Bhagavad-Gita

Krishna and Arjun on the chariot, Mahabharata, 18th-19th century, India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Bhagavad-Gita [Sanskrit: The song of the Lord] is a central scripture holy to Hindus that belongs to book VI of the epic Mahabharata. Believed by many scholars to be a more recent insert within the Mahabharata, the Gita synthesizes different, previously existing forms of yoga.

The main plot line revolves around Krishna urging Arjuna to fulfil the dharma (sacred duty) appropriate to his warrior caste (kshatrya). Taken literally, in the Gita this means Arjuna must slay kith and kin in the battlefield.

Krishna outlines additional dharmas appropriate for other castes, but Arjuna’s sacred task is to kill. Krishna further instructs Arjuna that his relatives will not really perish because the soul (atman) is eternal.

A gentler, psychological interpretation of the Gita sees the ‘killing’ in terms of the destruction of bad karma accumulated over past lives. These attributes manifest as outward aspects of the personality in the present life, not unlike that which Carl Jung terms the persona. Thus the ‘killing’ could be seen as the elimination or, perhaps, redirection of superficial and negative personality components that obscure awareness of the immortal soul (atman)

Lord Krishna instructing the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna in Kurukshetra. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Because God’s grace is said to be central in overcoming negative past karma, some scholars believe that the Gita was written as late as 2nd-century CE, influenced by the teachings of Jesus Christ. Regardless of the precise date, Arjuna’s dharma seems to lie somewhere between Old Testament ideas concerning the problem of social justice (“an eye for an eye”) and the New Testament emphasis on spiritual salvation (“turn the other cheek”).

While some Christians may argue that the Gita’s message is clearly inferior to the New Testament’s prescription to love one’s enemies, this claim is complicated by the additional teaching of the so-called “Just War,” a teaching which is explicit or, perhaps, implicit to many Christian belief systems.

Having said that, it seems that a valid distinction may be made between what Jesus of the New Testament says we ought to do vs. what will happen.

English: The Pandava prince Arjuna chooses to have the unarmed Krishna as his charioteer rather than the reinforcement of Krishna’s large army. The Krishna’s large army is chosen by the Kaurava prince Duryodhana. As the sky turns from gray to azure, and the army begins to wake, Arjuna confirms his decision by a solemn vow and water is poured over his hands as ritual witness. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jesus of the New Testament says his followers ought not to be violent, nor to even think violently, even though conflict and war will inevitably break out among some members of the population. By way of contrast, the Krishna of the Gita essentially says killing is okay in certain circumstances. And this is something that Christ never advocates in the New Testament.

As intimated above, however, the discussion need not end here. For more on this see The Bhagavad Gita in a Complicated World and comments.

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Consubstantiation

English: The Lord’s Supper. Christ standing at an Orthodox altar, giving the Eucharist to the Twelve Apostles. Frescoes in the upper church of Spaso-Preobrazhenski cathedral. Valaam Monastery Русский: Алтарная апсида верхнего храма Спасо-Преображенского собора Валаамского монастыря. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Consubstantiation is the teaching about the Lord’s Supper that says Christ is “in, with, and under” the bread and wine, which themselves are not altered in substance.¹ It’s often associated with Martin Luther, even though he spoke in terms of “sacramental union.”

The teaching, however, resonates with Luther’s view that Christ’s divine and human aspects are so closely united that he is omnipresent within all of creation.

Wikipedia outlines the, perhaps, first visibly historical incidence of consubstantiation:

In England in the late 14th century, there was a political and religious movement known as Lollardy. Among much broader goals, the Lollards affirmed a form of consubstantiation—that the Eucharist remained physically bread and wine, while becoming spiritually the body and blood of Christ. Lollardy survived up until the time of the English Reformation.²

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¹ An alteration of substance but not of form is key to the Catholic belief in transubstantiation.

² http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consubstantiation#History_and_culture

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Confucius

Love makes a spot beautiful: who chooses not to dwell in love, has he got wisdom? ~ Confucius via http://semaj83.tumblr.com

Confucius (551-479 BCE, Latinized from K’ung-Fu-Tzu = Great Master K’ung) was a Chinese philosopher and statesman.

Born in the state of Lu (modern Shantung), Confucius was orphaned as a child and grew up in poverty. Despite this, he devoted himself to education at age 15 and married at 19. He became a teacher in 531 BCE, and in 501 BCE Governor of Chung-tu. He was then Minister of Works, and later Minister of Justice. His quest for societal reform was popular among the common folk but political enemies forced him to leave Lu. As a result, he traveled a great deal.

