Ramakrishna, Sri

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa - Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Mysore: Chetan Hegde M

Sri Ramakrishna (1836-86)

A once obscure and conventionally ‘uneducated’ village boy, Gadhadhar Chatterji, who became a prominent Hindu holy man, emphasizing non-contradiction and unity among all religions.

Ramakrishna claims that he practiced all faiths and discovered that they all lead to the same spiritual place (i.e. they produce the same kind of numinous experience and attitudes toward God, other people and the meaning of life).

Just how thoroughly, however, one can effectively rid oneself of one’s cultural and religious biases remains open to question.

By way of analogy, it almost sounds like a rabbit saying, “I tried being a bird, a fish, a cow and a snake… and all are just the same.”

This phenomenological issue aside, biographers say Ramakrishna often fell into extended ecstatic raptures. These trances were extreme to the point that even Ramakrishna himself sometimes wondered if he’d gone mad.

At such moments the Blessed Mother, Kali, apparently would appear in a mystical vision and console him with her graces.

Before marrying Sri Devi, Ramakrishna prayed that Kali would “root out” all of her sexual tendencies. Not surprisingly, their marriage was never consummated. While this may seem strange to many who can’t see beyond material techno-sexual culture, the two reportedly were united in a purely spiritual sense, making sexual union redundant, perhaps even distasteful.

The Gospel of Ramakrishna, based on the writings of his direct disciples, is widely available in the West. Essentially it’s a wisdom book, full of pithy sayings and examples. In one analogy Ramakrishna notes, for instance, that bad tomatoes rot faster when bashed up and thrown in the garbage heap, referring to the idea that the soul may be purified of ungodly attitudes (i.e. bad tomatoes) through holy suffering (see » Bhagavad Gita, Alchemy).

Conforming to the idea of karma transfer, an Indian biographer writes that Ramakrishna apparently:

had a vision of his subtle body…[with] a number of sores on the back. He was puzzled by the sight, but it was made clear…profane people had caused the sores on his body. They themselves had been purified, but they had left the suffering arising from their own sins with him.¹

This well represents some of the central beliefs regarding the dynamics of Hindu mysticism.  Similar but not identical beliefs can be found in the Christian mystical tradition–e.g. that souls close to God suffer for the liberation or salvation of less pure or holy souls (see » Faustina Kowalska).

Further on this point, the common worldly critique that “prayer does nothing” might, from the perspective of a bona fide saint, be seen as an unfortunate misunderstanding perpetuated by ignorance or sin.

On a more publicly visible level, Ramakrishna’s disciples founded the international charity organization known as the Ramakrishna Mission. And his most beloved disciple, Swami Vivekananda, became another pivotal Hindu religious figure.

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¹ Swami Tejasananda, A Short Life of Sri Ramakrishna, Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama [Publication Department], 1990, p. 92.

» Brahman, Contemplation, Hinduism, Mental Prayer, Spirit, Vocal Prayer

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Synoptic Gospels

Jesus Christ baptism site: "In the synoptic gospels, Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist. Site...is considered by many to be the site of the baptism of Jesus." Photo and text (abridged): Vyacheslav Argenberg

Synoptic Gospels

The first three gospels appearing in the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Although they differ in some details, there’s a great deal of overlap.

Most scholars believe that Mark is the oldest gospel, possibly written around 30 CE. Its form and content is simpler than Matthew and Luke.

Some hypothesize the existence of an undiscovered document called “Q” which would account for the commonalities in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark.

According to this view, the writers of Matthew and Luke drew upon both Mark and Q to further embellish Mark. As of yet, however, no actual Q document has been found so it remains a convenient scholarly fable.

» Bible, Gospel of Luke, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Q Document

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Spirit

spirit catcher: Rannie Turingan

Spirit

One definition of the word spirit points to an incorporeal being which may not be seen, as compared to a ‘ghost’ which allegedly is seen by a living person.

Spirit has several other meanings, such as an animating or vital force within life, the soul or some some kind of invisible force or presence that permeates the created universe.

Spirit arguably becomes an ambiguous concept if assessed merely from a conceptual level of analysis.

Many New Age thinkers, for instance, equate the notion of spirit with that of matter/energy. This is a dubious analog when we consider Rudolf Otto and C. G. Jung’s treatment of the term numinosity and, moreover, the Christian understanding of The Holy Spirit.

