The 'Son of Man' within and the 'Divine Mother' within

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

Just as Jesus refers to the 'Son of Man' that is within us, so too, does Shri

Mataji refer to the 'Divine Mother' that is within us, when She says that:

 

" You have to dedicate yourself completely to Me, not to Sahaja Yoga, but to Me.

Sahaja Yoga is only one of my aspects. Leaving everything you have to dedicate.

Complete dedication – otherwise you cannot ascend any further. Without

questioning, without arguing, complete dedication is the only way you can

achieve it. "

 

Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, Cheltenham, U.K., 31 July, 1982

 

regards,

 

violet

 

 

 

, " Violet " <violetubb

wrote:

 

>

> Dear All,

>

> We concluded Part 9 with the following:

>

> (p.50) Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was

coming, [Jesus] answered them, " The kingdom of God is not coming with

signs that can be observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or

'There it is!,' for the kingdom of God is within you. " [64]

>

> (p.51) Some have taken the phrase " within you " to mean that the

kingdom is among the disciples so long as Jesus is with them, while

others take it to mean that the kingdom of God is embodied not only in

Jesus but in everyone. The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible

adopts the first sense--that Jesus alone embodies the kingdom of God.

But a century ago, in a book called 'The Kingdom of God Is Within

You', Leo Tolstoy urged Christians to give up coercion and violence in

order to realize God's kingdom here and now. Thomas Merton, the

twentieth-century writer and Trappist monk, agreed with Tolstoy but

interpreted the kingdom of God mystically rather than practically. [65]

>

> Beyond Belief (The Secret Gospel of Thomas), Chapter 2, p.50-51

>

> Notes:

>

> [64] Luke 17:20-21.

>

> [65] Thomas Merton, quoted by Marcus Borg, in 'Meeting Jesus Again

for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary

Faith' (San Francisco, 1994).

>

> Here now, is Part 10.

>

> Enjoy,

>

> violet

>

>

>

> Gospels In Conflict: John and Thomas - Part 9

>

> (p.51) In certain passages, then, the Gospel of Thomas interprets

the kingdom of God as Tolstoy and Merton would do nearly two thousand

years later. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, also discovered in Egypt,

but in 1896, about fifty years before the Nag Hammadi find, echoes

this theme: Jesus tells his disciples, " Let no one lead you astray,

saying, 'Lo, here!' or 'Lo, there!' For the Son of Man is within you.

Follow after him! " [66] Yet after including his version of this saying

at one point in his gospel, Luke retreats from this position and

concludes his account with the kind of apocalyptic warnings found in

Mark: the Son of Man is not a divine presence in all of us but a

terrifying judge who is coming to summon everyone to the day of wrath

that, Luke's Jesus warns, may

>

> catch you unexpectedly, like a trap; for it will come upon all who

live upon the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, and pray

that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will

happen, and to stand before the Son of Man. [67]

>

> (p.52) The Gospels of Thomas and John, however, speak for those who

understand Jesus' message quite differently. Both say that, instead of

warning his disciples about the 'end of time', Jesus points them

toward the 'beginning'. John opens with the famous prologue describing

the beginning of the universe, when " the word was with God, and the

word was God. " [68] John is referring, of course, to the opening

verses of Genesis: " in the beginning " there was a vast, formless void,

darkness, and " the abyss, " or deep water, and " a wind [or spirit] from

God swept over the face of the waters. " [69] Yet before there were

sun, moon, or stars, there was, first of all, light: " And God said,

'Let there be light,' and there was light. " [70] Thus John identifies

Jesus not only with the 'word' that God spoke but also with the divine

'light' that it called into being--what he calls " the true light that

enlightens everyone, coming into the world. " [71]

>

> Thomas's Jesus also challenges those who persist in asking him about

the " end time " : " Have you found the beginning, then, that you look to

the end? " Here, too, he directs them to go back to the beginning, " for

whoever takes his place in the beginning will know the end, and will

not taste death " [72]--that is, will be restored to the luminous state

of creation before the fall. Thomas, like John, identifies Jesus with

the light that existed before the dawn of creation. According to

Thomas, Jesus says that this primordial light not only brought the

entire universe into being but still shines through everything we see

and touch. For this primordial light is not simply impersonal energy

but a being that speaks with a human voice--with 'Jesus's' voice:

>

> Jesus said, " I am the light which is before all things. It is I who

am all things. From me all things came forth, and to me all things

extend. Split a piece of wood, and I am there; lift up the stone, and

you will find me. " [73]

>

> (p.53) Yet, despite similarities between John's and Thomas's

versions of Jesus' secret teaching, when we look more closely, we

begin to see that John's understanding of Jesus' " way " is

diametrically opposed to Thomas's on the practical and crucial

question: How can we find that light? Let us look first at the Gospel

of Thomas.

>

> Beyond Belief (The Secret Gospel of Thomas)

> Chapter 2, p. 51-53

> Elaine Pagels

> Vintage Books, New York, U.S.A

> ISBN: 0-375-70316-0

>

> Notes:

>

> [66] Gospel of Mary 8:15-20. See the major new edition and

commentary by Karen King, forthcoming (as of this writing) from

Harvard University Press.

>

> [67] Luke 21:34-36.

>

> [68] John 1:1.

>

> [69] Genesis 1:2.

>

> [70] Genesis 1:3.

>

> [71] John 1:9.

>

> [72] Gospel of Thomas 16, in NHL 120.

>

> [73] Ibid., 77, in NHL 126.

>