Guest guest Posted October 23, 2001 Report Share Posted October 23, 2001 Greetings: 1) For the Christians on this List, I always like to point out the close affinity between Christianity and Vedanta. Regarding the excellent discussion on desire, both beliefs systems teach the same goal: Not desirelessness, but the sublimation of multiple, worldly desires into a single, absolute desire for God. This process of sublimating and surrendering your worldly desires requires both personal effort and God's grace (i.e., " . . . the closer to the East you travel, the further from the West you are. . . " to paraphrase Thakur), and the result is inner fullfillment, rather than inner emptiness (Buddhism may differ from Christianity and Vedanta on this). The spiritual process/journey of sublimating multiple desires into a single desire for God is beautifully summed up by Christ in His greatest commandment for us: " Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind " (Matthew 22:37). He also counsels Martha on the purpose of life: " only one thing is needed " (Luke 10:42). I also enjoy David's blissful statement in Psalm 73:25, " Earth has nothing I desire besides You. " 2) I don't believe Sage Patanjali of Yoga Sutras fame could be the sage mentioned in the 1400 BCE timeframe, as the Yoga Sutras were written circa 200 BCE. 3) Dear Anata: I'm afraid I must take exception with Swamiji on your latest post, if he was, indeed, the author of the following: " On the other hand, in India, if man prayed, " Give us this day our daily bread " , people would laugh at him. Nothing could be more foolish to the Hindu mind than to say, " Our Father which art in Heaven. " The Hindu when he worships, thinks that God is within himself. " Christ's feet may have been on the Earth, but his mind was always in Heaven (i.e., Nirvikalpa Samadhi). Therefore, when He referred to " daily bread, " He was not only referring to the deli rye variety, but also the " bread of God " (John 6:33). Christ also was well aware of the " location " of Heaven: " The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you " (Luke 17:20-21). God Bless Us All, Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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