It almost seems as if those who haven’t experienced any difference between the perception of matter/energy and spirit tend to automatically equate the two, just as one might equate any seemingly similar variables without having had a significantly direct experience of them.

By way of analogy, if one had never drunk white wine they might look at its color, recognize it as a liquid and say white wine is equivalent to apple juice or perhaps urine. And so it is, many mystics content, with the experience of spirit. Those who know, they claim, realize that spirit’s character may vary significantly, not only because spirit is passing through psychological and cultural filters, but also because of the differences inherent to spirit itself.

serpent spirits: Jeremiah Ketner

Since the experience of ‘the spirit’ may be associated with a ‘particular spirit,’ as in the opening definition, we have the notion of ‘pure and impure,’ ‘holy and unholy,’ ‘good and evil’ spirits, along with their respective abilities to influence human beings for good or ill.

This tremendous diversity as to the meaning of spirit is not just found in Christianity but in most world religions. But again, some well-meaning but arguably unknowing individuals tend to simplify this diversity by making unsupportable claims, as did Sri Ramakrishna, that all paths involve the same type of spirit, lead to the same place, and so on.

This may have been Ramakrishna’s belief when dabbling in different religions from his master perspective of Hinduism but it certainly isn’t everyone’s.

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Sister

Nuns at the beach, Cherai: Michael Foley

Sister

This is a word often associated with a Catholic nun, although Protestant women responding to a call to an institutionalized life of prayer are also called sisters.

The term was commonly found in Hebrew (ahoth) and Greek (adelphe), where its meaning ranges from a family member, an extended relative or a wife, to a friendship or tribal tie.

Catholic nuns have existed from about 300 CE. The Catholic Church doesn’t allow women to become priests on the basis of the maleness of the twelve apostles.

This theological reasoning has been charged as evidence of sexism within the ranks of the all-male Catholic hierarchy, a sexism said to be reinforced and legitimized by cherry picking from the Bible those verses that support a chauvinist stance while ignoring those which would refute it.

The Christian designation brother is a rough parallel to sister for men. Two examples of “Mothers” (as linguistic but not organizational counterparts to priestly “Fathers”) are the late Mother Teresa and The Virgin Mary.

Christian sisters are often lampooned and unjustly stereotyped in the movies. One only has to wonder what the result would be if similar treatment of Hindu or Moslem religious women was found in the media.

On the Web:

• “Religion: The Protestant Sisters” » http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,827957,00.html

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Sirens

The Siren originally uploaded by Gail Bailleaux Kuker

Sirens

In Greek mythology, the Sirens are depicted as part-woman, part-bird creatures who lure sailors to their doom through their haunting song.

Numerous ancient writers mention them, each a bit differently.

According to Homer, Odysseus heeded Circe’s warning and avoided the Sirens’ dangerous call by plugging his crew’s ears with beeswax. And he ordered his shipmates to bind him to the ships’s mast so he, himself, wouldn’t be entranced.

In later variants of the myth, the Sirens drown themselves after failing to destroy Odysseus and his crew.

Sirens also have been depicted in Greek myth as mermaids.

The ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, depicted them in the myth of Er toward the end of the Republic as makers of the music of the spheres.

In early Christian times actual belief in the Sirens was discouraged but they were still used as symbols of evil, temptation and womanly seduction. » Odyssey (The), Hero

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Serenity Prayer

Peace Church by Scott Shatto

Serenity Prayer

A Christian prayer written in 1943 by the American Protestant theologian and man of letters, Reinhold Niebuhr, here in its most familiar form:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

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Scholastics

St. Thomas Aquinas from the Demidoff Altarpiece by Carlo Crivelli.

Churchmen-scholars in the Middle Ages who engaged in elaborate theological issues and debates.

Although the scholastics never asked “how many angels can stand on the head of a pin,” this question is often used to lampoon the usefulness of their thought.

The influential scholastic St. Thomas Aquinas adapted into a Christian framework arguments from the Greek, pre-Christian Aristotle, whose works were translated from Greek to Latin by Arab scholars.

After a some kind of direct encounter with God near the close of his life, Aquinas apparently said that his voluminous writings were like a “house of straw.” Nevertheless, his arguments, many of which seem to be constructed in ancient and medieval modes of understanding, are often cited to illustrate Catholic teachings.

