Guest guest Posted November 17, 2000 Report Share Posted November 17, 2000 Have a lovely Thanksgiving, Harsha! Love, Mark Harsha wrote: > There was some discussion of Grace on a and what it > means. It > is possible that the term "Grace" the way it is used in certain > eastern > traditions has a somewhat different meaning than it is given in > Christianity. The great Jnani Sage of Arunachala, Ramana Maharshi, > often > said that Grace is never absent. Like the Sun shine equally on all, > Grace is > there for everyone. Grace is the power of Self. Grace is Shakti. > Shaktipat > and spiritual practices to become aware and awaken the Shakti, of > course, > may be important. Many fascinating, bizarre, and even frightening > experiences can occur in meditation, sleep, and dream states for > people with > the awakening of the inner energy. Similarly, Kundalini experiences as > the > Shakti rises up can lead to pleasant and blissful visionary > experiences, > astral travels, and access to celestial realms. But whatever the > nature of > one's experiences, good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, the appearance > of > deities or monsters, one should remember that Grace is always there. > That > context of surrender and faith is important. Even if the Kundalini > awakening > is abnormal and one has to go through various sufferings, anxiety, > fear, and > agitation, one may consider it a natural part of the process. Although > > spiritual practices and efforts are helpful, it is not possible to > know the > highest state through one's efforts alone. It is because the one > making the > effort has too many burdens. So trusting in Grace means surrendering > one's > burdens to the Lord, the Shakti, the Goddess. Not my will but thine O' > Lord > is what the Christian mystics say. So Grace is the bridge that links > the one > who makes the effort to the effortless state of one's own nature. > Grace is > the Mother, the Shakti, the great power of the Self. She manifests as > the > mind and the supermind and as Shakti in motion. She is the bridge that > links > the individual soul to the Universal Being, and reveals that She > Herself has > manifested as individual consciousness which in essence is identical > to > Universal Consciousness. > > I will be offline for 8-9 days due to Thanksgivings vacation in the > U.S. and > will catch up with the mail after that. Sorry if the responses are > delayed. > Wishing you all well and the company of good and kind and generous > people in > your lives. > > Love to all > Harsha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2000 Report Share Posted November 17, 2000 Dear Harsha, You wrote: > There was some discussion of Grace on a and what it means. It > is possible that the term "Grace" the way it is used in certain eastern > traditions has a somewhat different meaning than it is given in Christianity. Exactly my point. The history of Grace in the West and Near East is not so good. During the Reformation certain religious strains of Christianity made the doling out and ability to receive Grace very conditional. Bernard of Clerveaux (12th century) and Thomas of Aquinas (13th century) helped a bit with that too (indulgences). The idea that one had to become 'The Chosen One of God' through God's Grace - not just 'any one' - to be unconditionally freed from moral inadequacies and physical blemishes through Jesus's *sacrifice* started to take over and play a prominent role in Christianity. Incidentally, 'sacrifice' originally had nothing to do with 'sacrificing oneself' in the contemporary meaning of the word. Sacrifice, 'sacri-fice' <--- 'sacer facere' = 'rendering something holy' = making something whole or good again. 'Holy' <---hale, hail<--- kalos (greek) =good. (cali-graphy) The idea that one had to become 'The Chosen One of God' through God's Graces came from some 'ungodly' character traits of the old Judaic Jahweh / God who manipulated his offspring and used favoritism and political maneuvering to his own advantage. (And they are still fighting wars about that in the Middle East). Certain tribes were especially favoured by Jahweh. Abraham favored one son over the other, Jacob (James) over Isaak. Even Jesus was portrayed as God's chosen son, chosen above someone else. "....And lo a *voice* from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."......(A quote in the new testament taken from the old testament prophet Isaiah). Apparently Jesus had a brother James (Jacob, San Diego), who was not selected for the special role that the *voice* had in mind. The two of them (Jesus and James) had some trouble together later. (Thiessen) So Grace in the west is rarely seen as permeating existence, so we need to be careful when such a loaded word is used. Best not to have to use the word... Living and recognizing only Grace, yep Ramana Maharshi... The French use a neat expression for the English "Because of ... " or "Thanks to ..." they say "Grace a ..." I feel the French have it right. > The great Jnani Sage of Arunachala, Ramana Maharshi, often > said that Grace is never absent. Like the Sun shine equally on all, Grace is > there for everyone. Grace is the power of Self. Grace is Shakti. Shaktipat > and spiritual practices to become aware and awaken the Shakti, of course, > may be important. Many fascinating, bizarre, and even frightening > experiences can occur in meditation, sleep, and dream states for people with > the awakening of the inner energy. Similarly, Kundalini experiences as the > Shakti rises up can lead to pleasant and blissful visionary experiences, > astral travels, and access to celestial realms. But whatever the nature of > one's experiences, good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, the appearance of > deities or monsters, one should remember that Grace is always there. That > context of surrender and faith is important. Even if the Kundalini awakening > is abnormal and one has to go through various sufferings, anxiety, fear, and > agitation, one may consider it a natural part of the process. Although > spiritual practices and efforts are helpful, it is not possible to know the > highest state through one's efforts alone. It is because the one making the > effort has too many burdens. So trusting in Grace means surrendering one's > burdens to the Lord, the Shakti, the Goddess. Not my will but thine O' Lord > is what the Christian mystics say. So Grace is the bridge that links the one > who makes the effort to the effortless state of one's own nature. Grace is > the Mother, the Shakti, the great power of the Self. She manifests as the > mind and the supermind and as Shakti in motion. She is the bridge that links > the individual soul to the Universal Being, and reveals that She Herself has > manifested as individual consciousness which in essence is identical to > Universal Consciousness. Nice Harsha, thanks. Have a Gracious Thanksgiving... Love, Wim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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