Path: ccsf.homeunix.org!ccsf.homeunix.org!news1.wakwak.com!nf1.xephion.ne.jp!onion.ish.org!news.daionet.gr.jp!news.yamada.gr.jp!newsfeed.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp!news1.optus.net.au!optus!news.optus.net.au!53ab2750!not-for-mail From: "THE RISE OF SPIRITUALITY AND FALL OF DOGMA" Newsgroups: fj.life.religion Distribution: Global Subject: THE RISE OF SPIRITUALITY AND FALL OF DOGMA qU8 X-Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: 220.240.202.21 Message-ID: <413ed386@news.comindico.com.au> X-Original-Trace: 8 Sep 2004 19:40:22 +1000, 220.240.202.21 Lines: 461 Date: Wed, 08 Sep 2004 09:40:23 GMT NNTP-Posting-Host: 203.194.27.1 X-Complaints-To: abuse@comindico.com.au X-Trace: news.optus.net.au 1094636423 203.194.27.1 (Wed, 08 Sep 2004 19:40:23 EST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 08 Sep 2004 19:40:23 EST Organization: Comindico Australia - reports relating to abuse should be sent to abuse@comindico.com.au Xref: ccsf.homeunix.org fj.life.religion:464 THE RISE OF SPIRITUALITY AND FALL OF DOGMA ------------------------------------------ "What is dogma? Dogma is a preconceived idea which forbids human beings to outstep the limits of that idea or object. In this situation the human intellect cannot freely function. Some people say, "All right, we may not get the maximum utilization of our intellect, yet we can have at least ten to twenty percent of its services." My considered opinion is that where there is dogma, even ten to twenty percent of the human intellect cannot be properly utilized; and the meagre amount of intellect used is not something worthwhile. The greatest treasure of human beings is their psychic faculty, or their intellect. When I cannot utilize this precious intellect to its fullest advantage -- what more tragic situation could there be than this! So we need the liberation of the human mind, and even before this we need the liberation of the human intellect. Let me further explain what dogma is. Suppose the intellect wants to follow a particular path; in the meantime dogma comes from all sides and forbids it, "Oh no, no! Don't take a single step further on that side. If you do, you'll be burnt in eternal hell-fire. You'll be doomed to hell for eternity." When the intellect wants to make the fullest utilization of mundane wealth, dogma comes in and says, as it were, "Oh no -- you must not do it. It is harmful for human beings, it is sheer blasphemy. It will lead to the degradation of humanity."" (LIBERATION FROM STATICITY, NEOHUMANISM IN A NUTSHELL 1, A Few Problems Solved Part 4, 28 January 1980) To overcome dogma it is necessary to realise the trifarious nature of human beings. "Now human expressions are trifarious -- physical expression, psychic expression and spiritual expression. The spiritual expression is the highest and subtlest expression of human existence. And here lies the speciality of humans. In the physical stratum each and every human being is special. Nobody is just like others. Even in a small family, brothers and sisters vary from one another. No two face-cuttings are the same. On the psychic level humans are divided into several kinds of ideologies, and they fight amongst themselves, just for ideology, and ideology remains in some sphere of abstraction, and they quarrel amongst themselves. They quarrel regarding religion, regarding different isms with different views, regarding sports. One person will say, "My team will win," while another will say, "But my team can fight" -- in football or any other sport. And there was one very important play in Spain, toros or something like that -- "bullfighting". People were very much interested in it, and they, the fans, used to fight amongst themselves, and it is not a physical fight, it is a psychic fight. But in the realm of spirituality there cannot be any fight, because the Supreme Goal is one, a singular entity. So spiritualism, rather spirituality, is not only the highest and noblest human speciality, but is the only unifying point, the only unifying platform, for the entire human society. There may be so many human races — Negroid, Austric, Mongoloid, Caucasian. Amongst Mongolians there are so many Malays, Japano- and Sino- blendings, Tibeto-Indians, so many of those. Amongst Caucasians there are Nordics, Scandinavians; Alpines in middle Europe; Mediterraneans in Italy, south France, Spain and Portugal. But human society is a singular entity -- humans belong to the same society. So here the Supreme Noumenal Entity is the spiritual nave. Now humans of this last portion of the twentieth century should strengthen that nave, should strengthen that Supreme Noumenal Entity, and on the basis of this Supreme Noumenal Entity lies their universal fraternity -- they are children of the same Supreme Father. The Supreme Progenitor is one; His children are many in number. If the children quarrel amongst themselves on petty affairs, this will certainly not satisfy the Supreme Father. He has given humans, that is, the human body, a developed cranium, a developed brain, developed nerve cells and nerve fibres. Humans should utilize them properly. There should be maximum utilization of all your assets, and by utilizing your assets, you, in your individual and collective capacities, will be assets to human society." (Human