What is religious fanaticism?

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

What is religious fanaticism? i believe religious fanaticism happens when a

person takes what a prophet, incarnation, or holy person says, and applies it in

a material/literal manner. Spiritual truth is the universal living truth/word of

life, that transforms. But instead of taking the universal living truth/word of

life, and using it to transform themselves, they pluck it as one would pluck a

flower in order to possess it, like a material object that can be possessed or

owned. Once this is done, the living flower of truth, loses its connection to

its roots, and becomes one more dead religion, from off the living tree of life.

This is why Shri Mataji said that She hoped nobody would create a religion out

of Her teachings. Also, once a religion is created based upon an incarnation's

teachings, there is the danger of religious fanaticism, as well as the danger of

people following that religion by rote, believing that salvation comes by

following a religious formula of a,b,c,d,e,f,g... and they will be saved, and

enter the kingdom of God. But it doesn't work that way, because salvation is not

a religious formula that can be externally applied. It is a living relationship

that can only happen internally. It is a spiritual relationship that is very

collective, because in that relationship a person becomes " one " with the " All

That Is " . It is nothing less, than a transformation of consciousness, becoming

one's Spirit.

 

Jesus described the Pharisees as fanatical, when he said that they appeared as

the most holy of people on the outside, but inside they were like ravening

wolves, devouring the people in the sense that, not only were they keeping away

from salvation, but they were also keeping the people away from their salvation.

Jesus said that " woe " would come to them. That is happening now, as many are

forsaking religious leaders these days. People are spiritually awakening,

turning away from false religion, and turning within to seek their Spirit, where

the only salvation can be found. They are seeking for " the Reality " . That

reality is the transformation of the collective consciousness of human beings,

to turn to their Spirit, and away from a materialistic vision of life.

 

Appended are some teachings of Shri Mataji, which include a description of

religious fanaticism.

 

regards to all,

 

violet

 

 

A second characteristic of Krita Yuga is that whenever there is a falling away

from dharma, the inner Divine laws of Righteousness which are innate and which

regulate both human existence, the whole worldly structure, as well as the

manifestation of the cosmos - will arise as a result, with a corresponding,

compensatory effect. This is called the " Law of Polarity " or in Sanskrit " Karma

Phalam " (the fruits of action), which means in practical terms, that whatever

you have done, you will get the fruits of those actions: " As ye sow, so shall ye

reap " . So in this Yuga [Age], all persons will get their Karma Phalam. If they

have led their lives in accordance with the universal and eternal laws of being

(dharma), they will enjoy an existence which is harmonious and fulfilling. But

on the other hand, whatever wrongs they have done, i.e., whenever they have

fallen out of the central path of dharma, either individually or collectively,

they will have to pay for that in this life time.

 

In Krita Yuga there may be much to suffer. This is very unfortunate, but it is

simply the effect of our own actions which we have to face. Of course, suffering

can be avoided, if people achieve their ascent into what in yoga we call the

state of spirit or Union with the Divine power. In Krita Yuga, this

manifestation of exposure and punishment, through the law of polarity, will take

place as long as we do not accept the path of spirituality, which is the only

true and satisfying path for human beings. The suffering that befalls people,

both collectively and individually, will be nothing but their own Karma Phalam,

the result of their own choices.

 

However, despite this aspect, Krita Yuga is also a very blissful era for those

who are genuinely earnest seekers of truth. In Krita Yuga, there are unique

opportunities for self-transformation and, with their ascent, these seekers will

achieve a very high state of spirituality. But in this age of Krita Yuga, such

is the power of Divine compassion and love (the Param Chaitanya), that those who

have made mistakes and are consequently suffering, are also redeemed of their

sufferings by the activity of this all-pervading Divine Love. Furthermore, it is

said in the Puranas, that the residual power (that innate energy which is always

pushing us to seek something higher and so gives human beings their ascent), the

Kundalini, will be awakened and will grant Self-Realisation (or knowledge of the

highest Self) to the seekers. This power will also grant them physical,

emotional and spiritual bliss, and all the problems which come from our inner

being, energy centres of the subtle instrument, will be solved through the

spontaneous cleansing and harmonising activity of the Kundalini. In this way,

all individual human problems, as well as those collective or social problems

that have been created by human beings in this world, will be solved. But, it is

said that this state is meant only for people who, through their ascent, have

achieved the state of Selfhood. These are ancient prophesies which can now be

seen vividly.

