If you are too preoccupied with following the messenger... you may miss out on their message!
Many a spiritual leader has often stated that they are merely vehicles to spread the truth of the Creator who is the true and only teacher. The Source of all is known throughout all cultures and religions by different names such as God, Brahman, Paramatman, Yahweh, Allah and so forth. Yet there are those spiritual figures that seem to most highly embody and exemplify this Light. These spiritual leaders are man’s best examples of being beacons of light. Many have led the way through their writings, books, poems, art, organizations and movements but mostly with their lives as the shining example. Their words may be immortalized but the fact that they practiced what they preached and served others even when they may have remained silent never uttering a word.
Any research or study you may do on any one of these spiritual figures will benefit you and have the potential to transform the way you live. I encourage to read their biographies or works, study them, analyze them, critique them and once fully scrutinized I challenge you to apply the teachings you most identify with in your own life and see where it leads you. Don't just memorize quotations but pray on them, meditate on them and try to live them. In other words make the words flesh. Many of these figures have started entire religions based upon their lives while others have quietly lived and qualitatively changed the people around them. So here is my list of top spiritual figures and/or authors:
Abraham
Arius
Babaji
Buddha
Byron Katie
Carl Jung
Chief Crazy Horse
Clement of Alexandria
Deepak Chopra
Eckhart Tolle
Edgar Cayce
Elaine Pagels
Enoch
Francis Lucille
Govinda Bhagavatpada
Gregg Braden
Guadapada
Henry David Thoreau
Jesus
Kabir
Kahlil Gibran
Krishna
Lahiri Mahasaya
Lao-Tzu
Lateef Terrell Warnick
Leo Tolstoy
Levi Dowling
Mahatma Gandhi
Mataji
Mohammed
Moses
Neale Donald Walsch
Obaku
Omar Khayyam
Origen of Alexandria
Osho
Paramahansa Yoganada
Plato
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ram Gopal Muzumdar
Ramana Maharshi
Rumi
Saint Jerome
Saint John of the Cross
Satyananda Saraswati
Shri Adi Shankaracharya
Socrates
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Sri Yukteswar
St Thomas
Swami Kebalananda Giri
Swami Vivekananda
Teresa of Avila
U.S. Anderson
Zoroaster
This of course is not an exhaustive list and keep in mind this is not a competition to judge who was the "greatest" of them all. They all humbly acknowledged that Eternal Truth lies within the stillness of our beings. Many of these spiritual leaders were authors and have written great works still enjoyed to this day, illuminating the way for other truth seekers. Many others never actually wrote themselves yet had their disciples and those around them scribe their words. Their messages have been presented in many ways, in many tongues, through poems, artwork and their life's expression and yet the message continues to be the same as best captured by Yeshua:
- Love thy God with all thy strength.
- Love they neighbor as thyself.
- The kingdom of God is within you.
- Be still and know that I am God.
- Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and all things shall be added unto thee.
There are many ways to say it but the sentiment is the same and it's always all-embracing. Anyone and everyone who seeks It may find It because we are all inherently One with It. The Source of Life… Know Thyself!
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