I recommend a reading of the Bhagavad Gita for luecy7. Once you read that (again, if you already have), you
may realize that the viveka I speak of is PRECISELY what is referenced in the quote you provide where "allegedly Christ said" ~.
And this is why I am on one side of the fence, and you are on the other, leucy7, though certainly not always or regarding all points ~ as your beliefs and mine both overlap and diverge at many, many junctures. I will likely be at odds with much which you have to say, or which anyone does, when through unknowing and often in excess zeal s/he steps forward to affirm that there have been no further revelations ~ or prophets, or
Christians after Christ ~ since the time of Jesus.
You see, if Gandhiji was right, and if G.K. Chesterton was right, and if St. Augustine was right, then Christianity is not `OVER.' It is not simply a pre-packaged, neatly-wrapped set of commandments or injunctions, provided by some external and detached, transcendent
Deistic `impulse' ~ even if Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel artwork does inspire us to recognize how close and potentially accessible is a CLOSER relationship between Humanity & God. It's just that the anthropomorphism tends to get in the way, even here in such a wonderful artistic expression. And since the true significance of being "created in the `IMAGE' of the Divine" is all but lost on 99% of people, it falls to the 1% (or fewer) to share what insight has
always been available ~ yet which only begins to arrive as we contemplate abstractions, Plato's Ideals and how
this is the intersection of a Divine Mind with our own tiny microcosmic reflections thereof.
For while Revelation is certainly PROGESSIVE - in Abrahamic, as also with all other religious traditions [save perhaps for `dead' religions, and even then who's to say what is dead & buried vs. simply reinvented or revisited in a different, more modern & updated version] - still there is what we call the Perennial Philosophy, the Pierian Spring, or
Theos Sophia ~ which means the WISDOM OF GOD.
Either you believe and accept that God's Heart and Mind, Purpose and thereby OUR OWN
raison d'etre CAN be sensed, increasingly-better understood and even Wisely, effectively
as also, more & more PERFECTLY Served ~ for such was Christ's Calling to us, and affirmation to the Apostles of their own future relationship with Him, with each other and with God,
thereby having implications for the rest of us [namely that the SAME is *our* Destiny too ~ [
vide Ephesians 4:13] ... or else you may prefer to say that you have been Inspired by the example of Jesus, that you are drawn to the Message of Universal Brotherhood and to the life of Everlasting LOVE, Purpose and fulfillment ~ as appeals to us ALL.
Yet the moment you remove the Teachings from their appropriate context, and forget that Christ Jesus told us we
can know all that I have just said ... then your very understanding, and thus your practice as also your presentation (or explanation) of *Christianity itself* begins to skew, distort and digress from what Christ desires from each of us (and from ALL).
I am amazed that a person could be so ignorant as to think that there is anything like true divisiveness, or enmity, at the spiritual levels ~ whereon and wherein we CAN and DO discover, meet, learn from and GROW WITH the Buddhas, the Christs and a host of qualified spiritual Teachers of EVERY Faith Tradition, in EVERY nation, as has always managed to survive, no matter how dark and bleak the times, otherwise ... as characterized world conditions during WWI & II, or during this same conflict in its original inception during Atlantis, hundreds of thousands of years ago ~ or more recently in Europe's Dark Ages.
But when people kill each other over petty disagreements, or due to different religious beliefs & practices ... and where ecumenical efforts break down, or where self-styled representatives [I ASPIRE to be a better Ecumenist; which is vital, but not the same as
ecumenism itself!] fail to accurately & appropriately embody the very Ideals they seek to emulate, is it any wonder that the world (or 2 or 3 of you reading this) looks on, observes how far short we often fall of our Goals, and feels like tossing in the towel, thus avoiding organized religion like the plague (which do *you* think has been the greater evil upon our planet?) or reverting to a minimalist attitude & form of spiritual practice, drifting as
agnostics until a fresh, future Inspiration (minor Revelation) once again impels & uplifts us to continue on with our very PURPOSE for existing!