Arguably the abstract intellectualism and intense quibbling of the scholastics lost sight of Christian teaching, which in essence is quite simple–i.e. love God and one another. And for one person to believe he can definitely speak about God, no matter how cleverly, may also be viewed as a bit arrogant.

» Anselm (St.), William of Ockham, Henry of Ghent

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Saturn

Font de Saturn, Jardins de Versailles by Sebastià Giralt

Saturn

In Roman myth Saturnus was an agricultural god of blight and sowing. The Romans likened him to the Greek god Cronus.

His annual festival was Saturnalia, originally held on December 17^th. This popular festival was later held from December 17-23.

The early Christians transformed Saturnalia when setting the date of the birth of Christ–that is, Christmas.

Some scholars and theologians say this happened because local and surrounding inhabitants were accustomed to gathering and celebrating at this time, making it a logical and convenient time to celebrate Christmas. » Aquarius

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Swedenborg, Emanuel

Emanuel Swedenborg at the age of 75, holding the manuscript of Apocalypsis Revelata (1766)

Swedenborg, Emanuel (1688-1772)

Swedish scientist who, after recovering from a psychological crisis, became a mystic claiming to speak on a regular basis with angelic, alien and demonic beings.

Although interesting and presented in an orderly fashion, some of Swedenborg’s writings seem questionable.

He writes, for instance, that spirits told him people lived in wooden buildings and tents on the planet Jupiter:

Their dwellings were also shown me. They are lowly dwellings constructed of wood; but within they are lined with bark or cork of a pale blue colour, and the walls and ceiling are spotted as with stars, to represent the heaven; for they are fond of picturing the visible heaven with its constellations in the interiors of their houses, the reason being that they believe the constellations to be the abodes of the angels. They have tents also, which are rounded off above and extended in length, spotted likewise within with stars on a blue ground. They retire into these in the day-time, to prevent their faces suffering from the heat of the sun. They bestow much care on the fashioning of these tents of theirs, and on keeping them clean. In them they also take their repasts.†

Similarly, Swedenborg said that a spirit from the moon said that the voices of that satellite’s inhabitants “made a loud thundering sound.”

With no atmosphere on the moon’s surface, necessary for sound waves and hearing, one wonders how this could be possible.

It’s easy to assume that Swedenborg’s accounts merely reflect the popular imagination of his day, suggesting that he was a quack or charlatan. But one could argue that some of the problems with his far-fetched claims arise from translation and interpretation, along with his human limitations from living in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Swedenborgians could argue, for instance, that the beings on the moon weren’t physical but were composed of energy or spirit—likewise with regard to the apparent ‘sound’ they made.

Swedenborg's Flying Machine (via Thomas Roche)

Whatever the truth may be, the psychiatrist Carl Jung notes that Swedenborg did have an accurate precognition of a great fire in Stockholm.

Concerning Christianity, Swedenborg’s work presents a novel interpretation of that religion.

He suggests that everything occurring in this life corresponds to a cosmic body, which he calls “The Universal Human.” And the different races of mankind apparently correspond to different regions of The Universal Human.

Likewise, Swedenborg says individual merits during Earthly life correspond to favorable afterlife regions in the cosmic body, such as the brain or the eye. But those who lead evil lives end up in undesirable, filth-ridden regions, such as the liver or intestines.

Swedenborg wrote copiously about demonic beings whose sole intent is to draw the energy from the living, causing severe pain and distress.

With regard to the idea of the Trinity, Rev. Glenn “Mac” at GlennFrazier.com adds:

Since you mention Swedenborg, it might be worth pointing out that he explicitly spoke up against the idea of a trinity of persons. According to his theology (in, e.g., his book, True Christian Religion), Jehovah the Father and Jesus the Son were not only one God, but also the one and only one person of God. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is the activity of that person, and not a seperate person in its own right. This is somewhat similar to Michael Servetus’ ideas expressed a good deal earlier in his “Errors of the Trinity”. Swedenborg’s idea of a trinity of essentials, rather than of persons, should not be confused with modalism—the idea of there being one God that at various times takes on different functions or modes in sequence. To Swedenborg, the Father was literally God’s soul, the Son his body, and the Spirit his influence/activity, not by analogy, but actually. » See in context

Swedenborg was not only interested in the inner life. Like other past innovators, he tried to devise technological contraptions that would eventually appear in some other form, such as a flying machine (pictured above).

