Sorrow as the Shadow of Desire

Sitaram · Sorrow as the Shadow of Desire

http://www.sulekha.com/chpost.asp...ilosophy&show=0&cid=95349

Metta, is the term for projecting feelings of good will and
benovelence.

I read about how once some enemy of the Buddha unleashed a heard of
crazed wild elephants to attack him, but he projected the metta of
his good will, and the elephants became calm and benign.

There was a song in the 60's "I wish you love".... another line "and
when its hot, some lemonade, to cool you in some leafy glade"

Compassion and ethics or morality seem to be connected, and connected
with benevolence, Well-wishing, good will, which is a form of
altruism, seeing "other" as "self."

I know a very nice Roman Catholic priest from India who is at a
University in the USA, working on a PhD, and his these will
be "positive thinking" as it relates to grace

The notion of explaining a miracle, means to find a cause,
causality... the very nature of the miraculous is something outside
of the normal experience of cause and effect.

One example of the attempt to explain miracles, even by professional
christian theologians and clergy,... is to say that the feeding of
the 5000 people with the loaves and fish was really about all of the
people having food hidden, and they were inspired to share with others

I suppose a simple minded definition of honesty is "to say what you
do, and do what you say"

The ability to change and modify and adapt and evolve seems to be a
very important aspect of many things. Nebula clouds evolve suns and
solarsystems. Biological life evolves, adapts.

Language and culture and law and government evolve, change, adapt.
That which is alive changes, and that which changes is alive. THat
which is frozen in a particular century and unalterable (such as
certain fundamentalist religions) is not alive but dead and deadening

The crucifixion is a sort of karma for Jesus. He even prays that, if
possible, it be taken away. But, apparently, it is not possible, so
it is necessary

Life is a sexually transmitted condition which always proves fatal

I went into a bathroom in a hospital, and saw the following grafitti
on the wall: "I love God but God only likes me"

Perhaps there are an infinite number of universes tucked inside an
infinite number of black holes, and in each universe there is only
one solarsystem, with one planet such as earth which has evolved life.

But, perhaps all of those universes in the "Multiverse" are somehow
connected karmically so that what evolves in one as progress enhances
others....

Plucking a flower affects a distant star

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Atlantis/3425/page126.htm

Most Westerners are apt to alienate themsleves from nature. They
think man and nature have nothing in common except in some desirable
aspects, and that nature exists only to be utilized by man.

But to Eastern people nature is very close. This feeling for nature
was stirred when Basho discovered an inconspicuous, almost negligible
plant blooming by the old dilapidated hedge along the remote country
road, so innocently, so unpretentiously, not at all desiring to be
notices by anybody. Yet when one looks at it, how tender, how full of
divine glory or splendor more glorious than Solomon's Kingly attire
it is! Its very humbleness, its unostentatious beauty, evokes one's
sincere admiration. The poet can read in every petal the deepest
mystery of life and being. Basho might not have been conscious of it
himself, but I am sure that in his heart at the time there were
vibrations of feeling somewhat akin to what Christians may call
divine love, which reaches the deepest depths of cosmic life.

Karma is like a newton's third law, "for every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction"

In the Old Testament, in book of Judges or Joshua, it speaks of some
kings who were cruel, and cut off the thumbs of their enemy kings,
but then they were conquered themselves, and their conquerors cut off
their thumbs and forced them to crawl beneath the banquet tables
and eat the crumbs

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sitaram/message/1229

How do all the formative forces of the universe come then? By
struggling, competition, conflict. Suppose that all the particles of
matter were held in equilibrium, would there be then any process of
creation?

We know from science that it is impossible. Disturb a sheet of water,
and there you find every particle of the water trying to become calm
again, one rushing against the other; and in the same way all the
phenomena which we call the universe - all things therein - are
struggling to get back to the state of perfect balance. - Vivekananda

On pbs educational television panel show, someone mentioned a
surprising statistic, namely, that each and every year, MORE books
are translated into Spanish that have been translated into Arabic in
the PAST 1000 YEARS

If truth uplifts, then why do we prostrate before it?

If I am ugly, yet I know that beauty exists.

If I am foolish, yet I know there is Wisdom.

