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Sitaram · Site Admin Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 1079

One reader has written:

Evlogitae (Blessings) Sitaram,

I just came across your website and am awed by what you cover and
your spiritual journey. I am especially intrigued because I was
baptized as an infant in the Greek Orthodox Church, as I gather you
have. And I hope to spend time with some Eastern Orthodox Christian
monks as part of my spiritual journey. You have already experienced
so much more along this road (I read about your time in the Greek
Orthodox monasteries the correspondence with Fr. Lazaras) than I
expect to in my earthly life. I am very interested in knowing how and
why you arrived at where you are today spiritually.

So I am asking you the following questions as part of my working out
my faith and salvation.

From reading parts of your website I sense that you have decided it
was necessary to go from identifying yourself as a Christian to
being a Hindu, or to at least take on a Hindu name and explain your
faith in terms of the Hindu religion. Does this mean that you have
also changed from being a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ to a
follower of the Hindu Sons of God?

(I guess in the Hindu faith it is OK to follow all the sons of God.)
Does this mean that in your mind the Hindu sons of God are at the
same level as Jesus Christ? How does this belief square with what I
gather are the clear words from Jesus Christ that He is THE Way and
Truth and only through Him are we saved? (I personally interpret this
to mean that He will be our judge and that He will rightly judge each
of us with perfect mercy, justice and understanding of our situation
and life experience. He will judge those of us who have more
exposure to the Truth or who profess to know the truth more strictly
than those who may never even have heard of Him. And He will then
tailor the next set of experiences after our earthly life that we
need to bring us closer to God if that is what we sincerely desire.)
It seems to me that He is--at the very least--the leader (and the
most recent appearance) among all the Sons of God that our Father may
have sent to guide humanity through the world and human history. And
the New Testament says that He was (is) with the Father before
(outside of) time and assisted in the creation of the Universe. Also,
I do not know of any other historical God-Man assigned by God to die
and be resurrected for us. And I do not see any room in the New
Testament for belief in reincarnation where we come back to earth
until we "get it right". I think that belief in reincarnation tends
to give people an excuse to relax and not work our very diligently
our salvation.

Finally, years ago when my Koumbaro* and I were exploring
other faiths and religions, he had a dentist friend who for a time
was a practicing Hindu and a member of a Hindu temple in the Chicago
area.

They practiced techniques like astral projection and other
supernatural phenomenon which I believe are real manifestations of
the spiritual realm as are the gifts of the Spirit through the Holy
Spirit.

However, when Harry's friend decided for various reasons that he
could no longer be part of this group he said that he had a very
difficult time disengaging himself from them and that there for a
while he battled evil spirits associated with this group that tried
to keep him from leaving. He felt his health and life were threatened
by them.

Now I understand that monastics, in their efforts to attend to God,
are attacked by demons. But to me it sounds like this Hindu group
was in league with evil influences. Also, after several years of
practicing Transcendental Mediation and exploring the next steps I
felt that it's focus was too open ended--that to purposely avoid any
thoughts was not the right direction for me--and I returned, with a
better understanding, and better able, to praying to God. So this
has formed part of my perspective on Hinduism.

So I am asking your to please explain to me your change in faith, or
at least correct my perception of your faith. I understand this is
very personal and may not be something you can quickly write, so I
would be grateful if you could at least direct me to the part of your
website that is most pertinent to my request.

Christ is Risen! (A Greek Orthodox greeting during the weeks after
Easter, to which one answers "Truly He is risen!")

P.S. In case you have not already read this--I highly recommend The
Silent Mountain-In Search of Orthodox Spirituality by Kyriakos
Makridis.

*Koumbaro/Koumbara The Koumbaro is the Eastern Orthodox groom's best
man. (The Koumbara is the female version.) Traditionally, the
koumbaros was the groom's godfather, but today any close male
relative or friend can do the job. In traditional Greek weddings, the
koumbaro's role is highly symbolic, and his duties are many. For
example, during the crowning ceremony, he must place the crowns on
the bride's and groom's heads, then switch the crowns back and forth
three times, uniting and binding the two lovebirds.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(My reply):

I shall carefully read your excellent email and try to respond,
during the coming hours and days, to your various questions and
comments. With your kind permission, I shall post your interesting
questions, and my answers, to my Yahoo email egroup listserve,
keeping you anonymous as to name and email address.

http://www.egroups.com/group/Sitaram

If you visit there, you will find over 1500 posts of my thoughts to
browse.

I shall try to send you links to things which I have written which
pertain to Christianity and your questions.

