[davidsun]

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

I see a lot of similarities between Jesus' core message and that of Advaita Vedanta. So did Swami Vivekananda.

Vivekananda considered Jesus a non-dualist and his parables a way of giving the simple people of his time a tangible path through dualist concepts from "Our Father who art in Heaven" to "I am the vine and you are the branches" to "I and my Father are One".

"Whatsoever you do the the least among you, you do to me".

"Nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst". Dare I say this is eerily similar to Neti Neti?

Except with regard to :"Nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst". Dare I say this is eerily similar to Neti Neti?", I would say, what Jesus said is the opposite of the negate-ivity which is very apparent in 'Neti, Neti' (i.e. NOT this and NOT that). What he said was actually very affirmative more like Yeti, Yeti (i.e. YES this in and YES in that)!

Which, BTW, is also what the Gita (NOT Advaitists who regard worldly beings as being unreal)) says:

"I will speak to thee now of that great Truth which man ought to know, since by its means he will win immortal bliss – that which is without beginning, the Eternal Spirit which dwells in Me, neither with form, nor yet without it.

Everywhere are Its (real!) hands and Its (real!) feet; everywhere It has (rea;!) eyes that (really!) see, (real!) heads that (really!) think and (real!) mouths that (really!) speak; everywhere It (really!) listens; It (really!) dwells in all the worlds; It (really!) envelops them all.

Beyond the senses, It yet (really!) shines through every sense perception. Bound to nothing, It yet sustains everything. Unaffected by the Qualities, It still enjoys them all.

It is within all (real!) beings, yet outside; motionless yet moving; too subtle to be perceived; far away yet always near.

In all beings undivided, yet living in division, It is the upholder of all, Creator and Destroyer alike;

It is the Light of lights, beyond the reach of darkness; the Wisdom, the only thing that is worth knowing or that wisdom can teach; the (real!) Presence in the hearts of all."

Traditional (orthodox?) Advaitists are therefore deliberately ignore-ant (Orwellian?) sleight-of-words (i.e. 'black-is-white', 'No-is-Yes') deniers and obscurers of The (real!) Truth that both Jesus and The Gita propounded, IMO.

As the Gita also says (in Ch.2): "As a man can drink water from any side of a full tank, so the skilled theologian can wrest from any scripture that which will serve his purpose." Beware (meaning really be aware) , dudes and dudesses!