The ego is a center in the mind, it is for self-consciousness and self-identification program that separates human personality from his/her own perfect spirit (divine self, Atman). By ego we mean the whole personality itself, since the personality is created by the ego center. Accordingly, the ego has layers.
We can identify ourselves with our physical body (material self-consciousness; I am this material body), our etheric body (subtle material self-consciousness; I am the life energy field that permeates my body), our astral body (the whole emotional world that makes up our personality; I am a good-humored, polite, friendly person), our mental body (the whole thought world that makes up our personality; I am a logical, Hungarian natural scientist). The latter two together are also called soul in Christian culture (I am a soul), because these two leaves the body after death.
But the layers of the ego do not end there. The next level of self-identification is the causal ego (the spiritual set of tasks that we have undertaken for this life), called the higher self in psychological practice, or conscience in common parlance. As long as the causal self has not been achieved, a person must return to the earth in physical body again and again. This is called reincarnation.

First, the realization that one is not identical with any of the layers of the ego listed above. But if we are not identical with them, who are we? Total surrender of ego occurs when the level of self-identification and awareness reaches the level of Atma (perfect spirit). Then the being says to himself, I am one with the perfect spirit (Atma) or I am one with God.
Surrender of ego cannot occur until the level of consciousness has reached the level of perfect spirit. If for whatever reason (initiation, energetic accident, etc.) it happens before, the human being, lacking the ability to self-identification, will suffer psychiatric disorders, in extreme cases going insane.

Primarily, it is to enable souls who wish to separate from God to have an independent experience of God. In fact, everyone is always in God, but since the layers of ego separates one from God, one can think he/she is an independent being, he/she can do what he/she wants, God does not really exist, and he/she can invent for himself/herself various "meaningful" activities to spend his/her time on. All this together means that the soul in the state of separated from God is under an illusion when he/she thinks of himself/herself as independent of God.

There is no scientific proof of God's existence and there never will be. There is only one proof, everyone's own inner experience, which changes his/her live. This experience is reality to the one who has experienced it and faith to the one who believes it. The testimony of those who bear witness to God therefore falls into the category of faith for others. This is why Jesus says: "Blessed are those who know and believe, but even more blessed are those who do not know and yet believe." The knowers know God, believers believe God. They are happier because they escape the winding and dangerous path to knowledge.

They are the emanations of God (or, more precisely, of the Holy Spirite). They are Beings of Light in union with God, whose task is to mediate between God and His creatures, the human beings. Their tasks are very varied, both in the problems of everyday life and for spiritual development we can ask for their help.
Angels are interpreted in different ways by different cultures, and in a broader sense include demigods and enlightened beings. It depends on our level of vibration and commitment which beings we attract from the innumerable entities between God and humans.

There are about as many dangers as driving a car. We know that we can have an accident, yet we don't give it up. We all can learn how to contact angels, but it does matter from whom or how. It does matter how much practice, or perhaps without practice, you start the connection. Without sufficient self-knowledge, self-cleansing practices, self-surrender, humility, the attempt to establish contact will only turn into an endless dialogue with the ego.
It is not possible to become either possessed or dependent through the guidance of angels, this would be contrary to divine law. However, people prefer to blame their own errors on angels instead of looking into themselves. For those who refuse to take responsibility for their own fate, blame others for everything, and refuse to take responsibility for themselves, angel techniques will not work. That is why Jesus says: "Whoever does not take up his cross and bear his own cross cannot enter the kingdom of heaven."

