penscriber4life

New perspectives

2012-02-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

I went on the "College & Young Adult" retreat at CYFM this past weekend and came away with more than I could have imagined. Spending a weekend with college student & young adult Catholics and being provided with an open space to dialogue, listen and learn about the struggles with the church and our faith that Catholics of this age face, has sparked a glimmer of hope in me. I'll never forget the excitement on Ananda's face when I proposed my question for the "Open Space" discussion, about the church's role in seeking social justice vs. just providing charity. It's so inspiring to see others who care about the same issues I care about, from the same perspective of having being molded through the CYFM, Franciscan tradition.

This weekend helped me discern my identity a little bit more in a lot of ways. For one, it's strengthened my belief that I am first and foremost a lay Franciscan Catholic, if you will. This weekend has taught me that Catholics have plenty to teach the world about social justice, and that I shouldn't abandon the task of continuing to learn and share with the world about Catholic social justice teachings. And just because I can comfortably identify with the Capuchin, Christian community way of life, doesn't mean I can't also feel like I belong to a non-denominational church. Trinity Grace Church is the coming together of people of all walks of Christianity. And to me, it represents unity in the church. Which serves to satisfy my yearning for church unity until we can bring more unity to the larger church as a whole.

Liberation theology and horcruxes - a Church, divided

2011-03-27T22:08:00.000-07:00

I cried today in church. It takes a lot to bring me to tears; normally I am very good about handing things over to God so they do not stress me out. But what do you do when worship itself is what concerns you? When the very church which introduced you to Jesus Christ - the Roman Catholic church, the pinnacle of Christian liturgy and worship - does not practice fellowship and radical love and the act of bringing Heaven to Earth that is the very essence of the one whose life we are saying we should model ours after? "Jesus answered, 'Tear down this Temple, and in three days I will build it again'" (John 2:19). Jesus is not interested in architectural beauties and gold and shrines. He is much more interested in seeing his people - human temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19) - bring God's kingdom to Earth. The way to honor Jesus and the Father is to love our neighbors and ourselves. To be apostles, and call disciples by name.

There are approximately one billion Catholics in the world, and that's not to say anything about all of the non-Catholic Christians. If all of these Christians - or even just the ones that attend church on a regular basis - practiced the radical lifestyle which Jesus showed us, surely our world would be in a better place. True, Jesus understands that we are prone to sin and in fact died for our sins, but He did so in order that we could more fully live in Him. And to live in Christ means we must die to self. "Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). And how are we to "die to sin and live for righteousness"?

"He said to them all, 'If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me'" (Luke 9:23).

This implies a necessary deliberate denial of worldly desires on our part. It begs that we have what Gary Haugen in his book Good News About Injustice calls "compassion permanence: a courageous and generous capacity to remember the needs of an unjust world even when they are out of immediate sight." Jesus regards justice as one of the "really important teachings of the Law" (Matthew 23:23) and calls us to be his hands and feet on Earth, seeking justice in his name. In answer to the question of how God seeks justice for the oppressed when local officials are corrupt, Haugen comments, "Unless the work of seeking justice is a category of endeavor that is completely different from every other activity on earth that is important to God, the answer to the question has something to do with what God's people do or don't do. If you think about it, two truths apply to everything that God wants accomplished on Earth: (1) he could accomplish it on his own through supernatural power, but instead, (2) he chooses for the most part to limit himself to accomplishing that which he can achieve through the obedience of his people."

In order to follow Jesus, we must not live for ourselves but for God. We must choose to be his servants here on Earth. And in so doing we are making a conscious decision to let the Spirit guide us.

"I am telling you the truth," replied Jesus, "that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. A person is born physically of human parents, but is born spiritually of the Spirit. Do not be surprised because I tell you that you must all be born again" (John 3:5-7). Those who decide to take up the cross and follow Jesus do not regret their decision, for the Christian life is a very fulfilling one.

The term "liberation theology" has been coming up over and over again in my life recently, so I decided to look it up. And lo and behold, it seems to answer some of my questions about why seeking justice does not always go hand in hand with Christianity. Liberation theology is a grassroots movement which originated in Latin America in the 1950's-60's and helped bring Christianity to rural and marginalized sectors of society through the formation of "Christian base communities." It helped the poor (who are rich in Spirit) make sense of a world in which they were subjected to economic, political, and social injustices.