Christ taught that God is accessible,
here and now, by you, and me, and by EVERYONE on this wonderful wide, beautiful blue-green planet.
Rats, I hate when a random keystroke blows away half an hour of careful composition. But as I have the Alleluia Chorus playing on the Arts channel beside me here, I must simply smile, and assume that all is not lost.
I will synopsize, by asking what I was in the midst of typing:
When the Christ called to Peter the Fisherman to "walk across the water" (meaning to Tame his passions, to subdue St. George's or St. Michael's dragon, to conquer the astral/desire elemental) ... do you suppose he did so only so that he could watch him fail, at first? Or did he not know that Peter could, and certainly one day WOULD be able to accomplish *precisely what Christ was inviting him to set his mind to* ... as this was a man, like the Buddha, who could recognize God's Calling for EACH of us, and speak to that, and thus help us to AWAKEN to the same, so that we could move closer toward fulfilling our very PURPOSE, our reason for being?
And notice, also, that Christ did not sense a weakness in Peter, then kick his proverbial crutches out from under him, laughing at him or jesting about his obvious imperfections and as-yet-unmastered human emotions. Rather, Christ encouraged his disciple, and expected him to RISE TO THE OCCASION, which is what it means to "be all the we can be," with courage, with intelligence, with detachment and without tarry. Peter may have fallen short in his first attempt (perhaps that particular lifetime, or perhaps during a shorter cycle), yet this Soul has long since learned to `walk on water,' as also he has become Transfigured, even as was Christ Jesus, and as was St. Paul, after him.
Christ expects no less than this kind of effort from anyone who would follow his example. And at times it certainly helps to have someone more advanced along the spiritual Path to help explain things to us, to remove our Herculean Goals and Sisyphean contemplations from the realm of impossibility, and show us through a humbler, more modest example that the same Heroic accomplishments are seldom worked overnight, or in one day alone ~ save when they come as the *culmination* to a long and worthy Labour of Love.
Typically, it is only through slow but steady, constant plodding that we make any progress along the spiritual path at all. As otherwise, should be lose our way along the many side-roads which life presents, or if our feet become burdened with the heavy mud of sorrows and confusion, it sometimes takes quite awhile before we are once again receptive enough, and desperate enough, to remove the wax from our ears, the hardness from our hearts and the distractions from our daily routine ... and take up again our Yoke, Christ's Yoga [aka, `The Teaching of Living Ethics'].
For there comes a time when though we look around, try as we might we cannot envision the current landscape without the Presence of Christ, and His Elect, active on every hand, in every land. Looking hard at the footsteps before us, acknowledging a path stretching behind us as far as the eye can see, we realize that there are divergences, true, yet these are surely where OUR footfalls have not quite managed to keep pace, or rhythm, or Balance with those of the Master Who has led the Way ahead of us, and for us.
Not far ahead is He, or the other Teachers, if we learn to enVision something of the Divine Plan in its all-Inclusive Nature, with room for every atom, every creature, every person and every future Potential ... yet if we are willing to face, squarely in the mirror, the true source of our present unrest and confusion, our doubt, despair & uncertainty, we will also know full well who it is that turns away from the Shining Countenance, the Lord Who is always Blessing us, the door to Whose heart has EVER - since our first human incarnation - stood wide to {our own} future PERFECTION, Christhood and [encounter with] the Godhead {wherein I should be glad to lose, and loose all distinctions, as otherwise, I should forever remain apart from the object of my Devotion, forever the hopeless donkey, following the dangling carrot,on a stick}.
God is no fisherman on a jackass, taunting our own, ignorant and sorry human nature with fool's gold. Too many errors riddle the theology of Churchianity as man has composed it over the centuries, thinking in so many cases that a minor alteration surely could not hurt ... or as often, that through his own craftiness he could bring greater numbers, greater wealth, greater power and greater reputation to his own, particular, fleeting `Order.'
