The Messiah is Within

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The Messiah is Within

 

The concept of the Messiah is a divine archetype or aspect of God

that exists at the very heart of our being. The role of Mythic Hero

and World Saviour is a latent potential that lies within all of us.

 

Here we explore a recurrent theme that is found in most of the

world's great faith traditions and also forms an integral part of the

prophesies of the World's religions. In the world of religion there

are few concepts which are able to excite such passion from the

faithful or else elicit such disdain from secular people. What we are

talking about here is the idea of the expectation and future coming

of a special person who will play a decisive role in the unfolding of

the events of the prophesies and in bringing about of their full

realization. This expected or chosen one is given many different

names by the different religions of this world. To Jews he is the

Messiah, to Muslims he is the Mahdi, to Christians the Second Coming,

to Hindus the Kalki and to Buddhists he is the Maitreya. Also

Zoroastrians await the Saoshyant and even Taoist/Confucian scriptures

talk of the coming of the Future True Man. It is however reasonable

to suppose that all these different names and titles are really

referring to the same person. If we take it as our starting point

that all world religion is really worshipping the same God and asking

after the same truth, then all the world's prophesies are coming from

the same source and so are really describing the same set of events

and circumstances. Therefore all the World's religions all really

waiting for the same person. So this person has the role of acting as

the catalyst and instigator of the events prophesied. There follows a

discussion and an interpretation of the prophesies for this long

awaited person. I should mention here that for clarity and

succinctness I'll use the term Messiah or else 'The Expected One' to

mean all the other epithets as well. That is, instead of Messiah

or 'Expected One', one might equally substitute the name Mahdi,

Second Coming or Maitreya etc. with equal standing and also with the

same meaning.

 

First I'll answer a question concerning the expected one that I am

often asked or else I am sometimes led to in my discussions with

people in this sort of thing. The question is this, 'Is the Messiah

[or Expected One], going to be a single person or is it going to be a

collection of people?'. The best and most practical answer to this

question is to suppose that it's going to be a large collection of

people all working towards the realization of the prophesies. That

is, to suppose that everyone has the Messiah, Mahdi or Christ within

them and that it is through a collective effort that the role of the

Messiah is fulfilled. One of the roles of the World Saviour is to

save the planet. There is these days in the present age, definitely a

planet to be saved and obviously one person isn't by himself or

herself going to save the world. So therefore it has got to be a

group effort involving millions of people and more. With this

interpretation of the prophesies, the Messiah is therefore seen as an

archetype or essential aspect of our innermost being which can be

activated and brought to the surface of our consciousness. It is like

a dormant potential that exists within us all, which may under

certain conditions be awakened and incorporated into our being. That

is, if we choose, we may express through our actions the attributes

of the Messiah and take on his roles in our lives. Through this

exercise, in a sense we are manifesting the divine and also

personifying a powerful aspect of God. We become the preserver of

life and the creator of a new world. However this interpretation of

the prophesies for the Messiah also leaves open the possibility for a

single person or a small group of people, to play some critical role

in the unfolding of the prophesies. At the same time, this person(s)

is not acting not alone but in concert with a large segment of

humanity; with the common aim of saving the planet and bringing about

peace on Earth.

 

For the rest of this section I'll be talking in the singular purely

for the sake of conformity with common usage of terms. So when I

say 'Messiah', I really mean 'Messiahs'. Now, we turn to examining

the descriptions of the 'Expected One' contained in the various

scriptures of world religion. Who and what is this person? What is

his role? and what is his meaning in relation to the prophesies?

 

When we examine the prophesies and read what they have to say, we may

gain a composite picture of what the Messiah is all about. What the

scriptures seem to be describing is a peace bringer and unifier of

mankind. Also he is a bringer of justice and arbiter of disputes. So

for example in the Bible we have the following passages from Isaiah...

 

'He [The Messiah] shall judge between the nations, and shall decide

for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,

and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword

against nation, neither shall they learn war any more' - Isaiah 2:2-4

 

'The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and

understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of

knowledge and the fear of the Lord...' - Isaiah 11:2

 

And in the scriptures of Islam we find in the holy text called the

Nahjul Bhalaga...

