Lifetime after lifetime you have been reincarnating. The wheel of time is turning and the soul is experiencing the pains of birth and dying. We experience pleasure and pain which comes to us through our karma.

You can enter a plane that transcends this physical universe. Your consciousness can enter into the dimension of pure spiritual consciousness. Your innermost self can connect with the highest spiritual Reality, the One which is the Source of everything.

There is a spark of life energy within your heart and that glowing circle of light will never die. It is your innermost self, your soul. In the Veda, the literature of ancient India, the sages describe the soul as an atomic-sized particle of Spirit. When you attain enlightenment you will discover that you are a purely spiritual being, like a particle of light within the rays surrounding the eternal spiritual sun, known as Brahman. This is the message of the Veda: you are an eternal spiritual being, an immortal soul.

According to Buddhism there is no permanent self or soul. Soul-less living beings such as humans, animals and fish get produced in the natural world through a process of change. The living entity has an ego-awareness, a consciousness of its individual existence, and this ego struggles to survive in the world. Buddhist doctrine states that the existence of an individual living entity is transient, and that the living beings "idea of self" is an impermanent, illusory state of consciousness. Vaishnavism and the Hindu scriptures uphold the opposite point of view. According to the Bhagavad gita and other scriptures, the individual self is an eternal spiritual reality. The eternal self takes birth, lifetime after lifetime, always seeking self-realization, inner fulfilment and liberation from the cycle of rebirth and karma.

There is a path to follow to reach the perfect state of fulfilment, wisdom and ecstasy (sat-chid-ananda). In the Sanskrit language of ancient India, that path is called Yoga. There are several different types of Yoga: Hatha Yoga (exercise), Jnana Yoga (philosophical study), Bhakti Yoga (the yoga of devotion), Karma Yoga etc. But the goal of all types of Yoga is One. They all have a common aim: to bring you to the state of perfect self-understanding and enlightenment, where you have direct experience of the Supreme Being.

When a soul is approaching the Supreme Being the first conception someone will have will be of the holy names of God. The One God is known in different cultures by various names such as Yahweh, Allah, Tao, Vishnu and Krishna. Bhakti Yoga meditation involves chanting ancient mantras from the Vedic scriptures of India. These mantras contain the transcedental names of God. By chanting the holy names with faith and devotion you will get realization of the Divine Form and Beauty of the Supreme Being. Next you will be able to perceive the Lord's qualities - compassion, mercy, wisdom, affection. Then you will see that there are many, many lovers of God who are constantly serving the Lord, and you will enter into the pure Land of Love.