Many of the sayings of Confucius would fit quite happily alongside the New Testament sayings attributed to Jesus Christ. Here are a few examples:†

Confucius:

Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.

Jesus:

Do to others as you would have them do to you (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31, prefigured in Leviticus 19:18).

Confucius:

In vain I have looked for a single person capable of seeing his own faults and bringing the charge home against himself.

Jesus:

You hypocrites, remove the plank from your own eye first, then you will see clearly to take the speck from your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:5).

Confucius:

A man with clever words and an ingratiating appearance is seldom a man of humanity.

Jesus:

Beware of false prophets who appear in sheep’s clothing but underneath are ravening wolves (Matthew 7:15).

Confucius Sinarum Philosophus (“Confucius, Philosopher of the Chinese”), produced by a team of Jesuits led by Philippe Couplet. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Concerning this latter comparison, Confucius believed that humanity is, at heart, good (jen). If taught and guided by rules (li) that are in accord with the mandate of heaven (Tao), a young child naturally grows into a decent human being and attains nobility (chun tzu).

Apparently Confucius said that at age 50 he learned to control his speech, at 70 his actions were naturally aligned with the “Mandate of Heaven” and at 80 he gained mastery over his thoughts.

But some of Confucius’ ideas are rooted in ancient cultural biases that don’t fly today. For instance

Women and servants are most difficult to deal with. If you are familiar with them, they cease to be humble. If you keep a distance from them, they resent it.

This is interesting historical material but hardly a universal, timeless teaching. Following Confucius’ death in 479 BCE, various schools of Confucianism arose.

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† Confucius quotations from Wing-tsit Chan, A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, Princeton University Press, 1963.

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Christianity

English: Resurrection of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Christianity is the religion based on the life, teachings, moral example, crucifixion and resurrection of the New Testament figure, Jesus Christ. Jesus was the son of a young Jewish woman, Mary, who conceived while engaged to her carpenter fiance, Joseph. The Jesus story tells us that Mary didn’t have sexual relations with Joseph but, instead, was visited by the angel Gabriel who told her that she’d become pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit—a calling which Mary willingly accepted. So technically, Joseph was Jesus’ foster father.

Founded in Jerusalem, the Christian religion emerged from the Jewish scriptural tradition, which Christians today call the Old Testament. Jesus, in fact, is seen by his followers as the long awaited prophet promised in Jewish scriptures.

As with contemporary Christianity, Early Christianity was shaped by the Jesus story. But this isn’t all. There’s also the living grace which believers claim to experience. So rather than their religion being a dry routine based on some distant past event, believers say they can feel the Holy Spirit acting in their lives, here and now.¹

These two elements – the teachings and example of the earthly Christ along with the perceived guidance and indwelling love of the heavenly Christ – forged an unshakable belief in many of Christ’s early followers.

Some early Christians believed that Christ’s promised return – signalling the end of the world – was imminent. In one letter St. Paul chastises believers for not working due to their misguided belief about the end-times occurring within their lifetimes (2 Thessalonians 3:10, Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32).

The religion spread throughout the Mediterranean’s Gentile (non-Jewish) population for about 20 years after Christ’s death. It was declared an “illegal assembly” under Roman Law. And the tyrant Nero publicly blamed Christians for the great fire in Rome of 64 CE.

Cruel and barbaric persecutions at the hands of the pagan Romans followed but the religion continued to spread. While some Christians denied their belief in Christ when threatened with horrendous torture and death, a good number willingly – some even joyously – went to their deaths at the hands of the pagan Romans.

The graceful and heroic courage of Christians being fed alive to lions in the Colosseum at Rome impressed some of the more sensitive Romans, leading to their conversion to this new monotheistic religion. Conversions didn’t just take place among the poor, as commonly believed. By 96 CE the radical egalitarianism of Christianity became increasingly apparent as members of the Roman Imperial family also converted away from their pagan past. By the end of the 2nd-century, Christianity had spread into Britain.

Map of the distribution of Christians of the world (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Why was Christianity so successful?

Some sociologists suggest that the Christian message gave hope of eternal reward to the powerless and oppressed. In other words, it’s a religion for losers. But historians more correctly note that the religion cut across all class lines, fostered warm communal love and complete forgiveness for past wrongs, along with the promise of power over demons and everlasting life in heaven. Theologians add that the spiritual power of the living Christ has always been present among believers in the form of the Holy Spirit, giving life, love and direction to their religious worship.

