Find joy from within and delight in the welfare of all

When one becomes identified with the image of God within, a person can understand the true nature of reality and therefore has no delusions and can act without having any doubts.  That person who has realized God is not excited by pleasure nor do they suffer from unpleasant circumstances.  He or she is wise enough to remain unaffected by temporary conditions that always come and go.  That attitude combined with persistent meditation yields a state of uninterrupted joy.  That person finds his or her joy solely from within and can then delight in the welfare of all beings.  If you can accomplish this while still in your human body, you are destined for happiness.

Ignore petty differences and see everyone as the same

Those who continuously identify with their true soul-self rather than their ego and its attachment to the body will eventually merge with God and any remaining flaws will then be destroyed.  When that happens, people will call that person enlightened and the darkness of ignorance that misleads all people will be replaced by the light of true knowledge about reality.  Those who reach that state can then see that the image of God within is the same in a humble student, a cow, a dog or in someone who eats cows and dogs.  When you become firmly established in your identity as the reflection of God’s image, you rise above all the petty differences in the world and are unaffected by its constant change.

A little summary

Anyone who meditates with a mind made pure by selfless service to others will soon realize his or her own oneness with God.  When your thoughts are pure and your mind is well-disciplined, the relentless urge to satisfy your senses dies down and you realize that your true self is the image of God within.  By completely identifying with that part of yourself you will no longer be subject to the consequences of your actions even though you keep acting in the world as usual.

All paths lead to the same goal

Ultimately, whichever path one takes to know God, everyone ends up in the same place.  You might have different experiences along the way, but when you get to the end result, union with God, you will all have the same experience.  Regardless of the path, getting to that final state is very hard without performing selfless actions, because the impact that neither hating nor desiring anything just for yourself has on your way of thinking purifies your mind and leads to that state of absolute freedom.

Because they do not understand the real way the world works, some people will sincerely not believe the truth in these teachings.  They will remain skeptical and destined to suffer unhappiness now and in the future.  But those who have an open mind and sincerely devote themselves to taking control over their slavery to their senses will come to understand this wisdom and take it to heart, which will in turn lead to the realization of profound inner peace. When you fully understand this truth, you will never be confused again.  Even if you have been the worst of sinners, the fire of this wisdom will reduce your evil nature to ashes.  You will then begin to dedicate all your work to the selfless service of others and all your doubts will be destroyed.  At that point, you are poised to know your true soul-self.

The real meaning of sacrifice

In ancient times, people sought to please God and atone for their sins by sacrificing various material objects into fire in a formal ceremony. Even then the wise amongst them knew that a true devotee who wants to purely reflect the image of God within must sacrifice their very ego and its attachment to “me” and “mine.”  They will have to sacrifice their slavery to fulfilling their sensual desires and show self-restraint.  They sacrifice their wealth to benefit the poor or, lacking wealth, they offer their knowledge and wisdom to benefit those around them (which is even better than money that can be spent and will be gone). All those who act in that way know it is that kind of sacrifice which destroys their sinful behavior.  Those who sacrifice themselves, each according to his or her own ability, will reach God and become free.  If you find such people, honor them, question them, serve them and seek your own enlightenment from them.  Be open to receiving their teaching.

Freedom and contentment

Thus, the sages of ancient times discovered that a wise person who understands the nature of reality does thing without personal desire.  Because the wise have relinquished their attachment to having things turn out the way they selfishly want them to, they are always contented with the results and are not dependent on anyone or anything to make them happy.  Though he or she appears to be acting in the world like everyone else, the wise do not do anything that binds them to any particular result.  With control over their mind and ego, not considering any possession to be their own, those men and women of wisdom are free from the effects of their actions even when their bodies are acting according to the forces of nature.