Suggestions along the way for seekers of truth.
.Thursday, March-18-10
***The Avatar ***
"O Bharata (Arjuna) Whenever virtue (dharma) Declines
and vice (adharma) predominates, I incarnate as an Avatar.
In visible form I appear from age to age to protect the virtuous
and destroy evildoing in order to reestablish righteousness."
From "God Talks with Arjuna" by Paramahansa Yogananda
SRF Publishers LA USA, 1994 (a Gita Commentary by).
The Avatar is the great soul who reached God-Realization in a previous
lifetime, and voluntarily returns to human form to fill a special role in
humanities evolutionary process.
Because the consciousness & stature of such soul is so much more
advanced than His peers in general, such a one is not so easily recognized
by the masses of people who are still restricted by their cultural and
religious programming. Yet there are so many devotees of regular
teachers that imagine their own teacher is " the one" or the only avatar
of a certain age. Most of these claims are merely wishful thinking.
Just as so many churches vainly claim
that their truth is the" only real truth."
If you should ever here of ten athletes each claiming they
all came in first in the same race - you will know that they
are all confused about something! Even the ability to
recognize such a "Great One" is no small/simple task.
Such souls come on earth very rarely and are even
beyond the development of most of our great saints.
Like the unfathomable vastness of all the universes in
outer space, so is the full stature of an avatar beyond
normal human comprehension.
In the Bhagavad Gita the Avatar/Savior Krishna said,"
" Whosoever, freed from delusion, knows me
as the Supreme Spirit, Knows All, O descendant
of Bharata. (Arjuna). He worships me with his
whole being. "
"From "God Talks With Arjuna, SRF Publishers, LA, USA
It is this phrase," Freed from delusion", which
refers to my oft repeated theme on these pages
about becoming free from our many illusions,
especially the delusion that the relative world is real.
Yet even before this happens we must be free from
the negative and erroneous aspects of our religious
and cultural programming as well as the greater
challenge of seeing the world as it really is.
The role of an Avatar/ prophet/Savior being
to raise the consciousness of a localized part,
or a much broader cross section of humanity
may leave one wondering at times if a certain
individual could possibly be in such a high
spiritual consciousness to serve in this role.
This is a most difficult area to understand in religions,
as we are used to seeing in the lives of most great spiritual
beings such divinely manifested qualities that one should
strive for.
However, it seems that there have been times in
world history when the prophet was to play a role
that from some aspects may appear unbecoming
[in certain regards] of what one would expect to
see in the life of an avatar.
In the cases of both Moses and Mohamed for
example we have a record of great leaders who
at times condoned/practiced certain types of
violence and seemingly unspiritual/coarse acts.
Their flocks simply were not ready for a higher
level of teaching, and had to be brought forward
a bit from where they were, with a fear mongering
God and many narrow rigid rules.
One can[unless programmed] easily look at that
history and find it wanting/different, but that was
then and this is now.
There are some persons within those groups who
are doing heroic work at great risk in that difficult
process of reformation .
Some of this may have been done the way it was done because
of the ways of the cultures they were addressing, and the very
situations those cultures were entrenched in at that somewhat
not so opportune time the Prophet needed to play His role.
Thus He was required to work within those entrenched parameters.
Looking back in time from today's world as we see it with the
available data, with different cultural eyes, too many of these
situations may raise a lot of uncomfortable questions[except
for the clergy who would rather not ask too many questions].
I will not go into details at this time, as the ancient
and modern history of all these matters are available
for all to read from various sources.
Yet, if a situation required even a great soul to play a part for the
sake of those who had to be raised up from crude beginnings as
a civilized community, that part he/she played as the will of God.
The very unfortunate aspects of such situations are that since
in reality the religious world is so rife with fanatics and con
artists of every stripe and style, the above explanation I just
shared could easily be mistaken as a pass or exception for
certain misdeeds/conflicts by power seeking teachers.
This is where very profound and intuitive spiritual
discrimination comes into the picture.
An intuitive awareness developed by a great deal of
Meditation and spiritually healthy living.
It is very difficult for most persons to be able to tell
what the true status of a proclaimed teacher really is.
Too many persons are influenced by charisma and crowd
excitation, as well as their own innocent hopes and programming.
To be able to tell the difference between a live and a living Guru,
also the levels and values of different teachings can be so easily
misleading to the seeker, especially when the novice seeker
is trying to find his/her way though this complex subject.
The greatest blessing in todays' world is the convenient availability
of so much data. Don't let this opportunity pass you by, keep seeking!
Take your time to digest all these new insights, while deeply meditating.
In this area there are so many hidden " traps" , and many
get caught in them while looking through the dark glasses
of ones karmic disposition and programming disabilities.
