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Spiritual advancement is a topic of great interest to spiritual seekers of all religious persuasions, and seekers of no spiritual persuasion in particular. It could be safely stated that for most spiritual aspirants, their spiritual advancement is of great importance to them under any circumstances. An analysis of what spiritual advancement means in general, how it relates to various religions in particular, and how it can be accomplished by anyone, regardless of spiritual approach can be of great benefit."

What exactly is it about a person that advances spiritually? What exactly is spiritual advancement? Of course, these questions are not precisely definable in any sort of objective, scientific-materialistic way. But some general characteristics may be discerned that apply across the spiritual and religious spectrum that can be agreed upon by many, if not most spiritually minded people.

If we accept, for the sake of argument, that the human soul exists and is “created” in a higher sense than merely by random chance, then perhaps it is not such a giant leap of faith to also accept that this soul is also “created” in a completed sense. That is to say, the soul itself does not need to advance spiritually in any way that man, or other material beings must advance. The soul is created already full and complete.

As humans in our present state of awareness, however, we are in need of spiritual advancement in order to apprehend, and comprehend, the true nature of the “already completed” and perfected soul, the world, and God. These are the three main issues in our lives, when we decide to get down to what is most important.

Though our world appears real enough as glimpsed through our senses, and comprehended with our brains and intellects, modern science tells us that it is not as it appears. The reality of solid objects is not reality at all. Our marvelous brains create objects out of swirling atoms, subatomic particles, electromagnetic forces, etc. Basically we are sensing data, analyzing it, and from that analysis, creating a three dimensional, solid, yet, dynamic world, with its vast panorama laid out before our eyes, ears, etc. We are fortunate to have our fantastic brains, which work somewhat like incredible supercomputers, doing their part to enable us to live in such an amazing “generated” world. And as many spiritual people know, it really is a multidimensional world. Only the strict materialists believe that this dimensional plane is the only one in existence. And more and more, some of these begin to question that view, especially some of the mathematicians and physical scientists.

Many spiritually inclined people have had glimpses into other dimensional planes of existence, and of course more spiritually advanced individuals are quite familiar with other dimensions of existence in the universe, or multiverse, as it has been called. These worlds are basically known as heaven to many religious and spiritual people. So, of course, their “attainment” is seen as the ultimate spiritual goal. Spiritual advancement is seen as attainment of these higher realms, whatever they might ultimately be. But is knowledge of these higher planes of existence really necessary for spiritual advancement? And if the world of matter, energy and forces (our materialistic plane of existence) is not “real” in any absolute sense, then what is reality? Are the higher dimensional planes the real worlds?

To many, the higher dimensional worlds are merely realms of enhanced sensory awareness; places where some sort of super physics must apply. The inhabitants perhaps have some sort of ethereal, angelic bodies of light that do not decay, or perhaps they have some sort of super bodies (more like superman), which are not ethereal, but last an eternity anyway.

These sorts of ideas are, of course, based in dualistic concepts of reality. The world is split into man and God, or man and Nature, etc. According to these concepts, spiritual advancement consists, generally, in the perfection, however that is accomplished, of the individual self. The soul, itself, while not necessarily needing to be perfected, cannot be attained, so to speak, until the lower individual has perfected him or herself to the point of being able to recognize, or attune with the soul.

The individual being perfected is not necessarily the ego, and in fact, the ego is not always considered perfectible. Often what is being perfected is one's ability to recognize (often called intuition) the higher self, or higher realms, or soul. This deepening soul recognition is usually what is considered one of the signs of real spiritual advancement. In some spiritual traditions, the ego is transcended. It may continue on of its own accord, while the spiritual process of advancement causes reidentification with the soul or witness conscious. Indeed, excessive concentration on the ego and its problems can serve to increase life difficulties caused by the dualistic split caused by the false egoistic self rather than by actually solving any issues.

The soul itself is not an individualized point of consciousness such as the ego. It is oceanic consciousness similar to its Creator, God. Man is truly made in the image of God. Through the ages, the forces of unenlightened consciousness have unfortunately taken scriptures which declare man made in the image of God and reversed them. God has become made in the image of man; as an ancient King with long gray beard sitting on a throne. God, however is not this idolatrous image. Though “He” might appear to an individual in such a fashion due to limitations in their mental software, trying to put any mental concepts on God is an exercise in futility. Such all too common dualistic concepts of God keep humankind's views of God very limited and structured. They also hinder the cause of spiritual advancement.