I shall send this email immediately, so that you may know I am in the
process of responding to what you have written, and so that you may
grant me permission to post these correspondences to my egroup for
the interest and benefit of many.

Best regards,

Sitaram

+++++++++++++++++++++++

When we hear the name of some unknown foreign country, which we
have never seen, then we tend to think of a spot on a map. We do not
think of a vast region with mountains, rivers, deserts, canyons, and
seashores. We think of that which is foreign to us as a unity, and
do not imagine it as a diversity. Many, who hear the term Greek
Orthodox, think of some one thing rather than a diversity. Perhaps
they think of scenes from "Zorba the Greek", or Kojak, or "My Big Fat
Greek Wedding." There is indeed quite a diversity in Eastern
Orthodoxy in general, and among the Greek Orthodox in particular.

Many people assume that all of Christianity is similar and do not
realize the great diversity between Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic
and Protestant. Even among the Protestant denominations alone,
there is an enormous panorama of different landscapes and
geography.

I would say it is this chasm of diversity and disagreement which over
many years, slowly, as I became increasingly aware of it, drove me
away from Christianity, and drove me to study many different
non-Christian religions and philosophies.

Now I am no particular religion and align myself with no group or
society. I have my religious and spiritual beliefs, or thoughts,
which change and vary over time, just as my own body changes and
varies, just as anything and everything which is alive changes and
evolves and eventually deteriorates.

I have encountered a few other people who tread exactly the same
path that I have wandered, converting to Greek or Russian Orthodoxy,
and then drifting away from that and into Hinduism or Buddhism.
I felt the need to say these few things as a general statement. But I
do not want to ignore your specific questions, and so perhaps, at
this juncture, I should scan through your email and try to enumerate
your specific questions and points.

1. You were baptized Greek Orthodox as an infant, while I was
baptized as a convert when I was 23. This is an important point, as
the experience of a convert to any religion is very different indeed
from the experience of someone "born and raised" in that same
religion. I hope to address this at greater length in a subsequent
post.

2. You desire to spend some time with some Eastern Orthodox monks.
I will suggest for you to places to visit: Holy Transfiguration
Monastery (Greek) in Brookline, Massachusetts, and Holy Trinity
Monastery in Jordanville, New York (Russian). And here are two more
pairs of differences to explore: namely, the difference between the
layperson in the world and the monastic who has renounced
worldliness. Also, we find here the polarity of differences between
Greek Orthodox spirituality and Russian Orthodox spirituality.

3. Your mention of my correspondence with the late Father Lazarus
raises another topic all its own, namely, those who make monastic
vows and then abandon monastic life to re-enter the world again and
marry. I have personally known a number of such individuals.

You also ask me the following:

4. Are you a Christian? I no longer claim to be a Christian nor
would any Christian of any denomination acknowledge me as a
Christian.

Gandhi is an example of someone who chose not to BE a Christian,
and yet was definitely a follower, admirer and imitator of Christ.

5. Are you still a follower of Christ? Although I am no longer a
Christian, I think I qualify as an admirer of Christ, and I will
often ask myself and others, "What would Jesus do in this situation?"

6. In your own mind, are the matters of Hinduism on the same level as
Jesus Christ? There has never been, nor will there ever be, any
figure or story quite like Christ's, God become human, leading a
sinless blameless life, and then sacrificed for the sake of all
humanity.

Gandhi certainly made a special place in his heart for Jesus'
Beatitudes or "Sermon on the Mount." Novelist Kurt Vonnegut wisely
observed that the so-called Christians in America always clamor
loudly to erect monuments of the Ten Commandments of Moses in public
places, but never once have they expressed any interest in displaying
Jesus' Beatitudes. I recently saw a documentary about the death
penalty and lethal injection. The camera zoomed in on the injection
table, which curiously resembles a crucifix, with projections for the
arms of the condemned to be strapped. While they showed the table
with its straps, they interviewed the relative of a murder victim,
most likely a person raised as a "Christian", who explained that his
life could have no closure until he saw the murderer die. When Bush
was governor of Texas, he had the unique opportunity to imitate
Christ and commute the death sentence of Karla Fay Tucker to life
imprisonment. Bush chose not to imitate Jesus. If you ask me, it is
a sizeable number of Christians who do not put Jesus at the highest
level in their lives. I think it is possible to be a Gandhi, and
place Jesus first, without being a Christian. I also think that much
of Christianity as it is practiced in today's world is Christianity
in name only, and is hypocrisy. If God is TRULY merciful and
forgiving and compassionate, then such a God will forgive even the
unbelieving, and most especially the unbelieving. Mercy and
compassion and love is not some "quid pro quo" contractual agreement
where "if you do this then I will do that."

