Those who quote scriptures

[Guest guest]

Well, it is clear that since realized people like

Ramakrishna Paramahansa don't meet your standards of

"guru", despite the thousands and thousands of

(clearly deluded)people who DO acknowledge his

greatness (and that of his wife, Shri Sarada Devi), it

might be asked, just what ARE your criteria for

guruhood anyway? Many great teachers quote scripture,

for the benefit of their students. One minute you are

saying "REAL gurus don't quote scripture", then you

come out with "Those who do so, do so selectively"

Which is it? Things like this really undermine your

credibility, you know...

Lilith M.

--- omprem <omprem wrote:

>

> I have never heard or read of an authentic Guru

> quoting scripture.

> They do not quote scripture because they do not need

> to quote it.

> As Self-realized beings, they have learned the

> lessons of the

> scriptures and gone beyond the scriptures to

> Brahman. They

> speak to aspirants from their own direct experience,

> from the

> vantage point of cosmic consciousness.

>

> Authentic gurus do recommend scriptures to aspirants

> because

> those aspirants can have something in their hands to

> study and

> learn from. Scriptures are records from those who

> have been

> where the aspirants wish to travel. Gurus because of

> their

> cosmic consciousness are able to guide the aspirants

> not only

> through life but through the scriptures with all

> their seeming

> contradictions and startling metaphoric descriptions

> and

> prescriptions.

>

> My experience with those who like to quote scripture

> is that they

> have little in the way of cosmic consciousness, do

> not actually

> fully understand the scriptures they quote, misuse

> scriptures to

> prop up their egos, make themselves appear more

> knowledgeable than they are, and attempt to

> appropriate the

> authority of the scriptures to themselves. All these

> reasons will

> accrue karmic consequences for the quoter.

>

> Those who quote scriptures do so selectively.

> Because of the

> often contradictory appearance of scriptures it is

> easy to pick a

> quote that will appear back up one's viewpoint. And

> then

> someone else finds a contrasting quote and soon

> there is an

> argument occuring based on a misuse and

> misunderstanding

> of scripture. Scripture is not intended for

> argument or even

> debate. What both of these types of people fail to

> understand is

> that their motives, their intentions in using

> scripture for personal

> advantage carry onerous karmic consequences.

>

> Those who quote scripture in a challenging manner

> have a

> fundamentalist, literal attitude. But scripture is

> not literal. It is

> metaphorical. It is to be read and understood on

> several levels.

> Fundamentalists, on the other hand, are incapable of

> operating

> on different levels. They only know the graphic and

> the obvious.

> Any subtlety is beyond them. Consequently, the

> scriptures

> themselves are beyond the grasp of those who quote

> them at

> the current time. In future, these people may

> progress but not if

> they insist of misusing and misinterpreting

> scripture.

>

>

> Omprem

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