Posts
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The world is a highly complex and interwoven place of so many currents that, at times, even the greatest mystics are bewildered by it all. To "uncross the t's" and "undot the i's" of the universe, to break everything down into comprehensible bits and pieces, is only one way of explaining the vastness and complexity of the cosmos. Another, equally valid, is by intuitive grasp. But even this process, as reliable as it can be, might be affected by wishes, expectations, and overlays. You simply cannot have any understanding without mind, but that very mind can alter things, so we are caught in a conundrum from which none of us is ever completely free, however objective we might truly want to be. So, we all live in a personal cosmos highly colored by the tints and hues of biology and background. In our many spectra of attempted explanations, we traverse many colors, some of them quite bright, and many beautiful.
In the final analysis, the most is also the best that we can do: Embrace the cosmos of our understanding, in Love, and live within the heavens and hells that we create within personal minds. (The more that we decide, and the more things and people, that we Love, the greater the heaven; and the more that we decide to hate, reject, or dislike, the greater is our interior hell.) And so, the cosmos ticks on, with mind penetrating every atom, interwoven with reality, being Reality Itself.
The great Wheel of Time has turned yet again, and Christmas again approaches. So, please allow me to be the very first to wish you a very happy Christmas; may the celebration of the Season of Love sink deeply within all of us, saturating and immersing us all in purest Love, making us both holy and healed.
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Showing posts with label hell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hell. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Sunday, February 03, 2008
The Sermon on the Mount, Part XI of XL
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TEXT: Continuing with Matthew 5:
COMMENTARY: Again, Jesus uses the very dramatic metaphor of "hell"
to describe a horrific state of mind or being. He knew that karma could create many kinds of hell. He was not speaking literally, for he spoke of a "body" going to hell. (The traditional hell is a place for souls only, not for bodies.) But human bodies are deeply intertwined with karma.
Very few disciples ever plucked out an eye because they did not like what they saw! And Jesus, being a gentle moderate, would never encourage such extremist fanaticism. But Jesus wanted to be dramatic, even unforgettable! And this verse does imply strongly that spirituality, with its karma, is much more important than even an eye!
And that is pretty precious! We should all value our spirituality as much as we value our eyes! And we need to prove that we do by investing our time in spiritual learning and action!
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TEXT: Continuing with Matthew 5:
29. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
COMMENTARY: Again, Jesus uses the very dramatic metaphor of "hell"
to describe a horrific state of mind or being. He knew that karma could create many kinds of hell. He was not speaking literally, for he spoke of a "body" going to hell. (The traditional hell is a place for souls only, not for bodies.) But human bodies are deeply intertwined with karma.
Very few disciples ever plucked out an eye because they did not like what they saw! And Jesus, being a gentle moderate, would never encourage such extremist fanaticism. But Jesus wanted to be dramatic, even unforgettable! And this verse does imply strongly that spirituality, with its karma, is much more important than even an eye!
And that is pretty precious! We should all value our spirituality as much as we value our eyes! And we need to prove that we do by investing our time in spiritual learning and action!
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Monday, October 29, 2007
Polybiography and "hell" in the Scriptures
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Paul set forth a cosmic principle at Galatians 6:7, when he said, "Whatsoever a man sows, that he must also reap." On earth, in agriculture, you cannot plant beans and get corn. You do not plant acorns and get apple-trees. There is a direct cause-and-effect sequence in nature. Like causes like, and this law cannot be violated.
Paul is suggesting that, in the moral or spiritual universe, there also exists this same cause-and-effect sequence. Goodness produces goodness, and evil, evil. But the problem is, this principle does not work onearth. On earth, the good often suffer, and the evil often enjoy great "blessings." So, since Paul was not talking about the earth and our lives here, he must have been discussing a larger, or cosmic, principle.
He was. For this simple statement is pregnant with profound meaning. For in this simple sentence, he summarized the entire Law of Karma, with all its millions of variations and other complexities.
It is not mere coincidence that he stated the law of karma. In his time, and it is still true today, most of the population of our world believed in "polybiography," or reincarnation. (Many times, people are turned off by this word, and so, we can also use the other word, "polybiography," to mean the exact same thing.)
Either what Paul said was true, or it was false. Paul was a wise, smart, even inspired, man of God. I believe that what he wrote was truth, even though it is not true in our visible, physical world. For it is a spiritual truth. There is no larger explanation of the sowing-reaping principle than the law of karma.