Then-Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) and the Vatican rejected the "Marxist-based" idea that class struggle is fundamental to history and ridiculed the liberation theology movement for focusing too much on the political dimension of social justice and seemingly disregarding other aspects of scripture. [He said, "to interpret the "poor" in the sense of the marxist dialectic of history, and 'taking sides with them' in the sense of the class struggle, is a wanton attempt to portray as identical things that are contrary." (What?)] Given the Catholic interpretation of original sin, Jesus's "preferential option for the poor," and the reality of economic, health, and other social disparities that have always existed in the world, it seems odd that the Vatican would reject the idea that class struggle is fundamental to history. Why else would we be called to follow in Jesus's footsteps in the present day, other than to continuously work to correct these injustices? And I find it surprising that "Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger stated that liberation theology has a major flaw in that it attempts to apply Christ's teaching on the sermon on the mount regarding the poor to present social situations" (Wikipedia).

If we aren't called to make Christ's teachings applicable to our current life situations, what good is scripture? Derek Murphy makes this point crystal clear in the first chapter of his book Jesus Potter, Harry Christ: "The task of each generation is to read the Bible through the fresh filter of its own experience."

As a public health and social justice activist living and working in the South Bronx, I am keenly aware of the injustices faced by "the least of these." And after a Faith-Rooted Organizing training held by NY Faith & Justice and having the good fortune of working for an organization that truly understands the importance of community-based participatory research (Bronx Health REACH), I also know that the poor are rich in spirit and that human capital is vastly underestimated. To not give credence to grassroots community mobilization - be it the Pope's incomplete embrace of liberation theology or the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's failure to invest in community solutions to public health by not supporting another generation of REACH - is to shortchange society's potential and cause more harm than good. Power to the people!

So, as a born 'n raised Catholic, now social justice activist who has familiarized myself with Franciscan and non-Catholic Christian sermons and worship styles, sitting in a predominantly Latino Catholic church in the South Bronx makes me keenly aware of all that the promise of Catholicism and Christianity has not done for God's people. And now that I know a little about the history of liberation theology, I cannot ignore this bit of historic turmoil within the Catholic church. Having experienced true Christian fellowship with both Franciscan Catholics and non-Catholic Christians, I can't imagine how one could walk with Jesus and not live in a "Christian base community," characteristic of the early church.

Which reminds me of my earliest thought in church this morning, and one that constantly burdens my heart - the divide of Christianity into denominations (or "seven churches" as described in Revelation). I admire Protestant/non-denominational sermons as much as I respect Catholic liturgy. There are gems of wisdom in each but it's still a divided body - as divided as Voldemort's soul which is split into seven horcruxes in the Harry Potter epic. Infinitely different than if unified. It's hard to figure out where I belong. Jesus Potter, Harry Christ indeed.

Gnostic Christianity YouTube Series

2009-08-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

chew on this

2009-07-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

A Christian is a person in whom and through whom Christ lives.

Pallottines

2009-06-16T19:16:00.001-07:00

I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. And last weekend when I went to the celebration of my pastor's 50 years of being a priest, I met the wonderful Pallottine, Sister Carmel Therese. I always knew there were a group of Pallottine sisters that lived down the road from me. But it wasn't until I just googled "Pallottine" that I had a better understanding of these followers. I related really well to Sister Carmel Therese, yet now realize it may be more than just her - I agree with the Society's aims in general. Please do read this page! And "Pallottine Spirituality" (under the Charism tab as well).

Thanks to God for introducing me to Sister Carmel Therese and the Pallottines :)

Faith-based health initiatives

2009-05-08T11:33:00.001-07:00

I am cross-posting this from my other blog. Fascinating.

Theologies of Sickness, Equality

I can't say that this isn't the way I already think, I just am not really into reinventing the wheel. Read this stuff, it's great.

God, help us reconcile your Church

2009-04-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

Just call me a Franciscan

Reader beware….else I might offend you. But I write with conviction regarding my experiences with the church and the people I’ve met so far in life.

I don’t have the 10 commandments memorized. Or know the life stories of the different people mentioned in the Bible. Or know who is who in the different statues and stained glass window paintings in church, or know the different saints. Or even know the order of the mass, really. But I’ve been going to church since childhood, and my faith is pretty strong. What sense does this make, you ask?

