As I recently mentioned on Global News, we live in a remarkable time of spiritual development. Thousands of people around the world are awakening to their true nature as the cosmic Self or spirit. This is having a profound inside-out effect on everyone.
Tracking actual numbers is difficult though as people are shifting here and there, in and outside of spiritual organizations. Most just quietly go on about their lives. To further complicate it, not everyone uses the same language or even the same yardstick to define it.
One group that has been announcing global numbers awake, not just within their organization, is the Oneness Movement in India. In a monthly “read” I understand they recently indicated that earth has passed the 1,000,000 awakened mark. And that this number is increasing by about 4,000 a day. That means the total will more than double within the year. Not to mention these effects are exponential.
That is quite inspiring. But what do they mean by “awakened”? I was surprised to find that none of the deeksha givers I’ve met could tell me. Even if they were planning a trip to India to get it. Nor was it clear on their web site.
In a recent interview on Buddha at the Gas Pump, Eric Isen was featured. He’s a Oneness Meditation giver (a group blessing thing) that was familiar with some of the Vedic stages.
He indicated that rather than define specific stages that people variably experienced, the Oneness Movement uses an Awakening scale of 1-100. He estimated that CC was about 30-40, GC 50-60, 70 they call enlightenment, equivalent to Unity (Oneness – makes sense), and 90 BC. He mentioned Ramana was rated a 95. (rating others outside the org is tricky territory)
However, in this scale, even someone reaching a 1 or 5 is considered awakened. Given that’s over 20 points below what most organizations would consider awakened, that’s rather disappointing. And it casts a rather large shadow over the reported numbers.
To be clear, the journey of spiritual awakening is one dotted with many steps, some we may notice and some not. All of these are important. But there are some key stages where there is a shift in our very being. The first big one is called Self Realization or Cosmic Consciousness. (CC above) This is what I mean on this blog by awakening. And broadly, that is the common usage. (though it does vary some)
This is an unmistakable shift, even though the person experiencing it may take a little time to grok it. For those already awake nearby, they also experience the awakening because it is the same Self they are that just woke up to itself at another point. This also relates to why the awake seek to help others awaken. We’re in this together.
Another reason this is disappointing is that telling someone they are spiritually awake when they are still identified with the ego can be a recipe for trouble. I’ve seen a few people with good experiences turn into self-described gurus and create all sorts of division. (the ego divides) At the least, it strengthens the ego.
At any rate, this suggests the numbers coming out of the Oneness Movement are illustrating a positive trend but are not illustrating what many people think they are. That’s unfortunate. But worth being clear about.
Davidya
Last Updated on April 10, 2014 by
Hi Davidya.
What is your own estimation on the number of the spiritualy awake people? Are there more then one million awake people in the world at this time? But for me personaly it is difficult to imagine such a large numbers of the awakend people. So many cruelity is in the world. 16000 children from 0 to 5 years old dies every day becose of hunger,illnes and violence. This is not on the world news either. Many woman and also many LGBTIQ people all around the world are severely opressed. I am gay so i personaly relate to many people who are discriminated.
I know that the awakening is something “internal” first and when enough of people are awake, the awakening will be expressed even “externaly”. But i just don’t see it happening. For example if i would walk on the street holding hands with a man in the city Split in neighbouring Croatia,we both would be beaten and dead.
I hope you and other people are right when you are saying that we are moving towards more spiritualy awakened time and society. But the reality is much different for many people. I am personaly ambivalent about the coming spiritual age. On the one hand i intuitively feel that this is true bc i am too on the spiritual path. On the other hand the external reality of the world is different,even for me,so it is hard for me to accept that it will be better. But then i am optimistic about all that…
It is such a mess lol☺!
I would realy appreciate your comment.
Best wishes from Slovenia!
Hi Bojan
it’s difficult to know. There are some spiritual groups with many awake in them, like the retreat I’m just back from. Others have few or none. Many are also waking up without any affiliation.
I would say thousands but as the article explained, it’s likely not yet the million one group indicates as what they mean by “awakened” is not what most would call it.
It’s also worth noting the difference between someone newly awake and someone who is well established, then someone who has matured into it, and then someone who is embodying it in the world. The last is much less common yet and has the most impact. I’ll be writing about that this week.
Embodiment is less common as it requires a different approach than many practices support. It’s not about consciousness, it’s about sattva (purity or clarity) and the ensuing refinement. That’s driven by soma, a fine chemical produced by the body.
It is the embodiment that will bring heaven to earth. That takes time. But it doesn’t take a lot of people living it, just living it deeply enough. And that is developing. (its about quality rather than quantity as what they embody is comic)
In my lifetime, in this part of the world, being gay has gone from a crime and disease into being enshrined in the charter of rights. The Pride parade is a major annual event. Gay marriage and adoption are normal. But it’s not perfect. There is still haters. And there are difficult challenges, like some parents balking at kids being able to choose which gender washroom they use. (I suspect the solution will be to go genderless)
It is happening, but it’s subtle yet and a lot of baggage is being brought to the surface to be processed. The world has the appearance of getting worse, in spite of many statistics showing its getting better.
You are in a part of the world thats seen a lot of structural changes in living memory. There is a lot of healing to do. Usually the enshrining of personal rights happens after a period of healing and stability.
But you’re also in a part of the world rich with history and legend. That will also serve you in deeper ways, like your bloodline.
Best from the SW coast of Canada!