Besides, there is some evidence, as from the ancient Nag Hammadi Library, that almost all early Christians believed; they taught that Jesus taught polybiography.
Right before stating the karmic principle, Paul gave this warning, in the same verse: "Do not be misled." What factors must we beware of, that could "mislead" us? The entire material, visible world does not itself "prove" polybiography, as it is a spiritual, not a physical, principle. So, it is the entire material world against which we are being warned, lest it "mislead" us.
Paul follows this by a second warning: "God is not to be mocked." This means that many people would like to believe that they can "get away with" harmful behavior, and somehow "God will not notice." But this is "mocking" God. For nothing can ever escape God's notice. In other words,the rule of karma is perfect; it perfectly matches every deliberate word, action, and thought.
Where does forgiveness enter? Anything that is a true mistake, a genuine error, an imperfection, or an action which lacks understanding, does not create any karma. Karma is created by only those actions that are deliberate, voluntary, and willful. So, all true mistakes are forgiven, but all purposeful actions do create karma.
Polybiography was a very common belief in Jesus' day, among even the Jews. This is proved by John 1:21, where the people mistook Jesus for either "Elijah" or "the prophet." So, it was a common misunderstanding to see an especially blessed person as the possible reincarnation or rebirth of Elijah or another respected prophet.
But the Christian Scriptures, although denying that Jesus was Elijah, did say that Elijah had returned, in the body of John the Baptizer. In Luke 1:17, it was prophesied that he would have the "spirit and power of Elijah." So, John had the Soul of the ancient prophet. Jesus and his disciples fully believed this, and took it for granted. In Matthew 11:14, Jesus confirmed that John was in fact Elijah.
Jesus was a mystery to the public. When he asked his disciples what people were saying about him, they said, "Some people think that you are John the Baptizer, Jeremiah or Elijah or another of the [great, historical] prophets." (Mt. 16:14) So, the people all around them were believing in polybiography. This makes it even more likely that Jesus and the disciples also accepted it.
In the Jewish Bible, there is at least one crystal-clear reference to Polybiography. The character named "Job," the text says, was an "Asian." As an Asian, he was likely influenced by beliefs similar to polybiography, which by even his time were ancient already. It was Job who said the mysterious words, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there." This clear statement is found at Job 1:21.
The fact that Jesus and his disciples believed in polybiography is proved by the text of John 9:1, 2:"He saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 'Master, who sinned, this man, or his parents, so that he was born blind?'" This proves that the man could have "sinned" before birth. It also proves that, in some cases, problems such as blindness can arise from previous activities, even before you are born. In this case, the man had not "sinned" at all, but was born blind in order to bring glory to God, Jesus explained. But the very fact that the disciples thought that perhaps the man had sinned before he was born is yet another clear statement of karma; for without karma, that question could have made no sense whatsoever.
Re hell: Let us not forget the matrix-principle underlying all enlightenment, and that is, "God is Love." (1 Jn. 4:8,16) If God is Love, then he, like Jesus, is a fountain of the richest forgiveness. This occurs, not because we are good, but because God is good; it all occurs because of grace.
A God of Love and forgiveness would never fry a person for ten billion billion years because she "messed up" a single tiny life on earth. It is a principle of all legal justice that the punishment should fit the crime-- or, in this case, the "sin." So, in order to be punished forever, a person would have to have sinned forever. And no one can ever sin forever.
An eternal hellfire is not taught anywhere in the Scriptures. You cannot, for example, "prove" the literal existence of hellfire by the use of a parable, such as the one at Luke 16:23. For a parable is, by its very nature and definition, symbolic: Situations symbolize or represent other situations.
For the same reason, you cannot use the Book of Revelation to prove anything literal, for the entire book is a book of symbols.
Notice how silly it would be to use literalism to understand Revelation 20:14, where it says that "hell [the lake of fire] was cast into the lake of fire." Does this mean that hell goes to hell,and that hell is tormented forever? This is what you must believe if you think that hell is a literal reference.
And the traditional "hell" is for only the bad people. Yet the text of the Christian Scriptures imply that Jesus also went there: Acts 2:27 says, "You will not leave my Soul in hell, or allow your loyal one to see corruption." And in 2:31, it says that "christ" was not "forsaken in hell." This kind of "forsaking" implies that he was already there.