If I am mortal, yet I know there is something Eternal.

If I am unclean, it is Purity which teaches me of my uncleanliness.

If I am sinful, yet I am not so sinful as to say there is nothing
Holy.

- Sitaram

Plato in his dialogue "Timaeus" throws "becoming" into the mix, as a
mediator between non-being and being.

Perhaps childhood is the focus of God's interest in creation. Perhaps
adults are an unfortunate but necessary by-product of that interest.

Sow a thought, reap an acton. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a
habit, reap a character.

Sow a character, reap a destiny.
it meaningful to speak of someone being attached to "non-attachment".

Is being attached good or bad? Bhagwat Gita tells us to be un-
attached to everything.

What are the verses regarding the sacrifice of the "mahapurusha", the
great being, which makes possible the creation of the universe? Can
one see, in some sense, God crucifying himself, or sacrificing
himself for the sake of existence. Also the Jewish notion of the
Kaballa, of Tsim Tsum, the "divine withdrawal" of God's perfection
and fullness, to make a "place" or "makom" for existence, and also
the notion of God's voluntary sacrifice of some measure of
omniscience and omnipotence to make free will possible for individual
souls.

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Atlantis/3425/page292.htm

Is Ego the root cause of all evils then?

Think about absolute peace. Is there desire in that state of absolute
peace. Every religion proclaims "peace" (even the most violent
religion). There is an important verse in the Psalms "Seek peace, and
pursue it". Jeru-salem means "City of Peace". The name Solomon, is a
form of Shalom, which means peace. Jesus spoke of a "peace which
passes all understanding".

It is good that we have added peace to our equation.

The mere realization that there is something called holiness, and
that it is to be sought, is the beginning of holiness.

"The meek shall inherit the earth" are the words of Jesus in the New
Testament. The ancient Chinese had a concept of "Wu-Wei", action
through non-action. I think there is also a verse in the Gita with
speaks of this. In the "Tao" of Lao-Tse, we read "He who knows does
not say. He who says does not know." All these notions touch on the
same problem, that desire itself is an impediment. It is the "self"
which yearns for the fruits of actions.

In the words of Meher Baba:

Consciously or unconsciously, every living creature seeks one thing.
In the lower forms of life and in less advanced human beings, the
quest is unconscious; in advanced human beings, it is conscious.

The object of the quest is called by many names; happiness, peace,
freedom, truth, love, perfection, self-realization, God-Realization,
union with God.

Essentially, it is a search for all of these, but in a SPECIAL WAY.
Everyone has moments of happiness, glimpses of truth,fleeting
experiences of union with God what they want is to make them
PERMANENT. They want to establish an ABIDING reality in the midst of
constant change.

This is a natural desire, based fundamentally on a memory - dim or
clear as the evolution of the individual soul may be low or high - a
memory of the souls essential unity with God.

For every living thing is a partial manifestation of God, conditioned
only by its lack of knowledge of its own true nature.

The whole of evolution, in fact, is an evolution from unconscious
divinity to conscious divinity,in which God Himself, essentially
eternal and unchangeable, assumes an infinite variety of forms,
enjoys an infinite variety of experiences, and transcends an infinite
variety of self-imposed limitations.

Evolution from the standpoint of the Creator is a divine sport
(Lila), in which the Unconditioned tests the infinitude of His
absolute knowledge, power, and bliss in the midst of all conditions.
But evolution from the standpoint of the CREATURE, with its limited
knowledge limited power, limited capacity for enjoying bliss, is an
epic of alternating rest and struggle, joy and sorrow, love and hate -
-- until in the perfected person, God balances the pairs of
opposites, and duality is transcended.

Then creature and Creator recognize themselves as ONE; changelessness
is established in the midst of change; eternity is experienced in the
midst of time. God knows Himself as God, unchangeable in essence,
infinite in manifestation, ever experiencing the supreme bliss of
Self-realization in continually fresh awareness of Himself by
Himself.

This Realization must and does take place only in the midst of life;
for it is only in the midst of life that limitation can be
experienced and transcended, and that subsequent freedom from
limitation can be enjoyed. (this union of the created and Creator is
an Avatar or Incarnation).

