Part 1 Our true identity (we are spiritual
beings having a human experience)

Who am I? This is a question we all ask ourselves. Am I special? Am I a sinner? Why do certain events take place in my life? Why do I feel pain? Why is joy so fleeting? Are we all going to burn in Hell? Can God hear me? Do I have a purpose for being here on earth? Does evil exist? These are just some of the endless questions we constantly ask ourselves.

We all come into this world with the knowledge that we are human. The first thing we notice as we grow up is our parents and family. Then we notice those who are different from us and are living a different life. In other words, it seems that everyone is trapped within the conditions of their own life; we usually see ourselves as separate from the others. We are identified firstly by what region we come from—for example, Arab, Asian, European, or American—and then by other factors such as which religious belief we follow and to what social class we belong.

Most of us are born into a family that follows a certain religion (for example, we could be a Hindu, Buddhist, Jew, Christian, Muslim, Baha’i, or something else) and most of us are followers of our parents’ path; very few people stop following the faith of their parents and start searching for something else. There are also those who disbelieve in the idea of God or religion entirely or are unsure if they believe (atheist or agnostic). The religious path that each of us follow plays an important role in our life; in fact, it is often what identifies a person the most, simply because we see it as our path to salvation. Religion essentially plays a role in everyone’s life, either directly or indirectly, because even if a person isn’t religious they are usually identified by others based on their similarities or differences and by the belief they follow. As well as being a way of identifying us, our religion often shapes the group of people that we surround ourselves with. Many countries are also identified by their religion based on the number of followers of a particular religion amongst the population. So whether you are aware of it or not, religion is often the number one foundation of identity, regardless of whether or not you identify yourself as religious

We are also largely influenced by the cultural traditions of the society in which we live. These traditions are shaped throughout time through the beliefs and actions of the people within that society. We automatically become a part of the society and culture into which we are born, inheriting its traits. So essentially, we come into this world with the path we will follow already laid out, which is usually determined by the traditions of our parents.

Then we start the process of living, with each of us trying to find the best way to live to the fullest and be happy. Each of us is different and thus we find happiness in different ways: through remaining single, through marriage and children, through making money, through career progression, through worshipping God, through learning, through teaching, and so on.

Many people view life as something to be enjoyed and get the best from; being born, experiencing different relationships, getting married when the time is right, making money, seeking success in our work, and worshipping God. This is the cycle of life for most people.

So why do we always feel that there is more to life than that? Why is it so hard for us to be fully satisfied? Why do so many of us feel that there is something greater and something missing that we can’t see? We are looking for it everywhere but we don’t know what it is. We just know deep inside ourselves that there is something bigger. Am I referring to God? Yes, I am. Our beliefs are imperative because they shape who we are and how we live our lives; beliefs are the roots from which everything grows. Is it enough that everyone is following their God? Are people already satisfied?

Man has a history of destruction and corruption. We are destroying our home, Mother Earth. We destroy forests, we destroy countries, we destroy people who are different, and we even destroy ourselves. Throughout time, people have also destroyed the idea of religion. Once a certain amount of time passed after revelations took place, they became misinterpreted by people and their true meaning and intention was corrupted. Hence, God sent prophets to remind people of the true message. Each time a new messenger arrived, people started believing in the truth again. So historically, mankind has continuously corrupted the idea of faith and the belief in the unknown.

All religions are from God, but how many people truly know God? Lately, religion has become about the external rather than the internal, about fear instead of love, about following instead of knowing, about an identity instead of a path. In most religions, the idea is put forth that ceasing to follow their path will lead you to eternal punishment in Hell, which is often one of the main reasons why people continue to follow it. Accordingly, religion has become about dominance rather than knowing, understanding, and a way of living to experience peace. Dominance has nothing to do with knowing God; wherever there is dominance there is pressure, which is the reason it no longer brings satisfaction to most people. This is the key reason why there is such a lack of satisfaction within us.

But the positive side is that you are able to know God through yourself, through direct experience. Direct experience is the best way to know and comprehend God. Regardless of what you’ve heard or how you’ve been educated, direct experience is the only way to truly know God. According to Descartes, “We can arrive at the conception of God only through the self.” This does not suggest excluding the teachings of messengers and masters. They were all enlightened and came here to help humanity, not to see the light alone but also to teach people how to experience the light within for themselves.

We all affect others and are in turn ourselves affected by others. As such, sharing knowledge is necessary, as we absorb this awareness from enlightened masters either consciously or subconsciously. However, God wants you to know him directly, which is why there are many times when you ask yourself questions to which you don’t know the answer. What is God like? Why did I come into this world? Why am I living this life? Where did I come from?

We know we are humans who have come to Mother Earth. We build ideas of what it means to be human from our families and our societies, and from these ideas theories have developed about the purpose of existence. One of the basic teachings of religion since childhood is that we came here to earth to be tested by God. If you pass the test, you will go to Heaven; if not, you will burn in Hell for eternity. Part of the test is to listen to your parents, be a good son or daughter, be a good student, have decent friends, and not to repeat mistakes. Of course, some people raise their children differently, depending on their background and beliefs. As you grow older you may go to college, develop life goals, get a job you like with a good salary, and get married and have children. As you continue to grow older, your children may repeat the cycle and then at some point you will die. This is life. You try hard to be a good, respectable person and get the best out of life. Isn’t that why you are here?

We are all seeking to manifest material things in this material world, things with form that need to be heard, seen, felt, tasted, or smelled in order to be enjoyed. This is human nature. We see ourselves as human beings who reach our end when we lose our bodies and die. We see ourselves as humans who have a soul and a mind. When the body is gone, everything else goes with it.

This is how most people live their lives; this cycle of being born, then growing older and older and older, then dying. Although we are surrounded by it, we tend not to think much about it until some crisis takes place, such as losing a loved one. Then we start realizing that this is going to occur to us someday, so we start wondering what is going to happen after death. Does anything actually happen? Where do we go? Do Hell and Heaven truly exist?

Our thoughts and ideas about life, who we become, and the image we want to create for ourselves in order to be accepted by others are based on our background, where we live, how we’ve been raised, and the society in which we’ve been raised. All these elements combine to give us a sense of who we need to be in order to be accepted and respected by others. We start forming ideas about things such as how we should dress, how we should talk, and what car we should drive. In the end, we are creating a false idea of what it takes to be somebody significant, which makes people competitive and struggle over who is more superior. Cultures have shaped these societies throughout time. All these ideas of who we should become are created by humans or, more precisely, by the ego of the human mind. There is no truth in it because it is all created by man in order to please the ego of oneself. How could that be?

The desires and needs of each individual are totally subjective. Whatever is joyful for you could be meaningless for me and vice versa; these desires and needs are different for everyone because we are diverse; we are all unique in our own way and therefore the things that we want in life are dissimilar. But although we might understand this, we still attempt to satisfy our ego by trying so hard to fit in and be accepted by others that we end up becoming someone other than who we truly are. We tend to think that this will make us...