Swedenborg’s work has been compiled, edited and commented on by the Swedenborg Foundation.

A student of Swedenborg’s works, Judah, adds:

A final thought: while I enjoy pondering the existence of life on other planets, I find it more enjoyable – and meaningful – to explore the ideas in Swedenborg’s writings that have to do with wisely loving my fellow human beings and our creator – the Divine Human. » See in context

» Aliens, Angels, Demons, Vampires

On the Web:

• http://thegodguy.wordpress.com (an intelligent, pro-Swedenborg blog)
• “Part 1 of 8: This week on Science and the Outer Streams, Andy Nesky, President of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Theosophical Society, welcomes the Rev. Dr. Jonathan S. Rose. Dr. Rose discusses the life, legacy and works of Swedish philosopher, scientist, and theologian Emmanuel Swedenborg. Swedenborg has been called one of the greatest thinkers Sweden has ever produced, and his theology sparked a Christian religious movement known as The New Jerusalem Church. Dr. Rose is the series editor and the translator for the “New Century Edition,” a series of annotated English translations of Swedenborg’s theological writings. He has been the Curator of the Swedenborgia Library and is now a chaplain and assistant professor of Religion and Sacred Languages at Bryn Athyn College of the New Church”

• Rock and roll song dealing with Swedenborg’s ideas:

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† Earths in our Solar System which are called Planets and Earths in the Starry Heaven: Their Inhabitants, and the Spirits and Angels there from things Heard and Seen from the Latin of Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedenborg Society, London: 1962, par 59.

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Trinity (Holy Trinity)

Holy Trinity theme slide by Lars Hammar

Trinity (Holy Trinity)

In Christian theology, the Holy Trinity refers to the belief that God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit form a co-equal and co-eternal mystical union.

Each of the three parts is defined as a “person.”

It remains somewhat mysterious as to just what this means. Are the persons human in form? Or do created human beings resemble the three holy persons of the Trinity?

According to one interpretation of the latter view, some persons predominantly act as God’s “hands,” others the “mind” and others the “heart.”

Biblical support for this idea is often drawn upon Romans 12:4-6, 1 Corinthians 10:17, and Collossians 3:15.

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) forwarded a similar idea in his book, The Universal Human and Soul-Body Interaction.

The notion of different types of people corresponding to different parts of the Divine Body is also fundamental to Hinduism, a religion which has its own kind of Trinity, one quite different from the Christian Trinity.

The Hindu Trinity consists of Brahma (Creator), Visnu (Preserver of the Universe) and Siva (Cosmic Destroyer).

Obviously, to say that the Trinity as understood by Swedenborg, Hindus and mainstream Christians is identical would be a gross simplification.

The idea that the diversity of human beings resembles the Trinity opens important questions about the relationship between God and humanity. For most Christians it does not mean that God is humanity and nothing more. Rather, the idea is that God, as Creator, is reflected by and present in humanity but still transcends the human condition.

The Christian Holy Trinity is often quickly dismissed as a cultural and historical production (i.e. a man-made belief) but those claiming to have been granted a vision of the Holy Trinity say that its mysterious character may only be comprehended through revelation.

Holy Trinity, Tattershall, Lincolnshire by Brian

Rev. Glenn “Mac” at GlennFrazier.com adds:

Since you mention Swedenborg, it might be worth pointing out that he explicitly spoke up against the idea of a trinity of persons. According to his theology (in, e.g., his book, True Christian Religion), Jehovah the Father and Jesus the Son were not only one God, but also the one and only one person of God. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is the activity of that person, and not a seperate person in its own right. This is somewhat similar to Michael Servetus’ ideas expressed a good deal earlier in his “Errors of the Trinity”. Swedenborg’s idea of a trinity of essentials, rather than of persons, should not be confused with modalism-the idea of there being one God that at various times takes on different functions or modes in sequence. To Swedenborg, the Father was literally God’s soul, the Son his body, and the Spirit his influence/activity, not by analogy, but actually. » Source

» Arius, Brahman, Christianity, Faith, Father, God, Hinduism, Holy Spirit, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jesus Christ, Logos, Monotheism, Siva

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