The Highest State of Consciousness:

The Christ-Avatar-Buddha Consciousness

(Revised 6-20-2008)

In 1972, a great book was published titled The Highest State of Consciousness.

It was edited by John White, and it is a collection of writings from many different great authors, including Aldous Huxley, R.D. Lang, Abraham Maslow, P.D. Ouspensky, and Lama Govinda. And one of the best things about it is that Mr. White includes the writings of those who approach the subject as a religious, mystical experience, along with the writing of others who approach it in scientific, physiological terms.

In the introduction, Mr. White writes the following, and I quote it because it is even more appropriate today than it was in 1972. In fact, it supports the message I deliver and it’s crucial, because many proud and militant religious zealots do not know what really motivated and inspired the founders of their religions, nor do they realize the universal truths that are at the core of every religion.

"What is the highest state of consciousness? St. Paul called it ‘the peace that passes understanding’ and R.M. Bucke named it ‘cosmic consciousness.’ In Zen Buddhism, the term for it is Satori or Kensho, while in Yoga it is Samadhi or Moksha, and in Taoism, ‘the absolute Tao.’ Thomas Merton used the phrase ‘transcendental unconscious’ to describe it. Abraham Maslow coined the term ‘peak experience.’ Sufis speak of Fana. Gurdjieff labeled it ‘objective consciousness,’ while the Quakers call it ‘the Inner Light.’ Jung referred to individuation, and Buber spoke of the I-Thou relationship. But whatever the name for this old and well-known phenomenon, all are concerned with a state of awareness radically different from our ordinary understanding or normal waking consciousness."

"Furthermore, all are agreed in calling it the highest state of consciousness; a self-transforming perception of one’s total union with the infinite, it is beyond time and space. It is an experience of the timelessness which is eternity, of unlimited unity with all creation. One’s socially conditioned sense of ‘me’ is shattered and swept away by a new definition of the self, the I. In that redefinition of self, I equals all mankind, all life and the universe. The usual ego boundaries break down, and the ego passes beyond the limits of the body. The self becomes integrated with what Emerson called the Oversoul and what Arthur Clarke called the Overmind. Self becomes selfless, ego is seen to be an illusion, and the ego game ends. The Maitrayana Upanishad puts it this way: ‘Having realized his own self as the Self, a man becomes selfless ... that is the highest mystery.’"

Mr. White’s book was one of many that helped me realize what happened to me in 1971, as I wrote in Memoirs of a Prodigal Son of Man, and as I briefly mentioned on the page on this site titled The Prodigal Son of Man.

As I’ve written in my books and on other pages on this site, when one realizes they are one with God, one with humanity, and one with the universe, it is easy to understand why the greatest and most enlightened people have said what they did. And I’ll give you some examples and try to explain how they all fit together.

"A human being is a part of a whole, called by us 'universe', a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself as something separated from the rest... [but it's] a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness." – Albert Einstein

"There is no creature which is not destined for the supreme goal, as there is no river which is not winding its way toward the sea. But only in the human form can consciousness be so developed that it is capable of expressing the True Self, which is the Self of All." – Meher Baba

We are all destined to return to God, just as surely as all rivers flow into the sea. God is the Supreme Consciousness and the Divine Light-Energy Source from which we came, and the ultimate destination to which we will return. The inner self, the highest self, can be considered as the true self of all. That’s why we are truly one in the Spirit.

This has been stated in many different ways by many spiritual teachers, including the Christ Jesus. But it has been misunderstood and misconstrued in the West, especially by the leaders of the Christian Right who want to claim God for themselves by worshiping one particular man as an idol and "God Himself."

The truth, however, is that as the Christ Jesus and all other enlightened ones have known and said, and as even Moses wrote, God is not a mortal, nor a man, nor a son of man.

Now we should understand that the role of special enlightened individuals like the Christ, the Avatar, the Siddhi and the Sat Guru is to speak as that highest self – and even to speak as the Holy One, for the Holy One who is God.

It was in that role that Jesus said things like these: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes unto God except by me." "I am in the Father and the Father is in me." "Before Abraham was, I am."

