Jesus, Siddhartha, and The Higher Self
 

Jesus embraced the Holy Spirit and became Jesus Christ. In the same way, -- or, rather, in his own way, -- Siddhartha embraced it, and became Siddhartha Christ; the Buddha. Christ is The Higher Self, and when you grow into your higher self, no matter what your first name may be, your last name (and the last name by which you will ever be known) will always be Christ; the Anointed.

Jesus may be your teacher, but Christ is within you. Regardless of who your teacher may be, or what spiritual tradition you may follow, the peak at which all souls arrive, and from which they regard the whole of Creation, is the same. Though our teachers may be men, and our paths may be man-made, the wisdom is from God, and it is God within us who comprehends it.

That is a good post. Thankyou.

Let's not be so arrogant as to claim the Christ is the absolute highest one could aspire to.

Honza,

Thank you.


pre-dawn,

You misunderstood.

OK, and I still disagree.
Why is our 'last name' Christ and not Bodhisattva, Zeus, Allah, Thetan or just plain Source?
In an interfaith forum I would expect that one would look for a term which is universally acceptable and does not imply that one particular faith is favored.

Also, imo, to aim only grow into the Higher Self looks to me like a very limited goal.

Okay, I see what you're saying.

But this is how I think of it:

If I were to post this in the Christianity forum, someone would object that it belongs in the Interfaith forum. You can't make everybody happy. For me, everyone's last name would be "Christ", because I am rooted in the Christian tradition -- it is my first language, so to speak. And it's the spiritual language of the majority of my countrymen, who I would like to help learn to speak and interpret it better. I do this by tweaking the traditional interpretations of Christian terms. I give those terms a more universal application. If that offends you just as much as it would offend a fundamentalist Christian, well, I'm afraid it can't be helped.

Although I endeavor to meet people of all faiths on a neutral ground, I do not desire to renounce the land of my origins. And even if I did, I'd still see and interpret things from my own vantage point. If you ask a Spaniard what that round thing is perched on top of his neck, which houses his eyes, ears, mouth and nose, he will tell you it is his cabeza. If you ask him what an American has on top of his neck, he will still say cabeza. Does it offend you, that a Spaniard thinks everyone, regardless of the language they speak, has a cabeza? Would you insist that he use another word? Would you suggest that he use the French word tête, when referring to a Frenchman's head? Or maybe the German word kopf, when referring to a German man's head? Or perhaps some other, more "universal" word? What word would that be, I wonder?

If using the term "Christ" is a show of favoritism, why would using any of the other terms you suggest be any less so? Can you give me an example of a term which would be "universally acceptable"?

My sense was that an "Interfaith" forum would be a suitable place to try to illuminate the universals between various faiths. If I were to speak only of "Source", or whatever seems like a sufficiently neutral term, then the thread would not address the theme of the forum, as I see it. I may as well post in "General Spirituality" or something like that.

As for the Higher Self being a limited goal...

I suppose when any of us gets that far,
then we can talk about going further.

But maybe it's enough to say "you can't please everyone", and leave it at that. If you disagree with my method, or my style, then perhaps this is just not for you. If your path, or destiny, lies in another direction entirely, then nothing I say, no matter how reasonable, will carry weight for you. And that is precisely as it should be. Does it mean that I'm being "arrogant"? Not at all. It just means you need to find what resonates for you. "My grind ain't your grind, dawg." (~Mos Def) Then again, maybe you're just a fault finder, who refuses to see the good?

I hope that clarifies my position somewhat.

If not, then don't let the door hit you on the way out.

God Bless,
Namaste,
Whatever,
:angel12:

whats in a word, its the meaning behind it that counts. I agree

:hug3:

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament;
not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."
~ 2 Corinthians 3:6

Very true.
Christ is not a person but a Consciousness, this is very important, because every religion in their mystic teachings (even Islam: read Rumi's work!) addresses a consciousness that can only be found within. The Christ Consciousness and Tao, and Nirvana, is exactly the same thing.

Jesus is not the only son of God. We are all sons of God (or daughters).
What IS the only son of God is the Christ Consciousness. This consciousness is universal an can be reached by everyone regardless of religion.

Jesus was a common person (born by a woman), who attained the Christ Consciousness and showed others how to do the same. The Catholic Church, however, has twisted the teachings and put Jesus on a pedestal, it's considered blasphemy to follow his example, and there is nothing to find within, but we instead have to follow dogmas and priests. This is the greatest scandal of all time. And it has brainwashed us all so deeply.

Power elites (The church is of course one of them) who want to control people always try to raise people against each other and maintain conflict.

Very well said, Perry.

If anyone thinks a Buddhist can't be a Christian,
they haven't understood the teaching of Christ.

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one to another." ~ John 13:35

Amen to THAT! :D