I Will Give You What No Eye Has Seen, What No Ear Has Heard......

[Guest guest]

The Mystery of Saying 17, Gospel of Thomas:

 

" I Will Give You What No Eye Has Seen, What No Ear Has Heard..... "

 

There is an axiom of wisdom found in many world scriptures about:

 

seeing spiritually or mystically with new eyes, and

hearing spiritually with new ears.

 

My own teacher, who was actually paraphrasing Guru Nanak from India,

put it this way:

 

Since the highest spiritual realm is beyond the reach of the mind

and intellect mere words cannot describe it. It is said that in

that stage

 

we speak without tongue,

we see without eyes,

we hear without ears,

we walk without feet, and

we work without hands.

 

All that has been said by the Saints and Seers about that realm

is only a hazy approximation and a symbolic representation. But

one thing can be said:

 

There is no language there except for one,

and that is the language of love.

 

-- Sant Darshan Singh in, " Spiritual Awakening, " SK Publications

 

This axiom of wisdom about 'seeing what no physical eye has seen and

what no material ear has heard' appears in many ancient scriptures of

the west and the east.

 

GOSPEL OF THOMAS SAYING 17, AND PARALLELS

 

JEWISH, CHRISTIAN AND GNOSTIC:

 

" Jesus says: 'I will give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has

 

heard, what no hand has touched, and what has never occurred to the human

mind.' " (Coptic Gospel of Thomas, Saying # 17)

 

" However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no

mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.' " (I

 

Corinthians 2: 9, Saint Paul, New Testament)

 

" Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye

has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for

you. (Isaiah 64: 4)

 

" And this angel said to me, Isaiah, son of Amoz, I set you free; for

 

you have seen what no mortal man has ever seen before. Yet you must

return to your garments of the flesh until your days are completed. Then

will you come up here. " (Ascension of Isaiah 11: 34)

 

Some other pseudepigrapha contain " what no eye has seen, what no ear

 

has heard " sayings. According to certain early church documents there

was a version of the Apocalypse of Elijah that contained one that was

close to 1 Cor. 2: 9 and GoT # 17.

 

Jesus: " How privileged are your eyes because they see, and your ears

 

because they hear. I swear to you, many prophets " [isaiah, Elijah?]

" and righteous ones have longed to see what you see and didn't see it,

and to hear what you hear and didn't hear. " (Matthew 13: 16-17 = Q/Luke

10: 23 - 24)

 

" And the righteous who have walked in the way of righteousness will

inherit the glory of God. And his power will be given to them, which

no eye has seen nor ear heard. And they will rejoice in My kingdom. "

(Jesus, Testament of the Lord in Galilee)

 

" The rest of you shall inherit the kingdom of heaven, whose

delights no ear has heard described, which no eye has seen and which

has not appeared in the human heart. " (Jesus quoted in, Apocryphal Gospel

of John)

 

As then we also have taken refuge in Him, and have learnt that it is

 

in Him alone to give, let us beg from Him those things which He said

that He would give us, which eye hath not seen and ear hath not heard,

and which have not entered into the heart of man, the things which God

hath prepared for them that love Him.... " (Jesus quoted in, Testament

of Our Lord)

 

SAYING 17 TRAVELS TO THE EAST

 

MANICHAEAN:

A Manichaean scripture: " ....that I may redeem you from death and

annihilation, I will give you what you have not seen with the eye nor

heard with the ears nor grasped with the hand. " (Turfan fragments, quoted

in " Gnosis On The Silk Road, " Harper Collins)

 

MANDAEAN:

From a prayer found in the Mandaean scriptures of Iraq: " Thou hast

showed us that which the eye has not seen, and caused us to hear that

which the human ear has not heard. Thou has freed us from death and

united us with Life, released us from darkness, and united us with Light.

Thou hast shown us that which the eye has not seen, and caused us to

hear that which the human ear has not heard. " (Canonical Prayer Book

of the Mandaeans)

 

SUFI/ISLAMIC:

The tenth century Persian Sufi Master Abd al-Qadir al-Jalani quotes

an interesting passage. I'm not sure if he's quoting the Koran or another

Islamic book: " I have prepared for My righteous servants that which

no eye has ever seen, of which no ear has ever heard, and of which has

never occurred to the heart of man. " (Concerning the Affirmation of

Divine Oneness, Al-Baz Publishing)

 

TO BE CONTINUED..............

 

James Bean

santmat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_________________

To get your own FREE ZDNet Onebox - FREE voicemail, email, and fax,

all in one place - sign up today at http://www.zdnetonebox.com