Most Christians have not understood how or why Jesus said such things, but if we understand what other enlightened ones have said, it makes sense.

You see, it was in the same role that Meher Baba said, "I am the Ancient One. I am the One so many seek and so few find. For no amount of intellect can fathom me. No amount of austerity can attain me. Only when one loves me and loses one’s self in me, am I found."

That is such a profound truth. Those words of Jesus and Meher Baba are what the Holy One would say if the Holy One were a person. And they are words that the Holy One did say and does say through a Christ or an Avatar or other genuine representative of God, being one who is fully enlightened and has been blessed with divine self-realization. That’s because very rare individuals like the Christ and the Avatar and the Buddha are able to speak as the Holy One, but do so for the Holy One who is within us all!

I bring Meher Baba to your attention because he was and still is regarded by some people as an Avatar in the line of Zoroaster, the earliest Avatar and the teacher of the Magi. (The Magi were like the three wise men who visited the baby Jesus in the manger). And I speak of Meher Baba because he, like so many other modern and genuine spiritual teachers, said that Zoroaster, Ram, Krishna, Abraham, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed and certain others were all essentially (in various degrees and in various ways) representatives or servants or messengers of the same divine consciousness of the Ancient One.

That, in fact, is why the Christ Jesus said, "I and my Father are one." But that is also why he said: "When the Spirit of truth comes to you, you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you."

In other words, when you are actually blessed with real spiritual rebirth, you will know that we are all in fact One in the Spirit, one with God, and one with the Ancient One who is with God in heaven.

The Ancient One is our Oversoul, who is with God in heaven and at the same time here, eternally, and omnipresent. It is the Ancient One who influenced and inspired the Avatars like Zoroaster, Ram, and Krishna, the Buddha Gautama, the Sage Lao Tzu, the Christ Jesus, the Prophet Mohammed, and all of the other truly enlightened spiritual teachers throughout history who founded or expanded or updated the religions of the world.

Again, all genuinely enlightened people realize they are one with God, and one with the Ancient One who is with God in heaven. And some of the ones who were able to maintain higher degrees of consciousness after realizing the highest state, have spoken as the Ancient One, for the Ancient One.

That is why the Christ Jesus foretold that the next son of man would say: "As you do unto the least of our brethren, so you do unto me." (Matthew 25:40 and 25:45)

I say that because it is true, and part of my suffering is because of that. However, I am not like the enlightened ones who’ve been able to maintain higher degrees of consciousness after realizing the highest state, because they did not fall into temptation and were courageous enough and secure enough to speak as the Ancient One, for the Ancient One above. I did fall from grace, albeit unwittingly, because I was naïve, foolish, and wilful.

So, I speak for The Ancient One, the Spirit of truth, but not as Him. I am not the Light of the World, but I bear witness to that Light, which is God. The Christ Jesus, like other Avatar-Christs, spoke as that Light, for that Light. But, even though I am a witness to that Light, and have been in that Light, as a prodigal son of man I know I am not worthy to speak as that Light.

Still, I am a genuine witness of God, and I am the prophesied son of man who fulfills Judeo-Christian prophecy, along with the prophecies of other religions. And I can tell you that the real truth becomes self-evident when you are truly reborn of the spirit. But having said that, I must tell you I’m not talking about the same thing that so many "born again Christians" talk about. I’m talking about actual spiritual rebirth.

That occurs only when, quite by fortuitous accident, you receive a divine revelation and discover the reality of some aspect of the Divine. As I said on the home page, that can trigger a series of greater and deeper revelations that can result in the opening of the seven seals of revelation and the seven chakras. When that happens you are carried away in spirit to that high and holy place where God inhabits eternity, and you experience and realize and become aware of what God truly is. The Book of Life and the Akashic Record is opened to you, and for some moments that seem like eternity you understand the Divine Reality.

However, it comes as gift from God, when you least expect it.

In other words, it does not come by doing something to try to achieve or attain it, like praying, or studying, or memorizing scriptures or words, or sacrificing, or depriving yourself, or starving yourself, or punishing yourself, or anything else like that. Such attempts and efforts are self-centered and egocentric, and tend merely to feed the ego. They tend to make people feel "holier than thou." Not always, but often, and in most cases.