Christ brought the Sword which divides the Truth of the Gospel [regarding our own spiritual Potential] ... from the inventions of the greedy, power-hungry and wavering (if not grievously erring) mind of man. No wonder that in the SPIRITUAL showdown which raged so strong at the climactic moments of the First and Second World War, Humanity very nearly DID pull itself apart - in a truly cataclysmic and catastrophic sense - save for the Intervention of tremendous spiritual Potencies & Agencies, or `God Himself'.
Yet our thoughts and prayers were directed Heavenward, then as now, in such a fashion that disaster was averted ~ if not permanently avoided or removed from the path altogether. Free Will means that it is our POTENTIAL to Cooperate with the very Godhead, if we so put our mind to it ... yet that we can also sink into the lowest, nether regions [even *while* we are in incarnation] of sub-human brutality and concupiscence, if we neglect our own spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical/material well-being.
Free Will means the FREE and WILLING Cooperation with God's Plan ... and never once have I heard it said by a wise man or woman that this would *always* be easy, or effortless, or rosy and peachy. It is called the THORNY Path for a reason, and there is a meaning to the phrase that, "Many are called; few are chosen."
If only the Christian would learn to DISCERN the words and the Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, of the Christ, and of the Illumined Hearts and Minds who have sought to preserve the Gospel Message in its pure, unadulterated form ... as PANACEA for all of Mankind's woes, but especially as curative, restorative balm for those of us in the West whose past, present and future [to varying extent or capacity] is unquestionably, for better or worse, bound up in the Abrahamic Traditions, if also - though a bit less perceptibly for many - that of Eastern Wisdom.
In another day, yes, I might have fought to the death, and slain my spiritual brother on the battlefield ... simply owing to his Muslim faith, while he would have sought to do me in as `the infidel' for exactly the same reasons of *perceived differences*. And I do not deny that some differences are important, actually and obviously, any more than I fail to recognize that so-called `holy wars' continue to this day, even 6 & 1/2 DECADES after the Divine Intervention which ended World War mid-20th Century.
But today we are on the verge of the recognition, and widespread acceptance of the scientific PROOF of a Soul, and of the survival of the Consciousness of
every person of bodily death, regardless of religion - or none. We are very close to experiences of non-terrestrial Humanities, both visiting and observing, hoping to assist us during these difficult times, that we might avoid unnecessary cataclysms and undue suffering, which already affects every person on the planet.
It is clear to most of us who have approached this subject that a sort of Spiritual `Prime Directive' is what prevents ET from landing on the White House lawn and asking for our
leaders to sit down with them and discuss things like the sensible human beings we can sometimes be. Then again, anyone who has read up on these things, and who has a measure of *viveka* helping to call the shots, will likely know that in fact, some of our Presidents
have met with visiting Intelligences.
And that will take us in a slightly different direction, yet the message is still the same, and is simple: If we can't learn, and PDQ, to get along with one another, nation with nation equally as brother with brother and neighbor with neighbor, then our Scriptural indication from Isaiah 2:4 shall not - for some considerable time - come to pass. For it won't occur suddenly, three days from now ... and it won't even occur overnight, the moment that many disciples and spiritual aspirants the world over recognize the living, breathing, walking, talking incarnation OF THE CHRIST ~ which very well may be possible within our own lifetimes, IF WE WILL HAVE IT.
Spiritual growth, as most other types, requires patience ... and also the recognition that Flowers tend to grow - unconsciously ... unfolding without worry, or aggression, and certainly not because the flower next to them gets huffy and decides to pry open the bud a full two months before it otherwise is supposed to open. God awaits us all, and is also [t]here, ready to greet us and embrace us EVERY step of the way, though I have certainly noticed that it tends to be better for *everyone* when we learn to put one foot in front of the other, Keep our eyes on the Prize, and ever remember to move steadily FORWARD ~ Hopeful, and with a SMILE. As one disciple put it, we must
keep on keeping on.
Otherwise, if we are careless or lazy, inattentive or presumptuous, we shall find that we taking two steps forward, then one step aback again, out of balance ... even one step forward, and TWO steps backward, which amounts to uneven development, and all sorts of disarry. And this, along with a spiritual experience or insight here & there, I have certainly
also known!