Expressions, HUMAN EXPRESSIONS AND HUMAN MOVEMENTS, A'NANDA VACANA'MRTAM PART 30, 31 May 1979 evening, Valencia) So it can be seen that the spiritual yearning and its development is what gives individuals and society a proper desideratum. "The first point is that the desideratum must be correct. If someone imagines that their desideratum is to become rich or famous, or even if they aspire to have a post-mortem gate pass to the mythological kingdom of heaven, then surely this can prove very dangerous. But even if the desideratum is correct -- that is, the attainment of perfection, or oneness with God -- even then that cannot be a stable source for our existential stamina. Imagine that one is guiding his or her lifeboat in the vast ocean by means of the pole-star. That is all right. But what happens if the sky of our life becomes covered by clouds? In fact, there are many clouds -- psychic/mental propensities, the potential reactions to past actions, mental fetters and internal enemies respectively. Thus even the correct desideratum is still not dependable. Through psycho-spiritual practices all the clouds may be removed from the sky of our life, and in that event the clear vision of our desideratum allows us to proceed unerringly on the path of spiritual liberation. And finally all bondages through action may be eliminated by the three-fold approach of ideation on God, surrender of the vanity of actions, and detachment regarding the results of our work." (THE ORIGIN OF EXISTENTIAL STAMINA, A Few Problems Solved Part 8, October 1986, Calcutta) To attain God requires a pure focus. It is a domestic and personal relationship that needs to be developed and felt. Religions commonly try to instil fear of God. But spirituality says no to fear and states that devotion is the way. The fear psychology is one that is merely manipulative and used to control people to meet the ends of religious divisiveness. Love for God ignores the fear complex. "And one should not be afraid of God, one should not be God-fearing - one must be God-loving. One must not be afraid of hell and one must not have any charm or fascination for the so-called heaven. One must know that one has come from that Supreme progenitor and the culminating point of all sorts of movements is that Supreme Father. Everything cometh from Him, and everything goeth back to Him. The relationship is one of love and affection, and not of any fear complex. One must not say, "Oh God, I am a sinner." You need not say like this - it is superfluous to say like this. Because whatever you did is known to Him. Then what is the necessity of saying, "Oh God, I am a sinner?" He knows everything; you need not remind Him that your are a sinner. And you know, if you always think, "I am a sinner, I am a sinner", then actually you will become a sinner, if you are not already a sinner - because what a person thinks, he or she will become like that. If you always think, 'I am a sinner, I am a sinner", then actually you will become a sinner. So what are you to think? What are you to ideate upon? That is: "Oh Father, I am your loving child. I was a bit misguided, now please help me. I want to sit on your lap, I want to remain with you, I want to be an ideal boy, an ideal girl of yours, just help me. I am very weak and you are the strongest personality", you should say like this. Why should you say, "I am a culprit, I am a sinner, I am a bad person?" And in the social sphere, in the civic sphere, in any other sphere of society, you may be a bad person, but for your Father you are not at all bad. He will always try to save you and rectify you. He has got immense grace for you. So you should not destroy or distort your career by saying, 'I am a sinner, I am bad.' Then naturally your Father will be angry. He will say, "Oh naughty chap, I know your are a sinner. What's the necessity of saying that?" So you should remember that the noumenal cause although it is the Supreme entity in the entire universe, has a very close relationship with you. That Supreme noumenal entity is your loving Father; He is not the judge of a court. He is your loving Father, the relationship is purely domestic. Now, when one is ensconced in the supreme stance, in the Supreme idea, one will be successful in each and every arena of human life. Whatever you will do like rendering social service - will be fruitful, and you will get immense pleasure in it. But if there is no love for the Supreme entity, then what will happen? Your work will be fruitless, and you will suffer from different kinds of psychic disease, including frustration. If you do your spiritual meditation for ten or twenty-four hours in a day, but there is no love for the Supreme Entity, you are simply misusing the time, abusing the time. So the first and foremost thing is that you should always remember that you are not an ordinary person, you have not come from an ordinary family, you have come from the noblest and the highest family of the universe because your Father is the most respectable person in the entire universe. So you must not suffer from any sort of defeatist complex, any sort of fear complex or any sort of hopelessness or helplessness, because your Father is always with you." (THE NOUMENAL CAUSE AND THE PERSONAL GOD, Subha's'ita Sam'graha Part 12, Ba'ba' in Fiesch, 20 May 1979 