Going to church isn’t what made me follow the path of Jesus. It helped get me started – true. But that’s about it. I realize that God said, “Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth….Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the Lord your God.”¹ Then how does the Catholic church account for all of the statues and paintings and so on and so forth? When God spoke to St. Francis of Assisi and told him to destroy the church and that He would rebuild it in three days – to mean a Church not made of stone – why does the Christian religion insist on the importance of going to those buildings? Why did I learn how to put a dollar in the collection basket every week, but never learn to actually go out and give money to the poor firsthand? Why are there so many divisions in Christianity if division is precisely what Jesus didn’t want?

I spent an Easter weekend hearing my grandmother start an argument over politics, waking up Easter morning to hearing my cousins bicker over an ipod charger, participating in an Easter mass filled with lots of form prayer that deadens the soul, and having to wait for my uncle because he doesn’t attend church so showed up to brunch by himself later than the rest of us (okay, it wasn't that bad - it was still a good weekend. Those are just subtle things I noticed). I’m tired of this “Christianity” taught to us through religious education classes and monotonously similar weekly church services where a grand total of 15 seconds are allotted to interacting with your “neighbors.” I believe in community. Jesus never told us, “go and repeat this last meal I’m having with you on a weekly basis for all of eternity, until I come back (does anyone really expect Jesus to show up on their doorstep again some day…honestly?). Go and worship me in a building with lots of gold on the alter every week.” No, he never said that. As a matter of fact, he never preached anything like that, as far as I know (but then again, I don't have the Bible memorized. Hit me with your best shot). He came to teach us how to live, and showed us by example. He wanted us to live in loving community with one another. That’s all. Why the big ornate churches and highly scripted masses?

I really like CYFM. It’s where I first learned the meaning of community, and to follow in the way of St. Francis. (And FYI…Franciscans don’t quite follow with the ornate churches typical of Catholicism.) The Prayer of St. Francis has always held a special place in my heart, because it’s based on the Beatitudes², and the Beatitudes (or, as Dave Andrews calls them, the Be-Attitudes) hold a special place in my heart. The Prayer of St Francis goes like this:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Dave Andrews relates the Be-Attitudes to the well-known maxim coined by Gandhi, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Someday, I’d like to live in community in the ways described by Shane Claiborne and Dave Andrews. In an "intentional community," such as The Simply Way or the life lived by Dave Andrews, members not only interact with community, but are a part of the community; this is what makes Jesus come alive every day. These communities value loving those who need it most, coming to decisions as a group after everyone’s had a say, and living in a non-materialistic society where everyone appreciates the Earth that God’s given us and sees being a steward of the Earth as his or her responsibility. They value people’s health and know that food comes from the ground. And everyone watches out for others and thinks of ways to improve the lives of others. Then, these positive messages are taught to the children.

I find it unfortunate that most of us did not grow up with this mindset, but instead must really work at it if we really want to live the way Jesus called us to. Instead, our society cedes to the whims of corporations interested making money and therefore dowsing our food in chemicals and then packaging it up in stuff that taints our food with yet more chemicals and then winds up in landfills and oceans, whereby it kills lots of plants and animals. Instead, we send our children to schools that have contracted with these companies to sell junk (not food) from vending machines (and lunch lines, for that matter), and that don’t give kids enough time for physical education and recess.

Instead, we’ve done precisely what Jesus didn’t want us to do – leave God in a structure which we call the church. Divide this church up into little pieces which we call denominations and orders. Get into arguments about which sect is the right one to be a part of, or fight about which religion is the better one to follow. Accept religion as the way to follow God, without even thinking that religion might just as well as be a culture, and not a way to follow God at all.

With that said, while I’m still living at home I’ll continue to go to the Catholic church I’ve grown up in since moving to this town 10 years ago, because deciding not to go to church would divide me from my family (not to mention many others who I’ve met through churches and are dear to my heart). But I’ve pretty much stopped going to regular mass with my parents. Instead, I’ve been going to the Spanish mass at my church, where the choir is my family and the congregation is my community, and where I’m united with them through the love of Christ, not commonality of ethnicity or fluency of language [I may know Spanish, but I never claimed to be as fluent as natives]. And in the Spanish mass, the pastor actually speaks with the native Mexican people during the homily (not at them), and the mass as a whole just feels more right. Community should come first, and then praising God in a service – whether it be through rituals or some other method. If community doesn’t come first, God’s message is lost anyway.