Humans live on Earth in a state of egoic disconnection from God. For the individual consciousness, the interest of the individual is paramount. Individual interests eclipse the interests of the group, country, and ultimately all of humanity, and individuals, groups, countries fight for the redistribution of the limited material goods available. Unaware of the ultimate goal of human life, which is a return to God-consciousness, so they see the acquisition of material goods as the purpose of life and the solution to their individual problems.
It must be clearly seen that material wealth will never be enough to satisfy everyone, and that self-restraint on the part of the rich and efforts to change the lot of the poor are the only solutions to this problem. Integration into the consciousness of God, the realization that we are all children of the same God, both good and bad, does not allow us to remain indifferent to the millions of hungry people, while we are lavishing and wasting wealth, spending billions on things that have neither meaning nor benefit, does not advance the development of humanity, but only serves individual gratification. On the part of the poor, on the other hand, there must be an active will to change their fate through hard work, and not to freeload on the working members of society.
Knowledge of divine law is essential to understanding this problem. One of the most important divine laws is the law of repercussion (better known as the law of karma), which states that our present life is the result of our actions in previous lives, and that we must strive to live in a way that obeys divine law if we are to be born into better circumstances in the life to come. Both the rich and the poor must be aware of this, because the tables can easily be turned in the next life.
It is a mistake to believe that the Judeo-Christian cultural sphere is not subject to the law of karma as it is known from Eastern philosophies. The law of Moses, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth", is a veiled, symbolic formulation of the law of karma. Jesus replaced this law with the law of love, which says that if you reciprocate your neighbor's action with love, whatever he does to you, the law of karma can be overridden.

Everything which has a name exists. The moment we give a name to a concept, we make it exist, it becomes a thought-form on the mental plane. From then on it is up to us to charge our creation with energy. If we want good, we keep away from negative beings. In other words, this means that by projecting our fears, we can create a being that we identify as a devil. These thought-forms can be eliminated by directing divine light, such as an angel, towards them. For the devil is the absence of the angel.
At the level of the macrocosm, this concept only makes sense as long as we think in terms of a dual (bipolar) world. As long as we cannot consciously leave our microcosm (the totality of our physical and energetic bodies), we have nothing to do with the beings of the macrocosm, we can only encounter their projections. And in unity there is neither devil nor angel, for all is one.

The Over-self (Atma or Atman,) is the innermost core of our personality, our divine essence. Upon this center of consciousness, like clothes on a coat hanger, are built the outer layers of personality, which can obscure this inner core to such an extent that it becomes unrecognizable to the observer. People, unaware of this inner core, live in a false self-identification, mistakenly identifying themselves with their body, emotions or thoughts. Because the latter will be different for each person, they think they are different, nicer, better than others. This is true, if we consider the personality traits, but it is not true from the perspective of those who see the inner core. For they know that the divine self-resides in every human being, and it is only ignorance that causes us not to see it in ourselves and others.
The Atman is therefore a package of consciousness given to us by God as a guide to lead us, while away from Him we can enjoy individual consciousness and apparent independence. Recognizing and following the Atman leads us back to God and out of the cycle of rebirths.

This concept means the realization of the Over-self (divine essence, Atman), whereby the individual submits to the will of the Supreme Over-self (God). Therefore, we use the terms Self-realization and God-realization as synonymous terms. Unfortunately, in the age of misunderstandings (Kali yuga), this term has also been twisted and some misleaders understand it to mean ego realization: self-actualization, i.e., realizing what you want (at the expense of others). Thus, misleading the ignorant masses, false teachers get rich while the disciples think they are on the right path. Therefore, the spiritual disciple must be persistent and keep searching for the authentic master until he/she finds him.

People have developed many religions and philosophies in an attempt to get in touch with the transcendent. Some of these religions and philosophies are better and other less successful. In this sense, we cannot say that all religions speak of the same God. Each religion presents different aspects or faces of God, sometimes presenting this aspect as exclusive. Nevertheless, the same God is behind all religions, even if people do not realize it.
True religion is therefore rooted in the Over-self (Atman) found in the heart and not in human inventions of transcendence. Therefore, the man who is truly seeking God will be guided by the Over-self (his/her own innermost, purest feelings) and find the worldview that best suits him/her in this life, so that his/her spiritual development is assured.
The Over-self is at work within us even when we are unaware of it, and it exerts its control through the higher Self (in ordinary language, the conscience). If we resist the instructions that come from this layer of the personality, we react with illness.

Religious wars are really economic wars dressed up in religious cloaks, because they are better sold to the ignorant masses who know nothing about the true nature of God and the Self. They can be persuaded that their God is the one true God and the others are false. Thus deceived, people become the unconscious servants of various interest groups. But God has nothing to do with this, therefore in most religious wars God has not supported either side.