DMC, Timmern, Germany) This is the approach that must be taken. It also gets rid of pettiness and narrow sentiments. "All petty thoughts and narrow sentiments disappear from the mind of a person moving towards the Supreme Entity. God includes all; therefore to love God means to love all. So spiritual aspirants of God see God in everyone and everything, loving all equally. They look upon all countries as their own country, all languages as their own language, and all races as their own race. Even the worms and insects that infest hell are as dear to them as the greatest of human beings. To them, the importance and glamour of tiny ant is equal to that of an elephant. They realise that the entire universe is their own self, that the all-thinking God is their own all- thinking self. This is the true stance of immortality." (THE SUPREME QUESTION -- 2, Subha's'ita Sam'graha Part 7, Paos' Pu'rn'ima' 1958, Trimohan, Bhagalpur) That is why in texts on spirituality the Oneness of God is the emphasis. For example, "He is controlling the psychic realm which sustains and nourishes the entire life-flow of heaven, earth and underworld - so He is called Trilokana'tha [the Lord of the Three Worlds]. And in this quinquelemental world, He clearly understands the nature and behaviour of each and every entity, so He is called Bhu'tana'tha [the Lord of All Created Beings]." (NAMAH SHIVA'YA SHANTA'YA, DISCOURSE 20 (CONTINUED), SHIVA IN THE PRAN'A'MA MANTRA, 13 August 1982, Kashi) There are many spiritual stories that can be resorted to so as to prove how devotion is the way. "In ancient times there was one such devotee who used to go from place to place distributing the bliss of devotion. His name was Narada. Once he said to the Supreme Consciousness (Parama Purus'a in Sanskrit): "O Lord, all the scholars and philosophers say that You are omniscient, but people do not feel Your presence everywhere. Where, therefore, is the place where Your presence can most be felt? Or which place do You consider as dearest to You?" The Lord replied, "It is true that I am everywhere; there is no action, no thought, no feeling, in which I am not present. All actions take place before My eyes, within My mind. Nothing should be done or thought which is meant to be hidden from Me. Still, I do not live in the seventh heaven as people think. Minds which are free from narrowness, limitations, and isms are the places dear to me." (A'NANDA VACANA'MRTAM PART 23, THE BLISS OF THE DEVOTEE, 22 January 1971, Ranchi) Also, these learning stories mock the concept of heaven and hell - as these are dogmas that deny spirituality and cannot elevate the human being. "Devotees feel alike whether in heaven or in hell. In heaven they are with the Supreme Consciousness and are happy. If perchance they go to hell, the Cosmic Entity is also there. There is no place in this universe where God is not present. If they go to hell, the Lord cannot live alone in heaven. He will also have to be in hell to entertain His devotees. So if devotees go to hell they are also with the Supreme and dance, sing and do spiritual chants. Their minds remains full of bliss. They are completely apathetic and indifferent towards pleasure and pain, good name and bad name in the external world. Only the devotees can say that these carry no value. Those who are devoid of devotion, even if they work conscientiously, shall remain aloof from the Supreme and ultimately they will have abhorrence for work. While doing hard penance the minds of such people will not be with God. Instead, their minds will be thinking about the hardship faced during the penance." (DEVOTION -- THE ONLY PATH, A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 5, 18 November 1978, Patna) Devotees fear nothing, and do not fear the assertions of religious dogma. They know the Lord to be everywhere. "Everything in this universe is controlled by Him. Nothing is beyond Him, nothing is outside Him. He is both Lord of heaven and Lord of hell - neither are outside Him; neither are beyond His jurisdiction. That is why I have said that spiritual aspirants should never be unnecessarily worried about heaven and hell. If one does noble deeds or sings spiritual songs in hell, it is the bounden duty of the Lord of hell to be there, too, and thus it automatically ceases to be a hell. By forming a circle of the Lord's ardent devotees you can transform a hell into a heaven." (THE LORD OF MORTALITY AND IMMORTALITY, A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 8, 19 February 1979, Bombay) Some go as far as to make a firm point that there is not to be any fear in any circumstances. "'We don't care if it is an act of great sacrilege for which we will be doomed to live in hell. We shall happily go to hell. It's all the same for us. We have so much love for the Lord that He too, will have to come to hell to be with us. We don't make any discrimination between heaven and hell or between virtue and vice. All that matters to us is that the Lord should be pleased.'" (PLEASE PARAMA PURUS'A THROUGH YOUR SERVICE, A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 8, 24 February 1979 evening, Jammu) Remember, this merely points out that the sinner complex must be done away with on the spiritual path. Rectification of one's wrongs is what needs to happen not condemnation as a sinner. "As