References (sorry…the academic mindset is forever ingrained in me)

1. Exodus 20:4-5

2. Matthew 5:3-12

Books that came to mind when writing this that I’ve read:

1 Corinthians 11:24-31

The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne

The Jesus Mysteries by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy

Books that came to mind when writing this that I haven’t actually read yet but would like to:

God’s Politics by Jim Wallis

The Myth of a Christian Nation: How the Quest for Political Power is Destroying the Church by Gregory Boyd

Plan Be by Dave Andrews

Christi-Anarchy by Dave Andrews

Not Religion, but Love – Practicing a Radical Spirituality of Compassion by Dave Andrews

God is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith is Changing the World by John Micklethwait

Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola

The Gospel of Inclusion by Carlton Pearson

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Tim Keller

Secrets from the Lost Bible by Kenneth Hanson

The Power of Intention by Wayne Dyer

The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty by Peter Singer

Books that I've read since writing this:

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne

Evangelical ≠ Republican…or Democrat by Lisa Sharon Harper

The Radical Disciple by John Stott

http://www.mellen-thomas.com/stories.htm

2008-04-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

By far, the best description of life/death/the universe.

http://www.mellen-thomas.com/stories.htm

Couldn't have said it better myself.

gnosis.org

2008-01-21T16:45:00.000-08:00

"The Gnostic Church is a Christian church and considers itself as a part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Ecclesia founded by the Logos and His apostles."
-http://www.gnosis.org/ecclesia/lectionintro.htm

Just putting it out there.

"I want the truth." "You can't handle the truth!"

2007-12-18T18:46:00.000-08:00

It seems as though I was not far off the mark last January when I wrote the post about jivanmukti. Jivanmukti, it seems, is the same as the Gnostic initation with fire of the Inner Mysteries. What is this, you ask? Feb. 1, 2007, I came to the realization that Gnosticism describes my ideas on God. And this was before even reading The Jesus Mysteries by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy. Freke and Gandy say that if you believe in gnosticism, you intrinsically will have respect for all other religions, which I can see very plainly now after having read a little about Gnosticism and the Pagan Mysteries.

I cannot do justice to this thoroughly-researched text in this blog, but I will try to summarize:
There were once upon a time the Pagan Mysteries. Each culture had their unique names for their characters (Osiris, Dionysus, Attis, Mithras) and a few different traditional beliefs, but they were all essentially the same. The Jews were not excluded - the "Gnostics" had a name for this mythical figure; they called him Jesus. All of these cultures taught the Outer Mysteries and the Inner Mysteries. Because of obliteration of many Pagan and Gnostic works (including by way of many forged documents that appear as part of the canonical New Testament today), the eradication of Gnosticism by the Roman Empire around the 4th century C.E., and the fact that the Gnostic gospels at Nag Hammadi were not found until a few decades ago - only the Outer Mysteries survived time and have become Literalist Christianity - what the world today considers Chrisitanity. People today consider the works in the New Testament to refer to a real man named Jesus, but Freke and Gandy's research reveals that the gospel writers wrote several different gospels - for people at different stages of initiation into the Mysteries. The gospels that got published by the Church were meant to be for beginners who had not been initiated yet; other gospels (such as The Secret Gospel of Mark found at Nag Hammadi) were meant for those who had passed the first stage of initiation. The Inner Mysteries reveal that the story of Jesus is a myth and that the Truths that "Jesus teaches" are that humans are made of 2 parts: the eidolon (the Lower Self) and the Daemon (the Higher Self). There are 3 baptisms associated with the initiation: (1) by water, which represents the change from identifying solely with the body to with the personality or psyche; (2) by air, which represents identifying with the Higher Self; and (3) by fire, which represents true Gnosis, or learning of "their true identity as the Universal Daemon, the Logos, the Christ within, the 'Light-power'." (see Matthew 3:11 where John the Baptist says "But He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to take off or carry; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.") Those who do not reach true Gnosis will be reborn again and live another life (after "drinking the cup of forgetfulness"), but the souls who reach true Gnosis will be freed from the "tomb" of the body.

As you can see, this fits well with many different religions - The Jesus Mysteries makes references to Hinduism and Buddhism - for, after all, "Buddha" means "Knower" - the same as "Gnosis." Also there are many "motifs" that overlap between the different religions: the fact that there is only one God, even though sometimes His different facets may be misinterpreted as polytheism (the Trinity in Christianity & the Greek "gods"); in Hinduism, that the Higher Self (Atman) is the same as the Supreme Spirit (Brahman); reincarnation; and the concept of "The Way" (Christ: "I am the way, the truth and the Life", and Buddhism); - and I'm sure there are many more similarities. Not to mention that virtually all of the Mediterranean cultures accepted the "Osiris-Dionysus" myth.