Our physical body will decay and return into the cycle of matter. The etheric body (except for some highly evolved yogis and saints) dissolves into the etheric world. The astral-mental body has the possibility of independent existence, especially if our relatives support its survival by their attachment, or if we ourselves are so attached to the earthly world that we want to keep it alive at all costs. Then, while remaining in this body, we can have certain experiences on the subtle material plane which, depending on one's purity, can give the impression of either hell or heaven, but which in any case are fed by our inner world of illusion and have nothing to do with reality. In many religions this is called the bardo or psychedelic world. This world can be experienced under the influence of drugs or sometimes in dreams.
At the moment of our death we may all see a pillar or beam of light. This beam will appear for everybody but usually not everybody can see it (usually the unbelievers cannot). If we do not follow immediately it, we remain in the bardo and our inner world darkens as our life energy diminishes, so that ultimately, we all experience hell. However, this is not a hell created by God, but our illusory world that feeds on our ignorance of divine law.
If we immediately follow the light that appears at the moment of death, our astral-mental body will soon decay and we will wait in our causal body (which is an information field, the repository of all our previous incarnations) for our next incarnation, if still necessary. The souls that remain in the bardo will also incarnate after a longer or shorter period of time, but they will fall back to a very low level. So, we can see how much we harm our relative by being particularly attached to them.
The causal body only dissolves and disintegrates when no further incarnation is needed. Realizations above this plane can already be regarded as realizations of God, which I will refrain from discussing here. This is true regardless of all religions, it is only institutionalized ignorance that causes the believer to be unaware of this.

All of us (except for a few highly evolved teaching souls) are motivated to be born again by our desires, our attachments. We are more attached to earthly gratification than to God. In this sense, the meaning of life is spiritual self-realization (realization of the Over-self) and God-realization, which is also the escape from the reincarnation cycle. It is also the meaning of our suffering. Either we consciously learn to renounce earthly desires and begin to desire God, or our sufferings will force us to do so.
Since this earthly life is a virtual world - nothing more than a kind of computer simulation in which a bio-robot created according to the programs (karma) of our previous lives plays out a pre-written script, with some freedom of movement to allow for improvisation - it is not worth getting too attached to, nor taking too dramatically seriously. But in all this, we must also realize that if we fail to pass the pre-set exams of the life program in the material world, we are bound to start again, because we are doomed to compulsive evolution.
The whole universe evolves or perishes according to a fixed program, in which the most adaptable, most conscious souls evolve the fastest and are the quickest to leave the playing field. The spirit of the age (which is the universal task of the age) must be recognized and attuned to.
The universal task in any age:
- to progress: to remain human in the face of inhumanity,
- and to escape from the world of illusion: to become God-man in the given circumstances.

I answer this question in a slightly more general sense. Nothing is true that tries to narrow our thinking about the Universe and about ourselves and our environment. The discoveries and findings of science are true, they do not contradict or prove the existence of God.
Nor is the theory of evolution a refutation of the existence of God, it is simply a summary and description of a law observable in nature. In this sense, it may be incomplete, erroneous in places, but it is essentially the phenomenon itself, as an experience, a fact. On the other hand, God can create with or without the use of the laws of evolution.
In this connection we must ask the question, who is the Creator? According to Vedic scripture, the creator of the material (and subtle material) world is Lord Brahma. According to the Judeo-Christian belief system is Christ (the Son of the Father). We must distinguish between God as Absolute (or as Supreme Person, Oneness) and the creator of the material world. God, as Absolute, is not a creative aspect, the Supreme Person (Oneness) becomes the creator. He exists outside the space-time dimension and as such creates everything at once, with a single thought, in this sense the whole universe was created in a single instant.
The creator of the material world, who already exists in the space-time dimension, needs time to create, because the material manifestation of thought is a time-consuming process. On our Earth, he certainly created using evolution. I note that this follows from divine law, simply because it is expedient to create all beings in a form capable of self-reproduction and self-evolution, so that the system becomes consistent. All created beings bear the divine qualities to a greater or lesser degree, and in varied variations.
Think of all creation as a computer simulation. The Creator creates the conditions and the laws to start life in the simulation, and then lets the system run, according to a pre-designed scenario. In the meantime, he keeps feeding the energy into it and occasionally corrects it if he sees things are not going in the right direction. In fact, beings who have become intelligent in the meantime can even ask for help if they want to change course.
One might think that a Creator is not needed for all this, since the self-organization of matter (energy) and its internal laws can create the whole Universe by themselves. Those who think this deny their own innermost divine essence and thus exclude themselves from the possibility of ever understanding the actual processes of creation in reality, by becoming God-man. This applies to believers and non-believers alike. For believers, like atheistic scientists, have no more idea of the Creator's activity than atheistic scientists. The reason is very simple. Can the created being of a computer simulation have any idea of who and for what purpose created him/her and the system that surrounds him/her? Only if he/she contacts his/her Creator. If he/she denies the existence of the Creator, then the Creator will never manifest Himself to him/her, i.e. the atheist will always remain part of the created system, he/she will never see out of it. Likewise, the believer who ignores the fact that God is manifest in him/her as the Over-self and does not seek to recognize the Over-self - merely reciting misinterpreted texts from the symbolic system of various Scriptures - cannot attain true knowledge because he/she has no relationship with his/her Creator.
Real knowledge can only be attained by embarking on the path of inner self-knowledge, which leads above a certain level to the realization of the Over-self (Atman) of God, the thread that connects us with our Creator. Then the Creator reveals to us the mysteries of creation.

