Enlightenment: Presentation of The Golden Age Foundation

The Oneness Festival and The World University of Consciousness is arranged as a joint venture between a team of people in the west, with the headquarters in Sweden, and the Golden Age Foundation in India.

Some of the workshops at the Oneness Festival will be presented by dasas (monks and nuns) from The Golden Age Foundation. Among those workshops are topics like Enlightenment, Mysticism, Shristi - the art of parenting, Female Spirituality and Satsangs under the headline of "Living in Joy".

This article is a presentation of The Golden Age Foundation its work and the background to why it came into existence.

Introduction
The Golden Age Foundation is a non- profit spiritual Institution. The Institution is born in India and is well known as Kalki Dharma.

This spiritual Institution is created with one objective of helping the Humanity to discover and experience the truths of the ancient principles and live in harmony with the Universe. This spiritual Institution could also be called as "Know for yourself " movement.

The vision of Kalki and Amma, thru The Golden Age Foundation, is to end human suffering and to take man into the state of Enlightenment where every experience is an end in itself. In such a state man will not suffer. Suffering is the self-induced pain arising from ignorance. This ignorance arises in turn from flawed perceptions and beliefs.

"The World is not in need of a new religion or a new philosophy, but in need of a spiritual rejuvenation and complete liberation."

The world is not in need of a new religion or a new philosophy but sorely in need of spiritual rejuvenation and complete liberation. Today our need is for a new model of human society; where at the very foundation there is that bond of empathy between man and man and a profound reverence for nature and all forms of life.

The mission of the Foundation is to bring humanity into a golden era. We are working to bring about a fundamental change in the nature of each and every one of us where our consciousness undergoes a transformation.

No amount of change in the external world, no amount of legislation, no amount of education will result in a change in our hearts. We must undergo a complete transformation of our own inner condition. To solve our social, economic, political, family and personal problems, humanity's consciousness must undergo a complete transformation. The entire planet must be enlightened.

Our goal is to bring about the Golden Age of humanity where each person shall completely live in joy and fulfillment- A Community where humanity is enlightened. Today it is possible for everyone to be completely enlightened and live a divine life. The Humanity is poised for an evolutionary quantum leap, a very profound radical ascension and acceleration into a whole new way of life; the natural state of Enlightenment.

One first goal of the Foundation is to gather 60,000 people, the critical mass, who wish to help humanity enter into this golden age. Once these 60,000 individuals work on themselves and become enlightened, then the rest of humanity can easily be enlightened. In order to enhance this process, 5,000 people will be meditating 24 hours a day in the Golden City.

The Work
We can no longer allow the world to go on as it is. We are in a disintegrating culture where the old myths & values are being shattered with nothing to replace them. This is a sure path of destruction. We have to think a fresh. We have to build a more integrated culture as our modern science of living and we have to build all other sciences, all our arts and all our institutions around the central truths of this Science.

We live in secular states, where teaching religion is forbidden. But such a science can be a part of the educational curriculum. We cannot teach religion but let us teach spirituality. This will be our moral & spiritual education. Then we won't have philosophies of negation, of despair and if we have them, all people will know where to place them.

"Spirituality is conceived of as a discipline, which encompasses religion, philosophy & science and tries to harmonize the findings of all the three"

Vision
The Vision of this Institution is to give Enlightenment to mankind. It is to create a new world with a new technology that would not disturb the Mother Nature and the energies of the Universe. Sri Kalki Bhagavan's vision is one in which every sphere of our human society is completely transformed, firstly in the hearts of individuals; and thereafter also in the social body.

The World is not in need of a new religion or a new philosophy, but in need of a spiritual rejuvenation and complete liberation. We need today, another model of human society; where from the very beginning there must be that bond of empathy between man & man and a profound reverence for nature and all forms of life.

One of the important goals of this Foundation is also to bring back India to its Vedic purity; to spread education, to enlighten people and to create a scientific outlook of Spirituality.

Mission
The main objective and purpose of this Foundation is to uplift the human condition, both in the inner life as well as in the outer.

Mission - Inner World
This institution strives for Enlightenment of Man Kind. By Enlightenment we mean "Freedom from all possible Suffering" in life and continue experiencing other states of consciousness. The ultimate transformation and salvation of the world will come through an individual here and there, each contributing his part to make up the whole and let the creation come forth.