Beyond such dualistic thinking, however, and another of the signs of real spiritual advancement, is recognition of the Reality of nondualism. Duality is part of the false but seemingly realistic delusion created on two levels; the Cosmic level (by God and the higher beings) and the individual level, by humans and lower beings.

Of course, this is not really true, either. Such a definition of how duality is created, is a dualistic definition. Here is where definitions tend to break down, semantically, and in every other sense. The best approach is to try to avoid describing nonduality too precisely. Suffice to say that it is Reality, and it is to be realized by the individual. It is an important cornerstone in an individual's spiritual advancement. And in a sense, duality is itself a part of monism, or nonduality, but this is truth to be realized through spiritual advancement.

There is only One. Brahman (God) is Everything that Is. This is fundamental Hindu darshan (realized) philosophy for thousands of years. It is not an article of faith. It is realized Truth by the Hindu Rishis (Sages) of old. To fully realize Brahman is the ultimate of Spiritual Advancement. But the realization of nonduality begins to dawn in the consciousness of the spiritual aspirant before this ultimate realization (or may do so). One thing can be said here about spiritual advancement. It is not exactly the same for all. It can aptly be called an inner science, as it is by the yogis of India. But exactly how it will unfold will be unique to the individual.

So, of course, before this nondual ultimate of Spiritual Advancement, or Brahman, can be realized, the soul has to be understood. Or, the dark clouds of karma have to be cleared away, until the bright light of the soul shines through, revealing its perfect light, and its unity with Brahman. In short, there has to be spiritual advancement of one sort or another. Exactly what the spiritual advancement must consist of, however, is not universally agreed upon.

Basically, spiritual advancement must consist of Grace of God, works of the guru (already enlightened spiritual helper of the devotee or spiritual aspirant), spiritual works of the devotee, or some combination of these. In the path of Kriya yoga it is said that spiritual advancement leading to enlightenment requires 25% works of the devotee, 25% works of the guru, and 50% Grace of God. So, it is clear that for Paramahansa Yogananda, guru of the path of Kriya yoga, there is no enlightenment without the Grace of God. But at the same time, the devotee must do his part, and so must the guru.

This has been argued for centuries, and the issue of works versus Grace alone will not be settled in this thesis. The Bible says that salvation is by Grace alone lest anyone should boast about it. The Bible also states that faith without works is dead. Thus, there must be a component of works in the spiritual life and advancement of the devotee. The devotee must work, not for him or herself, but for God. The devotee must not work for egoistic results. The devotee must learn to work from the surrendered soul attitude. In this fashion, spiritual advancement will occur, not directly as a result of the works themselves (as a cause-effect reward) but from the effects of working to please God only. In this manner spiritual advancement will occur from the practice of surrendering to God. All efforts in life, in fact, all actions must be service to God, and for only that reason.

Otherwise, the devotee is performing actions for the ego. This will have the unwanted effect of generating more karmas, which must be worked out in future times, lives, etc. And of course such egoistic actions will also be detrimental to spiritual advancement as well.

Also, as much as possible, the devotee needs to keep his thoughts on God. This can be a challenge when he or she is in the workplace (or anyplace in the world, for that matter). The force of Maya (the creation / delusion) is quite strong, and the mind itself is strongly focusing outward into the world in such a manner, that the devotee will find that he or she will often quickly become lost in the maze of worldly situations. Even when one makes concerted efforts to keep the mind upon God, the mind can be off onto the most mundane matters in the space of a few minutes. God can be the furthest thing from the mind very quickly.

For a spiritual aspirant, this can be discouraging, but the proper attitude is to not let oneself become discouraged even so. Just continue to stay the course and keep returning the mind to thoughts of God as often as possible. Keep returning the attention to the spiritual eye (between the eyebrows) and practice meditation regularly. Also practicing any pranayama or breathing techniques for even a couple of minutes whenever possible is a very good habit to form. Remember that the Bhagavad Gita (Hindu Bible) says the the mind is too strong to fight very successfully. But an effective means to overcome its worldly pull is to develop devotion to God. God is so appealing that love for Him will overcome the ordinary mind.