most people do not know basic human psychology, their actions result in the so-called criminals becoming a greater burden on society. Having been subjected to much social injustice and criticism, some people think, "Now that I have stepped onto the path of vice, now that I have fallen down, I will not stop until I reach the deepest hell." You should not do anything, even unconsciously, which goes against fundamental human psychology, and you should ensure that other people do not get any scope to make such mistakes either. If so-called sinners are repeatedly scolded, they will never become transformed into good people. Even bad people, under indirect pressure, or external attraction, or urge for the Supreme Consciousness, can turn into good people." (EXPLOITATION -- NO MORE, NEOHUMANISM IN A NUTSHELL 1, A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 7, 4 January 1979, Patna) It should also be understood that the position of women in religions has seldom been advanced to that of equality. The historical impetus of social equality will now unfold through spiritual force. Spirituality is the only means to social equality. "In the warrior era women were considered as men's precious wealth. Although women did not have the same rights and privileges as men, they commanded considerable social prestige. But in the intellectual era women were relegated to the status of animals and cattle. They became mere household necessities. In the warrior era women were regarded as the pleasurable objects of the valiant, and abduction of women by strong men was considered an act of piety and virtue. But in the intellectual era the trend changed, and women became playthings. Without husbands, they lost their very existence in society. In some countries, more than one woman was compelled to be subservient to one man. As a result of men crippling women economically with the pain of unrelenting social penalization and threats of perdition in hell, women became so dependent on men that the very sense of injustice of a man possessing many wives at the same time was erased from their minds. As a result of the peculiar logic that it was a sin for women to live unmarried lives, unmarried girls were forced to marry old men on the verge of death. In some countries and in some periods, they were married to imaginary gods and called devada'siis or "servants of God". Needless to say, these sorts of marriages only heightened social injustices. The continuation of such malpractices bred a sort of inferiority complex and despair in the minds of women. Few keep count of the millions of women who wept and sobbed themselves to death in the darkness of many a sleepless night. They were levelled flat like the soft earth under the administrative steamroller of the priests and intellectuals. For this reason, we find in some social customs and ceremonies, women's doggerels and tales of religious observances, that mothers with no other means of escape, taught the daughters from their childhood to pray to God that they might not be neglected as co-wives or that their rivals might not live long. Matrimonial ties became inviolable in the intellectual era." (The Vipra Age, Human Society Part 2) Spirituality and proper spiritual practices, rather then meaningless rituals, is what creates universalism in thought. This is vital also for social equality. "The social and religious rights of women were curtailed in numerous ways so that they would be kept forever in thraldom to the men. They were even forbidden walking in the open space under the open sky. Covered in burkas and veils, they were reduced to the status of caged birds living on seeds and water. It was decreed that they were not entitled to their ancestral property. The girls were given much less than the boys. It was categorically declared that they were not entitled to spiritual liberation or salvation; that women go to heaven, it's true, but the men get all sorts of privileges there that women cannot get. These rubbish ideas have died out due to various circumstances. In some places they are in the process of extinction, and in other places they are totally extinct. Today the clattering chariot wheels are turning. That din is making the hearts of the opportunists quake. This is the decree of fate. The pace of change is fast accelerating." ("Kramalaya", Shabda Cayanika' Part 10, 4 January 1987, Calcutta) What sort of knowledge should you rely on? Can written, documentary learnings be useful? "A source of knowledge is authoritative documents. These can provide real knowledge to human beings. However, if it is not based on spiritual realisation, if it is a mere interpolation arising out of the fertile brain of an opportunist or intellectual, it can never bring real knowledge to people, but will sow seeds of disharmony and dissension in the human society. For instance, the scripture of a certain community states that the earth is fixed and the sun in moving around it. This assertion is of course absolutely wrong scientifically. If an erudite scientist points out this mistake, the orthodox followers of the scriptures will brand him or her an atheist. The scriptures of other communities proclaim that only the followers of their religion are the favourite children of God and others are damned heathens. To kill them is not at all a sin, rather