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2.
Here, with those who are still driven to talk about "god," the "Son of
god," the "Holy Spirit," "Buddha," "Krishna," etc., etc., etc., the
invitation to them is to view those as verbs, not nouns. See the green text after today's post for the full meaning and implications of that.
3.
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MAHARAJ'S FINAL PLAN: REALIZE WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL”
To review Maharaj's "journey" and the many "shifts" undertaken along the way:
On a noisy street named the “10th Lane” in the Khetwadi neighborhood of the Girgaon region which is now a part of the Bombay / Mumbai metro area in the state of Maharashtra in India, a man converted a small loft above his flat into a room where he would originally attract local worshipers by conducting Hindu bhajans and meditation sessions along with a sprinkling of non-dual pointers which he interspersed. Often during those heady days early on when he undertook to follow his guru’s orders and began inviting Hindu worshipers to his loft, he felt enough enthusiasm to conduct sessions up to five times a day.
Later, after the publication of a book containing transcripts of some of his talks of a "spiritual nature," he began attracting Westerners who were interested in “spirituality” rather than in Hindu dogma. For a time, those “spiritual talks” became “his cup of tea” because he found it more interesting, and far easier, to squeeze non-dual pointers into "spiritual” talks than into “religious” activities.
Yet after a couple of decades of first conducting “religious-oriented” gatherings and then arranging "spiritual-type" gatherings which focused much of the time on introducing Westerners to the Indian “Self-Inquiry” process, his enthusiasm seemingly waned somewhat and he reduced the number of session offered to two per day.
At one point after transitioning to the “spiritual” mode, Maharaj said something that would have likely sent his earliest audiences out the door but which most of the Westerners accepted, whether they grasped its full import or not. He said,
"Only that person will visit this place whose virtue and sin have come to an end."
He encouraged seekers to abandon personality identification because, among other things, each assigned or assumed personas brings with it both fear and desire (both of which he said contribute to humankind’s misery and suffering).
Ironically, his statement that "Only that person will visit this place whose virtue and sin have come to an end” proved on many occasions to be a case of “wishful thinking” by one who spoke of the peace which comes with desirelessness.
More factually, he might have said, "Only that person should visit this place whose virtue and sin have come to an end because if both of those have not come to an end, then you will likely be booted (okay, “sandaled” or “barefooted”) out the door.”
So what happened with those whose attachment to dualistic beliefs about “what is virtuous” and “what is sinful” had not come to an end but who showed up anyway in their holy garb and with their narcissistic desire to put on display the accumulation of spiritual knowledge which they had amassed? Often, they were soon sent down the stairs and out the door and onto the noisy and dirty 10th Lane in the wadi / subdivision of Girgaon called “Khet.”
Later, Maharaj, modeled the abandonment of organized religion, just as did a fellow named Yeshu'a (“Jesus”) much earlier who shared non-dual pointers during the final years of the manifestation of that speck of consciousness.
Eventually Maharaj would not only abandon any use of religion as a version of the Ultimate Medicine but would also abandon the use of spirituality as a version of the Ultimate Medicine, advising people to stop reading the book I AM THAT, and to “give up spirituality,” and to conduct a “self-inquiry” and "find out what you are not,” and to realize that understanding what you are not is enough, and then to “just abide naturally.”
Why? Because of what he understood early on but did not promote as enthusiastically as he did later on, namely, that there are two concepts which might well generate more dualistic thinking and talking and behaving and conflict and misery and suffering than any other pair of concepts. What are they, specifically? “Sin” and “virtue.”
And what are the roots of those two concepts? Ironically, the roots of those two concepts which contribute to and sustain the Ultimate Sickness can be traced to the very entities which Maharaj endorsed early on but which he rejected later on: (1) religion and its far-closer-relative-than-many-want-to-admit (2) spirituality.
“Sin” became defined by the self-appointed leaders in the early pagan sky cults, and then the early pagan sky cults evolved into the major religions which are still around today. The definition of sin became codified when self-appointed people assumed the role of “spokesperson” for the gods and goddesses or for God and then wrote what was reported to be “holy texts” which the "Powers That Be" supposedly ordered them to write and which contain what is claimed to be “the unquestionable and infallible word of the gods and goddesses” and later reported by some to be “the unquestionable and infallible word of ‘The One, True God'.”