And what of the ancient Greek sages? Pythagoras coined the term "philosophy" - literally, love of Sophia, with Sophia representing the "Holy Spirit" (the "lost goddess") - the one whom Mary Magdalene represents. Along with Pythagoras, there were Socrates and Plato and many others. They were all extremely gifted, and is it a coincidence that they were all Greek sages, initiates into the Mysteries who had many followers? I think not. Rather, it was because they had achieved the Gnosis that they themselves were part God and therefore had the ability to do anything. ("I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13) - sound familiar?)

Then there is also the fact that I came to many of these conclusions myself without even knowing they came from the Pagan Mysteries. What should I make of that? Perhaps that I was an initiate of some degree in a previous life and somehow was in touch with my Higher Self? That must be what makes me intelligent and willing to use that intelligence for the Greater Good - something I have in common with Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato. And, if Jesus did exist in the same way as He's described in the Bible (even though it is unclear if the evidence supports it), this must have been the case for him too - he would have been an initiate of the Pagan Mysteries in a previous life and came back to teach the Divine Wisdom he had learned.

Do you have a better explanation? If you do I'd love to hear it.

Prayer

2007-08-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

Amy's priest last week told us a story about a little girl with leukemia he went to visit in the hospital. "Do you pray?", he asked her. "Sometimes I pray. Sometimes I just say my prayers."

This is a really powerful statement and my biggest pet peeve about the Catholic church. We focus so much on form prayer and it leaves little room for actually praying and thinking about what the gospels and readings are saying.

Why to admire Haleola

2007-06-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

- Good quotes/exerpts from "Moloka'i" -

1. (p. 71)

"My husband is very sick."

"I know," Damien acknowledged. "Would he...like to receive the sacraments?"

"We are not Christian."

"It's never too late to come to God. I can baptize him now, before..."

"No, thank you," Haleola said coldly.

The priest took a step inside. His tone grew more emboldened. "For your husband's sake, consider. Would you deprive him of the joys of heaven?"

Haleola ignored him. Damien's tone became harsher. "Would you condemn him to everlasting perdition?" he asked. "A moment in hell contains a thousand tortures. Is that what you want for your husband - eternal torment? Because make no mistake," and here his voice fairly boomed, "that is precisely what awaits him if he dies a sinner!"

Something cold and angry broke loose inside Haleola.

"My husband is a good man!" she cried, as vehemently as Damien. "An honest, loving, decent man! He gave me three beautiful sons - sheltered us with his tenderness - never let us go hungry or homeless! And now you tell me he's a 'sinner,' that he's going to burn in some fiery place forever, you dare to tell me that?

"If that is your God, Father Kamiano, your Jehovah, who would condemn a kind and tender man to hell for the sin of not believing in him - then I shall follow my Keo to hell, as I followed him to this one, and together we spit on your God and his heaven!"

She spat enthusiastically at his feet, and for once in his clerical life Damien was speechless.

(I hope you will agree with me when I say this is what not to do as a Christian....or Catholic, at that.)

2. (p. 180)

"Auntie? Do you...still believe in the old gods? Are they still real to you?"

Haleola seemed surprised, even amused, by the question. "Aouli," she said, "is a daughter 'born from the brain' of her mother any less believable than a virgin who gives birth to the Son of God?"

"That wasn't what I asked."

"I know." Haleola stood, a bit shakily, and signed. "I wish that I had been born fifty years before I was," she said. "Before the kapus were overthrown. When things were more certain. All my life I've lived in two worlds - the world my mother raised me to believe in, and the world around me. As a healer I was taught that sickness came from the soul, from a person's past actions and state of mind. Yet I've seen with my own eyes the tiny creatures that live in our blood, the 'microbes' that supposedly make us sick. Which do I believe? Maybe both."

Another argument for We Are All One

2007-06-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. ~John 14: 20

Time article

2007-05-31T17:58:00.001-07:00

I don't know how long this link will be available for but here's a good article "Why We Should Teach the Bible in Public School" http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1601845,00.html
Time - April 2, 2007 p. 40-46 (cover story)

Wow I decided to post this before I had even read the article to completion...let me just say it gives a lot of validation to my decision to go to Dr. Fox's World Religions class and to post my thoughts on it on this blog. Christianity is the root of our civilization and its influence can be seen in many Western movies (which I didn't even realize) as well as in other religions ("'The Golden Rule remix!'").

