Truth

[tommylama]

Originally Posted by Baile

Yes, pretty much that exactly. And the distortion of religion has mostly to do with locking truth into one specific and hardened, and very often negative and fundamentalist, viewpoint. Tommy's comment about God saving the planet, and the belief this planet even needs saving, for example.

Baile,

I think that your argument against religion is just as absurd as an atheist's argument. The atheist denies an Intelligent Creator, thereby losing any meaning in his life. Without a plan, randomness prevails which, by definition, is devoid of meaning. You, on the other hand, deny the spirituality of religion, which is like refusing life the air it needs to breathe. I thought you and I were splitting hairs with the definition versus the connotation of religion, and perhaps we are. Maybe a better analogy of comparison is the connotation we have for the word Communism. Most people associate Communism with the historic examples of governments which have been categorized under that name. In fact, there has never been a truly communistic government of any great size. Communism is, by definition, everyone contributing according to their abilities and taking according to their needs. It is a Utopian concept which will never manifest until people learn to love and share with one another. We are unified in spirit, which is the energy underlying the forms. We are on a Path which leads to this awareness. The Path is trodden by the relinquishment of animal attachments and appetites. When the animal within us has been relinquished, the Angel remains. This esoteric truth will one day be understood and taught as part of a universal Religion.

I believe that only UNITY exists. All else is illusion. The details of this esoteric truth of unity cannot be found explicitly in any religion, yet it can be deduced from every religion. Religion is the collective effort of man's history of attempting to understand his relationship with his creator. Collectively, we get caught in misinterpretation and distortion either by the maleficent designs of those who would exploit the ignorant masses, or by legitimate potholes and obstacles strategically placed by Watchers Who guide us from behind the scenes.

A true esotericist suffers joyfully as he follows Christ to the Crucifixion. Service is the key to advancement along this Path. His meditation will improve as progress is made allowing him access and entrance to greater realms of awareness.

On a side note, for you to suggest that this planet does not need saving is shameful. Hundreds of millions do not have their basic needs for food and shelter met. They are also a part of our family and they suffer tremendously.

[Busby]

Originally Posted by tommylama

The day is dawning when all religions will be regarded as emanating from one great spiritual source; all will be seen as unitedly providing the one root out of which the universal world religion will inevitably emerge. Then there will be neither Christian nor heathen, neither Jew nor Gentile, but simply one great body of believers, gathered out of all the current religions. They will accept the same truths, not as theological concepts but as essential to spiritual living; they will stand together on the same platform of brotherhood and of human relations; they will recognize divine sonship and will seek unitedly to cooperate with the divine Plan, as it is revealed to them by the spiritual leaders of the race, and as it indicates to them the next step to be taken on the Path of Approach to God. Such a world religion is no idle dream but something which is definitely forming today.

The above is a quote from Alice Bailey's Problems of Humanity, Chapter 5, The Problem of the Churches, copyright 1944.

Lots of days have been dawning over the centuries. We are still waiting for the sun redeemer to appear over the horizon. We've had lots of promises too, and heard a lot of wonderful things - we have all been promised we'll be lying down in the fields with the lions. keeping it all sweet. For me it's not like that, for me there are 8 billion centres of this universe - and that's only on Earth.
Let's put it another way - when you sit at your computer and join into the Internet then you are connected with everything there is, both physical and mental. (Ok, not every one has a pc - but the comparison is still valid.) This connection not only allows you to make all sort of experiences but it also allows you to share your own 'whatevers'. It also brings you information, and so a search for what we like to call the 'truth'. However as this information stems from many differing POVs it becomes confusing. The real truth lies in the source of the network, something indefinable and suposedly somewhere, and to which we form a rather ethereal link, so we say we are truly informed. (believers). Remember the six blind Indians who tried to explain by touching an elephant just what it was!

The network is made up of you and me and Fred. The centre of it lies in its oneness. This Oneness is everywhere.

And so is this thing we call the Internet (aka Universe) - a vast collection of POVs and standpoints, forms and colours and a seemingly reliable deliverer of information of all kinds. So you/us have to try to make head or tail of it whilst seeking the reason for its existence. It actually has evolved from our collected and collated input and started in our minds and and actions.
We will, at sometime, become part of this growing internet's potential in ways which we cannot imagine today, and to quote the above: Such a world Internet is no idle dream but is something which is definitely forming today.

We have stepped into the digital age, the 'new-age' days of nothing or something. That's the way the universe has been made (0/1) and we are beginning to recognise it. This absolute Oneness can be seen in this Internet system and we all share it. Jews and gentiles will vanish and be replaced by a combined understanding of all conscious beings. Occasionally, today and in times past, some humans catch and have caught a glimpse of the whole web but it's comprehension by us lies in a much larger megabyte range.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by Molearner

Esotericism is unlikely to reveal a higher truth than the transforming power of love.

Yes, that's pretty much exactly why I threw away my Theosophical and spiritual science books years ago. Now I get up each mornig, and love life. That's my spiritual path now. Tenets and beliefs are static, dead knowledge, regardless of the religion or spiritual philosophy.

[Baile]

Originally Posted by tommylama

The atheist denies an Intelligent Creator. A true esotericist suffers joyfully as he follows Christ to the Crucifixion. Service is the key to advancement along this Path.

That's religion.

Originally Posted by tommylama

I believe that only UNITY exists. His meditation will improve as progress is made allowing him access and entrance to greater realms of awareness.

That's spiritual wisdom. With a caveat: dualism is a natural aspect of physical-material existence. From a relative truth perspective, yes it is quite real. From an absolute truth perspective though, no.

Originally Posted by tommylama

On a side note, for you to suggest that this planet does not need saving is shameful.

That's why I no longer belong to any church or spiritual society, they're full of people who shame and judge you on whether or not you believe in what they do.

Originally Posted by tommylama

Hundreds of millions do not have their basic needs for food and shelter met. They are also a part of our family and they suffer tremendously.

That's true. And it has absolutely nothing to do with spirituality. That's the practical work we do on earth. Which is my spiritual path: practical, experiencal wisdom. Not beliefs, not tenets, not spiritual-religious theories about Creators, Christ, crucifixions, the need to spiritually suffer, and so forth.

I agree with a lot of what you say, tommylama, and your intent is honorable. But you're speaking from the perspective of a belief "system." That's what religion is: a system of beliefs and tenets. And Theosophy is a religion; it's a spiritual religion. I understand people prefer religion to the inner self-realization, experiential wisdom path. But they're two completely different things, and I'm pointing that out. The last thing the world needs is yet another religion. That time is gone now. Religion was the consciousness path of the Pisces Age.