In 313 CE Constantine issued an edict of toleration in Milan, enabling Christians to worship without fear of persecution. In 381 CE Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire.

Some Christian sects in early Christianity emphasized either Christ’s humanity at the expense of his Divinity, or conversely, his Divinity at the expense of his humanity. The Church took great pains to officially resolve these as “heresies.”

Christianity continued to expand through the Roman empire. When the Western empire fell in 476 CE, the barbarian invaders were converted.

During the so-called Dark Ages, the Papal court fell into disrepute. Several Popes become blatantly corrupt. Murder, intrigue and absurd rationalizations for grave evils abounded. The flame of Christianity, however, was kept alive in the European monasteries. Monks by and large were disgusted with the scandalous and violent practices of the Papal court.

In the East, Christianity continued as ‘Byzantium’ until overrun my Muslim invaders in 1453 CE.

The Orthodox Church had become split by the 11th-century. Apart from subtle theological differences, the Western Church recognized the Pope while the Eastern Church did not.

Several additional heresies were squelched by the Western Church but the 16^th-century rise of the Reformers and the Counter-Reformation created a decisive split between Protestants and Roman Catholics.

CHRIST by Fergal of Claddagh via Flickr

Protestant Churches, themselves, began to splinter, with many new denominations rising up, usually at the bidding of some charismatic reformer claiming to rekindle the “original truth” of Christianity.

Despite doctrinal differences among various branches of Christianity in the 21st-century, almost all Christians believe in the doctrine of the Trinity. This is the belief that God reveals himself in three ‘persons’ of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three distinct persons are said to be equal, eternal and also a unity, sharing the same substance.

Today Christianity is a world-wide religion of over 2.2 billion followers, largely the result of colonization and missionary work among various Christian denominations.

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¹ Problems arise when different believers claim opposing ‘truths’ based on the apparent experience of the Holy Spirit. Quite possibly some individuals mistake a kind of vital, perhaps even biochemical, energy for the true love and peace of the Holy Spirit.

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Charisma

Charisma (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Charisma is a term applied by the German sociologist Max Weber to refer to a special quality possessed by rare individuals that provides them with superior leadership skills and a seemingly legitimate basis for authority.

Charisma often applies to religion as a divinely given power or ability but not always. In Weber’s words, charisma is

a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as leader.¹

Examples would be Jesus, Mohatma Gandhi and Winston Churchill.

Weber outlines two other types of authority. Along with charismatic authority, Weber adds what he calls traditional authority and legal-rational authority. These terms might seem self-explanatory to those interested in the social sciences but a good outline is provided by Dana Williams. Williams points out that Weber is well aware that the three types of authority he presents often intermingle.

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¹ Economy and Society, 1922 cited in GORDON MARSHALL. “charisma.” A Dictionary of Sociology. 1998. Retrieved November 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O88-charisma.html

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Dyophysitism

A diagram showing the Nestorian view of Christ: Containing both a human and divine person. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dyophysitism is the religious doctrine, defined in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon, declaring that Christ possesses a dual nature, one entirely Divine and the other entirely human.

The term has also been applied to Nestorian beliefs, although theologians continue to debate whether or not this is justified.

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Dionysus

Dionysos in a ship, sailing among dolphins. Attic black-figure kylix, ca. 530 BC. From Vulci. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dionysus was the Greek god of wine but with implications and influence far outreaching such a description. Son of  Zeus and Semele, Dionysos was also known for his cult of frenzied followers who allegedly ate live animals and children during ecstatic orgies.

He’s been associated with the raw, natural, emotional and unconscious forces of the psyche, in contrast to the cool and orderly aspects of ego-consciousness, as personified by Apollo. He’s inspired artists (David Bowie) and philosophers (Friedrich Nietzsche) alike, with his ritual madness and ecstasy perhaps appealing to those fascinated by the outer limits of normality and living on the edge.

In contrast to benign deities like Jesus Christ and the Buddha, Dionysus didn’t take kindly to those who didn’t respect him. Myths abound where he severely punishes people, even children, for not honoring his apparently divine status.¹ Nevertheless, he’s one of the most widely represented deities in ancient art,² and was worshipped in the country and the city.