All religions' goal is the same, though the paths and means are
different. One human lifetime is far too short for attainment. This
is why many rebirths are necessary, embracing many religious and
philosophical paths.

Has organized religion ever achieved anything meaningful? a german
poet wrote: "where danger grows, there grows too that which saves",
suffering and solace are interconnected

Can thought, which is material, a chemical process, a thing, which
has created all this structure, can that very thought solve all our
problems?

One must very carefully, very diligently, find out what are the
limitations of thought. And can thought itself realise its limitation
and therefore not spill over into the realm which thought can never
touch? Thought has created the technological world, and thought has
also created the division between "you" and "me".

Thought has created the image of you and the "me", and these images
separate each one of us.

Thought can only function in duality, in opposites and therefore all
reaction is a divisive process, a separative process. And thought has
created divisions between human beings, nationalities, religious
beliefs, dogmas, political differences, opinions, conclusions, all
that is the result of thought.

Thought has created this whole structure of social behavior, which is
essentially based on tradition, which is mechanical. Thought has also
created the religious world, the Christian, the Buddhist, the Hindu,
the Muslim, with all the divisions, all the practices, all the
innumerable gurus that are springing up like mushrooms. And thought
has created what it considers is love. Is compassion the result
of "love", the result of thought? That is our problem, those are all
out problems.

The Highest Dharma (or righteousness) is Ahimsa (non-violence). The
greatest miracle is to love and forgive ones enemy. Anger, vengeance,
retribution and torture are not divine but devilish and demonic.

Derrida, father of postmodernism, writes, "Forgiveness, if it ever
happens at all, happens in the faces of the unforgiveable, such as
Hiroshima or the Nazi death camps"

"Religion is the feeling of goodness, that love which is like a
river, living and moving everlastingly." - J. Krishnamurthi

The saint can see saintliness in even the worst sinner, but a sinner
sees sinfulness even in the holiest saint. When a pick-pocket meets a
saint, all he sees are pockets.

Once, in the Mahabharat, a question was posed to Duryodhana on what
he thinks about the people of the world. His reply was that the world
was rotten and that everyone in it was a Dushta (rogues). He doesn't
find even a single noble person. The same question was posed to
Yudhishtira. His reply was that it was a beautiful world with only
Sajjanas (noble people) in that. He does not find even a single
Dushta. So, the moral is: How you perceive the world reflects on what
you are inside. Why can't people take in only the good and leave the
bad? No one is perfect.

You see only what you chose to see, so you must thank yourself.

You want freedom the bitter fruits of desire, not from desire itself
and this is a very important thing to understand.

If you could strip desire of pain, of suffering, of struggle, of all
the anxieties and fears that go with it, so that only the pleasure
remained, would you then want to be free of desire ?

What is important is not to throttle desire , but to understand
energy and the utilization of energy in the right direction

The desire to become - to become a great man, a great saint, a great
this or that - has no end and therefore no fulfillment; its demand is
ever for the "more" and such desire brings agony, misery, wars---

Every desire is fraught with evil, whether the desire itself is for
the good or evil Sorrow is the shadow of desire

That which is actuated by desire is the sole source of sorrow and
becomes insipid in an instant . It is sought after by the ignorant.

We assume God to be perfect, complete, in need of nothing. We assume
that this divine fullness, completeness and perfection includes
perfect Wisdom.

If God IS perfect and complete, then there is no need for creation of
anything Other than God, no need for creation of the Universe; the
Creation is a meaningless and senseless act.

But such a senseless act contradicts the assumption of God's perfect
Wisdom. Yet, if the act of Creation IS necessary, then this necessity
implies that God NEEDED to create the Universe, and implies that God
DID lack something, which contradicts the notion of God's fullness
and completeness and perfection.

In the Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, in so many words, "I need
NOTHING, I lack NOTHING, and yet I am CONSTANTLY ACTIVE, and should I
cease My action for the briefest moment, countless universes and
beings (that are supported by the smallest fraction of my Energy)
would perish".

What did Martin Luther of the German Reformation say, in the 16th
century, as he nailed his 95 Thesis on the doors of the
cathedral. 'Here I stand, I can do no other'.

