‘i am that’
The meaning of this formula
August 15th 2019
The only purpose of spiritual exercises is to enable human beings to merge with the divine. With each step they make toward achieving this, they become further detached from the false ideas they have of themselves and move closer to their true self. The new awareness they then develop becomes part of everything they do. They begin to feel like a different being, and little by little God himself becomes manifested in them. Initiates in India have summed up this work in the formula ‘I am That’, meaning: ‘The divine alone exists, and I exist only inasmuch as I can become one with the divine.’ And their disciples learn to meditate on this formula, which they repeat until it becomes their very flesh and bone.
It is very rare for human beings to succeed in raising themselves up to this peak, but by making efforts everyone can go beyond some of their limitations. Even those with a severe disability possess the means to go beyond themselves. If they are willing to turn their gaze and their thoughts to those inner regions where the divine spark shines, they will at least gain an intuition of their true predestination.