“Searching all directions with your awareness, you find no one dearer than yourself. In the same way, others are thickly dear to themselves. So you shouldn’t hurt others if you love yourself.”
— Buddha
Introduction
What God Is
What is God?
What is the One or the Tao?
Many philosophers think that God is not a personalized entity that exists in a heavenly realm. It is not a finite form that has the appearance of a man or woman.[1]
Reality has two levels: (i) the display — its actual manifestation and felt experience — and (ii) the underlying process that computes it.[2]
The former is like a monitor showing many shades and colors of a video game. This is Maya, or illusion. The latter is like the CPU or GPU that invisibly renders the graphics. This is absolute reality.
God, the One, or the all-that-there-is, is a fusion of the two.
Absolute reality is the unseen mover that makes possible all manifestations. The veil between the manifestations and the mover renders it so that finite beings can never perceive the absolute directly.
We, as finite beings, can only perceive the tangible and subtle manifestations of the One.
The One is the all-that-there-is that encompasses all reality, including its manifestations and the absolute. [3]
It includes you and me, and every single subject and object in all possible states of being and all universes.
If you want to see God, you need not look further. You only need to look into a mirror to behold its manifestations.[4]
You are a fragment of that indivisible, unknowable, and infinite reality that manifests a finite and specific form.[5]
You are the particular role that you have vowed to play in the physical realm to express that godly consciousness.
You are both the light and the darkness, embodying the duality that finite forms bear. God is both aspects, the yin and the yang.
Some religions may have a different point of view. I respect that. If you harbor these different views, please continue to practice your beliefs.
In my framework, all subjective perspectives are valid in their effects. Hence, if you believe in the traditional concept of God (as a fatherly, bearded figure), and it comforts you, then it is valid.
God-Actualization
Indian philosophy often talks about god-actualization: that God is not an external entity but a divine force you manifest.[6]
I see it as the ultimate state of Abraham Maslow’s theory of self-actualization.[7]
Beyond self-actualization lies trans-actualization, in which the soul has become fully developed as a self.
Hence, the only way to develop further is to expand one’s identity into the global community by doing things for others.[8]
Beyond that is god-actualization, where one embodies divinity and assumes a cosmic identity.[9]
Hence, suppose you wish to find God, the One, or the Tao in your life. In that case, you only need to draw forth from that absolute that undergirds this reality and manifest it in your physical life through thoughts and deeds.
Suppose you wish to behold the loving and accepting nature of God. In that case, you only need to manifest it in your behaviors towards yourself and others.
Cultivating self-love and the universal love of others is the means to feel a fraction of this eternal, formless, and infinite godliness.
If you wish to manifest the One’s vast intellectual and creative power, develop these in your current life.
And if you wish to feel the One’s eternal power of forgiving, practice self-forgiveness and self-acceptance.
Perhaps it is why many philosophers across traditions hold the same views. God is within and made manifest through our actions.[10]
Achieving this state of actualizing godhood within ourselves is the ultimate stage of spiritual evolution.
Few individuals have done so, such as Jesus Christ, Lao Tzu, the Buddha, Mahavira, the Prophet Muhammad, and Socrates, who are the living personifications of the One.
Divinity is not outside of you. It has always been within, for you are a spark of the divine and eternal consciousness.
You only need to remember it to realize godhood within yourself.
Tetris as an Analogy
No amount of Tetris guides in this world may ever allow one to be a god-tier Tetris player.
Let us recall the earlier analogy between the display and the absolute. The (i) Tetris field is the display, while (ii) the absolute is a combination of the 0s and 1s rendering the screen and you, as the player, the brain behind it:
| Diagram Set 13-1 |
| Each block in this 10×20 field can be empty or filled. Here, the white blocks typically mean they are empty. |
The above is the display, the Tetris field.
However, you are metaphorically a part of the absolute that manifests all kinds of setups on the display (the board). Your brain and the CPU do the invisible computing.
The Tetris guides or coaching a player learns from, no matter how sophisticated, are not the player.
To become a Tetris god, one must not merely harbor the intention to be one. One must also manifest the aspects of this Tetris divinity through one’s skills.
This is done through extreme practice until one embodies the divinity within and manifests it through outstanding gameplay.
When this is done, your field or board becomes a manifestation of that godly gameplay, such as the following high-level technique:
| Diagram Set 13-2 | |
| 1 | 2 |
| A DT Cannon setup. | The player inserts the T piece into the strange tunnel-like cavity. This leads to a T-spin that clears 2 lines. |
| 3 | 4 |
| The resulting field is a strange, sideways T-like cavity. | The player inserts a second T piece into it. This creates a strange alternate T-spin variation that clears 3 lines. |
The above is a DT Cannon, a high-level setup. So far, this book has shown you all “normal” T-spins, but this is one of the many crazier, advanced setups you eventually master.
