The Bhagavad Gita
The gods so closely resemble the descriptions of the angels (Ezekiel) and the behaviour of the old ones, its impossible (for me) not to associate them with the fallen. The knowledge the Hindu gods had is (imo) clearly of divine origin... I don't doubt that. I just don't believe its nature is good-- or even neutral-- I don't think that they're on our side. We'll have to agree to disagree there, and on the nature of the naf-- and I just watched something this afternoon citing that as the life force... heh. I should research that further, I guess-- the terminology, I mean. I don't think I'm quite on the same page, there.
Melchizedek noted-- and some say he may have even been Christ (theophany, I think I've read.. don't quote me on that
).* But we're speaking of things that are
eternal, so should we look at them in a linear fashion, I wonder. Does it matter that one text came after another? Or before?
*Christophany.. I think that may be the correct term.
I just noticed this now.
To me, truth gets corrupted with falsehood......the falsehood in hinduism overall is their weak core theology. They are very much panthiest.
However their 'gods' are misunderstood
Firstly
Brahman
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva
Brahman is the Transcendent Essence akin to the 'invisible Father' in the new testament.
Vishnu is the expression of Brahman. It is the equivalent of the Logos/son.
Brahma means Creator and deals with causation, and Shiva means destroyer and deals with dissolution....ie brahma and shiva refer to spiritual descent and ascent. kind of like, the holy spirit as 'the first and the last' in the new testament.
basically Brahman plays the role of God through Vishnu.....the macrocosmic consciousness ie the ocean........by splitting vishnu into infinite consciousnesses ie like drops in the ocean....
the process of creation/dissolution is constant ie all things are in spiritual descent and ascent.
So from this pov there is nothing in this that is specifically against what i believe, i mean it isnt entirely the same but it is similar.
you can look further ie Brahma itself, if you think of it as the holy spirit, it is the process of causation, so we're not just dealing with creation but also things like destiny, origin of duality, gender, forms etc...
Brahma is said to have come out of a lotus flower in the ocean ie Vishnu
Born from a lotus emerging from the navel of Vishnu, Brahma creates all the forms in the universe, but not the primordial universe itself.
what this reminds me of is in Genesis 1 where it says the Spirit of God (the holy spirit) hovered over the waters, because i believe the waters is just symbolically referring to the Logos which i believe is the universal consciousness.
The problem is in keeping the balance between God as Trancendent and Immanent...realising God can be immanent in all things yet not all things literally. The hindus lost that balance and end up with a myriad of 'gods' inc entities/forces that are meant to represent aspects of forms, gender and brahma/shiva but it is so deep still
personally i dont need to take it literally, i can keep my theology whilst researching the symbolic language
knowing somewhere they've corrupted the truth.
im no different btw with christian material, for example when I read madam Guyon's book "spiritual torrents and a short method of prayer" i could see how, as a christian she would use God and Jesus/Christ interchangeably....
her approach was the passive path, which connects with God's Trancendent nature which also doesnt really correspond with God's Immanence through Christ/the logos, so in a way she was treading on dangerous territory...since the catholic church would want you to practice a path through the church (ie through the church you're connected with Peter and Jesus) sort of thing.......wheras her passive approach was personal/private. So she also had to somehow try to reconcile the two which basically means bend words a little to appease some knobheads at the church who had the power to have her hung, have her tits chopped up, basically anything.....not trying to be vulgar but just point out that external situations also affect the outcome of a text like that yet i can look beyond that and focus specifically on her core descriptions/experiences with the wider truth already established according to what perspective i hold.
i was more interested in her relationship with God, her experiences, struggles/tests etc.
with the Gita, it is a book worth reading..if you replaced krishna with Jesus.......and the 'self'/universal consciousness with 'logos/image of God' for example and treated it as if it was christian scripture (with some exceptions) you would be in for a shock when reading it and i promise you if you really read it openly, you would only gain insight into the nature of things/the world and religion.
The only area is on 'deity' for me.
trust me on one thing, i think only 2 christians in total ive talked to have read it..but in reality many christians and muslims (more the sufi type) have read it and it hasnt made them leave their religion but only appreciate their religion and their life more.
i do honestly believe it is a divine text but def corrupted. (for example krishna is meant to have lived in the world around the time of Abraham but the text was kept as oral tradition until it was written around the 8th century bc).
the Quran tells us Allah sent messengers to all nations.
Read a text like the tao te ching (an ancient poem/philosophical text) and it says this
The ancient Masters were profound and subtle.
Their wisdom was unfathomable.
There is no way to describe it;
all we can describe is their appearance.
They were careful
as someone crossing an iced-over stream.
Alert as a warrior in enemy territory.
Courteous as a guest.
Fluid as melting ice.
Shapable as a block of wood.
Receptive as a valley.
Clear as a glass of water.
in otherwords it is referring to 'ancient' people even though it is ancient itself, who were these ancient masters following this way of life the tao te ching alludes to/
it is a way of life/a mentality
The Master doesn’t seek fulfillment.
Not seeking, not expecting,
she is present, and can welcome all things
the Gita does, touch on this topic (the philosophy of non-action which Jesus taught eg Matthew 6:26 and Eccleiastes also teaches.
Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace. Watch the turmoil of beings, but contemplate their return. Each separate being in the universe returns to the common source. Returning to the source is serenity. If you don’t realize the source, you stumble in confusion and sorrow. When you realize where you come from, you naturally become tolerant, disinterested, amused, kindhearted as a grandmother, dignified as a king. Immersed in the wonder of the Tao, you can deal with whatever life brings you, and when death comes, you are ready.
^^
the 'source' ie the Tao is again the same as Vishnu and the Logos...just another term...
Since before time and space were, the Tao is. It is beyond is and is not. How do I know this is true? I look inside myself and see.
Before Abraham was born I AM
i could quote the entire text and it will all be relevant
There was something formless and perfect before the universe was born. It is serene. Empty. Solitary. Unchanging. Infinite. Eternally present. It is the mother of the universe. For lack of a better name, I call it the Tao. It flows through all things, inside and outside, and returns to the origin of all things.
what do you think of this one?
If powerful men and women could remain centered in the Tao, all things would be in harmony. The world would become a paradise. All people would be at peace, and the law would be written in their hearts
Every being in the universe is an expression of the Tao. It springs into existence, unconscious, perfect, free, takes on a physical body, lets circumstances complete it. That is why every being spontaneously honors the Tao.
Again these 'ancient masters'
Why did the ancient Masters esteem the Tao? Because, being one with the Tao, when you seek, you find; and when you make a mistake, you are forgiven. That is why everybody loves it.
btw this is a philosophy. not a religion incase you think some demon is waiting for you on the other side.