In Rome his counterpart was Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, invoked and honored at musical and dramatic functions. But there was a dark side to the Roman worship of Bacchus. When occupying Judea, the Roman authorities forces the Jews to wear ivy during the annual festival of Dionysus, and they threatened to destroy the Jewish temple and replace it with one dedicated to Dionysus if the chief priests didn’t hand over Judas Maccabeus.

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¹ For instance, in the Homeric Hymn 7 he turns a ship full of pirates into dolphins for not recognizing his divinity. See Susan Guettel Cole “Dionysus” The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Ed. Michael Gagarin. © Oxford University Press 2010. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome: (e-reference edition). Oxford University Press. Toronto Public Library. 13 August 2012 http://www.oxford-greecerome.com/entry?entry=t294.e384

² The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 1999, pp. 479-483.

³ The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, 1987, p. 284.

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Dhammapada

Theravada Buddhist Monk in Meditation (Photo credit: Stuck in Customs)

The Dhammapada is a highly influential collection of 423 verses 26 sections within the Pali Canon of Indian Theravada Buddhism, traditionally ascribed to the Buddha himself. Basically an anthology of sayings, the Dhammapada deals with avoiding worldly desire and cultivating wisdom and joy.

In verse 78 we have the universal idea:

Don’t keep friends with ugly souls; avoid evil souls. Keep friends with beautiful souls; associate with those whose souls are good.

Within the New Testament (NT) story we find the rough parallel where Jesus loves his enemies but doesn’t allow them to destroy him before his allotted time to die (Luke 4:28-30, John 8:59). While some vulgar interpretations of the NT see this as cowardice or a shrinking away from the spiritually ugly, a more mature perspective sees it for what it is, namely, wisdom.

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Death and Resurrection

The Earliest fresco of the Virgin Mary, in the Catacomb of Priscilla from the middle of the 2nd century (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Countless scholars, depth psychologists and writers point out that the motif of death and resurrection is found throughout world religion, mythology, literature and the arts.

The death may be symbolic, involving a hero who undergoes a psychological or societal ‘death’ by leaving everyday life for the underworld. He or she typically encounters unusual friends, foes, adventures and battles, only to return utterly transformed.

This kind of symbolic death and resurrection is championed by the depth psychiatrist C. G. Jung and also by the mythographer Joseph Campbell. But it need not be a single, big event. As a friend of mine said quite a few years ago, she’s been through several symbolic deaths and resurrections.

At the time I thought my friend just didn’t get it because I’d been through a pretty big change, which my ego told me was way more significant than what she was talking about. But I came to see that she was right. At least, she was right in that we can all go through many symbolic deaths and resurrections according to who we are and what we need so as to grow in life.

As Sonia Neale beautifully puts it from a Buddhist perspective, and in the context of leaving her therapist:

It is normal to grieve and mourn. This non-attachment is difficult because every breath of warm wind, every flower and tree, in fact almost everything reminds me of someone I love dearly and have to let go.  Even being alive reminds me of what I have lost.  But I now believe that when you lose something, it is replaced with something of equal value or better.¹

The mythic theme of death and resurrection also takes the form of an actual death, as we find in sacred accounts of the Hindu Siva and Kali, the Egyptian Isis and Osiris, the Greek Persephone and Demeter, as well as in the story of Jesus and The Virgin Mary.

We also find many accounts where archaic societies sacrificed human beings to appease their gods or spirits. And it was generally believed that the sacrificial victims were generously rewarded in the afterlife. Such practices were found in Greece, Rome, India, China, Celtic and Viking Europe as well as Mesoamerica.

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¹ Neale, S. (2011). Death and Resurrection Through Therapy. Psych Central. Retrieved on June 28, 2012, from http://blogs.psychcentral.com/unplugged/2011/05/death-and-resurrection-through-therapy

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Elohim

Adam, Eve, and extraterrestrial Elohim (according to Raëlism) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Elohim is a modern and ancient Hebrew word that denotes god or gods, making it grammatically singular or plural.

According to Catholic teaching, the fact that Elohim has a plural form doesn’t mean that it points to polytheistic understanding of God. It occurs over 2,500 times in the Old Testament.

Elohim is also used to refer to angels, heathen gods or representatives of God. Jesus‘ human side cried an Aramaic variant  – “Eloi, Eloi” – while feeling forsaken by God on the cross.

The term Elohim is also used by Raelians to depict apparently all-wise, loving aliens whom adherents believe created mankind.

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