Prayer, of course, is a time tested practice for developing devotion to God. Regular prayer is necessary for the devotee's spiritual advancement. Also, constant inner prayer, such as “I love Thee, Lord.” “God Reveal Yourself to me,” will attract God's attention over time, and also help train the mind away from constant focusing on the material world. The more one can practice the prayer, and the constant inner prayer, the more the connection with God will be developed and strengthened. Of course this connection is always there. God never loses His connection with mankind. Humans have to work on the connection from our end. The devotion is there, in all devotees, in each and every soul. Every devotee has to find it, to develop it. It is somewhat like hunting for soul gold. God loves His devotees all the time, and always has.

And all of God's devotees already love Him, too. They may not know it, but they do. It may be buried beneath lifetimes of neglect, if the spiritual aspirant has been seeking after materialistic notions of this and that. It is not God's fault if humans have been prodigal wanderers. Regardless of what the circumstances may be, inside of every devotee is an incredible love and devotion for God that is astounding and wonderful, once he or she finds it.

Devotion to God is no ordinary love. It is falling out of bed in the middle of the night, onto the hands and knees crying to God as the spiritual aspirant has never felt love before. It is the love of the soul for its maker. We all have the source love in us. Each and every one of us has it. And finding it within ourselves is certainly a reason to take up the journey of spiritual advancement. Once the love of the Divine is felt, the world quickly begins to lose its grip on an individual, as Krishna points out in the Bhagavad Gita. Nothing can compare, for the human soul was created to love God.

Other attributes of spiritual advancement relating to the soul, such as omnipresence, the awareness of nonduality (oneness with the Divine), bliss, etc. are certainly wonderful and make spiritual advancement the most desirable life path for a human being. But the awakening of love for God is real spiritual advancement that will sustain one through difficult times, discouraging times, all times.

As was already pointed out, not all religions apparently agree on what the path of spiritual advancement looks like. And not all religions apparently agree on what the soul looks like (or even if there is a soul). If the individual reads “too much” in the realm of religion and spirituality his doubts as to the reality of God may increase. Of course this is just the opposite of the aspirants intent. Certainly it will become clear that the God topic is clearly unclear at best. One may, if not careful, adopt the attitude that all is uncertain, and therefore, the best attitude to take is simply to “seize the day.” This is probably a form of agnosticism (or atheism) in disguise. Such intellectual uncertainty is readily resolved by adopting a proven method of yoga.

If the devotee does not surrender into agnosticism, then the usual approach to spiritual advancement adopted is the faith method. And faith is a powerful method of approach to spiritual advancement, certainly used effectively by untold thousands of spiritual aspirants through the centuries.

But faith can be a difficult concept, and method of approach to spiritual advancement as well. Often faith is used to justify blind adherence to dogma, etc. In this case it can be detrimental to spiritual advancement in the long run. For those spiritual aspirants who seek true devotion and a real experience of the Reality of God, and Realization of God, such faith as this is not always very useful.

This is one of the reasons the Buddha kept quiet on the topic of God. He was not an atheist or agnostic in some sort of western materialistic sense. Often it seems that he is portrayed in that fashion. He had simply realized that discussions about the Absolute, from the relative point of view, do not get too far. They usually end up chasing their tails, so to speak. And he was interested in resolving the problem of suffering, which cannot be resolved as long as the devotee is clinging to dogmas and mental concepts of God. So, he did not speak to such topics, preferring to deal with issues that can be dealt with on a practical level of spiritual advancement.

A Buddhist master once said that when an individual achieves enlightenment, all his or her God concepts will fall off like a patch. This can also be said, to a great extent, to dogmatic belief systems. They are mostly based in dualistic thinking (a part of the delusion of the Spirit and human brain produced world) and so are a reflection of the world mainly. Much of the world of science has moved away from ordinary language for hundreds of years, to a math based language because it creates a better map of “reality.”

