Learn the essential universal steps to achieve the highest goal achievable! Some religions refer to the highest spiritual realm as Heaven, others as Nirvana, Paradise, Valhalla, Vaikuntha, Goloka or Hari Dham. For the sake of clarity we use the term Heaven for our English speaking audience. The name is not important, just as a rose by any other name is still a 🌹rose. By definition there can only be one highest place that has no equal and no superior. What is highest or Supreme in God's Creation can, of course, be subjectively, socially or Absolutely determined. My idea of the supreme place may be different from your idea, the majority of people may have a completely different idea than either of us, and finally God has His idea. In any case, God has given us all the freedom and ability to move though His Creation, assign relative value to various destinations and go wherever we desire. 

Every stairway has steps and the stairway to heaven is a staircase made of individual steps of unique states of internal consciousness and external behavior that are linked together in a series, like different colors of light waves in the light spectrum. As you go further and further up the light spectrum the waves get fainter and more subtle to the point of becoming invisible to the human eye. Spiritual consciousness is also like that, in that you require spiritual eyes to ultimately see God.

You have spiritual eyes as part of your soul, but they are currently covered by the material body, like a man inside a submarine is not able to see anything outside the submarine. Therefore, he uses a periscope to see outside the body of the submarine, just like our soul uses the material eyes of this body to see outside the body. The material eye is like a lens or a camera, but the real seer is the soul, the spiritual being who has spiritual eyes. The material body is a vehicle, like a submarine, and the soul is the driver. As such, our material eyes are limited and covered, and are not suitable to see God or our soul directly. The soul needs to become free from the limitations of the material body and then it can see God with the soul's original eyes. As one advances up the stairway this becomes possible at a higher step on consciousness (learn more here). 

Knowing which specific step you are on at any given point in time is essential and that is why we started Life-Depot™, which will help you understand which specific step you are on right now, see where you have already been, maybe at lower, or higher steps, and help you set goals for reaching what you consider to be your ideal step by taking the next step upwards towards that goal.

Everyone is on this stairway at some specific step. It doesn't matter where you are, whether near the top, middle or bottom. No one is rejected or disqualified to advance upwards. The only thing that matters is that you are able to honestly locate your current position (get help here), and that you have a desire to go to a higher position (learn about higher steps here). Desire and awareness of the relative locations of the various steps is the key to advancing up the staircase, developing love for God, and ultimately meeting God face to face. By knowing where you are, where you are going and the individual steps in between those two steps that you need to cross over, the stairway also serves as a roadmap or guiding star, which we call T.A.R.A. for short, which stands for the Total Awareness Roadmap to Achievement (see that here).

God can reveal Himself directly and personally to those He desires. Those who purely love Him free of any other material desire are the best candidates for such Divine revelation. As such purity of our consciousness, desires and love is the most powerful and empowering force in this universe. Through our power to desire we possess the capacity to see God, love God and enjoy an eternal relationship with God face to face. There is nothing higher than this.

Following the rules and regulations of the particular step you are on is defined as piety. Following the rules and regulations of higher or lower steps is defined as impiety, or sin. What may be piety for one person may be impiety for another, and vice versa, depending on where an individual is situated on the staircase. For example, a priest in some religion is prohibited from eating or drinking certain foods, whereas a layman is allowed to eat and drink those foods with some restrictions (yajna, kosher, halal foods, etc.). Therefore, if a priest adopts the rules of a layman and eats what is prohibited, then he is degrading himself by descending down the staircase.

As souls, we are all equal, and the human body we all possess is also equal under the law, and in terms of our rights and so on. Our individual level of consciousness, on the other hand, is relatively different to one another. One person is greedy after material objects like money, sex and fame. While another is desireless, and a third person only desires to serve God. How can these three states of consciousness be counted as equal or the same? They are not. Finally, our state of consciousness determines our future and destiny. We can positively change our consciousness and desires and come to the highest level by association of persons desiring to love and serves God.

The safest approach to navigating the staircase to get to the top is a common-sense approach of not going backwards down the stairway, and not jumping over steps. Gradually progress upwards one step at a time, at a steady safe pace, with sure footing while holding the handrails. Go as fast as you safely can.

On the path of gradual development, the person must take care to elevate himself to a higher level, no matter on which level he is situated. By good fortune it is the nature of the soul that gradually it elevates itself, but there are obstacles such that the soul may fail to reach the goal. Thus, those who desire to reach a higher standard must always be conscious of that fact. In progressing from one level of life to another two things should be considered. A person should be firmly fixed in his present position in order to take a firm step forward. Then, in order to advance to a higher level, when one foot gives up the previous place, that foot must fix itself firmly in the higher place before the other foot can raise itself to the same level. Simultaneously, the person must give up the lower level and establish himself firmly in the higher level. 

If he moves too quickly, he will fall. If he moves too slowly, the results will also come slowly. By progressing from tribal life, civilized life, moral life, moral life with materially conceived God, moral life with acceptance of God, to devotional life in practice, step by step, the living entity can achieve the highest end, love of God. If he hurries too quickly to progress to one step, he will fall to the lower step. If he delays too long on one step, he will become lazy and block his own progress. Understanding that both excessively quick or slow movement is an obstacle, a person should elevate himself gradually by fixing himself firmly on one level, and then giving it up when he has attained firmness in the next higher level.