The mission of the foundation is to bring humanity into the golden era where each person would be enlightened. To end the social, economic, political, family and personal problems, humanity's consciousness must undergo a change. The planet must be enlightened. The goal of the institution is to gather 60,000 people who wish to help humanity enter into this golden age. Once these 60,000 work on themselves and become enlightened then the rest of humanity can easily be enlightened. We shall have 5000 enlightened people meditating in the Golden City and sending energy to the 55,000 enlightened people around the world. These 55,000 people will be able to transmit the state and humanity will enter the new Golden era- A Golden Age

Mission - Outer World
In the outer reach the foundation is devoted to uplift a new form of human society that is more enduring. Some of the objectives for India are:

• To inspire and encourage to rediscover the joy of traditional ancestral skills
  
• To restore the rural woman to her social dignity and develop woman, economically and intellectually
  
• To conduct non-formal educational programs and eradicate ignorance of different kinds
  
• To engage in child development programs
  
• Parents of rural children would be educated in the art of child rearing
  
• To conduct charitable healing & health camps and bring awareness of the human body and mind, and their inter-relatedness
  
• Programs of rural poor feeding for rural population below the poverty line
  
• To conduct transformation programs to eradicate conflict between one section and another of society
  
• To create an awareness of the treasures of the Earth
  
• To conduct His programs bring about Enlightenment among the people. An enlightenment; that brings to an end; all self-centered pursuit.

Path
In order to fulfill the Vision of Enlightenment and achieve the Mission, the Institution basically follows two paths.

One is called the Empirical path and the other is called the Mystical path.

In both these paths there are certain meditations and Spiritual practices (Sadhanas) that needs to be followed in order to support and help the inner process. This Institution guides and helps all those people who are eager to work with themselves and help the humanity. All the truths that are followed here will help man kind get into the state of Enlightenment.

Empirical Path
By Empirical path we mean, learning certain truths, understanding the universal principals that are governing our lives with a scientific approach. These are called the non- revelatory teachings.

These can be enquired into & verified, and are seen very practically. All these truths and principals are experienced through Contemplation and enquiry. They are not just an intellectual understanding but they are experiential in nature that leads to an Insight.

Mystical Path
In the Mystical path the teachings are revealed to you mystically. It is called revelatory teachings. For example, the revelation about the divine energy and divine consciousness in you is revealed mystically where you can actually talk & communicate with the divine.

Here you can also see the events of your childhood, events of your birth and even your past life. The reason to see all of these is, to clear all the negative blocks that are causing hindrances to this present life. This path helps you to see all these things and clear them at the mystical level. When you clear these at the mystical dimension then they affect you in your present life in a positive manner at the physical plane.

Spirituality
Spirituality is conceived of as a discipline, which encompasses religion, philosophy & science and tries to harmonize the findings of all the three. It is called as science because it adopts the scientific method & relies on hypothesis, experimentation, verification & demonstration. It believes that truth is only one and different disciplines seem to give disparate versions because they look at the same facts from varying viewpoints. It goes deeply into the heart of every matter and extends far beyond the physical world of matter. It connects with the profoundly powerful and divine force.

Science will tell us the truth of the physical world, Philosophy will see the same truth in the intellectual world & Religion will see the truth in the world of consciousness.

Ancient (Vedic) Religion is the oldest & started with the earliest man. It provided an amalgam of religion, philosophy & science. In fact, it encompassed every aspect of life. It was man's respect for natural forces that created a sense of awe in him. He saw supernatural forces in thunder, sun, clouds, earthquakes, trees, and rivers. Every object of nature was peopled with invisible deities, spirits, fairies and the like. He tried to appease these forces by worship, prayers, offerings, vows, penances and incarnations. This was the Vedic religion.

He also started speculating about the world around him & built beautiful myths about the origin of the universe, the birth of man, heaven, hell, etc. This was the birth of philosophy.

"Since the spiritual essence already exists inside of you, hearing the right words may just trigger your own awakening into higher perception."

He plucked leaves, roots & prepared medicine, polished stones & discovered metals, invented wheels and arrow. This was science.

Since the spiritual essence already exists inside of you, hearing the right words may just trigger your own awakening into higher perception.

Science
Science started as a direct consequence of rationalism. It came as a breath of fresh air & performed a historic role by providing physical explanations for most of the phenomena, which had earlier been inexplicable. Physical diseases could be cured, the life span expanded. Man's control over the environment became more effective. Technology forced nature to serve man in a variety of ways. Food became plentiful & life became comfortable.

But scientists committed a few major blunders. They placed their intelligence at the disposal of wielders of power. This resulted in a completely non-sensical world in which millions starved while billions were spent on armaments. New engines of destruction were invented which made war a total exercise & rendered civilian populations vulnerable. The threat of nuclear war extended to the very continuance of the human race itself. This created a deep-seated neurosis, which is at the root of much of the frustration & insecurity felt by people all over the world. Scientists pretended that science could be value free. It became a search for "what is" & the question of "what ought to be" was forbidden. The result was that humanity became a prisoner of technology.