 

The Indian sage, who may be called the pioneer in this field, was the first

great astrologer, Bhrigumuni. In his book " Nadi Granth " , he made clear

predictions about these modern times. He also specifically predicted how the

Kundalini would be awakened spontaneously through Sahaja Yoga, i.e., spontaneous

union with the Divine, and become the means of both individual and collective

transformation on a mass scale, through the teachings of the incarnation of a

great Yogi. This Yogi would be an unparalleled master of the Kundalini and would

teach all the people, the ancient secrets of self-transformation. These are the

times described in the Holy Bible as the " Last Judgement " and in the Koran as

" Kiyama " , the Resurrection Time. Astrologically it is also called the Age of

Aquarius, the time of rebirth and of great spiritual development on the Earth.

 

Of course, this is also the age of science and technology in which human beings

have progressed beyond the stage of blind faith. And in this great happening of

the Last Judgement and the Resurrection Time, one need not, and should not,

believe blindfolded in whatever is said about ascent or salvation, but should

treat it like a hypothesis, and observe the facts with an open mind, like a

scientist. Of course, if a hypothesis is proved, then any honest, scientifically

minded modern person has to accept it. The pure knowledge of the Divine,

manifesting itself directly through Self-Realisation, will progressively lead to

the creation of a new race for the new Age. This knowledge is not then for the

very few privileged individuals as it was in the past, but for the benevolence

of the whole world. In this way, the last breakthrough of our evolution will be

achieved en masse. The entire human race can be renewed and transformed. Dharma,

righteousness, will once again be universally respected, and human beings will

live in peace, harmoniously with themselves, with nature, and with each other.

 

However, the manifestation of Krita Yuga may not yet be apparent to the majority

of human beings since Kali Yuga is still manifesting itself throughout the whole

world, but it seems more so in the West and in a much deeper manner. However, in

India and in many other so-called developing countries where dharma is still

respected, Kali Yuga has produced a style of life which is no longer so

traditional and dharmic, especially in the cities. The Western modern culture is

very dangerously attacking the culture of the East and converting young people

to a very cheap, frivolous, superficial and self-promoting way of life.

 

In the prediction of Nadi Granth, even small details are clearly described: that

people will start eating their food from steel plates rather than those made of

traditional materials, or that children will start answering their parents back,

etc. However, India has the advantage that faith in the Divine is not as

strongly challenged as in the West, where many take to destructive methods. They

are more prone to vulgar and immoral practices.

 

In India this faith, this innate respect for the existence of Divine laws and a

universal harmony in the cosmos, existed in many people. In the unspoilt state

of innocent childhood, practically every human being has a natural and direct

feeling for the existence of God Almighty. But as time passes, this faith may be

deflected and people start believing in other powers - political, economic or

social. Pure faith in the benevolence of the Divine can also degenerate into

destructive forms of religion like orthodoxy, fundamentalism, sectarianism,

fanaticism, black magic and witchcraft. As time progresses, persons may, for

many reasons, even cease to have faith in anything at all, even in themselves.

This is largely the case in the West today and it is only in countries like

India, that we may find that pure faith in the Divine is still quite intact in

the lives of the people, mainly in the villages.

 

It may, of course, be true that even in India the effect of Kali Yuga has

penetrated up to a point. But it has not yet crossed that limit of innate

righteousness, of faith in God, so that what Western people would call the

anti-Christ style of life, is not accepted in the day to day behaviour of the

ordinary people in India, as it is in the West. Of course, not all Indians have

preserved their innate sense of spiritual wealth and many have taken to the

Western style of life in the cities, even though they may have been born in

India and imbibed some of its respect for traditional values and ancient wisdom.

 

It is ironic that what is so attractive about the West to certain Indian minds

is its apparent affluence. India was, of course, herself once fabulously rich,

but became a poor country as a result of foreign domination, and even after

Independence, has continued to be poor. The British left many legacies, some

good, and unfortunately many bad. But apart from the so-called intelligentsia

which is Westernised, the ordinary people of India never recognised them.

