Expand your View of Yourself to Understand the Divinity

All people will not be able to understand the omniscience of God. Even spiritually-minded people will base their view only on the visible outward actions of the Lord, thinking of him as an individual entity associated with a given form. Since they identify themselves with their own bodies, so they also identify the Lord with a particular body. They speculate on the future of this particular divine incarnation and fail to recognize the omnipresence and omniscience of the divinity. But this is not right. Krishna commanded Arjuna, "Develop a broad mind and expand your vision. You can start with the concept of the individual personality; but do not get stuck there. Do not waste your entire life thinking only of individuals.

"From the individual, you must move on to the concept of the society, which transcends the individual. Individuality and personality are associated with a limited name and form, but let your mind soar beyond name and form. Reach and experience that divine principle which is your very essence. You are still viewing everything in the framework of duality, and so your life is manifesting only duality. You are caught up in name and form, in subject and object. Make the effort to travel from duality and illusion to complete oneness with the divinity, constantly keeping this highest wisdom of pure non-duality as your goal. Make an effort to see the same divine principle everywhere and in everything, until you realize the ultimate truth that only the atma, which is your very self, is real and that it alone exists."

Buddha taught the same great truth, although he may not have made reference to the Vedas or used Vedantic terms. Nevertheless, he experienced and demonstrated the essential spirit of the Vedas. First he said buddham sharanam gacchami, meaning, 'I take refuge in the buddhi, my power of discrimination.' This deals with the individual; it speaks of the limited personality. Gradually, he added sangham sharanam gacchami, meaning, 'I take refuge in the community, I take refuge in the extended family of spiritually minded beings.' He recognized that feelings associated with individual and personal considerations are selfish and narrow, and cannot take you very far.