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THE NOTION OF GROWTH
We do not need to visit special locations to 'receive' knowledge or to wait till we are in possession of 'better' insight. The path to liberation is wide open to everyone at any place and at all times. If we want to gain more comprehensive understanding and ultimately liberation, we only need to secure access to the complete treasure-trove of knowledge readily available within us.
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How revolutionary this concept is becomes apparent when we consider the absolute independence we gain by it. Since all knowledge already exists within us, we do not need anyone - no church, no guru, no organization of any kind - to give or withhold knowledge. We only need to find the path to activate and actively perceive what already exists within us.
We all have intuitive access to this path. It is open for everyone without the study of any kind of formal knowledge.
Yet there exist external sources which offer special information that helps us to become aware of the mechanics that lead to the experience of higher levels of consciousness: These are the descriptions of those who successfully completed the path to liberation.9
These reports discriminate 14 stages (gunasthanas) human beings experience on their path to liberation. Each of these stages is characterized by the type of karma manifesting therein (i.e. the action-patterns and psychic dispositions we encounter), the time spent in a particular stage, the direction in which we pass through and how
9 It is of little use to expect guidance from people or institutions who proclaim higher levels of consciousness impossible, while principally rejecting to even research this field.
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To the degree we accept this prejudice, we block our very own access to new levels of consciousness.
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