation is absolutely imperative to this process, because when we dive within, we then incorporate the silence to the dynamism of activity required by the mind to grasp all it is learning.

Jesus, with all of his parables and compelling stories, represents something much more than a simple man with a beautiful mind. He is all things at once. With a human form, he walks amongst people, but his nature of being a self-aware creation of cosmic energy makes him more than human. We have learned that a typical human being may not become fully realized until at least 25 years of age since this is when the brain becomes entirely developed, but Christ was born with self-actualization. This make him an exception to the rule of human evolvement. Jesus was a collection of energy, waiting to burst forth and brighten the hearts of anyone willing to take a step into his light. Meditation is a way to take this step, as is prayer, as are acts of kindness. These are all ways, from the surface to the subtle, to connect with global consciousness, and in doing so, connect with God.