 

" The Imam who will create a world state will make the ruling nations

pay for their crimes against society. He will bring succor to

humanity. He will take out the hidden wealth from the breast of the

earth and will distribute it equitably amongst the needy deserving. " -

Khutba 141

 

In the ancient and influential religion of Zoroastrianism, the

expected one is known by various names. For example he is called the

Saoshyant which means 'Victorious Benefactor' and he is also known as

the 'Astavat erata', which means 'World Renovator'.

 

Finally the one who's coming has long been prophesied is also a world

teacher and revealer of important truths and ultimate mysteries. In

Buddhist scriptures the Maitreya is so described...

 

' I am not the first Buddha [ awakened one ] who has come upon the

Earth, nor will I be the last. In due time another Buddha will rise

in the world, a holy one, a supreme enlightened one, endowed with

auspicious wisdom embracing the universe, an incomparable leader of

men, a ruler of gods and mortals. He will reveal to you the same

eternal truths, which I have taught you. He will establish his law [

Religion ], glorious in its origins, glorious at the climax and

glorious at the goal in the spirit and the letter. He will proclaim a

righteous life wholly perfect and pure, such as I now proclaim. His

disciples will number many thousands, while mine number many

hundreds. He will be known as Maitreya .' - Buddha Gautama

 

And also prophesies in Islam about the Imam Mahdi say the following...

 

" He will teach you simple living and high thinking. He will make you

understand that virtue is a state of character which is always a mean

between the two extremes, and which is based upon equity and justice.

He will revive the teaching of the Holy Qur'an and the traditions of

the Holy Prophet after the world has ignored them as dead letters....

He will protect and defend himself with resources of science and

supreme knowledge. His control over these resources will be complete.

He will know how supreme they are and how carefully they will have to

be used. His mind will be free from desires of bringing harm and

injury to humanity. Such a knowledge to him will be like the property

which was wrongly possessed by others and for which he was waiting

for the permission to repossess and use. " - Nahjul Balagha, Khutba

141, 187

 

Generally what the prophesies are describing is a potent agent of

change and transformation. Someone who comes along to address our

deepest human yearnings, concerns and fears. In a sense he is a

symbol who represents our desires for a better world and a happy

outcome for the current world situation. He acts like a beacon,

giving people the hope that one day in the future all the wrongs of

our human condition will be rectified and that the struggles of daily

life will be shown to be ultimately meaningful.

 

This diagram is meant to show that the prophesies of all the world's

different religions fit together like the different pieces of the

same jigsaw puzzle to form a coherent composite picture. At the

centre of all these prophesies are those that deal with the 'Expected

One' or the long awaited World Saviour. So at the centre of the

diagram is shown all the different names given to this enigmatic

figure by the respective religions. It is proposed here that just as

all the prophesies in the different religions of this world are all

describing the same set of events and circumstances; so it is that

all the different names for the 'Expected One' are really describing

the same person.

 

As discussed earlier, it is sensible to try and understand the idea

of the Messiah or the World Saviour as something which can be found

within all of us. A sort of inner potential that may express itself

at times of transition and upheaval. This is what I mean when I say

that the Messiah is within. Of course many religious people,

particularly in the orthodox sense, are expecting the arrival of a

single person. This is the case with most Jews and Muslims.

Fantastical as it may seem, the Evangelical Christians of this world

are expecting Jesus to literally appear in the sky. Other

interpreters of the prophesies also predict some sort of supernatural

event, the coming of some sort of superman or magical figure.

Ultimately, the question of whether the 'Expected One' is going to be

a single person or a collection of people is really an open one. What

I'm really trying to say here is that for all practical intents and

purposes it would be unwise to pin all our hopes on the coming of

some all powerful saviour figure to rectify the problems of this

world; rather it is better that we should take steps to improve

things ourselves, alone and also acting together with others. I

believe the idea that everyone is God goes hand in hand with the idea

that everyone has the Messiah within them and is therefore a

potential world saviour. When a person fully realizes that he or she

is God, then this leads naturally to the desire for that person to

express ones divinity in constructive ways. The awakening and

manifesting of the Messiah archetype, which lies latent within us

all, is one way that this may be done. Also because a strong case can

be made that currently we are nearing the end of the age or

historical cycle and therefore the present times are the times

prophesied; then to suppose that one is the Messiah is both

appropriate and opportune.