Spiritually, "hell" is a mental state in which you believe that you are separated from Love, and "Christ" comes to this "hell" to rescue those who seem stuck there.
There are yet many more texts that have not been considered here, but these are the ones that truly stand out. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to write or call [the number here is (513-)737-LOVE (5683).]
*******
Paul set forth a cosmic principle at Galatians 6:7, when he said, "Whatsoever a man sows, that he must also reap." On earth, in agriculture, you cannot plant beans and get corn. You do not plant acorns and get apple-trees. There is a direct cause-and-effect sequence in nature. Like causes like, and this law cannot be violated.
Paul is suggesting that, in the moral or spiritual universe, there also exists this same cause-and-effect sequence. Goodness produces goodness, and evil, evil. But the problem is, this principle does not work onearth. On earth, the good often suffer, and the evil often enjoy great "blessings." So, since Paul was not talking about the earth and our lives here, he must have been discussing a larger, or cosmic, principle.
He was. For this simple statement is pregnant with profound meaning. For in this simple sentence, he summarized the entire Law of Karma, with all its millions of variations and other complexities.
It is not mere coincidence that he stated the law of karma. In his time, and it is still true today, most of the population of our world believed in "polybiography," or reincarnation. (Many times, people are turned off by this word, and so, we can also use the other word, "polybiography," to mean the exact same thing.)
Either what Paul said was true, or it was false. Paul was a wise, smart, even inspired, man of God. I believe that what he wrote was truth, even though it is not true in our visible, physical world. For it is a spiritual truth. There is no larger explanation of the sowing-reaping principle than the law of karma.
Besides, there is some evidence, as from the ancient Nag Hammadi Library, that almost all early Christians believed; they taught that Jesus taught polybiography.
Right before stating the karmic principle, Paul gave this warning, in the same verse: "Do not be misled." What factors must we beware of, that could "mislead" us? The entire material, visible world does not itself "prove" polybiography, as it is a spiritual, not a physical, principle. So, it is the entire material world against which we are being warned, lest it "mislead" us.
Paul follows this by a second warning: "God is not to be mocked." This means that many people would like to believe that they can "get away with" harmful behavior, and somehow "God will not notice." But this is "mocking" God. For nothing can ever escape God's notice. In other words,the rule of karma is perfect; it perfectly matches every deliberate word, action, and thought.
Where does forgiveness enter? Anything that is a true mistake, a genuine error, an imperfection, or an action which lacks understanding, does not create any karma. Karma is created by only those actions that are deliberate, voluntary, and willful. So, all true mistakes are forgiven, but all purposeful actions do create karma.
Polybiography was a very common belief in Jesus' day, among even the Jews. This is proved by John 1:21, where the people mistook Jesus for either "Elijah" or "the prophet." So, it was a common misunderstanding to see an especially blessed person as the possible reincarnation or rebirth of Elijah or another respected prophet.
But the Christian Scriptures, although denying that Jesus was Elijah, did say that Elijah had returned, in the body of John the Baptizer. In Luke 1:17, it was prophesied that he would have the "spirit and power of Elijah." So, John had the Soul of the ancient prophet. Jesus and his disciples fully believed this, and took it for granted. In Matthew 11:14, Jesus confirmed that John was in fact Elijah.
Jesus was a mystery to the public. When he asked his disciples what people were saying about him, they said, "Some people think that you are John the Baptizer, Jeremiah or Elijah or another of the [great, historical] prophets." (Mt. 16:14) So, the people all around them were believing in polybiography. This makes it even more likely that Jesus and the disciples also accepted it.
In the Jewish Bible, there is at least one crystal-clear reference to Polybiography. The character named "Job," the text says, was an "Asian." As an Asian, he was likely influenced by beliefs similar to polybiography, which by even his time were ancient already. It was Job who said the mysterious words, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there." This clear statement is found at Job 1:21.
The fact that Jesus and his disciples believed in polybiography is proved by the text of John 9:1, 2:"He saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 'Master, who sinned, this man, or his parents, so that he was born blind?'" This proves that the man could have "sinned" before birth. It also proves that, in some cases, problems such as blindness can arise from previous activities, even before you are born. In this case, the man had not "sinned" at all, but was born blind in order to bring glory to God, Jesus explained. But the very fact that the disciples thought that perhaps the man had sinned before he was born is yet another clear statement of karma; for without karma, that question could have made no sense whatsoever.