But this is still a map of the material world. None of this, or the written word maps from the various religions describe what spiritual advancement actually is in Truth. That is for the individual to experience for him or herself. Because the religious document “maps” are all generated from the world of semantics (words) etc. they only give a glimpse of what real spiritual advancement is all about. Even when they are written by truly enlightened individuals, and have not been edited by those with various political and social agendas, the real spiritual advancement must come from within the individual himself or herself. As Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is within.” This statement can be interpreted several ways, of course, and one interpretation is that each of us must look within ourselves to find enlightenment. Jesus also said, “My kingdom is not of this world.“ This statement can be interpreted similarly.

The Hindus call this world Maya. The word comes from the root “to measure.” It means the delusion which has been created by the Divine Mother, Prakriti. It is God's Handiwork, absolutely. But, through our own karmic debts, generated by our continuous desires (all of which must be fulfilled) we are actually co-creators in this Maya labyrinthine prison, which continues on and on.

The soul, our real self, is falsely associated with the body, which is a part of delusive Maya. And, this drama has been continuing for many lifetimes. It is the only way that all the desires can be fulfilled. They are practically never ending. The life force of an individual moves outward, into the world of Maya, the material world in which our bodies live. Our bodies are who we think we are. But in Truth, we are the soul, which is the witness consciousness of everything that is happening. To know again our soul consciousness is our spiritual advancement “destination.”

The life force in our bodies must be turned inwards, to reunite with, and become aware of the true self, the soul, once more. As Paramahansa Yogananda says, the spiritual and the material worlds lie in two different directions. Within lies the spiritual world. Without lies the material world. Too much reading of various spiritual books without the proper inner understanding (realization to go with the reading) and the individual will become more confused about what is truth and what is not. This is because Maya (measurer) has a way of splitting and dividing things up. One answer leads to more questions. Finding a definitive answer becomes quite difficult when every answer leads to ten new questions.

This is not a fault with the structure of the material world, or our brains. It is simply how things work. But the devotee can have hope, great hope in fact. The spiritual technique of Kriya yoga of Paramahansa Yogananda (and other similar life force control techniques) are very powerful. They quiet the confusing dualistic tendencies, and lead to an inner Divine Certainty. This is worth more than all the gold in the world to the spiritually advancing devotee. How many people can claim an inner Divine Certainty? Those who claim to believe in God are many, of course. And many of them have a faith in God. Is it Divine Certainty? For some, possibly. For some, fortunate to practice Kriya yoga, it is their Reality.

Kriya yoga is not only a powerful set of spiritual techniques; it is an inner science. Yoga means yoke. The individual consciousness is united to Spirit, scientifically, with time tested, repeatable techniques developed over many centuries. This ancient yoga is truly the core of what spiritual advancement is about, from the beginning of the devotee's path until the ultimate state of God Realization, Union with Brahman, All that Is.

Though the various religious texts do not quite seem to agree as to what salvation involves or means, the Kriya yogi simply continues to practice the spiritual techniques that enable him or her to make the connection with the soul, and ultimately with God. No religious texts are then necessary, of course. The Kriya yogi gains direct knowledge of Universal Truths. No acts of faith are required, though the yogi's faith and devotion are tremendous.

This is not to say that other paths are defective in any way. Spiritual advancement by various means has obviously led to sainthood in all the great religions of the world (and many that are not “great” in the eyes of the world, but God has His Ways). Kriya yoga is, though, a most effective means of spiritual advancement. Paramahansa Yogananda called it the airplane route to God. It is for those who are not interested in waiting lifetimes to make a direct connection to Spirit.

A spiritual aspirant may say that they have had an experience of God, this or that, and they may feel devotion to God, and it is true - all paths lead to God. Spiritual advancement will happen on any spiritual path a person is walking. If one is on a path that he or she loves and cherishes, then by all means, that devotee needs to follow the path. It is definitely between the individual and God, as he or she understands God.

If, however, one is seeking a path that will provide inner Divine Certainty, Kriya yoga will bring it about, after a period of correct practice. It does not usually happen immediately, though if an individual has made considerable spiritual advancement in previous lifetimes, amazing things can happen quite quickly.