However, with the departure of the British after three hundred years of a

" divide and rule " policy, the country was partitioned on the basis of religion,

and this created an atmosphere of anger and hatred in some areas where

fundamentalism and violence could easily take root. However, despite all these

setbacks, Indian society did not accept much change in the traditional way of

life in the country. The traditional values continued to be respected, and faith

in the Divine and in the innate righteousness continued to be very much accepted

in post-Independence India as in the past. (Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi - book/Meta

Modern Era, Chapter 1, Modernism and Rationality - 29/09/95)

 

 

Religious fundamentalism and fanaticism have already become a threat to World

Peace. We had a discussion with some religious people in Italy and they refused

to accept a religion which was global. They wanted to have exclusive religions.

In this way they promote conflict between the followers of one religion and

those of another. They believe that killing others in the name of religion is

their duty. On the other hand all the great philosophers, incarnations, prophets

and Sufis have never talked about any exclusive religion. Confucius first talked

about humanity, but then came [the] Tao of Lao Tse who tried to bring the subtle

side of humanity. This Tao is something like the Kundalini of Sahaja Yoga. (Shri

Mataji Nirmala Devi - book/Meta Modern Era, chapter 8, World Peace - 29/09/95)

 

 

Before we start the celebrations of the birth of Christ, we have to have a

little bit of a review, of what we have done after His Birth, so we can

understand where we stand in relation to Him. For He was the Son of a Virgin, so

that not even the slightest blot on His name should be created. Because, He was

to do the greatest job, of creating the Agnya awareness for us, which would help

us to suck in all our sins, all our conditionings, and all our egos. And this

great personality was created for such a great work within ourselves. But

unfortunately, we have spoilt both these institutions within us to such an

extent, that it is the " most " difficult task to give realisation to Christians.

 

On the one side we have too much conditioning, as you know, through Catholicism

and other ideas about Christianity which created a " horrible " conditioning in

our super ego, which is just like a solid rock, I think, sometimes. And those

who have been in catholic churches still get stuck up with it. Even as they are

facing me, I find their eyes are blinking and the Agnya [Chakra, i.e. the Narrow

Gate that Christ talked about] is not straight. We have to give up that

conditioning " completely " , if we really want to get to Sahaja Yoga. To that

extent we went, that we tried to create institutions. Of course, we collected

money, no doubt about it, a lot of money, all kinds of drama, of the Papal Order

and of the Arch Bishop Order and all these Arch Bishops and all [such]

tomfoolery. All kinds of nonsensical 'donkey people' were created, absolutely!

They have nothing to do with the Christ, they have nothing to do with God, they

have no idea of Divine Life! And to them, prohibiting people from doing

something was 'fully' religion! And this has taken the West into such darkness

that Sahaja Yoga has to be worked out at a very great speed and in a very

expansive way, otherwise you cannot get over these horrible ideas of Arch

Bishops, and the Bishops and the Popes. The other side is the Ego part. Then

people like Mr. Freud came in and they put 'absolutely' anti-God ideas into

people, 'absolutely anti-God.' It is against the Mother, against the Son,

'Absolutely, it is absurd'. These anti-God devilish ideas penetrated and people

started saying, " what's wrong? " This is all conditioning, we should remove all

conditioning. So, they became ego-oriented, which is the other side which Christ

had to work out. So, I mean, after Christ has been established in the West, they

have seen to it that they created 'all' [these] hurdles under the sun, for the

Agnya Chakra to [have difficulty] opening out. Despite that, I find that all

Sahaja Yogis who are from the West are still attached to 'Christianity' and not

to Christ. There is a lingering Christianity still within you, and the

Christianity has to drop out. While Indians are very good at dropping out all

non-sensical ideas. Because we have had lots of challenges in this country for

every thing. For the conditioning, we have had challenges, for the ego-oriented,

we have had challenges. So people are used to this kind of a giving-up.

 

But in the West, we still are very much attached to that non-sense of

Christianity. It has nothing to do with Christ, believe me, and this fanaticism

which is lingering still in your mind must be given-up, otherwise you do not do

'any' justice to Christ. That by no chance means that you take to another

religion like Hinduism or any non-sensical Jainism, or any thing. The 'essence',

the 'Tattwa' of Christianity is Christ. And it is 'so' thickly clouded by all

these non-sensical things that you 'really' have to drop-out this word

'Christianity' from your vocabulary completely, and from your mind, otherwise

you can 'never' go to the essence. It is a fact, take it from me. (Shri Mataji

Nirmala Devi - Christmas Eve Puja Talk, Pune, India, 24 December, 1982)