I,too, have nailed my thesis on the virtual doors of the world's
cathedral and say to the world: "Here I stand, I can do no other."

Everyone is driven by something and towards something. Some are
driven by silence and non-involvement.

What advantage do I gain if those read me who have no interest.
Better if only one reads who has some interest, while the rest ignore.

Rupert Sheldrake, in his theory of "morphic resonance", suggests that
thoughts are OUTSIDE ourselves. The Vedas say "Let noble thoughts
come to us from all sides". Huston Smith quotes Shankaracharya as
saying "Thoughts pour into the mind like molten metal into a form"

Socrates had an overwhelming need to talk, and no visible source of
income. Yet the world would be slightly more impoverished today had
he kept silent. Talking a lot is not necessarily a bad thing. Fancy talk on
important subjects is called Dialogue. The process is called Dialectic.

Buddha said: "As a net is made up of a series of ties, so everything
in this world is connected by a series of ties. If anyone thinks that the mesh
of a net is an independent, isolated thing, he is mistaken. It is called a net
because it is made up of a series of interconnected meshes, and each mesh has
its place and responsibility in relation to other meshes." This is the "Net of
Indra."

Perhaps there are more black holes in the universe than visible
stars, each one smaller than our moon, like little black pearls, radiant. And
beyond the event horizon, inside, ANOTHER BIG BANG expanding space-time
continuum; BUDDHAS awakening, Christ childs in the manger, young Krisnas playing
their flutes.

Perhaps there are many black holes, each with a big bang universe
inside. And inside that universe, and other black holes, other Universes, all
tucked one inside the other; worlds within worlds, universes within universes.

Innernet versus internet

Some make iconoclasm their idol. Others use image and symbol to reach
beyond to the nameless and formless which is beyond time, the Akal Purakh of the
Adi Granth.

But cynicism never fails to make its regular pilgrimage to the citadels of
Orthodoxy, their to make its offering and sacrifice on the altar of Reason.

Do not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in
awareness

If we do not in some sense "slay" our Guru, we can never become a
Guru ourselves.

Perhaps the demonic is simply the attempt to become MORE than God is,
missing the mark of God's humility and forbearance, while genuine spirituality
is simply to "become Godly".

"If you meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him" by Sheldon Kopp

"When Everything you ever wanted isn't enough" - Rabbi Harold Kushner

Krishna seems so tolerant in the Gita, when He says (in so many
words) that everyone gets "exactly what they seek", "Those who worship the gods
go to the gods, those who worship ghosts and ancestors, go to the ghosts, those
who worship Me come to Me."

As Vivekananda said, "more blood has been shed in the name of religion than any
other single cause in the history of humanity" (more or less his words!). For
most of us religion amounts to a set of "verbal assertions", which forces us to
be consumed by 'details' and miss the 'issue". If we poke holes in the teachings
of other religions, we should be prepared for similar act being performed upon
ours. To quote Dr. Radhakrishnan, "religions at their best demand behavior than
belief". A good, simple philosophy to live by....

Perhaps the unanswerable question is the "unmoved mover" of the soul.

What is our life? Is it the food we eat or the conversations we have
or the differential equations we solve? Or is there some deeper purpose, and ,if
there is, how do we touch this deeper level? All of us are looking for some sign
that life is not just a random series of days, telescoping into each other.

Curiosity is never satisfied. It's satisfaction is a form of death.
Desires are never satisfied. Our greatest gift and our greatest curse is that we
can imagine a perfection greater than anything that could possibly exist.

Anselm said, "God is that greater than which cannot be imagined."
Solomon said, "The fool says in his heart 'There is no God' "

Perhaps the most important single work of Carl Jung is a small
monograph of 100 pages entitled "On the Nature of the Psyche".

Basically, Jung is saying that there is a "psychoid" aspect of
matter, which strives towards, or evolves consciousness. Conversely, there is a
"material" aspect of consciousness or psyche, which is perhaps Freud's "death
instinct", a weariness of consciousness and a desire to return to the inanimate.

