"I want the United Church to accept that the Bible is not the authoritative word of God and that God is not where moral authority resides, and to recognize the innumerable divisions religion has created across millennia. If they had the fortitude to say that, I think it could change the conversation of religion around the world. And that’s what I’m betting on." Gretta Vosper, a United Minister in Toronto.
there's been an awful lot of chatter about god over the past couple of thousand years or so. have you noticed? well, i have a weeee problem with all of the great saints and sages, teachers and masters, past and present. i don't know what they're talking about and, frankly, i doubt they know what they're talking about.
why should i believe any of them really knew or know god? if these great people wanna talk about where we come from, where we go, i can handle that. if these great leaders confine their beliefs to a universally shared underlying oneness of all life, i'm in. but, god? why should i believe any of them really knew or know what is god? i'm referring to everyone from jesus to muhammad, from krishna and ramana maharshi to deepak chopra and eckhart tolle. i may as well offend everyone equally.
sai baba of siri said: "there is only one religion, the religion of love. there is only one language, the language of the heart. there is only one class, the class of humanity." up to that point i was right with him, cheering him on. but, then he ends by adding: "there is only one god, he is omnipresent." wtf? and, btw, what's with the 'he' always?
i'm a 'dhyaan yogi', a life-long meditator. that means i don't accept a philosophy, religion or any concept outside of my own direct perception. and through that process of meditation, 'samadhi,' one does experience a cessation of all experience. in other words, one comes to know directly oneself as the very life permeating all, pure, free. i get that. but what is that? for example, what is the state of deep sleep?
mooji, a great teacher who is popular these days, says very few people in the world achieve the goal of self-enquiry, come to know the so-called true self. that of course typically implies he's one of those who has succeeded. well, i get that as well. through meditation the individual dissolves, like a drop of water merges with the whole ocean of life. that's great. what i have a problem with is the assumption that that is somehow akin to the concept of god. where the heck does that ocean come from, a bigger ocean? i may be all wet, but i still don't see where creation ends, or where it began. and i don't believe anyone else has either.
a greek philosophy student asks his teacher: "sir, i understand the world is being held up by atlas. but what is supporting atlas?" his teacher answers: "a huge turtle." "ok, but what is supporting the turtle." the teacher answers, slightly irritated: "another huge turtle." "ah, ok," says the student. then: "but, but, what is holding up that turtle." the teacher, out of patience, barks at his student: "listen, it's just turtles all the way down!"
the buddhist concept of no-self, 'shunya,' just opens the door of our minds to the reality that there's more going on here than what meets the eyes. the buddhist concept of no-self is the same, in my semi-humble opinion, as the hindu all-permeating self. but, what is buddha-consciousness or nirvana? what is brahma-vidya or moksha? what is christ-consciousness or heaven? what is god? the enquiry must necessarily continue.
it must be of great solace to believe that somebody has all the answers: whether it be jesus, krishna, ramana maharshi, mohammad, swami nityanand, sri yukteswar or mooji, aadi shanti, tom, dick or even harry. i aint one of them. what i know through meditation after these years is that it's profoundly relaxing and freeing, that there's obviously more to 'me' than what meets the eyes and there seems to be essentially one life permeating all. i don't know god.
"if we dive deep enough into ourselves, we will find the one thread of universal love that ties all beings together." amma.
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