Note: If desired, watch all of Acts 15 from the Visual Bible movie, Acts.
On Days 99 & 100, we looked at mind-made laws and how they are obstacles to truth. We learned that mind-made laws vary by individual and serve the ego in two ways:
- They give us a sense of identity.
- They provide a basis for judgment and separation.
Although mind-made laws vary by individual, many of the laws we adopt are learned, which means they are part of our culture. Some mind-made laws are religious rules of behavior, some are cultural ethics, and some are the law of the land.
Today’s reading points out that as long as the ego mind’s lower vibrations rule people, laws are needed. Laws are needed, because people are not living by conscience. If people lived by conscience, laws would be unnecessary.
The reading also says something that may be shocking to some people:
When you have opened yourself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and given your willingness that you should be led by Him, it is also time to lay the laws and rules aside as laws and rules that govern you.
This is true, because mind-made laws were created for the ego. To transcend the ego, you must transcend its vibrational level. Instead of abiding by laws that are intended to keep those at a lower vibration within some semblance of order, you are to follow inner guidance to a higher vibration.
Does that mean you are free to ignore traffic laws, stop paying taxes, steal whatever you want, etcetera?
If you are attracted to unruly living, you are listening to the lower vibration. If you are listening to the lower vibration, laws still apply to you, because you still need them.
It is interesting to note, however, that guidance could lead you to do things that are not in accordance with the law or human morals. For example, let’s look at a story about Ramana Maharshi:
Ramana says of his awakening, which occurred when he was a teenage boy:
It was quite sudden. I was sitting in a room on the first floor of my uncle’s house. I seldom had any sickness and on that day there was nothing wrong with my health, but a sudden, violent fear of death overtook me. …
The shock of the fear of death drove my mind inwards and I said to myself mentally, without actually framing the words: ‘Now death has come; what does it mean? What is it that is dying? … The body dies but the Spirit that transcends it cannot be touched by death. This means I am the deathless Spirit.’
All this was not dull thought; it flashed through me vividly as living truth which I perceived directly, almost without thought-process. ‘I’ was something very real, the only real thing about my present state, and all the conscious activity connected with my body was centred on that ‘I’. From that moment onwards the ‘I’ or Self focused attention on itself by a powerful fascination. Fear of death had vanished once and for all. Absorption in the Self continued unbroken from that time on. …
Previous to that crisis I had no clear perception of my Self and was not consciously attracted to it. I felt no perceptible or direct interest in it, much less any inclination to dwell permanently in it.”
A few weeks after that, he suddenly realized the futility of his schoolwork. He pushed the papers away, sat cross-legged and entered into deep meditation. His brother, who was observing him, remarked sarcastically, “What use is all this to such a one?” Recognizing the truth in his brother’s criticism, Ramana decided to follow an inner calling and go to the holy hill, Arunachala.
He got up and left, making the excuse that he had to return to school. His brother gave him five rupees and asked him to pay his college fees on the way to school. However, Ramana did not pay his brother’s fees. Instead, he kept three rupees for his journey to Aruncacha and left the remaining two rupees with the following note:
In search of my Father and in obedience to him, I have started from here. This is only embarking on a virtuous enterprise. Therefore, none need grieve over this affair. To trace this out, no money need be spent.
Your college fee has not been paid. Rupees two are enclosed herewith.
Thus,
_ _ _ _ _ _
The note was not signed, because his separate identity had been lost when he discovered his true identity a few weeks prior.
As you read today’s reading, pay close attention to the guidelines NTI gives about following guidance instead of mind-made laws. I recommend taking notes. When we take notes, it helps us absorb the information. Also, if you take notes you will be able to keep them for easy future reference.
Note: The next tip will be available tomorrow morning after 3:50am ET at this link.