Yes, it is possible. The Bible gives a symbolic account of the creation of the material-physical world. The Vedic scriptures honor the Lord Brahma as the creator of the material world, while other scriptures call the Creator by other names. But whichever scripture we look at, the Creator exists in a very different dimension of time than our world. For Lord Brahma one day is more million present earth years and so is his night. So, he had plenty of time.

Transmigration of souls is a reality that can be experienced regardless of belief system. It can be experienced through near death experiences, past life regression (regression hypnosis), deep meditation techniques. Nevertheless, we can only attribute meaning to these experiences if the hypnosis or meditation has reached a level where we can get in touch with the causal self. The causal self is the repository of past lives. If we are moving in the astral-mental sphere, we are mostly only confronted with our desires and fears, and we misidentify our experiences with past lives. Who we were in previous lives is of little importance, because our lives are just roles that serve our spiritual development. When we watch a theatre performance, we judge the actors not by the roles they have been cast in, but by how perfect the acting was. If one plays his/her role with full consciousness, with God consciousness, he/she can be sure that he/she will never have to be reborn again, whatever he/she has done. This is because those who act in God consciousness are already above the law of karma.
Many spiritual leader and teacher have believed himself/herself to be above the law of karma, and only at the moment of death has he/she been proved wrong. Therefore, caution and regular introspection are essential.

The most general definition of sin is that which triggers the law of repercussion (an action with karmic consequences).
Sin is also what different cultures, religions and scriptures define as sin and an act to be avoided. If the latter definition is taken as valid, there will be significant differences in the concept of sin depending on the culture you are born into or the religion you follow. The former definition is therefore the authoritative one, but until we are clear which actions fall within the scope of the law of karma, it is better to follow the written and unwritten rules of the culture or religion that applies to us (or that we choose).
It also follows that the experience of sin and punishment is closely related to the person's level of consciousness, his/her internal belief system and his/her position in society. For example, if one's duty is to maintain order or defend one's country, it is not a crime to kill because one is doing one's duty, one would be committing a sin if one refused to do one's duty. If he/she does feel guilty, his/her faith and his/her level of consciousness have not proved sufficient to withstand the test. Here again Jesus' teaching is true: "To each according to his faith." On the other hand, what is allowed to the Master may not be allowed to the disciple, for while the Master acts in accordance with the universe, the disciple is not sure, and therefore the same action has no karmic consequence for the Master, while it does for the disciple.
Understanding divine legislation requires serious study and a close relationship with the Almighty, so it is better to consider oneself an eternal disciple.

