In this monologue, Eckhart Tolle examines the relationship between the individual self and the divine. He begins by warning against the simplistic claim "I am God," and then explores the theological concept of the Logos as divine intelligence that is both with God and is God, as presented in the Gospel of John. Tolle argues that God is beyond comprehension, transcending time, space, and even existence itself—God is prior to existence rather than an existent being. He uses the analogy of sunlight: just as light emanates from the sun yet remains inseparable from it, consciousness emanates from the transcendent source and constitutes the essence within each person. This consciousness, he says, is the life‑giving principle behind all forms and is what spiritual traditions refer to as "God‑realization." While acknowledging that one might feel an inner identification with this divine essence, Tolle advises against publicly declaring oneself as God, likening such a claim to a ray of sunlight claiming to be the sun. He concludes that the purpose of creation remains a mystery, but through self‑knowledge and awakening, individuals participate in the ongoing awakening of the world, which he believes is occurring throughout the universe.
Chapters
I would recommend that you do not make the mistake of saying, "I am God." Next question is, is that divine intelligence, is that God? The answer has already kind of given in the beginning of the St. John Gospel that I just quoted, because in it says the Logos, the divine intelligence, was with God and it was God. So that's a strange thing. So was it God or not? Was with God and was— and the way I see it is God is totally beyond comprehension. God is transcendent to does not exist anywhere. I would even say that God does not exist because God is. God is prior to existence. Existence means anything that manifests as form, that ex means out, anything that stands out, that exists. So exist, God does not exist, but God is prior to existence. Beyond time and space, totally incomprehensible. We don't even know why God created this thing, the world. As Stephen Hawking, the physicist, wrote, "Why does the world bother to exist?" Why? We cannot understand why, because no matter when you start talking about this, there's always another why. God created the— did not create the world, is creating the world. Question, why? Why do— okay, then, okay, then you give an answer. Well, why does it? Well, let's leave it at this. The divine intelligence, which is consciousness, emanates from the transcendent, from what we call God. In that sense, it's similar to the light that emanates from the sun. Is the light that touches your skin and the warmth on your skin, is that the sun, or is it just something that the sun sends out, emanates from the sun? Both. Now, perhaps we can say, you could say, the same way that Gospel of John says, the Logos, the divine intelligence, was with God and the Logos was God. You could say the light of the sun is from God, is from the sun, and is the sun because it's just a way of looking at it. The light of the sun that reaches you is still part of the sun. You can't separate. So, The consciousness that emanates from the source of all life into this world is, is the essence of you, which you can sense here and now as your own essence. That is God in you. It emanates from the transcendent like light emanates from the sun, and here it is, it emanates, it is the consciousness that is the life-giving principle behind all forms. So it is the essence of you, and that is called traditionally, but often misunderstood, it's called God realization. Now, I would recommend that you do not make the mistake of saying, "I am God," because people won't like it, and it's not absolutely right. It is right in some way, It's like the ray of sunlight saying, "I am the sun." It's right, but the sun is— the energy of the sun is infinitely unbelievable. You would die immediately if you approach it, but on your skin it's quite pleasant, if you don't spend too much time in the sun. So that's the— God realization, as I said, I would recommend you don't say it, but if you wanted to express it in words, or you don't have to, don't tell anybody, just to yourself, to feel yourself to be an emanation of God, the consciousness, and then it takes some temporary form as a person, and that's that, doesn't last that long, but the essence is behind— the essence behind the person emanates from the one. So in that sense, you are not separate from God in the same way that the ray of sunlight is not separate from the sun. You are an extension of God into this dimension. And what is God doing with this dimension? What's he— oh, sorry, I said he. You see how deeply ingrained that thing is the moment you say God. What am I doing with this dimension? There's a reason. Which we cannot understand for this world that is in the process, we know that, you know that by knowing yourself, in the process of awake, becoming conscious, awakening to its end. So that's the miracle of it. The world is awakening here, and I'm sure everywhere in the universe, the world is awakening.