So much egoic wishful thinking takes place that makes it
appear one has found the perfect way or teacher. Maybe?
And maybe what you have found is the only way for you.
That may very well work. It may take a lifetime to really know.
Just keep in mind - that " one way" is the" wrong way."
Hopefully one will eventually find either what one is really looking
for[that can be anything], or one will find the clear and sure
direction of the better way to truly advance in the way one can
best understand the path. This will be a little different for
different personality groups with differing needs.
If in ones spiritual search a person ends up in any
faith/Path believing that all persons must also follow
the way yo u have attached yourself to, thinking it is the
"ONLY WAY " for all persons-you can be sure of three things.
First, you have not gone forwards, but merely sideways with
different names and forms to worship.
Second, you are still severely entrenched in popular programming that essentially keeps most persons in the most limiting views of God an mans evolutionary directions.
Third, You will surely be a long time even understanding your own faith.
The basis of some great misunderstandings amongst orthodox
religionists in this matter stems from misreading motives and
the misunderstanding of the Prophets exercise of " lineage closure".
Statements of closure made by various prophets such as ---
Jesus saying " Many shall come in my name saying,
" I am He" look here or look there "..."believe them not."
who also said "I am the way the truth and the light, no one comes to the father except through me? "John 14; This oft quoted out of context piece of misunderstood script will only make sense if one reads a few verses further down the page " It is not I that am speaking - but the father that does all these works." This context now changes the meaning of it all! Jesus never was and is not the only way for all persons in the world! Only for those who are destined to be his personal devotees is He the only way. For those of other faiths - they too have their own true saviors.
---or as Muhammad " Allah will never send a new prophet or religion to this earth after this,"
Re the Hadith-from Muhammads' last lecture. [ how is it that so many great prophets have succeeded Muhammad eg Sankara, Lahiri Mahasaya, Paramahansa Yogananda, etc, etc .
---or as Bahaullah" If any person claims to be a prophet of God within the expiration
of one thousand years. Know that person to be fraud, and if such a person does not
recant His claim, great will be the punishment awaiting him."
From Gleanings [last page]. And along came other great ones.
---Or as 10th Guru of the Sikhs, Gobind Singh , saying there
would not be any more gurus in that lineage.
---or as Paramahansa Yogananda, who said there would be
no more "Gurus" succeeding Him in His branch of the Sacred
lineage of the Self-Realization Fellowship/YSS tradition
in the lineage of Mahavatar Babaji. Yogananda also took this
a bit further by warning us about the unreliability of the various
Psychics who in the future would claim they are getting all kinds
of messages from Him for the world etc. And so it is happening.
Misreading of motives is another problem - if you are dealing with
a great soul/prophet, such a one would not be looking for the
monopolies or status that ego based individuals would seek.
Not in the bigger picture. So claims to exclusivity are minor
in these [ if non-existent ] in these noted statements of closure.
Giving them an absolute and literal interpretation will often
contradict history and common sense.
Keep in mind that such statements were also used as
political tools to control the masses by power hungry
authorities and wannabe teachers. Beware the clergy!
There is also the matter of errors in more ancient documents,
even your favorite "God" may not always eliminate human
error in written and translated documents.
Whose translation are you going to interpret?
What will your own interpretation be 25 years from now?
Our perspectives and associations are always changing/evolving!
There are several things going on here, and although from one point of view it appears that many of these comments are claims to exclusivity, it is not so. These statements were originally intended words of protection, direction, and caution for the faithful.
Initially, because of the restless nature of many devotees, the leader /prophet must make some clear statement to protect His earnest followers from becoming distracted by the many, many, copy-cat charlatans who always inevitably attempt to duplicate or even hijack the masters work as soon as He leaves the earthly visible scene . The securing of the legacy itself is also an important consideration in this process of " closure" . It seals the work so that it will be free from misuse for some future period and not diluted by too many other opinions by the founders successors and/or competitors. There are exceptions to this when the founder is succeeded by great souls of God-Realization. Such persons with egos subdued are now concerned about becoming famous etc.
Hopefully if the devotees are listening to Him and not every opportunist out there, they would not be looking for the comforting hand holding from dead gurus who are still living in this world. Many of whom will vainly claim some unique and/or exclusive position of authority as the true successor of so and so. But people being as they are, seeking with such innocence, hope and trust, really eat this up. It must be a side effect of the unreal /relative world called "MAYA."
Closure also aids in keeping some limits on the sheer quantity of Holy Writ, which seems to become rather voluminous when dealing with some prolific writers. When one understands that these writings can often be very profound and subtle in their meanings. Even in the plainest language writings of many pages become difficult for the mind to coordinate and remember. If you add to this the writings of too many leaders in a single movement [NRM] confusion and contradiction may eventually seem to result. END
" Now we see through a glass darkly,
Then we will see face to face." KJV
The key to watch for here is the word "Then".
