Guest guest Posted August 6, 2002 Report Share Posted August 6, 2002 I have come in on this discussion late, but I think Sriram is comparing the Gita to the entire Bible, whereas it should only be compared to the New Testament -- and the Bible (the epic of the Jews) to the Mahabharata. Edith > _______ > > Message: 2 > Thu, 1 Aug 2002 20:47:33 +0700 > " Pieter Schoonheim Samara " <pietersa > Query on Gitas and Bible... > > Dear David and Sriram, > > Actually, there is one God, the Bible ad Gitas, as with many Buddhist texts all teach about the non-dual all-pervasive Self. When one reads the words of Christ, they are spoken very much like the words in the many Vedantic Gitas. You can go to www.kundalini-matashakti.com and look up the article in the links to Pieter called " The Self, Maya and the Heart - The Philosophy of Non-Dualism, where it will become completely apparent, that even though the teachings of Christ have been misdirected, that His Words are only exposing and demonstrating the One single non-dual Truth that pervades and lights each of us. You will also see that the way that he speaks allows for no other option or remedy or outs (such as reincarnation, which supposes that there are separate selves) apart from the Hearing, Recollection and Abiding in that single Truth. > > To get a better idea of the approach of Christ, you can also read the Ribhu Gita and Avadhut Gita, which are also available at the site, with many other articles and spiritual texts about the non-dual Singularity of the Self in the Heart (Samvit). > > Hearing is the prerequisite for realization. You can read clearly that Christ teaches about our oneness in the Father, and admonishes those that pervert the teachings to restate the Truth into the non-truth, as the Pharisees and Sadducees and Scribes of the time, and as many do today with His Teachings, as happens with the manner in which many Eastern Religions, are taught similarly as practices and rituals with an afterlife in some heaven or hell as an intermediate step to reincarnation. > > Nothing whatsoever is born or dies anywhere at any time. It is Brahman alone appearing illusorily in the form of the world. " Vashithta to Rama. > > All this to say that while all religions teach the one non-dual Truth, and require " hearing " as a prerequisite to realizing (awakening) to That Truth, nevertheless, in order that the teachings are preserves and spoken on a regular basis, ritualistic practice is promoted. Occasionally, an unsuspecting person enters a Church or Temple and " hears " and is transformed, transmuted, transfigured. > > Pieter > > -- > > - > sriram rao > Self-knowledge ; list > Wednesday, July 31, 2002 2:47 PM > Re: [self-knowledge] Fw: Query on Gita and Bible... > > Hi David, > > It is really not possible to compare the Bible and the > Gita since the basic theme contained in them is > different. > > The Bible contains a dualistic model of God verses man > and talks of life as 'one time' with a final judgement > day when God decides the reward/punishment for a > persons actions. It emphasises ethics and is rooted > in faith. It contains no metaphysical speculation. > > The Gita on the other hand is basically a > philosophical work seeking to make a person > 'understand' life and his/her role in this world. It, > in fact, summarises the basic concepts of hindu belief > such as rebirth, karma, spiritual evolution, etc. and > has a unique dualistic cum non-dualistic message to > suit people of different levels of development. There > is no concept of sin as understood in the bible. > > A person is selfish & 'sinful' due to attachment. This > is due to wrong identification with the > individualistic lower self, which is due to our > ignorance, which is again due to our low spiritual > level. We can increase our level and grow spiritually > either through devotion or by performing our duties > sincerely or through philosophical enquiry or a mix of > all three. > > The final goal is self realization which, in the > advaitic view, is equal to God realization. > > Thanks & regards. > > Sriram > > [This message contained attachments] > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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