TO WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN:
Listen, you skeptics, you atheists, you wanderers in the cold void of reason! I’m James, an 83-year-old soul who’s walked the maze of time, from the incense-soaked pews of Portage Lake, Maine, to the inner realms where light and sound dissolve illusion. My knees trembled as a boy under Father Albert’s crucifix, my heart pounded through decades of seeking, and now, in the twilight of my odyssey, I stand before you, not with dogma, but with a truth that burns brighter than a thousand suns. You think the universe is a blind machine, a cosmic accident with no meaning? I’ve tasted the eternal oasis, and I dare you to step out of your sterile labs, your smug certainties, and face the mystery that’s been calling you since your first breath. This is no preacher’s plea—it’s a rebel’s roar, forged in the fires of Sant Mat, Advaita Vedanta, and a lifetime of wrestling with God’s shadow. Hear me, and let the truth set you free!
“You scoff at faith, calling it a crutch for the weak. I get it—I’ve ranted against blind belief myself, as I wrote in Faith or Fallacy. Faith isn’t about swallowing fairy tales or clinging to a bearded sky-daddy. It’s the courage to dive into the unknown, to question your own smugness. I was an altar boy, chanting Latin, but the real God wasn’t in the golden tabernacle—it was in the silence of my soul, where questions like “Why am I here?” echoed louder than any hymn. Science gives you maps of stars, but only the mystic’s path—Surat Shabd Yoga, the inner sound I found in Sant Mat—shows you the star within. In Meditation for Neophytes, I taught seekers to listen to that sound, a vibration that hums beneath your doubts. Close your eyes, skeptics, and hear it. It’s not Jesus knocking—it’s your own soul, begging to be free.
You laugh at God, but have you considered I Am God, Duality Vs Non Duality? Advaita Vedanta stripped away my illusions, revealing that I—yes, this weathered Maine boy—am Brahman, the infinite consciousness. You are too! No separation, no duality, just one reality, shimmering beyond your microscopes. Buddhism’s no-self, Taoism’s flowing Tao, Jainism’s pure soul—they all point to this truth, as I wrestled with in my odyssey. You’re not a speck in a void; you’re the void’s creator, trapped in time’s maze (Jim’s Maze). Don’t take my word—sit still, as I did, and feel the oneness. Your atheism is just a mask for fear, fear of being more than meat and neurons. Peel it off, and see.
You roll your eyes at the afterlife, dismissing it as wishful thinking. I’ve weighed both sides in Reincarnation Vs. Resurrection. Christianity’s resurrection, from my altar boy days, promises a one-shot rise in glory. Sant Mat and Jainism’s reincarnation, though, see the soul cycling through countless lives, bound by karma, as I explored in How Do We Get Out of Here Without Dying. I choose the mystic’s path: escape the cycle, not by dying, but by ascending within, through the inner sound to Sach Khand, the true home (True Home). You think death’s the end? Then why does your heart ache for eternity? That ache is your soul’s memory, whispering of realms beyond your labs. Test it, skeptics—meditate, as I urged in Seeking God: Where To Seek Him, and find God not in the sky, but in your own depths.
You sneer at miracles, demanding proof. My thesis, Healings, Miracles and Faith, dove into this fire. Miracles aren’t magic tricks; they’re the soul’s alignment with truth, where the impossible bows to the eternal. I’ve seen healings—not in churches, but in the quiet of meditation, where faith moves mountains within. Buddhism may doubt miracles, but Advaita sees all as Brahman’s play. You want evidence? Look at your own existence—a universe birthed from nothing, a consciousness that questions itself. That’s the miracle, and you’re living it. Stop measuring, start marveling.
You judge the world, cloaked in rationality, but Judge Not taught me compassion trumps condemnation. You’re not my enemy, skeptics—you’re my kin, lost in the same maze I’ve navigated. Soul Convicts Wanted was my cry to souls like yours, yearning for freedom but shackled by doubt. I’ve walked through Creator Uses Trickle Down……’s cosmic hierarchy, Alone In The Universe’s solitude, and Ultimate Freedom’s liberation. Each step screamed: truth is within, not without. Taoism’s Wu Wei, Buddhism’s mindfulness, Jainism’s Ahimsa—they all echo this, urging you to flow with truth, not fight it.
So, skeptics, here’s my final challenge, sealed with John 1:1—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” That Word isn’t a Bible verse; it’s the sound current of Sant Mat, the Brahman of Advaita, the truth that’s been your birthright all along. You don’t need a “Sinner’s Prayer” to grovel—you need a rebel’s courage to seek within. I’ve offered you my odyssey, from Portage Lake’s pews to the eternal oasis. Take one step: sit in silence, ask “Who am I?” and listen. The maze will crack, time’s chains will fall, and you’ll find the truth that sets you free. Dare to try, or stay trapped forever. The choice is yours.
Jim Sutherland
