Monday, March 26, 2007

3) Spiritual Perspectives

Where to go from here? Ideally, if a person fully understands the implications of what I've just written - no, not the Site Guidelines 8-) - nothing more needs to be said. The ideas of personal doer ship and separate identity would naturally dissolve, and all would be good. So, separate identity - I guess that's where I should go next. That should clarify why it is that we do not already know that we are the Infinite, and not limited to the tiny speck of protoplasm we call our body. It will also lead to many other good things.

First I should clarify an issue that often causes a lot of confusion when discussing spiritual matters. That is 'perspective'. Everyone has their own perspective, but in the sense I am using it, it refers to two global sorts of perspectives. Many will be completely familiar with them. One is an ultimate perspective of non-duality, wherein it is understood that there is no multiple (or even two) existences, but only the one Infinite Consciousness we call"God". The other is the perspective of there being the Infinite, and then there is all else, which is comprised of innumerable separate existences we generally perceive as our reality. This is known as dualism. So, we have the non-dual and the dual perspectives.

There are some incremental variations that fall between these two that one evolves through as ones consciousness expands to more comprehensive, or higher, states, but unless otherwise stated, I will use the dualistic perspective. This is so that I will be writing more in line with the perspective most people exist in, including myself. I recall a joke a man here in India told me that sort of fits this division of perspectives and clarifies the difference between the people who's nature lies within one or the other. The joke goes, "Everyone is wise. Some are truly wise, and the rest are otherwise." Being one of the "otherwise" myself, and from a spiritual perspective, most are, I will generally use the "otherwise", or dualistic perspective to try and bring some understanding to bear on the "truly wise", non-dual perspective, as much as I think I understand of it. I find being "otherwise" sucks.

Well, this post is pretty long already, so I'll continue with the separate identity thing in the next post. See you then !

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

2) Blog Guidlines

I want this blog's community to grow, so even though there's not much here yet, come back ! And if you do, and find yourself liking what I write, tell your friends, and mention this blog on other blogs, leaving links back to here. If you disagree with, or don't like what I write, tell me, and tell me why. If you don't understand something I've written, tell me exactly what is not clear, and/or what it is that you think I meant, and I'll try for a better explanation. Also, make any comments and ask any questions you want about my posts or other spiritual things. For other subjects, email me at eSaddhu@gmail.com. Let's have dialogs. I invite both comments and questions. Let's have discussions within the comments. Maybe we can all grow closer to being "truly wise" that way (see the next post). We all have something to contribute to the understanding of the spiritual path.

I will try and respond to all questions, but as I now live in a remote area of the mountains of south India, my visits to the blog are limited by having to take a bus to town to use an internet cafe, so once or possibly twice a week is what I can do.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

1) Basic thoughts

"Blessed is he who knows in truth that we are but tools in God's hands; that it is God who affects within us all ascetic practice and contemplation, virtue and spiritual knowledge, victory and wisdom, goodness and truth; and that to all this we contribute nothing at all except a disposition that desires what is good."

Now, this is a quote, and I think it is from St. Maximos the Confessor, Various Texts on Theology, the Divine Economy and Virtue and Vice, Third Century #28: 580-662 A.D. This is a reference I found for it on the internet, but I didn't write down the reference when I copied the quote, as at the time it was for personal reference, with no thought whatsoever of quoting it to others. Going on from that . . .

The converse is also equally true, and the whole of it means that all in this created universe is predetermined, and we, each of us, are but one singular witness to this. That one singular existence is that which is referred to as "God", and is Infinite Consciousness. That witness is perceiving His/Her/It's creation through the multitude of seemingly individual beings within creation. This creation we experience as individuals is one magnificent image projected within the infinite consciousness of that singular Being, much as thoughts exist within the "individuals' " minds.

This means that you, myself, and each and every aspect of existence is nothing other than the Infinite Consciousness we refer to as "God", manifesting all that "exists" as a sort of thought, and is therefore nothing but that Infinite Consciousness itself. "God".

The sole purpose of all true religions and of all spiritual teachings and practices is to bring the individual to the realization of that Truth, that we are "God". Within the Hindu tradition (properly called "Sanatan Dharma"), this is called "God Realization"; within Buddhism, "Nibbana" (the Pali word - Sanskrit is "Nirvana"); and within Christianity as "Union with God". Other faiths have various other terms for this.

This is the bottom line of all religions and spiritual teachings.