Spirit

Spirit is motionless, vibrationless, both in thought and energy. It has no dimensions, no relativity, it is like nothing in creation. It knows neither pleasure nor pain. It is beyond the relativity of the four ordinary states of human consciousness—pleasure, pain, indifference, and temporary peace. A fifth state of consciousness is bliss, which is deeper than peace, and is always new and unceasing. That is the only quality of Spirit. When you feel that, nothing else satisfies; then you have true spiritual consciousness.

Spirit cannot be named. A name always expresses certain definite vibrations, but a name is only applied to things that are limited. Spirit is nameless and formless. If you try to name Spirit, immediately you limit it. Spirit is not knowable by the limitation of understanding, but that does not mean that Spirit is entirely unknowable, because Spirit can be felt.

Spirit is ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new Joy. From the human point of view of time, Spirit is, was, and ever shall be Joy. In Spirit there is no past or future — only the present — because Spirit Consciousness, unlike that of man, is not contradicted by death and oblivion.

Spirit is ever conscious. Spirit's Cosmic Consciousness does not cease to operate actively, as does the consciousness of man in sleep. Spirit has no alternating consciousness of wakefulness or subconsciousness like that of man, but has perpetual, enjoyable, active and inactive wakefulness combined within Itself.

Spirit was Joy, but there was no one else to taste of this Joy, so Spirit divided Itself to become the Enjoyer, the act of enjoying, and the thing enjoyed—the Knower, the process of knowing, and the thing known. This triune division of Spirit into Knower, Knowing, and Known was accomplished by the law of relativity (cosmic delusion or maya). Spirit, being one and indivisible, had to imagine and will Itself to be many.

Expressed another way: Spirit divided Itself into God as the Father, the Cosmic Consciousness or "Knower" remaining beyond all creation; and into God as the Son, the Christ Consciousness or cosmic intelligent subjective "knowing" power in creation; and into God as the Holy Ghost, the cosmic intelligent objective creation itself, the thing known. Manifesting in creation, Spirit divided Itself into subject and object—the Knower and the Known. What is the difference between Spirit as subject arid object? Spirit as God in the aspect of Christ Consciousness manifests subjectively in creation as the power of perception of thoughts and feelings; and Spirit as God the Cosmic Intelligent Vibration manifests objectively to produce the universe. Everything is One, but when that One Infinite Spirit differentiates Itself into many, It has many forms and many names. But Spirit—the great One Reality—cannot be named.

The word "God" means the manifested, transcendental Being beyond creation, but existing in relation to creation. Spirit existed before God. God is the Creator of the universe, but Spirit is the Creator of God. Spirit is not the universe; Spirit is that which was and will be whether the universe does or does not exist. Spirit includes everything. (from The Hiding Place of God by Paramahansa Yogananda)