 

We have already examined descriptions of the roles played by

the 'Expected One' found in the scriptures of the World's religions.

Here I shall examine some prophesies which shed light on the

character and status of the Messiah before the person begins to start

playing his or her alloted role. In Judaism we find the passage

describing the Messiah to be, in the book of Isaiah...

 

'He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar

with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was

despised, and we esteemed him not.' - Bible NIV

 

And in Islam, in the Nahjul Balagha, the Imam Mahdi is so described...

 

He, in the beginning, will be like a poor stranger unknown and

uncared for, and Islam then will be in the hopeless and helpless

plight of an exhausted camel who has laid down its head and is

wagging its tail. With such a start he will establish an empire of

God in this world. He will be the final demonstration and proof of

God's merciful wish to acquaint man with the right ways of life. " -

Khutba 187

 

These passages seem to portray an unlikely candidate for Messiahship.

A despised social outcast goes on to save the world and bring about

peace on Earth. However, if we assume that everyone has the spirit of

the Messiah within them and that potentially we may all help to save

the world, then these prophesies may be better understood in a

symbolic way. That is, these passages are describing a process of

separation and alienation that often accompanies the spiritual

journey and mystical quest. The process by which a person is

transformed from a normal and mundane state of being, into one of the

mythological and god like, will often and perhaps inevitably involve

a phase of isolation and relative solitude. During this time of

social withdrawal, the relationship between the spiritual aspirant or

the would be Messiah, and his or her fellow human beings, may be one

of either unilateral or mutual disdain, perhaps even hostility. We

see this time and time again in the spiritual and mystical

literature. For instance we recall Buddha's quest as a lone

mendicant, Jesus' time spent alone in the desert and Muhammad's

retreats to the cave on mount Hira. Also this is a recurring theme in

world mythology, the descent into the dark forest, the voyage into

unexplored waters and the vision quest into the unknown. I believe

that when a person awakens the Messiah within, either through fate or

consciously, then likewise that person will go through a journey of

self realization that also involves a period of separation from the

rest of society. Indeed, anyone who professes a desire to save the

world or to help to bring about peace on Earth, will most likely

invite ridicule from his or her peers and also alienate a lot of

other people as well. So the Messiah's separation from society may

not be through choice but rather through personal and practical

considerations. The Messiah archetype is a powerful potential that

lies within us all but at the same time it is a terrific source of

energy that if manifested without care, may be terribly disruptive

upon the social fabric. When minor Messiahs make their appearance and

state their objectives then this will most likely annoy and irritate

a lot of people. When major Messiahs appear then they can literally

rock the status quo and bring about revolutionary change. Either way,

the emergence and manifestation of the Messiah archetype will be

rejected by most 'normal' people and will not be tolerated by the

authorities and institutions if its impact is sufficiently great.

Whether you believe the Messiah is a single person or many people,

initially the Messiah(s) is not going to be universally accepted. The

idea of a person trying to realize in his or her own life the

archetype of the Messiah will therefore necessarily be accompanied by

a process of alienation and social rejection. This seem to me a

reasonable interpretation of the two passages above, being examined

here.

 

Finally to recap, what I have attempted to present, is a way of

understanding the idea of the Messiah or 'Expected One' that is most

useful for addressing the greatest concerns of present times. This is

in counteraction against those fantastical and nonsensical views of

the Messiah, which lead to false hopes, inaction and varying states

of learned helplessness. The concept of the Messiah represents

something that is real and potent. It is a fundamental archetype of

the self and a prime aspect of God that lies dormant within us all;

normally existing in a latent state waiting for the appropriate

opportunity to manifest itself. If this is the case then surely the

perilous and disharmonious conditions of the world today are the

correct context for the bringers of peace, the servants of justice

and the unifiers of humankind, to prepare themselves and play their

respective roles. The Messiah is within all of us, so in a real sense

everyone is the Messiah.

 

The Messiah is Within

http://www.iawwai.com/WorldSaviour.htm