Jesus takes us beyond I AM.

[Honza]

I have nothing against pure consciousness as such; it is just that it strikes me as a very neutral state. Pure love or pure conscience sound much better and describe God in a better way.

[ajay00]

Originally Posted by Honza

I have nothing against pure consciousness as such; it is just that it strikes me as a very neutral state. Pure love or pure conscience sound much better and describe God in a better way.

Pure consciousness and pure love are one and the same.

It is just that love sounds more sweeter and attractive than consciousness . It is more personal, and we all have been dealing with personalities all our life, and the impersonal seems cold and not so warm, as per our conditioned mindset.

For example, the mother is considered always more loving than the father. As a kid you can influence mom to eat more chocolate after much persuasion, while dad says no adamantly because it is bad for your teeth and no persuasion works with him. We usually perceive the father as inhumane and cruel, and mother as tender and loving, though too many chocolates do result in a more cruel experience with the dentist later on, which we ignore.

We consider the mother more loving than the father but both have the same concern for the child.

Similarly consciousness and love look different , but they are really one and the same.

There is a saying by the enlightened master Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in this regard during a talk on the healing effects of meditation and yoga...

" And health can be regained by attending to the source of mind or consciousness. Because the pure consciousness is pure love, its full of love. And love is the highest healer on this planet. It’s the highest power."

[Honza]

Originally Posted by ajay00

Pure consciousness and pure love are one and the same.

Different words and different meanings. Much like God & I.

Human wisdom has separated the meaning of love and consciousness, and God and I. Until human wisdom has united the meaning of such words I will probably see them as different too.

I do not believe that the words of a few select enlightened masters are wiser than the collective wisdom of the human race.

[Seawolf]

Originally Posted by Honza

As ever; New Age/Hindu say Christ is not a Path and try and explain Christ in their own POV.

No, that's a generalization.

Most open minded spiritual people say Christ is a path, that every path is valid and differences don't matter because they all teach love. But you always have a few that want their path to be dominant over the rest. It makes their ego feel good to be right. Christians do that quite a bit too but they obviously don't speak for all of Christianity. There's lots of open minded Christians who say other paths are just as valid.

[Honza]

You are correct Seawolf.

[ajay00]

Originally Posted by Honza

Different words and different meanings. Much like God & I.

Human wisdom has separated the meaning of love and consciousness, and God and I. Until human wisdom has united the meaning of such words I will probably see them as different too.

I do not believe that the words of a few select enlightened masters are wiser than the collective wisdom of the human race.

It is better to go along with what you feel comfortable with!

If nonduality or 'I am' freaks or spooks you out, get rid of it from your consciousness, and focus just on Christ instead.

All paths lead to the same summit.

[Molearner]

Originally Posted by ajay00

All paths lead to the same summit.

ajay00,

I know this a popular sentiment........nevertheless I am reminded of the poem _The Road Not Taken_ by Robert Frost:

"I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveded by,
And that has made all the difference."

[Honza]

Yes there are two paths that one can go by.....probably more. But keeping it to two simplifies things. We shall see if all paths lead to the same place.

[Ahriman]

I AM is the natural path, the left hand path, the path of indulgence, the path of ascension, it is living in accordance with nature and trusting in the universe to provide for one's needs. Belief in Jesus (or other enlightened masters) leads to evil results, it is the right hand path, the path of descension, the path of abstinence, and goes against nature and the universe. The left hand and right hand paths do not lead to the same destination, in fact they could not be more different.

[Seawolf]

We're all the same species, human beings, so in essense are all on the same path. Different beliefs are like different languages. There are different words but the meanings are the same. We're all mammals, we all need to be raised with respect by attentive, present caregivers to be healthy as adults. The external issues we see as differences are pretty insignificant to our core features, which are what we have problems understanding in modern society, and that results in alot of problems on a personal level I think.