Jung says "If the day comes that mankind fires a missile at Mars and
damages Mars, it will be accurate to say that it is the psychoid aspect of
matter which did the damage (since the big bang evolved the galaxies, which
evolved suns and planets, which evolved life, which evolved the consciousness
that invented and built and fired that missile."

Scriptures record only two negative actions of Jesus. He drives the
money changers out of the temple with an upraised arm (but does not strike
them).

He sees a fig tree which gives all the symptoms of being ripe with
fruit (green leaves, etc.) but finds that it has no fruit. So He says "Be thou
withered." (in Greek, Xerantheesete). It is the next day that the apostles
notice the tree dead and withered (notice, the destruction is not immediate).

There is only one mention of Jesus ever writing anything. When Jesus
tells the accusers of the adulteress "let he who is without sin cast the first
stone", Jesus stoops down and begins to write with His finger in the sand. One
by one, people leave, until only the accused woman is left. We are not told that
the people who leave read what is written in the sand, or that what is written
causes them to leave. Some ancient theologians speculate that the Theanthropos
God-man, the Knower of Hearts, was writing things known only to each individual,
which convicted them in their hearts, ... perhaps the
names of their lovers... look at all the emptiness and triviality in all the
chat rooms.... such repetition of smiley faces

The mind is its own beautiful prisoner - e.e. cummings

love is a place
and though this place of love move
with brightness of peace
all places

yes is a world
and in this world of yes live
skillfully curled
all worlds

- e.e. cummings

a priest once asked an old Irish cynic "What is your religion." He
replied, "My religion is the oldest religion in the world. I try to be a nice
guy."

In apocrypha 2 Macc 12:46 Judas Maccabeus take up a collection to
obtain prayers for the dead... and it is said that it was "a holy and pious
thought" and that through it "he made atonement for the dead, that they might be
delivered from their sin"... so.. there is a heavy duty verse pro purgatory...no
wonder Apocryphal books are not canonical for many (but
are for greek orth rom.catholic and anglican) here is another zinger verse from
apocrypha, Sophia Sirach... 7:33 " let them give graciously to all the living
and WITHHOLD NOT KINDNESS FROM THE DEAD......

One day, I decided to visit a reform Jewish Synagog. I arrived one
hour early, so the Catholic Hispanic janitor let me in. The place was empty so,
I go up to the front pew and I'm sitting there, looking at the sanctuary, the
torah scrolls (inside), When suddenly, in my mind, comes three very strong loud
thoughts, one right after another, almost like it wasn't my own thoughts; you
know, an inner monologue; a stream of consciousness.

The first thought : "A thought or memory in the mind of God... must
certainly have more , greater "reality" than any sensible , palpable , physical
thing."

The second thought: "Who amongst us would ever be forgotten in "The
Mind of God" Then, the third thought, "You will be remembered after the fashion
which you have cast yourself by your own free-will actions... if bitter angry
wretches, you shall be remembered as a wretch; if humble, grateful, patient,
cheerful personality, then you shall be remembered as cheerful; AND THEREIN LIES
HEAVEN AND HELL."

What were those "three strong loud thoughts" which seemed to come from nowhere?
Who can say?

Obviously, I drew my own conclusions as years went by. You can see
how his "way in which you are remembered" fits in with the river of fire
theology of Greek Orthodox and the Zoroastrian lake of fire.

The nearest meaning of Dharma in English will probably require a
whole thesis to explain and create the profound experience of one's innermost
essence and Jivatman, and the peculiar and unique "mission" each one of us and
every element and being in creation must fulfil in the vast complexity of
cosmos.

While the "dharma" of the thief is to steal with the greatest perfection, it is
the Dharma of the soul of the thief in that lifetime to undergo the experience
of thievery so that it forms too, despite the strong karma generated from making
others suffer, part of the soul's evolutionary process into Knowledge and
perhaps Wisdom even. In this context, Dharma is one's innermost law of nature
that is in one's DNA, from which one cannot be diverted, just as the dog's
curved tail cannot be straightened.

So what cannot be fought and expresses itself naturally despite every
possible adverse circumstance and counterpressures can be called Dharma . There
is nothing self-imposed about it. It is the essence of one's being in the final
analysis. This inner Law is the Dharma that presides eternally over creation,
held intrinsic within each and every molecule and sub-atomic particle.