Everyone is on the stairway at some particular step. Some people are moving upwards and some people are falling down the stairway. Others are standing or even sitting on one of the steps. When we become complacent with our current step of advancement and fail to make efforts to move upwards it is known as laziness. Because the soul is eternal such laziness can continue eternally. Everything the soul does is potentially eternal simply because the soul is eternal.  When the soul is conditioned by material nature we say it is eternally conditioned.  When the soul is in a liberated condition, we say it is eternally liberated. So similarly, the soul can become eternally lazy and get stuck on one step. Of course, the tendency of the soul is to want to always to be advancing, but if efforts are not made, then progress will be checked.

The key to advancement on the staircase is making efforts. Making efforts means remaining active, and activity refers to actions of the mind and the body. Advancing from one step to the next involves accepting actions that are favorable to achieving the next step, and avoiding actions that are unfavorable. These are the rules and regulations governing advancement in relationship with any particular step.

Success in elevating oneself up the stairway requires understanding the rules and regulations (learn more here), focusing on them, remaining enthusiastic to follow them, being confident, and remaining patient (get help with all that here). All of this can better be achieved through supportive association and guidance (get that here). While making progress one needs to work and maintain his material body with an honest livelihood and honest lifestyle (learn more here). Whatever you need to succeed, Life-Depot™ is here to help!

Falling down is possible. But if you do, then don't panic because you are always on the stairway on some step, and whether or not it is a lower step, it is still always connected to a higher step that is connected to the highest step of love of God. You can always move upwards one step at a time even if you fall down to a lower one. Don't get discouraged. Just keep moving upward, one step at a time.

You can fall down the staircase but you can never fall off of it. God is always just a few steps away, in any case, no matter where we find ourselves. Running up the stairs is allowed - so even if it seems that we are far away on a lower step, we can rise up as fast and as far as we desire! Our relationship with God is eternal and we are always connected with Him via this staircase. We always have direct access to God. We only have to desire it. We can also turn our back on God and walk down the staircase if we desire to ignore God and not see Him. That is our free will. He gives us that free will to love Him and be with Him happily, or to turn away from Him and forget Him entirely, or even to hate Him (but don't do that).

Nevertheless, we are always connected to Him eternally through the staircase even if we choose to become His most bitter enemy. That is His unconditional love for all of us, and His causeless mercy and compassion for all souls without exception. The stairway is an eternal bridge that can never be burned or demolished no matter what we do, or do not do. The greatest sinner of all time is also on the staircase along with all of us on some step, and they too can take a step up in a positive direction towards God and ultimately reach Him too. God is so merciful and forgiving. 

The staircase is our relationship with God, which puts us in contact with His different energies according to our degree of surrender to Him. Those at the highest steps are relating with God directly and His internal spiritual energy. Those at lower steps are relating with God indirectly with His external energies. The souls are His marginal energy that have the ability, through free will, to take shelter of the internal spiritual energy and/or the external material energy. 

Whatever step we are on, we are realizing and relating with God, either directly or indirectly through one of His energies. There is nothing beyond God. As such, because God and the soul are both eternally existing, therefore the stairway is eternal and we are eternally situated on it, at some step, at any given moment, and we are free to change our step by moving up or down the stairway at any time. That is free will, self-determination, independence and our power of unlimited desire.

Not only is God on the stairway, but every possible thing we can desire materially and spiritually is also situated on its individual steps. We get into that in more detail in The Total Awareness Roadmap to Achievement (see it here). 

Some of the material desires include:

1. Sense enjoyment of material objects

2. Accumulation of wealth

3. Following materialistic duties

4. The comforts of higher material planets

5. Mystical material powers

6. Liberation from material bondage

Some of the transcendental spiritual desires include: 

1. Impersonal liberation

2. Perception of the Lord who resides within our heart

3. Residence on the Lord's planet in the spiritual world 

4. Awakening one's eternal spiritual body

5. Opulence on par with the Lord

6. Personal association of the Lord eternally

7. Pure love of God, the ultimate goal

Some people lament that they have not attained devotion to God but at the same time they do not make any real attempt to raise themselves to the level of love of God. They remain bound to one of the preliminary levels without due cause, and do not make any attempt to progress. If a person stops at one step how can he expect to progress to the top? Many devotees on the level of scriptural regulations make no attempt to progress to reestablishing their personal relationship with God, and lament that they have not attained such a deep intimate relationship. Many people remain attached to the rules of occupational and family responsibilities and are indifferent to their relationship with God and developing love for God. This is an obstacle to their own advancement. Those who are fortunate to receive the(se) teachings...however, can progress very quickly. In a short lifespan a person can easily progress from occupational and family duties to the highest level of love of God. Those who have taken shelter of the rules of gradual development do not have to wait for another birth to elevate themselves. However, those who act like dead fish and simply float on the currents of fate in the ocean of material existence, advancing and retreating with the ebb and flow of the tide, can hardly attain the desired goal.