7. How do you reconcile non-Christian religions with the sentiment
that "Jeus Christ that THE Way and Truth and only through Him are we
saved?" This question of yours raises the issue of "exclusivity."
The major thing which drove me away from Orthodoxy was the Old
Calendarist notion that the New Calendarists were deceived by Satan
and worshiping a false Christ, and "angel of light." Through a
series of disputes, the group I was in broke away from their bishops,
and sought out a pair of Old Calendar Greek bishops. Those two
Bishops subsequently quarreled and separated, so now a portion of the
group remained under just one of those Bishops. Finally, that Bishop
became angry with that group and rejected them, so then, they were
with no Bishop at all, but only one priest. But, their beliefs drew
heavily upon a theology of "the last times" in which it was quite
natural and expected that all the hierarchy should fall into demonic
deception, and only a very small handful or remnant should remain
faithful to the real true faith, and that this situation would be the
hallmark of "the last times" which would be the months before the
coming of the anti-Christ, and Armageddon, and the destruction of the
world and the second coming of Christ, and the final Judgment.

8. Regarding the notion of re-birth or reincarnation you write: "I
think that belief in reincarnation tends to give people an excuse to
relax and not work our very diligently our salvation." This point
of your raises yet another important polarity, between the Protestant
notion of Luther, that we are saved by "faith alone" and grace, as
opposed to Pelagius notion that we have within our own abilities and
free will what is necessary to choose good over evil and to work out
our own salvation. You see, Gandhi rejected Christianity, because he
saw Christians in England sinning casually, with the notion that they
were constantly cleansed and forgiven by the blood of Christ's
sacrifice. Gandhi saw them as lazy regarding efforts towards self
improvement.

Gandhi stated emphatically, in his autobiography, that he did not
wish simply to AVOID the consequences of sin through forgiveness,
but, if at all possible, he desired to extinguish sin itself at its
very source.

Protestants will often refer to the Eastern Orthodox as
"semi-Pelagian," implying that they rely to some degree upon "works"
and their own personal efforts to achieve salvation, rather than
relying solely upon faith and grace. I suppose this observation is
quite true. But from the Orthodox perspective, it is the Protestants
who fall under the criticism in the Epistle of St. James that "Faith
without works is dead" and "Show me your Faith without works, and I
shall show you MY faith THROUGH my works" and "Religion is simply
this, to help orphans and widows in their affliction, and to remain
unspotted from the world."

9. Lastly, you raise the question of demonic warfare, "unseen
warfare", as described in such writings as the Philokalia and
Brachianinov's "Arena". I hope to address this topic in a subsequent
post.

Of course, one might spend a lifetime writing a book to address the
points which you raise. I have tried to enumerate the points in your
letter, and to respond to some of them quickly this morning. I do
want to get some kind of response posted for today.

I shall attempt to speak at greater length in subsequent posts, and
also to cite the URLs to things which I have previously written which
may be pertinent to these discussions.

Regarding the question of non-Christian religions, I think the best
answer lies in a careful consideration of the life and personality of
people such as Gandhi, Ramana Maharshi, the Dali Lama, Tich Naht
Hahn, and Prabhupad, who are recent in history, two still living. I
would also like to mention the names of Jimmy Carter and Dietrich
Bonhoeffer.

Here are some links to various posts and essays as supplemental
readings:

http://www.geocities.com/tulsidas_ramayan/page128.htm

http://www.geocities.com/tulsidas_ramayan/page031.htm

http://www.geocities.com/tulsidas_ramayan/page089.htm

http://www.geocities.com/tulsidas_ramayan/page159.htm

http://www.geocities.com/tulsidas_ramayan/page164.htm

http://www.geocities.com/tulsidas_ramayan/page245.htm

http://www.geocities.com/tulsidas_ramayan/page251.htm

http://www.geocities.com/tulsidas_ramayan/page293.htm

http://www.geocities.com/tulsidas_ramayan/page294.htm

http://www.geocities.com/tulsidas_ramayan/page314.htm

http://www.geocities.com/tulsidas_ramayan/page371.htm

http://www.geocities.com/tulsidas_ramayan/page380.htm

http://www.sulekha.com/groups/pos...aspx?cid=64313&forumid=756949

I also suggest reading anything and everything by Jaroslav Pelikan,
but most especially his 5 volumes on "History and Development of
Christian Doctrine."

I also recommend "The History of Heresy" by David Christie-Murray.

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