I should tell you that my gift came by first actually realizing, fully, that my loved one could love another, and that it did not mean she loved me less. Realizing that enabled me to actually realize the folly and error of jealousy and possessiveness. That enabled me to realize that it’s possible to love everyone, spiritually. That enabled me to realize that we are all connected in spirit, and one in the Spirit. And that enabled me to receive a series of far greater revelations that, as they grew greater and deeper and came more quickly, my puny mind could not comprehend or fathom. But they resulted in the opening of the seven seals of revelation and the seven chakras, and culminated in my being totally awe-struck and being carried away in spirit to that high and holy place where God inhabits eternity, right into the Divine Light of God.

I should also tell you there are lesser spiritual experiences that are the result of lesser revelations that can reveal partial reality of God, when the Holy Spirit of truth blesses you with a visitation while you are still very much in your body and in this world.

From my own experiences, I know that in such cases one is filled with the Holy Spirit and with overflowing joy, ecstasy and rapture, and the air all around you glows with shimmering, vibrating light. And even though it usually lasts for only a few moments, you are left with overflowing love in your heart for every thing and every one. You are in a state of love, spiritually, and universally.

Of course, I am certainly not the only one alive today who has been blessed with God’s greatest gift. But I am the one foreseen by prophets like Isaiah and Jesus, because I was stricken and afflicted, have suffered many things, have first been rejected by my generation, and am well acquainted with grief and sorrow.

Because I am what I am, I can and should tell you that receiving the greatest gift from God does not mean you are holy, and it does not mean you can keep it, at least not in its fullness. Not even the most enlightened and divinely inspired people have been able to do that. But some, like Jesus, were much better at keeping it than I have been. As I explained in my memoirs, I eventually squandered much of my gift, being naïve and not understanding it. I was unwittingly "willful and covetous," as Isaiah foresaw I would be. Five years later I was stricken and afflicted, and over the years since then I have suffered increasingly from many things, as Isaiah foresaw and prophesied, and as Jesus also foresaw and prophesied.

My memory of it is clear, though, and the reality of God is just as real to me now as it was then. And since then I have learned much from books, from people, from the Internet, and from God and the Spirit of truth. I have learned many lessons, some of which were extremely painful and some of which were very delightful, and I’m still learning, every day. And I realize that I can deliver the promised judgment only because I fell from enlightened grace and returned to normal consciousness, and only because I am a prodigal son of man, a contrite son of man, who must tell you the truth as I know it, whether it hurts or not.

For those with open minds and conscientious, loving hearts, the truth will be good news. On the other hand, for those with closed, self-righteous, self-important minds and malicious hearts, the truth will hurt. But that is why part of my mission, as Isaiah wrote, is to revive the hearts of those who have been arrogantly proud and militant and even angry and violent, but become humbled and contrite in the face of truth. For God forgives all those who repent, change their ways, and treat their fellow human beings as they would want to be treated, as Jesus and so many other enlightened ones have advised.

You should know this: Your inner self, your True Self, which is the Self of All, already knows the divine truth. But, at a very young age, from the moment we develop our separate-self ego and self-consciousness, we begin to forget the knowledge of our spirit-soul.

As we learn the ways of the world and become more self-absorbed and take on mental and emotional burdens and misconceptions, we further identify with our egocentric, separate self and become further isolated from our spirit-soul which is one with God and all others.

In other words, early in life the expression of our innate divinity becomes distorted and inhibited by our ego, and it becomes more so when our ego grows and indulges in greed, anger, hate, fear, and other negatives that cause us to further ignore or deny that we are one in the spirit, one with God, and equal in the sight of God. And we become even further away from God when our ego indulges in self-important, self-righteous judgmental thoughts of superiority, and judge others as inferior to make us feel even more superior.

We become further away from God as we become extremely attached to material things and develop desires, especially when our desires are envious and covetous, and/or when they are for self-gratification rather than for the good of all concerned.

