Greetings to all! 
Namaste!

The way the mind
works is by processing a conglomeration of knowledge and from that, trying to
distil what to think, say and do. Understanding in the context of our quote has
to do with the ability to grasp a concept.

Knowledge is the
stage in our development where we are exposed to new ideas. This is a subset of
understanding. Understanding only happens when we can make sense of the idea
and have clarity about how it would work in practice. This is still not the
next stage, realization, where we have successfully put it into practice. Realization
or wisdom only comes when we bring the knowledge down through our body and
‘earth’ it by living it, a process to do with realization.

We can learn a
concept such as: our relationships are a mirror of our soul’s development. This
is a radical idea to many Western people, even though it is totally normal for
someone raised a Hindu. Having learned that our relationships are a mirror of
our soul the next phase is to understand what that means. It means that no
interaction, no emotion that is engendered by an interaction, no event at all
can take place unless there is a corresponding energetic pattern inside of
ourselves. Hence with this knowledge we can truly say: we are the creators of
our own reality.

Many people choose
not to believe this, or find it impossible to grasp. That is fine. They are not
yet ready for this understanding. This is none of our business. That person is
just as much a child of God and just as loveable as someone who is realized and
liberated on this parameter of human evolution. They will just have a harder
life, with more conflict and less hope of sorting it out in a permanent and
peaceful way. That just is, neither good nor bad. It is. We ought not try to
convince that person that they create their own reality. A response such as “well how did you create that? would be
entirely inappropriate if addressed to such a person, and would show lack of
realization and liberation in the speaker. The concept that we create our own
reality is meant to be used as a tool for understanding, not a sword to pierce
the reality of another person and upset them, judge them or blame them. “How
did you create that?” is not a question that ought ever arise in an
interpersonal dispute, even when both people know and understand the concept.
To bring this up when there is conflict would be inflammatory and show a lack
of compassion. It is better to empathise, send love and apologize.

A spiritual
aspirant who comes to their teacher for understanding of their life is in a
different situation. It is reasonable for the teacher to assume that the
student would actually like to learn, or they would not have come for
instruction. However even in this situation, it is not necessarily wise to
raise ‘we create our own reality’ unless the person is a stable, high initiate.
Generally even then, it is better to find other means of support and only talk
about how did he/she create it after the difficulty is passed and there is time
for calm reflection.

Personally, I always
want to know how I created it because I love the process of realization, even
when it hurts. Even when I realize some of my own growing edges that might be a
bit tatty in the process. I want to know. I might be scared,  I might be trying really hard in part
of my being to run backwards, but a part of me will not give up and will insist
that I learn. That is tenacity. At times I feel that I am banging my head
against a brick wall. At times I fail to accomplish goals that I have set for
myself. This contributes to humility: to me only a fool would regard himself or
herself as beyond any form of growth and learning. No matter what level of
initiation one has mastered, the challenges keep pace. They are bigger for high
initiates. The universe is infinitely creative and able to present us with new
challenges endlessly. This spurs us to deeper understanding of concepts and
onto the next stage which is realization. Understanding does not come in a
‘heaving rush’ but incrementally, through evolution, as one identifies new and
different challenges.

Next week we will
discuss realization.