The Return from Exile: Seeing the Divine Subject

Have you ever noticed that when we want answers, we always look “somewhere else”? We look to books, we look to the stars, we look to the latest scientific theories. We spend our days dealing with “things” and our nights dealing with “dreams,” and we are always looking for the cause of our troubles in the objective world. We ask, “Why did God create this world?” or “Why is there evil?” But we almost never look at the one who is asking the question.

There is an ancient insight that suggests our senses were “pierced” or “projected” outward by the cosmic process. It’s as if we were designed to be explorers of the external, but in the process, we became foreigners to our own hearts. Looking “in” feels unnatural, like trying to walk backward up a down-escalator. It takes a “heroic effort” to turn the senses around and behold the Inner Self.

The Hidden Treasure

The truth is, this Inner Self is hidden. It doesn’t “reveal” itself to the casual observer. It’s like the air – you don’t see it, but you can’t breathe without it. It is seen only through a “sharp and subtle intuition.” Most people, quite naturally, follow the path of least resistance. They surrender to the noise of the world and the chatter of the mind.

But consider this: why are we so curious about the city or the country, but so incurious about the curiosity itself? We ask “What’s happening?” but we don’t ask “Who is it happening to?” This extroverted disposition is the root of our suffering. We get “muddied” in the intoxicating insanity of the world – the competition, the status-seeking, the endless “doing” – and we end up with a heart full of stress, anxiety, and fear.

We have a master-key to this problem, and we use it every night when we go into deep sleep. In that state, the mind and the senses are tucked away. There is no “other,” no “world,” and therefore no anxiety. Now, the goal of the spiritual life is not to sleep your life away, but to bring that same peace and bliss into the waking state. We want to be free from stress even in the “din and bustle” of the world.

The Subjective Revolution

How do we do it? We look “subjectively.” This is the great principle that changes everything. Instead of trying to “conquer” your environment – which is impossible, by the way – you change the “subject.”

There is a wonderful story about a fish that evolved wings to become a bird. The fish didn’t change the water or the air; it changed itself. All evolution is a change in the “subject.” In the same way, the conquest of “evil” and “misery” comes only by a change in the subjective viewpoint. Evil doesn’t exist “out there” as a thing-in-itself; it exists in the way we relate to the world. If you are immune to hatred, you can never experience a hateful world. You become like a mirror that only reflects light.

As a wise man once said, the Lord – the Eternal Subject – is in us. We are that Eternal Subject. Most of our lives are a “waste of time and talent” spent trying to turn ourselves into objects. We try to define ourselves by our bank accounts, our bodies, and our reputations. But when the soul becomes aware of its true nature, it stops trying to be an “object” and falls back upon the Subjective.

The End of Maya

When you begin to look out while looking in, the world changes. The “Veil of Ignorance” – the mischievous force that twists our thinking – stops being a mystery “out there.” You see it working “in here.” You see your own twisted thoughts and your own selfish relationships. And once you see them, they lose their power over you.

You stop condemning others. You realize that when you hated someone, it was because you were looking at them as a “human object” instead of a “divine subject.” It was your mistake! This realization doesn’t necessarily change them, but it changes your attitude. You become calmer, more tolerant, and more forgiving. You look at someone making a mistake and you think, “Well, I’ve been there too,” and your irritation turns into compassion.

The All-Encompassing Self

This practice makes you a better person, not because you’re trying to be “good,” but because you’re becoming “whole.” Your interpersonal relationships improve because you aren’t judging everyone against a list of “shoulds.” You start to appreciate the success of others as if it were your own, because, in a very real sense, it is your own.

When this practice reaches its peak, it becomes as natural as breathing. You no longer have to “try” to look in. There is no longer a “me” inside and a “world” outside. There is just one abiding reality. The Inner Self is below, above, behind, in front, to the south, and to the north. The Inner Self is everything.

The exile is over. You have returned to yourself. And in that return, you find everything that every human being has ever wanted: profound peace, unending bliss, eternal freedom, and total fulfillment. You realize that you were never a stranger in a strange land; you were the land itself, dreaming that you were a traveler.

Summary for your Reading: The Subjective Key

To help you anchor these thoughts before your reading, remember these three “Subjective Shifts”:

• From “What?” to “Who?”: Always return the question to the observer.

The Bird and the Fish: Don’t try to fix the “water” of the world; evolve the “wings” of your awareness.

• The Vanishing Boundary: Realize that “Inside” and “Outside” are just two sides of the same

coin – and you are the coin.