Regarding the notion of Christ without Christianity (or religion), if
each and every one of us DID mystically see each other person as non-different
from our own Self, or rather as Universal Self, then humans would be angelic,
and heaven would be on earth, and there would be no need for religion, law or
government.

Hobbes on the first page of his book "Leviathan" writes, "If men were
ANGELS, there would be no need for Government."

When all self is OTHER we have sanctity, holiness. But when all other
is SELF, when all self is selfish and self-centered, we have sin, evil.

Someone wisely commented to me recently that the original meaning
f "sacrifice" is sacri + ficere ( in Latin, to MAKE HOLY). So when we offer up
and sacrifice our SELF on the sacrificial alter, then man becomes God, and self
disappears.

Aristotle wrote, "A friend is another 'I' (another self)."

"Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself, and Love thy God with all Thy Heart
Mind and Soul", upon this hangs all the Law.

But then the 51th (or in the Greek Septuagint, 50st) Psalm is the
exact summary of all this, in a way.

"Whole burnt offerings are not pleasing to Thee. A heart that is
broken, and humbled and contrite is a pleasing sacrifice unto the Lord (i.e. the
sacrifice of Self/Ego)."

What does the word salvation really mean, not to us today, but to the
original writers of the Bible, the Old Testament? Today we are led to believe
that its meaning is some sort of secret happening, a rite of initiation
possibly, or enlightenment, or a grace of forgiveness which we have not earned.

For Jews in the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deut.),
it almost seemed to mean simply, peace from war, food (fruitfulness of land),
and reproduction (fertility, survival of offspring, and future generations), and
perhaps, at end of Penteteuch, a national identity (promised land). Sheol or
hell does not seem to necessarily be a place of eternal punishment. Nor does
anyone praise God, or do anything else, after death. In Historical and
prophetic books which come after torah, and psalms, deliverance seems to be from
the sinful nature which keeps one from observing that law (mitzvahs) which will
provide for all the above mentioned (peace,food,progeny).

Only after the Babylonian Captivity of Jews (which put them in
contact with Zoroastrians who have a distinct notion of the GOOD God Ahura
Mazda, eternally pitted against the evil satan figure of Angra Mainu). And this
God-Satan conflict becomes very dramatic in Revelation (and also St. Paul's
Invisible warfare against wickedness in high places, angels of light assuming
the guise of false Christs, false teachers).

It is in those books which come after that Babylonian Captivity that we begin to
see the notion of ressurection such as Ezekiel's vision of the dead bones
rising and becoming all of Israel.

Finally, in New Testament, the clear cut concept of salvation as
entering heaven (the gate

is narrow, the way difficult, few find it , in Luke).

In comparison to another term; being reborn, the idea is another
vague and secretive idea.

It, like the term salvation, is taught in such a way as to lead us to
believe there is some
elite club where only a few are allowed, and that membership to that
club is the highest

goal in life

But, in eastern religions, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, etc.. being
born again is ALSO necessary to "salvation" or moksha, but not simply ONCE with
water and spirit, but literally COUNTLESS times, literally reborn... and the
notion is that one is delivered FROM ONES OWN DESIRES... for as long as there is
some remnant of desire, the soul is attracted back to birth in the world again
and again, until those desires are fulfilled... and Siddhartha
Gautama (Buddha) said , "We suffer PRECISELY because we desire things
we do not have and HAVE things we do not desire (like having cancer, or a prison
sentence).

I believe the term being reborn is about reincarnation. "To live
forever one must die and be reborn.' and the efforts of one in this life should
be exerted towards a way of making it in the next, "do not think about this
life, think about the next."

Of course this is based on my own path and realization of self. Many
would disagree because they have not the personal experiences some of us do. And
I submit that the reason the term is interpreted (ie taught by the official
church) as some sort of initiation is to prevent members from finding out this
truth and to keep in them a hierarchical mind set. This mind set is necessary
for the dominion of our world- it keeps the sheep in their place.

