Here is a conversation I have been having with a Hindu. The first three posts were on a public forum, but the last two were private messages. I am working on a response to his last post that will have the complete Gospel using the law.
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(Rishi:)
The One has posed a question that demands an answer.
The answer, which will render all else irrelevant.
Is this the right forum for such a discussion? What follows appears repetitive and bad grammar. Language has limitations when discussing such issues. I apologise for any confusion created. I may tread on many toes. Raise many hackles. My apologies for that too.
There is The Knower ( Yes, Singular. Just The One) and the ignorant. I am one of the latter. What I post below is a little bit of what I have gleaned in a long search lasting many years on this quest. I firmly believe it and am actively pursuing it.
All of us are caught in the web of 'I am this body-mind' belief. A bit of analysis reveals that the body itself is insentient. In this inert body arises a sensation of 'I'. This is the awakening mind. If one analyses this mind it is found to be just a bundle of thoughts, all of which can be traced to the first 'I' thought.
The 'I' thought is the fist thought that arises when one wakes from a deep sleep. Likewise, it is the last thought to subside when one finally falls asleep. In a deep sleep, or a faint, or in a coma, there is no awareness of the mind or body. Yet, the very first thought of stirring awareness is the 'I' thought.
It seems that the source of the 'I' thought is what one should track. This source is the pure super 'I'.
Pure, undivided, all encompassing, The One Being, unalloyed, eternal, timeless, BLISS.
This then is the blinding meaning of life.
Being, Universal Awareness, a timeless, still, silent, Infinitude.
The meaning of life is death and destruction. Death of the ego. Destruction of the mind.
In his post, The One rightly said that the way to find the meaning of life is by asking a question. However, the question is not Why? But, Who?
Who am I?
One has to dive within oneself deeper and deeper, tearing off veil after veil of ignorance, attachment to objects, and the subject-object relationship, the sense of 'I' and 'Others' that enmeshes one.
Not thinking 'I am this', or 'I am not that'. Just be. Be. BE.
The burning bush told, 'I am that I am'. The bible says, 'Be still and know I am God'.
This is the meaning of life: 'Be still and know I am God'. Not THINK 'I am God'. That is blasphemy. Thinking is mind’s activity. The ego in control.
Being still, Knowing I am God is when the ego is dead, 'person'ality is gone, and the mind sinks without trace into the Pure Awareness, 'I am'.
There appear to be billions and trillions of forms, and objects on earth and elsewhere in the universe. There is only The One Self, undivided, permanent.
The route to this is through the simple, direct quest: 'Who am I?'. Inquire within. The answer will be found.
At the core of every religion seems to be the One Truth. Central to Buddhism is the doctrine of No-ego. Islam asserts There is God and there is nothing other than God.. Medieval Christendom had the concept of self-naughting. Hinduism is non-dualism. All of which points to the dissolution of the ego, the individual, the 'I' thought into the Eternal Bliss.
Let each ask oneself diligently, unceasingly, 'Who am I' and just BE.
rishi
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(Kristy:)
Rishi:
Thank you for sharing that. It's a very good description of your faith. Thank you.
However, you did take some quotations from the Bible out of context. In both of the places where you have quoted "I" it was the God of the Bible talking, not the person writing.
For instance, in the case of the burning bush:
Quote: Exodus 3:13 - 14 Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
And in the second instance, it was Psalm 46:10-11,
Quote: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah"
I don't have any problem with others speaking out about their beliefs--none whatsoever. I just prefer that people don't use the Bible out of context to support them. Just like I wouldn't take quotes out of the Qu'ran or the Bhagavad-Gita, etc.
Thank you again for sharing with us.
-Kristy
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(Rishi:)
Even unwittingly giving offence horrifies me. The foot should be firmly rooted in the ground and the mouth tightly closed. When the former is put in the latter, as I seem to have done, problems can arise.
The post was made after great hesitation. It was an innocuous, non-denominational, non-confrontational statement. No argument is presented nor any attempt at converting anyone to the posted view. Nor is any position of authority or expertise is presumed. It is a declared statement of an ignorant person on a quest. The person holds all religions including his own on par.
I (this individual ego) am a Hindu. My schooling was in a Catholic Seminary. I do go to churches, offer worship, and feel the Grace as I do at Hindu temples. The Bible gives me great comfort. The point is that there is absolutely no contradiction in this. What was posted was with the full appreciation of the quoted words as words of God Almighty.
It is said: 'Many are called but few chosen'. God in His infinite mercy is not discriminatory. The individual ego with its free will acts in ways to prevent being chosen.
'Wide is the gate and broad the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate and narrow the way, which leadeth into life, and few there be that find it' . Christ taught: 'The man who wants to save his life will lose it, but the man who loses his life for my sake will find it'. Is not this a direct injunction for the individual to shed his ego and attain eternal life?
The hesitation before the posting was made seems justified. Thanks are due to Ecc_1:9. Rishi should have gone about finding the meaning to his life rather than talk about it. If he had gone about his quest in earnest, he would not talk. An empty vessel makes the loudest noise. From now on, I will hold my peace on this.
To err is human. To forgive, divine. If it is felt that I erred, I beg: Be divine! Forgive.
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(Kristy:)
Rishi:
I greatly respect your response and honesty. I could see that you weren't proselytizing, and I also respect that.
I agree with certain points you have made (obviously since I am a born-again Christian I can't agree with everything). I would encourage you to keep on reading the Bible (perhaps you could dwell on the Gospel of John especially).
You have probably seen a lot of the contradictions, hypocrisy, and shortcomings in all religions, especially having attended a Catholic seminary. However, I can tell you without hesitation that the Catholic seminary did not accurately portray Biblical Christianity. Although they are extremely similar in many aspects, it is a common misconception that Catholics are just another Christian denomination. Simply comparing their teachings to the Bible will make that clear.
Simply put, I feel that very few people have actually experienced the fullness and depth of true Christianity (being a follower of Christ and His teachings, who also said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6).
Again, I thank you for your honesty and willingness to correct mistakes. I wish to call you "brother-in-the-Lord" someday.
-Kristy
Ephesians 3:14 - 19 (NKJV) For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Romans 6:23 (NKJV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8 (NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
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(Rishi:)
Dear Kristy,
Thank you very much. What you say about the hypocrisy in all religions is a very sad but very true state of affairs.
I have also seen that people that truly believe their own religion share a commonness of purpose. They all share a common, say, Christianity in the sense of tolerance, forgiveness, ability to take whatever the Good Lord throws at them with equanimity.
What all atrocities are done by various religions (like what is happening in some parts of India perpetrated by Hindus) in various parts of the world in the name of God!
We tend to think of God only when in trouble. Few sing His praise when times are good. It is the ignorance that we are the doers, which is at the bottom of most trouble. If we always act as the Good Lord's agents with the firm belief, 'Direct we besech thee, O Lord, our actions. May they begin from Thee and through Thee be likewise ended', there will be peace on earth.
I will spend more time with the Bible as you suggested.
Thank you for your time and advice.
Rishi is the label I have assumed for this site. My name is Ramani.
With warm regards,
Yours sincerely,
Ramani
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