Although Christianity distinguishes a "punishing God", this aspect of God actually oversees and drives the law of karma. God does not directly punish, but self-punishment occurs. When the deceased, freed from his/her physical body, looks at his/her life from a causal awareness, he/she finds where he/she has transgressed this law of Oneness. Then he/she can immediately experience the pain he/she has caused the other. If this proves sufficient, a realization follows, so that this act no longer needs to be dealt with in the next incarnation. If the realization does not occur, then in the next incarnation, the person will reciprocate in some form or become the sufferer of a similar act. If the deceased escapes the scrutiny, he/she automatically becomes a resident of the bardo, where he/she unconsciously undergoes a series of sufferings.

A common question from my students is, how can I reconcile science and spirituality? My answer is always: excellently. Science is concerned with phenomena (the material world around us and the laws that operate between its elements), and spirituality is concerned with the essence, the relationship between man and God, the essential nature of man.
I have never been able to narrow down my interests to a specific discipline. Although I consider chemistry to be my specialty, I have always been able to wander into the fields of the surrounding natural sciences. I have never understood how people can try to understand the world around them without the knowledge of science or without bringing the different sciences together.
The world around us includes man-made creations. Such creations include art, language and society itself, with its hidden drivers. That is why, when we examine the ensemble of phenomena around us, which is nothing other than the projection of our collective consciousness, we cannot do it without the knowledge of science.
My knowledge of science has helped me a lot in not straying into the often-slippery areas of spirituality. What a scientific education gives a person, logical thinking, healthy doubt, the ability to analyze and synthetize, are indispensable in the spiritual sciences. If one wanders into spiritual fields without sufficient education and scientific training, which is common today, one is at best called a poor idiot by one's environment, which is not always far from the truth.
The higher school of spirituality has always been open to the most highly educated and broad-minded thinkers, just as one cannot become enlightened without philosophical knowledge, at most only to get lost.

The question can be answered on several levels. An average person would certainly understand it to mean the practice of physical exercises. But yoga is much more than a series of physical practice. It is a complete philosophy of life. The essence of this philosophy of life is that one submits oneself (body, soul, spirit) to the Supreme Self (God) and from then on lives one's life as a realization of Self-realization (the Supreme Self, God). The eight-step system of yoga has been laid down by Patanjali, in the diet of which the disciple must practice all eight steps to reach the ultimate goal. In this sense, yoga is, was and will be a path of God-realization. To use it in any other sense is based on a false or partial understanding.

There are many different types of yoga, depending on which element of the eight-step path is emphasized more strongly. For example, Hatha yoga, which is most common in the West, emphasizes physical exercises, while Bhakti yoga emphasizes service to God (Bhagavan). Kriya yoga used to be given to the second caste (ksatrias) as they were the leading personalities of the society and thus did not have time to do the long yoga practice along with the affairs of the state, so their path was accelerated by the masters with special exercises if they were found worthy. Kriya yoga and Kundalini yoga both belong to the type of astanga yoga, from the name astanga meaning ascending yoga process. In these types of energetic yoga, the student learns to direct life energy in an upward direction. This upward energetic process "burns off" karmic debts from past and present lives, thus allowing for faster spiritual development. Astanga yoga is therefore for those who use it for the purpose of spiritual self-realization.
Today, many Eastern masters go west to spread yoga and set up expensive, large ashrams to maintain them, selling yoga as a panacea for everything, so as to attract as many disciples as possible. Although yoga is indeed all-purpose if practiced properly, it creates the delusion in the student that by mastering a few asanas and breathing exercises, enlightenment can be achieved. As enlightenment has become fashionable nowadays (it sounds so good and makes us more special!), Kundalini Yoga has also become a fashionable subject.
Kundalini yoga is about awakening one's own inner, hidden power, which leads the student to enlightenment. This is its sole purpose and nothing else. Anyone who tries to sell Kundalini Yoga for any other purpose is deluded and deludes others. The fashion-oriented students of the false teachers easily believe that they are "doing Kundalini Yoga" when the power centers necessary for this are neither opened nor developed in them. It's exactly like when children in kindergarten play father or mother. Basically, it is a completely harmless game until an "accident" happens. If a power center in someone opens up unexpectedly (e.g. as a result of past lives), they will suddenly have experiences that leave the false teacher unprepared to help, because he/she has not been down the path oneself. In such cases, one should and can turn to a master who has travelled the path and has his/her own experiences, and who is around to do just that. Many masters only go through a series of negative experiences in order to be able to help their fellow misfortunates who have gone astray.
Awakening Kundalini means taking up all the unresolved karma of all our past lives and present lives at once, i.e. all the exams we have failed or postponed must be taken here and now at once. Therefore, everyone should think carefully before embarking on the path of Kundalini Yoga.

