Religious concepts in non duality

[mary isaak]

Hello,

I have believed for so long in religious concepts such as: Paradise, Hell, Judgement Day, Prophecy, Revelation, Satan etc.
I would like to know how these concepts are viewed in non-dual teachings.

Thank you very much.

Originally Posted by mary isaak

I have believed for so long in religious concepts such as: Paradise, Hell, Judgement Day, Prophecy, Revelation, Satan etc.
I would like to know how these concepts are viewed in non-dual teachings.

Ultimately and from an Advaita perspective they are Maya (i.e. apparent reality). Another way to look at it is if Absolute reality is Brahman without a second they cannot be Absolute reality but only apparent reality else Brahman would not be without a second and therefore not non-dual.

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by mary isaak

I have believed for so long in religious concepts such as: Paradise, Hell, Judgement Day, Prophecy, Revelation, Satan etc.
I would like to know how these concepts are viewed in non-dual teachings.

In Christian terms, these concepts of Paradise, Hell, etc all stem from the idea of a transcendent God, who sits above Creation, separate from Creation, observing and judging.

An alternative perspective is that of God Immanent, or God which pervades all Creation, not separate from any of it. Thus everything is Divine, an expression of Divinity. Some people struggle with this as they consider all the apparently negative things in the world and they wonder how these things can be Divine.

Another perspective is that of God both Immanent and Transcendent, God which pervades Creation while also being beyond Creation. This Absolute state simply is, allowing all things to be, while untouched by any of it. This is perhaps closest to the teachings of non-duality.

In practical terms, concepts such as Paradise, Hell, Judgement Day, Satan are all aspects of relative existence, although somewhat distorted by religious dogma. Some alternative ideas:

So each religion does have its own Paradise in the astral realms, and the strongly religious will find themselves in whichever Paradise most suits their particular creed, surrounded by others who have the same beliefs. As far as they are concerned, this is Heaven, but like all else on the astral planes it is another thought-form created by the fervent beliefs of millions of believers over the centuries, which has to be transcended to enter a greater reality.

Hell is found on the lower astral planes, but we are not condemned there for eternity by an angry God, rather we are drawn there by our own thoughts and actions. Anyone is free to leave these lower astral planes by raising their own vibrations.

We each get to experience our own Judgement Day after death, when we review our life from a greater perspective and see all the things we have done and how they have affected others. We are our own harshest judges - no-one else is judging us.

As for Satan, the fallen Angel, also called Lucifer, this is a strange tale in the Bible and makes no real sense, although the Urantia Book offers a very interesting explanation for what this means.

To get back to non-duality, we can say that all these concepts are maya, just as our physical environment is also maya. But while we are in the physical world we have to deal with it as a reality. Saying it is all maya and doing nothing is not an option. We have to act, even while knowing that it is all just a temporary drama. So it is worth trying to understand the nature of these religious concepts and how they fit in with the various dimensions we inhabit.

A longer response than I intended.

Peace

[Miss Hepburn]

https://truthbook.com/urantia/topical-studies/satan

A presentation from the Urantia Book.

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

A presentation from the Urantia Book.

Thanks Miss H. For those not familiar with the Urantia Book, the quotes taken out of context may not make much sense. For those familiar with the background story, the Urantia Book is surprisingly coherent, but at 2,000 pages it is not easy reading.

Peace

[Rishi27]

in the non-dual context, such believes, need to fit it to the box of oneness. Oneness is the perfect truth, otherwise it needs to be discarded. Soo take for example, “hell”, it need to fit in to the box, of everything being hell, and the laws of hell need to be all that exist. It need to be all inclusive. If it is not, it is not non-dual, but instead a mental disturbance. A product of the mind.

Soo you might say, the world is not fitting into any box, yet it is real. Yes, it is true, soo the world is not real, because of that.

Originally Posted by mary isaak

I have believed for so long in religious concepts such as: Paradise, Hell, Judgement Day, Prophecy, Revelation, Satan etc.
I would like to know how these concepts are viewed in non-dual teachings.

They're not, they're largely control mechanisms used by the post-Constantine Roman Catholic Church. At the time the area was a nightmare to keep control of, and Constantine had the idea that if you controlled the religion you controlled the people, and it proved less expensive and easier than using an army.

They're based on the ethics of right/wrong, good/evil etc and as such are judgemental. Paradise is the reward for being a good Christian, Hell is the punishment, and a judging God is contradictory to God being Love. Enki was Satam, Genesis is largely a re-write of the Sumerian Ennuma Elish and the Tales of Gilgamesh. The concept of heaven, hell and earth comes from Paganism.

[MikeS80]

Hello mary,

Religious concepts such as hell, satan, demons etc are parables and metaphors for our false nature, which creates hell on earth. Likewise, paradise, heaven, angels and the like are parables and metaphors for our true nature that will create paradise/heaven on earth.

[Miss Hepburn]

Hi Mary, I'm glad you used the term ''religious concepts''.
That says to me immediately - they are not 'true'! Ha!
A 'concept' is not the truth.

Here's a definition, for example, of the very word concept:
''What is the best definition of concept? A concept is a thought or idea. ... It's a general idea about a thing or group of things,
derived from specific instances or occurrences.
It often applies to a theoretical idea in science: Einstein's contribution to the concept of relativity.''

Here's another-
noun: concept; plural noun: concepts

1. an abstract idea; a general notion.

[MikeS80]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

Hi Mary, I'm glad you used the term ''religious concepts''.
That says to me immediately - they are not 'true'! Ha!
A 'concept' is not the truth.

All concepts have truth to them, however the way most people understand concepts have no truth to them. Concepts contain the opposite of whatever the concept is about. A prime example of this is the duality/non-duality concept of oneness/wholeness.

Many people are too busy thinking about duality as the opposite of non-duality that they fail to realize that non-duality is duality and duality is non-duality and because of this, these people think that all opposites are opposed to non-duality, and that duality is not non-duality, which is not true because duality is non-duality, Realizing that duality and non-duality united is oneness/wholeness, negates all opposites, therefore the opposites that are in the duality/non-duality concept is not the point, oneness/wholeness is the point.