"I and the Father are one."

At the heart of the cyclone tearing the sky
And flinging the clouds and the towers by
Is a place of central calm:
So here in the roar of mortal things,
I have a place where my spirit sings,
In the hollow of God’s Palm.
— Edwin Markham.

 Edwin Markham in this single stanza rephrases the words of Jesus of Nazareth who was asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God will arrive to which he replied, "Neither say lo here! Or lo there! for behold the Kingdom of God is within you! When we look at the life of Jesus through any of the four gospels the emphasis is always placed on the inner life on His connection with God, and prayer. In the gospel of Matthew we can read: "Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there." (Matthew 14:22-2) And in the gospel of Luke: "But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering together to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses. Yet Jesus himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed."

Real prayer is communion with God, contemplative prayer, non-discursive prayer, meditation - all genuine seeking leads to the one road and the one destination. Ralph Waldo Trine wrote: "This Spirit of Infinite Life and Power that is behind all is what I call God. I care not what term you may use, be it Kindly Light, Providence, or the Over Soul, Omnipotence, or whatever term may be more convenient. I care not what the term may be as long as agreed in regard to the great central fact itself." 

This one essential point, this central fact is the basis of all religion the etymology or the root meaning of the word 'religion' is to reconnect to God or to bind to God. The goal in life as the founder of Transcendental Meditation the  Maharishi Mahesh Yoga would have it is to attain enlightenment or to put it another way the object of the spiritual life is to achieve union with God. This is why Jesus who had achieved this exalted state could say, "I am not alone, because the Father is with me."(John 16:32) or "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30) we are all offered this great gift.