THE UNITY OF EXISTENCE

Unity is the song of life; it is the grand theme underlying the rich variations that exist throughout the cosmos. Whatever we see, whatever we experience, is only a manifestation of this eternal oneness. The divinity at the core of our being is the same divinity that illumines the sun, the moon, and the stars. There is no place where we, infinite in nature, do not exist.

The Self that is within me, the Breath, is the same essence that is within you—no matter whether the “you” in question is a saint, a murderer, a cat, a fly, a tree, or that irritating driver at the four-way stop.

All fear and all misery arise from our sense of separation from the great cosmic unity, the web of being that enfolds us. Duality, our sense of separation from the rest of creation, is always a misperception since it implies that something exists other than One Being. There can be no other.

The Self is the essence of this universe, the essence of all souls . . . You are one with this universe whatever brings us closer to that goal is ethical and moral; whatever prevents us from attaining it, is not.

Acting in accordance with our real nature—acting nobly, truthfully, kindly—tears away the veil of ignorance that hides the truth of reality. Whatever distorts this reality is a perversion of the truth.

The whole of ethics, then, is based upon a simple line of reasoning: Does this action or thought bring me closer to realizing the truth, or does it take me further away?

Vedante.