Especially in Teravadin Buddhism, your GOOD BUDDHA nature is already
within you, and NO ONE but yourself can perfect yourself... there is no outer
GRACE or magic or rite or ritual, or even transfer of merit (as in Mahayana
buddhism)

The term salvation ( I digress) is similar. The original writers
lived in a world dominated by evil psychic forces bent on keeping them in
servitude, their cruel god. Salvation is the hoped for and yet to be realized
removal of this oppressive force, the Army of Babylon. They maintain their
dominance through lies (dogma) manipulation, and outright murder. Their system
of rule is tied into the money and industry of mankind, and their tentacles
reach everywhere.

And in Buddhist, Hindu (not all sects/denominations but many) there
is no evil satan figure. "Evil" is the suffering built into the karmic side
effects of thoughts and actions, like Newton's 3rd law, for every action, and
equal reaction (though to say OPPOSITE does not fit metaphor).... cast you GOOD
bread upon the waters,.... and it shall return to you (karmically).... cast your
EVIL bread upon the waters and THAT TO shall return to you (though again to say
SEVEN-FOLD might not fit the analogy in the case of Karma).

So the argument of salvation is really about freeing mankind from
this force to open up the doors for a truly enlightened society. Faith is the
way we can overcome the lies, smear campaign and etc, and keep hope for the
future. Works are inspired by faith and just as necessary for the successful
attempt at freedom which we have not realized in 10,000 years.

Im' just typing in all this as fast as I can think... or thinking as
fast as I type,... but in the "eastern" religions.... one is SAVED by ones self,
ones own efforts, SAVED FROM ONE'S SELF, the bad or imperfect aspects.... so
like the husks of some seed (the seed being the Buddha nature,.... or the inner
Atman/Paramatman/Brahman).... those nasty husks of egocentricity and desire fall
away, leaving the perfection which WAS THERE ALL ALONG, but
simply covered (or protected) by Maya or Illusion.....

For those who believe we have already succeeded in gaining that
freedom you know not your potential, and you underestimate your enemy.: so, in
closing here... for the West, the enemy is personified as Satan, Lucifer.... in
East,... the enemies are the six enemies of Kam Krod Lob Mod Mahdsa Matsarya (I
always get these mixed up,... but Lust, Anger, Envy, Ignorance, Greed... etc
etc.... cant remember order).... but all six enemies stem from desire..... the
enemy is the self with a small "s", seeking through enlightenment, moksha,
liberation to reunite with Self with a Capital S.

The unanswerable question is the unmoved mover of the soul.

Why is there a Universe, and why am I personally in that universe,
experiencing it, and my self?

Whatever one chooses to call the universe, even if one calls it Maya
or Illusion, that universe is undeniable and we as individuals are undeniably in
it.

Of the few things we can count on as our "birth right", certainly
death is one. We are certain that we shall die. Some are cheated of pleasures,
wealth, happiness, family, education, power, fame; but no one is ever cheated
out of death.

But what is the purpose of it all?

Is it all the doing of some petty God whose sole concern is that we
believe and worship in one particular language, in one particular fashion, even
though that God disdains to manifest even to the greatest prophet?

Is the whole purpose of this human life to die and spend eternity
glutting ourselves on physical pleasures and delights, rivers of wine and honey,
virgins, (if we were good enough to believe in that invisible angry God), or to
spend eternity agonizing in a ghoulish torture chamber?

Sometimes questions themselves have greater worth and value than any
answer which might possibly be provided.

(one person writes to me concerning suffering in the world, and how
they can help) You have asked, "Why is there evil and suffering in world, and
sickness for children?"... and also...

"I have met many young people who have been abused in childhood, how
can I help them? What can I say?" These are excellent questions.

Each of us must help ourselves. Only the SELF can help the self. In
the Gita, Lord Krishna says "The self is both the greatest friend and the
greatest enemy." You have seen the truth of this I am sure with other young
children and teenagers. Everyone can tell them certain things and give them
advice. But it does no good until THEY THEMSELVES LEARN something through direct
experience and decide to take the advice. But at THAT POINT, they are GIVING THE
ADVICE TO THEMSELVES. That is why MANY RE-BIRTHS are necessary,
for soul to gain direct experience. SALVATION by an outside power is not
sufficient.