And, if one is seeking a path that will provide direct union with Spirit, Kriya yoga will bring it about, also after a period of correct practice. This, of course, depends upon the 50% Grace of God factor, already mentioned. God has His Ways. He is seeking the love of his devotees as his devotees are seeking His Love. What else could He, the creator of the phenomenal Universe, want from humans? He has everything else because He created everything else.

If God Realization is humankind's supreme spiritual purpose for being on this earth, then spiritual advancement must be the path. This is a more positively based outlook that to say that humans are forced to come back again and again to work out their karmic debts. Another less favorable outlook is that humans are sinners trying to ensure their salvation and escape hell.

But this does bring up an interesting point regarding Christianity, and its nondual attitudes. According to Wikipedia, “The God of traditional Christianity is absolute and infinite. The devil or adversary is an opposing character, but is subordinate to God. The Christian faith thus does not consider the duality of good and evil to be two equal and opposing forces. Mystical Christianity can be entirely nondual, as in the teachings of Mesiter Eckhart or St. John of the Cross, among others.”

In keeping with man's supreme spiritual purpose of God Realization, spiritual advancement is the way forward. Whether this be fully by Grace of God, by works of the guru, or by the devotee's own works, makes no difference. There is an advancement of the individual on multiple levels to effect the spiritual change leading to the enlightened state of consciousness. These changes happen on levels both material and spiritual.

On the material level, in most spiritual and religious traditions, the devotee must begin to follow certain rules of behavior. And regardless of the tradition, they are often quite similar; in many respects following along the lines of the ten commandments of the Bible (the musts and must nots; moral behaviors, etc).

In addition to these moral rules, usually the devotee has certain dietary and living habits to follow as well. These are of course, restrictions, as seen from the viewpoint of the ordinary consciousness. But the devotee needs to always remember that these are only restricting the life energy from flowing in the outward direction, toward the usual sensory world. Remembering what Yogananda said, “The spiritual world and the material world lie in two opposite directions,” the devotee knows that the restrictions are designed to help to retrain the energies to flow in different patterns. For the spiritual athlete, in this case, it is towards Spirit and the spiritual world. Another way of putting it is that the energy is being redirected through the nerves that connect to Spirit and the spiritual world.

This can help the devotee feel encouraged when battling the habit patterns which will try to fight against the new patterns he or she is developing. The main thing to remember is to never give up, no matter what happens, or does not happen. There is no failure as long as the devotee continues to practice in his spiritual efforts, and keeps redirecting his or her life forces within, towards Spirit.

In this external, and internal, effort, which can proceed for some time devotion to God is quite helpful, as has already been pointed out. The mind is very powerful and does not necessarily want to be tamed in any way. The bodily energies have lifetimes of practice in flowing outwards through the senses into the material world (through 72,000 channels!). Trying to reverse them inwards to the still, subtle world of Spirit is like trying to turn a team of wild horses around. It is no easy task. Devotion is so important that it must be reiterated as a major tool in the devotee's journey of spiritual advancement.

And of course, the devotee will find tremendous help with the practice of Kriya yoga pranayama. Kriya yoga is specifically designed to reverse the energies and pull them back into the spine and up through the chakras (known as the seven churches in the book of Revelations in the Bible) then up into the brain.

This has the effect of concentrating the energies and opening the seven spiritual seals (as they are called in the Bible) thereby enabling the devotee to perceive, in stages, the Spirit. This is not the same thing as psychic experiences. It is quite different, in fact. But the differences are to be experienced. The devotee always keeps his attention on the spiritual eye between his eyebrows doing his or her best not to let the attention deviate left or right (“If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be filled with light,” as Jesus said).

It usually does not happen over night, but gradually, in God's time, Spiritual Truths are revealed, as real spiritual advancement takes place in the inner being of the devotee. At some point the devotee may simply notice the Divine Certainty is "there." And it will become more clear and strong through time. Where and how the devotee's developing path of spiritual advancement will proceed is, to a great extent, up to the devotee. Though it is certainly a function of the Grace of God, it requires the complete and willing participation of the devotee as well, regardless of the particular path. It is such a paradox. God accomplishes everything, yet requires everything of the devotee. This is the path of spiritual advancement.