The non-Tetris player only needs to know that it is a freakin’ powerful method.
To summarize: metaphorically, you (the absolute) are manifested at the Tetris screen (the display) after you have internalized god-level skills.
As the old saying goes, a teacher or guide may bring you to the door, but you are the one who must walk through it yourself.
The same is true of spiritual development: realizing the One within you. Only you can reach and manifest it. No one else can manifest it but you.
Personal Applications
Manifesting the One in Yourself
If you wish to manifest the One within yourself, several things can make it far easier:
- Cultivating True Compassion and Love: This love should be unbiased and pure, with little ego-based ulterior motives. Buttress this ideal with actions.
- Dispelling the Ego: Detach yourself from the ego’s artificial demands and pride. Only by dispelling the little self and immersing yourself in the all-that-there-is can you experience the cosmic spirit.
- Embracing Mindfulness: Cut out the noise of social media, excessive phone usage, or superficial social interactions. Literally embrace silence and adopt meditative postures to access the spirit’s authentic voice.
- Cultivating Self-Love: Follow the path of your highest excitement. If you are a scholar, pursue knowledge. If you are an artist, create splendid works of art. If you are a server, travel the world to help treat people experiencing illnesses. There are many paths to the same mountain. By being your fullest loving self, you manifest the One and contribute to the cosmos’ radiance.
Ultimately, loving oneself and others makes access to our internal divinity possible.
This is because, to experience the One, one must realize that there is no separation between oneself and the cosmos.
Every act of love and compassion brings you closer to the non-self, which is the prerequisite for experiencing the One.
Love is, indeed, our true cosmic nature.
Social and Global Applications
Social Systems Reflect the Dominant Spiritual Consciousness of People
Every social, political, economic, or governmental system on Earth reflects how far humans have aligned themselves with divinity and the extent of their spiritual development.
A world where its people align themselves with the ego-sphere of accumulating vast power and riches at the expense of people experiencing poverty will manifest fear-based institutions based on violence.
This is currently the case for some countries and military alliances that are overmilitarizing even without external threats.
Many greedy corporations have likewise become near monopolies, creating late-capitalist societies that are no longer democratic.
In some democracies, political and economic power has become concentrated in the hands of a few, limiting representation. They have become plutocracies.
They create fear-based systems to suppress and hoard even more wealth for a few privileged elites at the expense of others. Hell has been brought to Earth.
The time for this old Earth paradigm will soon end. A new Earth must emerge, one based on peace, harmony, universal love, and inclusion.
When humanity as a whole aligns more with divinity, society becomes a reflection of the city of God, bringing heaven down to Earth.
Do you want a world where the old ways of militarism, corporate greed, environmental exploitation, and social alienation are to continue?
If you wish for a new and better Earth, consider casting aside the yoke of egoism and again realigning yourself with the cosmos.
Only then can the social system be revolutionized, becoming far more egalitarian and humanizing, allowing people to self-actualize.
This is already happening in the Scandinavian nations, where they offer an extensive welfare state, a socially secure healthcare system, a humane penal system, a healthy educational system, and a culture focused on self-actualization.[11]
In the end, we are what we choose to be. We reap the fruits of the type of seeds that we have sown.
[1] Baruch Spinoza, Ethics (1677), who identified God with nature rather than a personal deity.
[2] Christopher Michael Langan, “The Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe,” Progress in Complexity, Information, and Design (2002).
[3] Adi Shankaracharya, Vivekachudamani (8th century CE). Brahman in Advaita Vedanta is the all-encompassing absolute reality underlying all existence — equivalent to what this book calls the One or Tao.
[4] Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be (1952). Tillich’s concept of “Ground of Being” positions God not as an external entity but as the divine encountered within.
[5] Deepak Chopra, public lecture/talk. See also The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (1994) and The Book of Secrets (2004) for the broader framework. Swami Vivekananda, Raja Yoga (1896); Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine (1939). Both describe the individual soul as a finite fragment of the infinite divine reality.
[6] See Swami Vivekananda, Raja Yoga (1896); Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine (1939); Meher Baba, God Speaks (1955), which describes each soul as a fragment of God, realizing its own divinity.
[7] Abraham Maslow, Toward a Psychology of Being (1962).
[8] Susan Cook-Greuter, “Postautonomous Ego Development” (1999).
[9] Richard Maurice Bucke, Cosmic Consciousness (1901).
[10] Paul Tillich, The Courage to Be (1952); Baruch Spinoza, Ethics (1677); Sri Aurobindo, The Life Divine (1939); Ken Wilber, Integral Psychology (2000).
[11] See Anu Partanen, The Nordic Theory of Everything (2016); also, the OECD Better Life Index ranks Scandinavian nations the highest in well-being, work-life balance, and civic engagement.
