RESPOND TO THE ETERNAL CALL

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

1. RESPOND TO THE ETERNAL CALL
Worshipful homage to the supreme, eternal, all-pervading Divine Reality, the beginningless
and endless, the infinite and eternal Spirit Divine that is the source, substratum, support and
ultimate fulfilment of all existence, even as the ocean is the source, support and ultimate fulfilment
of countless millions and billions of waves upon its surface—ever remaining the mighty,
unfathomable, immeasurable ocean, never perturbed by the infinite, numberless waves disturbing
its surface!
Even so, the one great Reality, the Cosmic Being, the source and origin of countless
millions of universes, ever remains the one, non-dual existence, the great silence, the great peace,
the transcendental Reality, present and hidden as the subtlest of the subtle, beyond the senses and
which the mind and intellect cannot comprehend. That Reality is the centre of your being. That
Reality is your essential, eternal identity, your nija svarupa.
May that Reality shine forth in your consciousness as the true “I AM” beyond the little “I”
that dominates our lives, that pushes us, pulls us, that twists and turns us and shoves us up and down.
This little “I”, you are not.
Three words that were proclaimed by the illumined and liberated sages and seers of the
Vedic era must ever pervade your consciousness, dwell in your heart, direct your intellect and guide
your entire life: uttishthata jagrata nibodhata—Arise, awake and attain illumination. The whole of
the process of your being and doing, thinking and acting, should be this process of arising, being
awake and alert, and attaining illumination. Then alone we are living.
That is life—a steady onward and upward ascent towards Divine-consciousness,
Reality-awareness, Self-experience, Knowledge. There is nothing higher than that, greater than
that. It is the culminating pinnacle achievement of all existence. Call it brahma-jnana, call it Christconsciousness,
call it satori, call it the Supreme Tao, call it nirvana. It is the one, supreme, non-dual
experience that liberates you forever from your bondage to yourself. It liberates you forever from
this dream of being bound to a non-existent conglomeration of names and forms—this universal
appearance.
The queen Madalasa rocked the cradles of her infant princes and sang this lullaby: “You are
all-pure, enlightened and immaculate. Give up this sleep of delusion which makes you give value to
that which has no value, to endow it with a sense of reality through ignorance. This is a great
blunder. This is the darkness of the slumber of non-awareness.”
That is the call you have to respond to. That is the call of the Upanishads. Give up this deep
sleep of delusion. You are the all-full. You ever shine as a centre of radiant and dynamic
Divine-consciousness within your apparent physical-mental personality. Awaken to your Divinity.
Affirm your Divinity. Assert your Divinity, and make life an expression of your Divinity.

This is the one and the only teaching. This is the one and the only message. Awake, answer
this call. Affirm your Divinity. Express your Divinity. Make your life a dynamic expression of what
you are by giving up the dream and sleep of thinking of yourself to be what you are not. That is the
one great need if right here and now, in the midst of this vale of tears, in the midst of the
ever-changing names and forms of this temporary universe, you are to be rooted in the strength of
your true nature.
Reality never changes. You are what you are. Be what you are and make your life an
expression of what you are, namely Divinity. Then life becomes true life, authentic life, real life.
May responding to this call be your one great task, great privilege. May this be your joyful
duty. Blossom like a lotus in the midst of the water and mud of this samsara. Shine like a diamond
amidst pebbles. Be wakeful amongst the slumbering, alert amongst the heedless, active amongst the
lethargic, and thus transcend appearances. Become rooted in Reality and celebrate your life as a
glorious overcoming, victory and attainment!