The term "then" is not just when you join a Church ?
and praise a God or a Savior, it is when you greatly
change yourself and become Self-Realized as did
history's greatest saints and Yogis. This is exactly
what Lord Krishna said in an earlier quote above -
" being freed from delusion."
In the meantime regular meditation etc will gradually improve
your intuition and your spiritual discrimination - the polishing
of that direct link to divine wisdom and attunement.
To become free of this problem popular belief requires
the breaking free of false knowledge, with which every
human being has been programmed no matter what
your faith, culture, or status [with the exception of the
Great Ones- those who are God-realized, these are persons
who in this or other lifetimes have succeeded in breaking
through the darkness of popular belief systems and have
clearly penentrated to the core of Reality{the true God}].
Such persons are the Saviors of the world and sometimes
great religious or spiritual movements are founded on
their lives and works/teachings by followers.
We all have to understand that this is the initial challenge
for every human being, every seeker and devotee.
This step is the matrix to realizing that the world as
we see it/know it through the senses is also " not real."
Thus this material world is known as the world of Relativity.
Recognizing and understanding the very existence of this
endemic problem and working ones way out of it is a major
first step on any progressive spiritual path/search.
Joining another church or cult with all its euphoria
may temporarily excite you, but the real change can
only come if you have true divine leadership/guidance
through which you can change yourself. Missionary zeal
is the deadweight to spiritual progress -change yourself.
Going sideways is not the same as going forward!
Beware of those who assume to know how to save you if they do
not first realize their own innate predicament in this regard.
And have at least gone past much of this problem of delusion.
"The blind cannot lead the blind." Yet in the world of persons,
this seems to be a main position adopted by most well meaning
evangelists and missionaries and other unrealized teachers.
Things have not changed very much - these are the modern Pharisees.
Some dispensations were meant to bring various cultures to higher
lessons of life and appear more universal in their teachings and
may never seem out of date, whereas other dispensations were for
timely local purposes to serve certain cultures/races in their
social/spiritual baby steps. All have some enduring principles
that are eternal in their application to human life mixed in with
their topical social rules. Then we also have the fact that so many
teachings/ideas/writings can get changed [even politicized]
along the way. One cannot begin to really progress spiritually
if one imagines that keeping on with popular traditions alone
will lead to any kind of immortality/salvation/truth.
Popular ideas are generally of the very lowest quality.
Whether in area of food, religion, entertainment etc.
Usually promising some degree of truth, salvation, security,
and rewards which they really have no power to give to any one.
Or perhaps it is also a matter of " taking the sugar and throwing the sand away," as the Master said. Not always easy to know what is no longer relevant when one is trying to prove to the rest of the world that ones book is the most perfect one in the world.[that alone is a non-starter]. You will obviously have to spend more time understanding the whole picture to see all parts as really being the same elephant! [In reference to a story told by the Master " 5 blind boys and the elephant "]
Whereas the former type of dispensations - such as came
via Krishna, Jesus, Shankara, Buddha, Yogananda,
and the greatest mystics of various faiths represent a
pluralism with more mystical teaching on prayer and
meditation, the subtler aspect of the spiritual life in
greater detail, few social and material rules[less politics],
and a God of Love and forgiveness.
This level of dispensation is for more universal application
for the long term and can truly be applied to all
serious seekers regardless of nationality, culture and faith.
This level of teaching when properly applied and
understood will show more freedom from politics and fear.
This level of spirituality gives one true empowerment.
Those other popular teachings will be full of harsh rules for social
and material living, God fearing threats and the most rigid
codes imaginable. Such teachings will need major reforming
to meet the needs of to-days world, and those who were telling
everyone else to change to their way may themselves be in
the greatest need to change. Many people are now seeing Reality
in a different light, reading old writ with new eyes. Eyes that see
more clearly that than those eyes programmed by theological systems.
The best truism for serious religionists is to confine their exclusive
claims to their personal needs. Saying that their chosen path is the
only way for themselves. Beyond that there is great danger to all.
The tail is wagging the dog!
Reminds me of a marriage in trouble, each person thinks
it is the other who should do the changing to make things right.
The great conflicts in the world of religion will not abate until
we all start looking within to solve these problems.
Pluralism would be a great first step for all Middle-eastern
originating faiths to subscribe to, it may even make a great
contribution to world peace.
Only those who are God-realized have the right to suggest
others to be like them, even follow them!
They are in the best position to show us the way.
And such great ones never use force [as policy]
to persuade the world of their wisdom.
Namste, PYisLove..IMHO