[Because sin involves the act of violating God's will, then people had to be told – and still have to told, it is believed by billions – exactly what God’s will is. Too, God’s will had to be given even far great weight be being written down in “unquestionable and infallible holy texts” which supposedly contain not only God’s word but also God’s laws. And what follows when persons violate laws? Scorn. Shame. And punishment, either mental, emotional, corporal, or capital.]
One Sunday during the fifth season finale of an HBO series entitled Game of Thrones, there was a lengthy scene involving the sexually-promiscuous character named Cersei. (By the way, that shaming scene was based on an actual incident involving “Jane” Shore – actually Elizabeth Shore – who was one of the mistresses of King Edward IV and of several other noblemen as well.)
Shorn and stripped, the fallen queen was made to walk naked through the streets of King's Landing, after confessing to adultery with her cousin Lancel (but keeping quiet about her adultery with her brother.) Along the way, she was followed by a woman who was a member of the King’s Landing’s ruling religious class who repeatedly rang a bell, followed by a chant of “Shame. Shame. Shame." Along the walk, the “Shamee” was pelted with stones and spittle and rotten food and excrement by the “Shamers,” as was Elizabeth Shore in England.
The same happened to men and women in the “American colonies” who were pilloried when the colonies were ruled by a theocratic form of government - which many today would return to - and who were pelted with rocks and filth during their confinement in village squares.
The same happened to persons who lived under the rule of a U.S. theocracy who were made to wear on the front of their clothes large scarlet letters which identified "their primary sin," such as a “T” for “thief,” an “I” for “illegitimate,” or an “A” for adulterer.”
The same happens to women today who are living in many nations being ruled by theocracies and who are stoned to death around the globe for their supposed sins.
The same happened to some people who lived in Florida - especially to certain women - when some citizens followed the recommendation of then-governor Jeb Bush (later a candidate for the office of the President of the United States, an office which his father and brother both held in the past). Jeb Bush wrote in his book “Profiles in Character” about “community, religiosity and integrity” and about the need to revive shame. He wrote:
“Society needs to relearn the art of public and private disapproval and how to make those who engage in undesirable behavior feel some sense of shame.”
[So how arrogant must one be to believe that he or she has the right to judge and shame and condemn persons whom they deem to be "sinful" in their eyes and in their mind?]
Journalist Catherine Rampell wrote: “The book argues that the diminishment of dishonor has contributed to all sorts of depravity. If only we as a populace were a bit more judgmental, the poor would stop being so poor, the promiscuous would learn restraint, deadbeats would pay their bills, criminals would keep to the straight and narrow, school shooters would lay down their arms and bastard children would finally start getting ‘legitimize[d]’ (their term, not mine) through marriage.”
Bush continued while idolizing the “good old days” (as do so many who are trying to impress that segment of the U.S. populous who present themselves as “virtuous fundamentalists"). He wrote:
“There was a time when neighbors and communities would frown on out-of-wedlock births and when public condemnation was enough of a stimulus for one to be careful. Infamous shotgun weddings and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter are reminders that public condemnation of irresponsible sexual behavior has strong historical roots.”
Why would Maharaj dare rebuke and reject the concept of “sin”? Because he saw the global, multi-thousand-year effects of that concept which was dreamed up by would-be controllers and the self-appointed guardians of the faith who for thousands of years have spread their message about sin and wickedness and the need for “public condemnation“ which Bush endorsed;
and who have continuously pumped life into a concept which generates harsh judgment and perfectionism and divisiveness; and who defined sin and who codified it and who have ever since adopted it as the proper and extreme and fanatical (and yes, even militant) fashion by which "the virtuous" should deal with "the sinful" - a fashion which almost guarantees that any chance of a widespread understanding of the unicity will be forever blocked.
Imagine the changes which could happen all around the globe if only supposedly religious and / or spiritual persons were all to stop focusing on the concept of sin (and thus be free of their subsequent beliefs about being "different from" and therefore "better than" all of those supposedly far-less-worthy "others").
Of course, that could only happen were their duality-based thinking and talking and behaving to be replaced with the non-dual understanding.
Next: Why Maharaj was not impressed by “the virtuous,” either.
To be continued.
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Here,
with those who are still driven to talk about "god," the "Son of god,"
the "Holy Spirit," "Buddha," "Krishna," etc., etc., etc., the invitation
to them is to view those as verbs, not nouns.