Speaking of desires, I should say that God intended us to enjoy physical pleasure when we receive it, and to enjoy material comforts and entertainment as rewards for good works and deeds. But, the lustful and selfish desire for them leads to little or no good.

That universal truth has not been understood by most religious people who are unnecessarily prudish and rigidly strict. They do not understand that it is only the selfish, lustful and self-centered desire for physical pleasure or personal material wealth and comfort that is harmful and counterproductive. There is nothing wrong with receiving sensual pleasure, especially when it is in return as a natural result of selfless giving and loving. Nor is there anything wrong with the reward of material wealth and comfort, as long as it is earned fairly, equitably, legally, and as a natural consequence of your good work.

Any good and successful artist, performer, musician, craftsman, tradesman, or any other person who performs a service or act for the benefit of others, can tell you that it is the love of doing and creating that motivates them, not the thought of reward, nor the desire for the rewards of success. The best and most true success springs forth from love, and from loving the work that you do, and you cannot go wrong when you do what you do out of love, and joy.

Many have said that the love of money is the root of all evil, and that the love of the pleasures of the flesh is sinful. But it is only the selfish, self-centered, lustful desire for money and pleasure that is evil and sinful. For God wants us to enjoy life, and pleasure, and wealth and comfort. And when they are enjoyed by one who loves life and God, and does what they do in the spirit of love and goodness, they are gifts from God. It is all in your attitude, and your frame of mind, which you choose.

It is important to know that being driven by self-centered desire leads to error and suffering. We should let go of desire, and especially let go of the idea that the desired end justifies any means. Focus instead on creating and working on the means in a way that makes you feel good, and know that if it for the benefit of all concerned, it will make you feel good. Focus on the first step, or the next step, here and now. Focus on doing and being what you know is good for you, and good for others, in this eternal moment, and your life will unfold naturally as it should. Your goodness and love will draw goodness and love to you. For as you sow, so shall you reap.

It is by God’s grace that we are graceful, in our words and actions, and even in our thoughts. And God’s grace comes out and though the channel of an open, loving and joyful mind and heart.

Our greatest desire should be to be desire-less in the sense that it should be without regard to our self, for it is best to be selfless in our actions and deeds. And our second greatest desire should be to respect one another, forgive one another, love one another, and to cooperate, collaborate, and work together to make this a better world.

Whoever and whatever you are, may God bless you with the greatest gift that you will ever receive, and may you find your key to open the first door of revelation and discover the way to receive it. You may not receive it in this lifetime, but seeking it, and trying to be worthy of it, will make your life much better.

But, if and when you do receive it, you will know that we are one in Spirit. You will know that the "Word" that was in the beginning, which is with God and is God, is made flesh in you, and in all of us. But it is not an actual word that you can speak. It is the primordial vibration, the very essence of the Divine Light-Energy-Source of our existence. It is what gives vibratory life to every thing, from the smallest parts of the smallest atoms, to atomic elements, all the way to the planets, the galaxy, the universe, and the cosmos. From the most minuscule microcosm to the largest macrocosm, its essence is Divine Light Energy.

The primordial vibration is also the seed of consciousness itself, which has over much time blossomed and grown into the Book of Life. God is the Supreme Consciousness, and, as I explained on the page titled The Book of Life, all the knowledge of humanity and the lives of all human beings is contained in it. And this is not merely an esoteric concept known only to those who’ve been initiated and anointed by the Holy Spirit. It is an exoteric, literal, biblical concept of the Divine Reality. Even Moses wrote about it.

The divine light-energy and primordial vibration is best known to us through our senses that perceive light and sound, which are major manifestations of the Divine Spirit. And they just happen to be what can reach and affect us best when we gather in groups and audiences. That is why we feel so good when we gather together to listen to music, which we not only hear, but feel in our solar plexus and in our heart and soul. And our focused and concerted attention on the same source of entertainment brings us even closer together as the brothers and sisters that we are.

God brings us together, as does love, joy, laughter, good music, graceful dance, good wine, and all beautiful, creative arts. They are expressions of our love of God, and of God’s love for us.

It’s time that everyone starts realizing that.