There is only guidance, there is no salvation, at least not in
the "magic wand" sense. And to be saved from WHAT? Consciousness always exists.
The mind always exists. Even religions which assume one birth, and then the
Judgement, and an eternity in the torment of hell or the pleasures of paradise;
even such religions admit that there is MIND and CONSCIOUSNESS in those hells
and heavens. Even the Prophet Isaiah acknowledges the Mind of God, when he
writes "As high as the heaven is from the earth; so far are My ways from your
ways, My mind (thoughts) from your minds and thoughts."

You see, when you ask, "What can I say to them to comfort or help
them?", you are asking for WORDS to give them. But so many WORDS have been given
and revealed in the SCRIPTURES of the WORLDS RELIGIONS. So if words could be
sufficient, the right words would have been revealed or given long ago. But it
is the direct experience, through suffering, that transforms the SOUL, through
many rebirths, not hearing words alone. In FACT, if mere WORDS were sufficient
to save a soul, and if SALVATION OF SOULS were the purpose of
creation, then THE BIRTH OF SO MANY BILLIONS into the world, born to ONE LIFE,
and then the JUDGEMENT, would be UNNECESSARY. For then, the proper WORDS would
have been given or revealed to our ANCESTORS, our forefathers such as Abraham
and Sarah. THEIR SOULS would have been saved by those words, and their WOMBS
would have been sealed up, unfertile and barren. Once EXISTING souls have
been saved, for all eternity, what point or purpose is there to create MORE
SOULS, in need of salvation, which may possibly become DAMNED.

At each moment in time, each of us is exactly as we should be. We are
doing and experiencing what is NECESSARY for us to experience and confront,
based on past thoughts and actions of this life, or some previous life.
Otherwise, how could we understand one baby born to wealth and health, and
another baby to poverty and sickness. The Question of God's unfairness
arises only when we assume JUST ONE BIRTH.

Therefore, people like Mother Theresa, Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, Pope
John Paul, each of those holy people was doing what they were supposed to be
doing, experiencing, dealing with, at that point in time. But so also all the
drug dealers, and prostitutes, and even serial killers; they also were doing and
experiencing EXACTLY what what was necessary FOR THEM at that point in time. In
the Gita, Lord Krishna says in so many words, "Even though you TRY
NOT TO FOLLOW YOUR DHARMA, and resist it, yet you will be irrisistably drawn to
follow it and actualize it."

If KNOWLEDGE OF SIN brings about a MOOD OF REPENTANCE AND REGRET,
well surely the SIN must have been necessary for one to know what it means to be
SORRY, or even to realize one's own imperfection. If the Highest of Saints are
the MARTYRS who have been SLAUGHTERED and KILLED by UNBELIEVERS who persecute
them; the MURDEROUS UNBELIEVERS are certainly necessary to
persecute and kill the Martyred Saints. Even Jesus said of Judas Iscariot who
betrayed him, "It is NECESSARY that this happen, but woe unto him (Judas);
better that he had NEVER BEEN BORN." AND WHAT IS DHARMA? ( I have found this
wise definition which someone posted):

The nearest meaning of Dharma in English will probably require a
whole thesis to explain and create the profound experience of one's innermost
essence and Jivatman, and the peculiar and unique "mission" each one of us and
every element and being in creation must fulfil in the vast complexity of
cosmos.

In the Gita, Lord Krishna makes this very curious statement: "I am
the cleverness of the cheater." While the "dharma" of the thief is to steal with
the greatest perfection, it is the Dharma of the soul of the thief in that
lifetime to undergo the experience of thievery so that it forms too, despite the
strong karma generated from making others suffer, part of the soul's
evolutionary process into Knowledge and perhaps Wisdom even. In this context,
Dharma is one's innermost law of nature that is in one's DNA, from which one
cannot be diverted, just as the dog's curved tail cannot be straightened. So
what cannot be fought and expresses itself naturally despite every possible
adverse circumstance and counterpressures can be called Dharma ... there is
nothing self-imposed about it ... it is the essence of one's being in the final
analysis ... and this inner Law is the Dharma that presides eternally over
creation, held intrinsic within each and every molecule and sub-atomic
particle.

Sorrow as the Shadow of Desire

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