Being in a high state of consciousness. In a narrow sense, the complete surrender of the ego, i.e. the attainment of Atman consciousness (see previous explanations), in a broader sense, the surrender of the causal ego consciousness can be considered the first stage of enlightenment. This means that the person no longer identifies himself/herself with his/her roles (e.g. he/she no longer experiences himself/herself as a politician, bishop, grand master, teacher, etc.), but sees himself/herself above these roles. He knows that the roles are necessary, but they are no longer meaningful to him/her, nor does he/she distinguish between people according to their role in the material world. The enlightened one constantly fixes his/her consciousness in the Buddhi body, even though he/she assumes a role in the material world. He/she sees himself/herself as identical with the universal, intelligent information field, or, experiencing this on an even higher level, he/she experiences himself/herself as one with the Law. There are therefore levels or forms of enlightenment, depending on where the enlightened one fixes his/her consciousness. It is useful for the disciple to take this into account when seeking a master.

By the Law we do not mean a set of mundane, man-made laws, nor even the laws and/or commandments of Moses or Jesus. The Universal law is what governs the workings of the material and subtle universe. The guardians of these Laws are known as the Thrones (archangelic class) in the Christian cultural term. In other cultures the Law is expressed in other words. E.g. Lao Tzu 2500 years ago gave the name Tao, while Buddhism-Hinduism uses the term Dharma. In other formulations, it is the seven cosmic laws defined by Hermes Trismegistus, which is essentially one law ("All One"), but is divided into parts for clarity.

According to Tantric Yoga philosophy, they are the female counterparts of aspects of God. The feminine principle represents the force, the masculine principle is the mover of the force. It is the harmonious interaction of these two that sets the created worlds in motion and sustains them. Through the unfoldment of these forces, the disciple can enter into service in creation, thereby becoming more familiar with these processes and gradually evolving through service to a state of God-consciousness.

First, I would like to dispel the misconception that enlightenment and God-realization are one and the same. No, although they are related. I have already defined enlightenment as a certain state of consciousness. Enlightenment does not necessarily go hand in hand with God-realization. An enlightened person can know that the Law exists and think of it as an absolute reality without assuming God (e.g. Buddha). God-realization means dissolution in or service to some aspect of God. Consider a Kabbalistic Tree of Life, then, contrasting the Tree of Life with the Keter (Crown), there are three paths leading to it.
Using the Atlantean names for the paths of initiation, the path of Divinity runs into the Keter on the right, the path of Love on the left, and the path of Perfection in the middle. Let us see what these concepts correspond to from the perspective of other world views.
Divinity means the worship and unconditional devotional service of God, which in Hinduism is the realization of Bhagawan. It is easy to see that today, in terms of objectives, Krishna conscious devotees have undertaken to demonstrate this path most linearly. They are the servants!
Love means the experience of all-embracing, unconditional, Christ-like love. This is the path followed, for example, by the saints who have realized the Holy Spirit in Christianity. The Hindu equivalent of this is the realization of Paramatma, the infusion of the divine spark in the heart into the all-embracing, sustaining energy of love.
Those on the path of Perfection raise the divine spark (Atman) into the Keter. This is possible by activating the Kundalini energy. This is the path followed by Hindu yogis, for example, who give priority to the realization of Brahman, or Shiva believers, etc. The path of Perfection is crossed by the path connecting the Bina (Bina) and Hokma (Chochma) Sefira and at this crossing point there is no helping Sefira. This point of intersection is called Daat (gap) in Hebrew. At this point, the work of many, many lives and/or the grace of the Supreme Personality of Divinity can help the yogi through. However, if one sets out on the path inexperienced, one gets lost in the maze. The leading masters of the UCCM have taken up all three aspects of God realization, the UCCM yoga school will provide the knowledge to help you through these points of awareness.