THE EXPLANATION
If
looked at as nouns, they point to illusions and are, therefore, a total
waste of time to even discuss; if looked at as verbs which are
resulting in certain sane but rare behaviors among humanity, then they
are worthy of some attention during the relative existence.
Meaning?
There are members of certain groups who say things such as "My concept
of god in the past was of a weak god, an absentee god, A Santa
Claus-type god, a mean, punishing, vindictive god, etc. Today, I am in
close contact with a loving and caring god whom I worship and praise and
glorify and give thanks to."
The
reply to that usually goes like this: "If you are in contact with a god
that wants to be worshipped and praised and glorified, then you're
dealing with someone like yourself - a narcissist - and hanging out with
narcissists will never bring an end to your narcissism (that narcissism
evidenced by the fact that you think you are "godly").
Next,
in the phrase 'loving and caring god,' any supposed god that truly had
her or his act together would tell you that the totally irrelevant part
of that phrase is 'god' and that the only part that is relevant is the
"loving and caring" part.
"That
is, a non-narcissistic their god / their goddess would say, "I care not
an iota about being worshipped and praised and glorified by you or
anyone else. How arrogant and insecure and needy would I have to be to
want that? Forget the man-made, dreamed up noun 'god' and focus on the
'god as a verb' understanding and then go forth and let loving and
caring be verbs - not adjectives - and let them generate the act of love
and the act of caring and let those actions manifest through you."
Yeshu'a (Jesus) and Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis were spot on:
"No one shall ever see 'the kingdom of heaven.' It is within"
--Yeshu'a (Jesus)
and
"Heaven and earth shall fade away."
--Yeshu'a (Jesus)
and
"Heaven and hell are not geographic places
but are states of mind, nothing more than
concepts dreamed up by men."
--Pope John Paul II
"There is no hell."
--Pope Francis, the current pope
in an interview with journalist Eugenio Scalfari,
a writer used by the Pope to issue off the record
teachings which become a part of the Papal Magisterium.
[That
said, would that the popes who have shown the courage to reject a core
concept of their dogma - namely, "hell" - would find the additional
courage required to question the very existence of their institution in
light of the centuries-long cover-up of their history of raping children
and in light of the mental and emotional and psychological scarring of
billions of their members past and present.
And
that need for courage also applies as questions need to be asked about
why so many other sky cults are still being supported and allowed to
continue to exist as well. When certain types of programming and
conditioning have been shown to blind the masses, they should end. Will
they? Not likely. Why?
Because
what the masses think and say and do is most influenced by the
international crime families which hold sway over the masses as
criminals conduct their planet-wide operations. What are the major
international crime families and which are the most influential and have
the largest memberships?
The
Mafia / La Cosa Nostra; the Catholic Church (with it 1.2 billion
followers) whose Vatican Bank worked for decades with the Mafia while
laundering mob earnings (for a 15% all-profit charge by the Bank);
Protestant and Evangelical Churches (with over 1.2 billion followers)
like the one I was raised in where the youth director molested and
sexually assaulted young girls; big business which has long created
environments in which people have been abused; powerful political bodies
like the U.S. Congress, etc., etc., etc.)
With
all of those crime families, neither the followers nor the leadership
ever voluntarily step down or shut down their criminal activities. Be
they gangs, organized crime families, religions, big business,
politicians, etc., they all want control and they all want power and
they all want money, and nothing internal will interfere with the
driving forces at play.
The
masses must demand that all those in charge must step down and their
groups and institutions must shut down, and there's the real problem
because the continuation of their crimes are enabled not as much by the
people running such crime organizations as they are enabled by the
masses of people who - wanting some perceived "payoff" - remain involved
with them and give them money and support them and aid and abet the
continued existence of those criminal enterprises and thus facilitate
the ability of church criminals and political criminals and other types
of criminals to continue to commit their crimes.]
Here's
the direct link to the VIDEO VERSION
of the "Awakening Together" satsang session with Regina and Jacqueline referenced earlier, 18 MARCH 2018
or
You can click on the picture link which has now been added for video "Number Ten" in the upper right-hand column on this page.
If preferred, here's
the direct link to the AUDIO VERSION.
which offers both digital and paperback books.
