Namashkar!How can we identify God’s voice from the one which is guided by ego? At tims it is difficult to tell them apart.
—Nina, India
This is a very good, and important, question. We need to have guidelines that help us understand what we are listening to inwardly. Not all inner voices and sounds will take us deeper spiritually.
The Divine voice is heard inwardly primarily as AUM, the cosmic sound or vibration of the universe. To commune with this sound gives us a way of comparing other sounds or voices we may hear inwardly. Because the sound of AUM is the vibration of the entire universe, it is a sound that is deeply inspiring to hear, and can give us a sense of “home” in the deepest way possible. When hearing or feeling it, we then can hold our thoughts, ideas, or sounds up to it in meditation, and compare the vibrations.
Vibrations that are disharmonious and downward pulling on our consciousness become easier to distinguish from those that are inspiring, uplifting and expansive. I think in this way you will find it becoming clearer as to what is from God and what is not.
It also becomes easier to tell the inner sounds or voices apart as we become less attached to our own egos. The more attached we are to ourselves as being separate from the Divine, then the more difficult it will be to hear God’s voice clearly.
The question can even arise, “Do we really want to hear that Divine voice?” And why would that question arise? Because what the Divine voice imparts to us will be a challenge to our present, egoic reality. As we become tired of that reality, and of listening to the ego with its constant reminders of how separate and small we are, then we begin to want to hear the Divine voice more clearly. In fact, as we go deeper in meditation, the vibration of this voice of God is what calls us to go more and more deeply within.
As a further resource, I would recommend the newly released book, AUM: The Melody of Love, by Joseph Bharat Cornell. Bharat is a Kriyacharya and long-time member of Ananda. You can find out more about this book at the Crystal Clarity Publishers website. Unfortunately, this book is not published in India at present.