Re hell: Let us not forget the matrix-principle underlying all enlightenment, and that is, "God is Love." (1 Jn. 4:8,16) If God is Love, then he, like Jesus, is a fountain of the richest forgiveness. This occurs, not because we are good, but because God is good; it all occurs because of grace.
A God of Love and forgiveness would never fry a person for ten billion billion years because she "messed up" a single tiny life on earth. It is a principle of all legal justice that the punishment should fit the crime-- or, in this case, the "sin." So, in order to be punished forever, a person would have to have sinned forever. And no one can ever sin forever.
An eternal hellfire is not taught anywhere in the Scriptures. You cannot, for example, "prove" the literal existence of hellfire by the use of a parable, such as the one at Luke 16:23. For a parable is, by its very nature and definition, symbolic: Situations symbolize or represent other situations.
For the same reason, you cannot use the Book of Revelation to prove anything literal, for the entire book is a book of symbols.
Notice how silly it would be to use literalism to understand Revelation 20:14, where it says that "hell [the lake of fire] was cast into the lake of fire." Does this mean that hell goes to hell,and that hell is tormented forever? This is what you must believe if you think that hell is a literal reference.
And the traditional "hell" is for only the bad people. Yet the text of the Christian Scriptures imply that Jesus also went there: Acts 2:27 says, "You will not leave my Soul in hell, or allow your loyal one to see corruption." And in 2:31, it says that "christ" was not "forsaken in hell." This kind of "forsaking" implies that he was already there.
Spiritually, "hell" is a mental state in which you believe that you are separated from Love, and "Christ" comes to this "hell" to rescue those who seem stuck there.
There are yet many more texts that have not been considered here, but these are the ones that truly stand out. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to write or call [the number here is (513-)737-LOVE (5683).]
*******
Saturday, August 25, 2007
"Purgatory" and "Hell"
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I believe that, in the history of religion, both "hell" and "purgatory" were symbolic terms concerning eternal life after death. Both concerned states or conditions experienced here on earth.
To simplify the complex literature, both "hell" and "purgatory" contain suffering. In fact, both conditions might contain the exact same suffering. But "purgatory" originates with a word that means "purification." So, in the condition of "purgatory," you are making real progress, both mental and spiritual. Purgatory improves people.
"Hell" does not necessarily improve a person. It is recognized as suffering due to negative karma. The person suffers, but does not know why. She knows why only after enlightenment. When a person knows why she is suffering, this transforms her state from one of "hell" to one of "purgatory."
For only when we understand why we suffer does suffering have a purifying effect on our Souls. So, hell and purgatory might be exactly the same conditions; the difference lies in the one suffering, in her awareness, knowledge, understanding, or wisdom.
An enlightened being is never so careless as to end up in hell. But purgatorial states are common on earth for both enlightened and some unenlightened people.
The very old tradition teaches that a Soul can be "prayed out" of purgatory. This superstition evolved from the awareness that total escape from purgatory was possible by discovering Union through communication with God (interior Love). For Love ultimately liberates us all from all suffering-- including all "hell" states and "purgatory" states.
We all suffer on earth. The wise are called upon to understand why suffering exists, to understand karma and universal justice, for Godmind is always just and never unjust. This realization alone, deeply felt, can liberate from hell and move a person into purgatory. With further study, work, Love, and yielding to the divine will, a person is moved, in time, from "purgatory" into "heaven" (bliss, joy, or ecstasy). This is, in the final analysis, an act of God (Love), and not anything that we "do." This is "salvation," and originates with only grace, although we can make our lives more beautiful by cooperating with the calling of Love.
This movement in Mind, from purgatory to heaven, is enlightenment. It is also called "liberation" and "salvation."
*******
I believe that, in the history of religion, both "hell" and "purgatory" were symbolic terms concerning eternal life after death. Both concerned states or conditions experienced here on earth.
To simplify the complex literature, both "hell" and "purgatory" contain suffering. In fact, both conditions might contain the exact same suffering. But "purgatory" originates with a word that means "purification." So, in the condition of "purgatory," you are making real progress, both mental and spiritual. Purgatory improves people.
"Hell" does not necessarily improve a person. It is recognized as suffering due to negative karma. The person suffers, but does not know why. She knows why only after enlightenment. When a person knows why she is suffering, this transforms her state from one of "hell" to one of "purgatory."