one will attain a permanent place in heaven after their death. Such scriptures are very detrimental to human society." (PRA'PTA VA'KYA AND A'PTA VA'KYA, ("Relative Knowledge And Absolute Knowledge"), Tattva Kaomudii Part 2) So you must rely ultimately on spiritual knowledge. "Qualified spiritual teachers are those with a developed integral outlook and a capacity to impart it to their students. Unfortunately so many so-called spiritual teachers are inculcating defective and narrow ideas in the name of spirituality to serve their own self- interests. Some of them even enter meaningless controversies such as whether God has a form or not, or is black or white, etc. Some even try to teach their disciples that there are as many as 300 million different gods and goddess! Others cite mythological stories to explain that certain gods bestow their powers on the faithful disciples, but other gods mercilessly punish the detractors. They jump at every opportunity to take advantage of the sentimental weaknesses of their credulous disciples, and in the name of spiritual training create obstacles on the path of spiritual progress by relating all kinds of cock and bull stories about heaven and hell. These "religious merchants" with their non-integral outlook, want to divide humanity into different groups (Indians, Germans, Russians, etc.) or into communities (Hindus, Muslims, Arya Samajis, etc.) Obviously blind religious supporters cannot form an integral view of the world. Rather they say, "Well in spite of having distributed so much food and water to the poor, and having undergone such severe penance, we still haven't been blessed with God-realisation." This is an utterance of one with a non-integral outlook. The Supreme Consciousness - God - cannot be attained by such people." (INTEGRAL AND NON-INTEGRAL OUTLOOK, Tattva Kaomudii Part 3) Co-existence of dogma and spirituality is impossible. "Never can we have the sun and the night at the same time. At the sight of the sun approaching, the face of the night becomes pale, and we know that it is dawn. Similarly, when the night descends, the sun disappears. The two cannot exist together. These two things cannot go together -- in the same way, the psychic inclination based on self-knowledge (helping everybody in their movement towards the Supreme Nucleus) and the ideal of the highest good can never coexist with the psychic inclination based on ignorance (that which causes a deteriorating effect on the human mind) and crudeness and directed towards sense-pleasures. This is because of the basic difference between matter and consciousness. Persons whose vision is not clear enough to grasp the real perspective of things, speak of peaceful coexistence simply to win cheap applause. They are living in a fool's hell. I won't say a "fool's paradise", even though that is the familiar expression. They are living in a fool's hell, because no such coexistence is possible. Darkness cannot coexist with the moon. Is talking about the impossible not a bid for cheap popularity? It is a form of hypocrisy." (SPIRITUAL LESSONS OF THE GIITA' -- 3, DISCOURSES ON KRS'N'A AND THE GIITA', A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 17, 12 February 1980, Calcutta) The awareness of real spirituality is arising. "Civilization is not unchanging . There is nothing stationary on this earth -- everything is dynamic. Civilization is also a progressive phenomenon, moving from good to better, from imperfection to perfection. The greater the tendency of refinement in people, the more cultured they are. We must remember that refinement and hypocrisy are not the same. There is a heaven and hell difference between the external show and the inner motives of a hypocrite, and the inner and outer consistency of a refined individual. Whatever is done in a refined way, is done with reasoning and propriety, and thus, instead of being a cause of social breakdown, will be a cause of social well-being. Let me give an example. The drinking of water is basically an animal instinct. It would reveal a complete lack of culture for anyone to drink drain- water simply because they were thirsty. To ascertain whether the water is pure before drinking, and to ensure that all towns and villages receive a regular supply of pure water, are signs of a civilised society. But to say, "I'm doing a dry fast" after having secretly drunk a glass of water is the height of hypocrisy. (THE SPIRIT OF SOCIETY, A Few Problems Solved Part 6, Prout in a Nutshell Part 9, Supreme Expression Volume 2) Remember, God knows everything. "The Cosmic Consciousness (God) knows everything. According to A'nanda Ma'rga philosophy, there is no question of heaven and hell. So you must not encourage helplessness. Indeed, God is present in hell and heaven. So you are never alone. You must never encourage the psychology of helplessness. The Supreme Entity is always with you. That Supreme Entity is in love with you, and therefore you must not suffer from any kind of inferiority complex. Make Him the goal of your life and become an emancipated being." (HE IS EVERYTHING, A'nanda Vacana'mrtam Part 1, 15 August 1978, Patna) All above extracts from the works of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti ====================== JJLHqbvP92usjZiT5JLJeTRS8amhvvpe0Dh5ocDXcuO50w0RcJVJCNBupQUrT