Among scientists there are two schools of thought

1. One believes that humanity is consuming too much of the earth's resources at too fast a pace & that we are heading towards a catastrophe made up of over crowding, pollution, energy crisis, over population & nuclear war.
   
2. The other school of thought preaches that the problems of today are normal symptoms of affluence & high technology & that the answer to these lies not in less but in more & better science.
   
3. Life is totally artificial. Man, the product of nature is completely dissociated from her. The average man in the street does not know whom to believe. He dabbles in the latest sartorial, physical, mental, intellectual & aesthetic fashions but deep down in his sub- conscious he is aware of confusion & insecurity, boredom, sense of frustration, & meaninglessness. He does not know what the meaning & purpose of his life is. When the questions surface to the conscious layer of his mind, he drowns them in drink & dance, divorce & Zen, yoga & proximity.

Philosophy
Philosophy started as an intellectual perception of the total reality. In East it was mixed up inextricably with religion. Various systems of thought arose, all trying to explain reality. Some considered the apparent reality to be the only truth & the rest all is non-sense. Others felt that the apparent reality was an illusion & impermanent in nature. Still others were of the view that only the undifferentiated reality existed; there had never been a creation.

In the west, philosophy came to be more associated with inter personal issues, like ethics & politics. Later theological dogma & philosophy became intertwined. The god centered medieval philosophy was over powered by the growth of scientific rationalism.

"Religion is personal. Create your own religion"

Philosophy today is in the unenviable position not knowing what it should deal with or how. With the death of god & fuzziness of science about ultimate truth, man is floundering in a morass of doubt & perplexity. In the Ancient texts, it seems as if the seers of truth, were raised above humanity to show the truths through poetry. Music also came out of their hearts. The Compassionate heart & infinite patience of Buddha made religion practical & brought it to every one's door. In other great Sages, we see tremendous intellectual power throwing the light of reason upon everything.

We want that bright light of intellectuality joined with the compassionate heart of Buddha. This Union will give us the highest philosophy.

Religion

A study at the world religions shows, that despite a common belief in a level of being that is higher than our ordinary or normal human state, there are numerous disparities, which, at their face value, seem irreconcilable. Since these are not constants but variables, it is very natural for the same truth to find a variety of expressions, allowing for the astonishing diversity of the human race. This also brings us to the key distinction between esoteric and exoteric world, one emphasis on knowledge being in sharp contrast and the other insist on faith.

"There should be no discord, but differences must exist. Variation is the sign of life, and it must be there."

Religion is the attempt on the part of Man to discover the deeper & subtler truth about him & the universe. Having found them, he adopts some relationship between his individual self & the universal self. He then lives his relationship through his actions, thinking, emotions & meditations. Religions belong to the supersensous & not to the sense plane. It is beyond all reasoning & is not on the plane of intellect. It is a vision, an inspiration, a plunge into the unknown & unknowable.

The difference of all religions is in communication, each according to their perception. There may be almost contradictory points of view of the same thing but they will all indicate the same thing. The fact is that you cannot make all conform to the same idea. We are looking at truth from different standpoints, which vary with the influence of innumerable factors. We're viewing truth, getting as much of it as these circumstances will permit, colouring the truth with our own heart, understanding it with our own intellect, & grasping it with our own mind. We can only know as much of truth as is related to us & as much of it as we are able to receive. This makes the difference between man & man, yet we all belong to the same great universal truth. One could go on endlessly shifting from one religion to another & yet bringing into substantial unities. That Universal religion about which philosophers & others have dreamed in every country already exists.

Conclusion
Rationalism is all right. It has its place in life. But it must not claim for itself an omnipotent it does not posses.

It looks like in the present situation there is chaos & confusion. Dogmas & superstitions reign supreme in all walks of life. Moral values are in great danger. Religions have either vanished or assumed new dimensions. Science has every right to question religion, to inspect it under microscope, to chop out its ugly excrescences, to discard what it finds illogical & superstitious in the religion. But it may not encroach on phenomena outside its grasp. Where reason ends, there religion begins- the two are supplementary, rather than incompatible.

Philosophies are numerous but they make you cynical & disillusions. Science has created monsters, which it cannot control. Man seems to have entered a blind alley.

"It is high time that Science & Religion meet & shake hands."

It is high time that Science & Religion meet & shake hands. Poetry & philosophy will become friends. If we can work it out, this will be the religion of the future & for all times and peoples.