PERFECT quote

2007-04-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

"No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." ~1 John 4:12

Jesus = God

2007-04-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

I put this in the "About me" section of Facebook about a week ago after the InterVarsity video, but I'm taking it down because it does not do service to who Jesus is. I'm gonna go back to not trying to validate my actions to other people, it's better that way. God is the only one who needs to know the things I do and that I do it all for him. It should be sufficient that I finally decided to add my Religious Views as "Christian." And if that strikes anyone because I have been "Catholic" all my life and I still go to the Oratory and yet find the need to write Christian instead of Catholic, so be it. We are all one in Christ. And the Christians did something to me this weekend that I cannot explain and have never witnessed before, not even on the over-a-dozen other (Catholic) retreats I've been on. It could be that I just wasn't listening all those other times, but either way there is NO way all those people are just delusional. Jesus is God.

Jesus came to earth to teach us how to live. How to live an abundant, fulfilling life of humility, love, and service to others. Our time here on earth is a gift, and I try to make the most of every moment of it. I believe there are undoubtedly other ways of learning to live morally than by listening to the word of Jesus, but it is still all the word of Jesus. There are plenty of non-Christians who display this behavior and are in tune with the song of life of the living God who is alive in all of us. I just try to be in tune.

I learned a term for what I believe in!

2007-02-01T08:59:00.000-08:00

"We are one body, one body in Christ." How does that seem to suggest anything other than gnostic Christianity?? More on this later...

jivanmukti

2007-01-16T08:36:00.000-08:00

What I would like to do in this blog is come up with one universal explanation of the greater forces of life. There is a LOT to consider and things may not seem to flow very smoothly, but eventually I want to touch on as many different aspects as possible. (Note: these are my views and opinions after having sat through World Religions with Dr. Fox, not necessarily his views.) Have fun on the journey.

What does it mean to "believe in God"? I think everyone has their own idea of what they mean by this phrase. There are tons of different religions out there, and even more sects of each, and there is so much debate about who is right and who is wrong. Call it deitocentrism, if you will. But really, they are all just manifestations of one Great Spirit, one True Self. Every religion has its rituals and rites of passage etc etc, and each one has its own myth. Its own metaphor. The concept of the Holy Trinity is just as much a metaphor as Krishna. Some religions have avatars - human incarnations of God: Jesus and Krishna are two examples. Diverse peoples developed their own cultures and their own stories of the creation, their own concept of the meaning of life.

Well, it happened this way. The beginning came. The first cosmogony, the creation. There was one True Self. Then somehow, it became physically manifest. Earth was created, and eventually life began. And with the advent of life, karma was created. Karma is a selfish type of action that is self-propagating, and leads to more karma. More action for the good of the illusory self, the self that thinks it is a distinction from the others. (This is to be distinguished from the true self and knowing that there is only one true self.) And so life moves on, speciation happens, and eventually greedy people come into being. Materialistic people. People who think they don't have it all, and who will never have it all because there is nothing to "have" in the first place. It is all just an illusion. And to realize this, to become one with nature and non-materialistic, to practice yoga for the good of the True Self, brings you that much closer to nirvana.

So, life is just one of many journeys, one of many incarnations. It is an opportunity to become closer to nirvana - that is, closer to the end. If that sounds too pessimistic, think of it this way: closer to the end of the illusion. Closer to being one with God, the True Self. That is the true paradise and Heaven. And when I say "Heaven," I take it to mean having your spirit - your jiva, energy, chi, ha, prana - released into the air. And this is what I consider the Holy Spirit: the energy that is released into our surroundings. That is what it means to me to "meet God." To become one with the Universe, to realize we are all the True Self.

I believe happiness on Earth can only be achieved by realizing this while in human form. To do this is essentially to have achieved nirvana while being alive. To acknowledge that we are all one True Self and that we will become closer to that one True Self at the death of this reality of each individual's selfish illusion while our jiva is incarnated as human. (Jivanmukti - to be liberated while alive.) Once this realization occurs, we can be much more open to being one with nature and to lending a hand to others, because we can realize that it is all for the good of ourselves. That is why "what goes around, comes around," why we should do our dharma (duty), be nice to others, treat others as we would treat ourselves. The teachings of every religion coincide, once you start to think about it.

A special thanks to Dr. Alan Fox for letting me sit in on his class.