For only when we understand why we suffer does suffering have a purifying effect on our Souls. So, hell and purgatory might be exactly the same conditions; the difference lies in the one suffering, in her awareness, knowledge, understanding, or wisdom.
An enlightened being is never so careless as to end up in hell. But purgatorial states are common on earth for both enlightened and some unenlightened people.
The very old tradition teaches that a Soul can be "prayed out" of purgatory. This superstition evolved from the awareness that total escape from purgatory was possible by discovering Union through communication with God (interior Love). For Love ultimately liberates us all from all suffering-- including all "hell" states and "purgatory" states.
We all suffer on earth. The wise are called upon to understand why suffering exists, to understand karma and universal justice, for Godmind is always just and never unjust. This realization alone, deeply felt, can liberate from hell and move a person into purgatory. With further study, work, Love, and yielding to the divine will, a person is moved, in time, from "purgatory" into "heaven" (bliss, joy, or ecstasy). This is, in the final analysis, an act of God (Love), and not anything that we "do." This is "salvation," and originates with only grace, although we can make our lives more beautiful by cooperating with the calling of Love.
This movement in Mind, from purgatory to heaven, is enlightenment. It is also called "liberation" and "salvation."
*******
Sunday, July 22, 2007
"Depart!"
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When, in the parable, the Lord says, "Depart from Me, workers of iniquity! I never knew you!" he is not discussing eternal damnation. Instead, he is talking about the review of a single life.
In any given life, there are many who waste time and energy in the pursuit of evil, ignorance, or just general stupidity. At the end of every life, we all must encounter Judgment Day-- a review and evaluation of the life that we have just lived.
In every generation, there have always been those to whom the Holy Spirit has said, "Depart from Me!" This "departing" is living a life apparently "separate" from Love. No one can ever actually live separate from Love, for Love is God. But we can live a life, or more than one, in apparent "separation" from Love.
And the illusion of being separate ("departed") from Love is "hell."
So, yes, some Souls do spend some time in the hellstate, due to their having preferred materialism or selfishness over Love. These hellstates are mental illnesses, often quite dramatic, and can last from a few minutes or hours to hundreds of years. The amount of time that a Soul(mind) spends in "hell" is directly proportional to the cruelty, apathy, or complacency with which she lived her life on earth.
It is God's active will that no one go to hell. But, by His permissive will, people are allowed to form their own destinies, and workers of evil are not welcomed into the sweet, intimate oneness of Love, but are told to "depart," to move away from the interior Christ of Love. In time, their cruelty or shallowness drives them so far away that they can forget that God even exists within them. This total spiritual amnesia is also a form of hell.
Only the consistent practice of Love can keep the heartmind always in a "heavenly" state-- the bliss that is the opposite of the sufferings of "hell." That is why we are all, and always, called to Love.
*******
When, in the parable, the Lord says, "Depart from Me, workers of iniquity! I never knew you!" he is not discussing eternal damnation. Instead, he is talking about the review of a single life.
In any given life, there are many who waste time and energy in the pursuit of evil, ignorance, or just general stupidity. At the end of every life, we all must encounter Judgment Day-- a review and evaluation of the life that we have just lived.
In every generation, there have always been those to whom the Holy Spirit has said, "Depart from Me!" This "departing" is living a life apparently "separate" from Love. No one can ever actually live separate from Love, for Love is God. But we can live a life, or more than one, in apparent "separation" from Love.
And the illusion of being separate ("departed") from Love is "hell."
So, yes, some Souls do spend some time in the hellstate, due to their having preferred materialism or selfishness over Love. These hellstates are mental illnesses, often quite dramatic, and can last from a few minutes or hours to hundreds of years. The amount of time that a Soul(mind) spends in "hell" is directly proportional to the cruelty, apathy, or complacency with which she lived her life on earth.
It is God's active will that no one go to hell. But, by His permissive will, people are allowed to form their own destinies, and workers of evil are not welcomed into the sweet, intimate oneness of Love, but are told to "depart," to move away from the interior Christ of Love. In time, their cruelty or shallowness drives them so far away that they can forget that God even exists within them. This total spiritual amnesia is also a form of hell.
Only the consistent practice of Love can keep the heartmind always in a "heavenly" state-- the bliss that is the opposite of the sufferings of "hell." That is why we are all, and always, called to Love.
*******
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