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Engaging in Gossip and Criticism will present serious obstacles to one's progress on the Path. These careless thoughts and actions can infect the heart sanctuary, so to speak, thereby hampering the growth of the Power that lives within.
This subject has been discussed previously in this blog (see "On Gossip And Criticism" or search the blog using "gossip" as a keyword).
As it never hurts to reinforce a teaching, the following is being posted for review.
[QUOTING]
You must guard, too, against certain small desires which are common in daily life. Never wish to shine, or to appear clever; have no desire to speak.
It is well to speak little; better still to say nothing, unless you are quite sure that what you wish to say is true, kind and helpful. Before speaking, think carefully whether what you are going to say has those three qualities; if it has not, do not say it. It is well to get used even now to thinking carefully before speaking; for when you reach Initiation you must watch every word, lest you should tell what must not be told.
Much common talk is unnecessary and foolish; when it is gossip, it is wicked. So be accustomed to listen rather than to talk; do not offer opinions unless directly asked for them. One statement of the Qualifications gives them thus; 'to know, to dare, to will, and to be silent'; and the last of the four is the hardest of them all.
Another common desire which you must sternly repress is the wish to meddle in other men's business. What another man does or says or believes is no affair of yours, and you must learn to let him absolutely alone. He has full right to free thought and speech and action, so long as he does not interfere with any one else. You yourself claim the freedom to do what you think proper; you must allow the same freedom to him, and when he exercises it you have no right to talk about him.
If you think he is doing wrong, and you can contrive an opportunity of privately and very politely telling him why you think so, it is possible that you may convince him; but there are many cases in which even that would be an improper interference. On no account must you go and gossip to some third person about the matter, for that is an extremely wicked action.
Three sins there are which work more harm than all else in the world - gossip, cruelty, and superstition - because they are sins against Love. Against these three the man who would fill his heart with the love of God must watch ceaselessly.
See what gossip does. It begins with evil thought, and that in itself is a crime. For in everyone and in everything there is good; in everyone and in everything there is evil. Either of these we can strengthen by thinking of it, and in this way we can help or hinder evolution; we can do the will of the Logos or we can resist Him. If you think of the evil in another, you are doing at the same time three wicked things:
(1) You are filling your neighborhood with evil thought instead of with good thought, and so you are adding to the sorrow of the world.
(2) If there is in that man the evil which you think, you are strengthening it and feeding it; and so you are making your brother worse instead of better. But generally the evil is not there, and you have only fancied it; and then your wicked thought tempts your brother to do wrong, for if he is not yet perfect you may make him that which you have thought him.
(3) You fill your own mind with evil thoughts instead of good; and so you hinder your own growth, and make yourself, for those who can see, an ugly and painful object instead of a beautiful and lovable one.
Not content with having done all this harm to himself and to his victim, the gossip tries with all his might to make other men partners in his crime. Eagerly he tells his wicked tale to them, hoping that they will believe it; and then they join with him in pouring evil thought upon the poor sufferer. And this goes on day after day, and is done not by one man but by thousands.
Do you begin to see how base, how terrible a sin this is? You must avoid it altogether. Never speak ill of any one; refuse to listen when any one else speaks ill of another, but gently say: "Perhaps this is not true, and even if it is, it is kinder not to speak of it".
From At The Feet Of The Master - J. Krishnamurthi (1910)
[END QUOTING]
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15 comments:
Nice topic on Gossip.
Gossip is quite a sport in society.
It seems to give good conscience to certain people.
But I will not call it a sin .. That will give it more power..but intense gossip is a symptom of a psychological illness.
Strong minds usually don't have time to waste on gossip.. They are too busy focusing on action and result.
Weak minds on the other hand sit back and as they lack the incentive to action , hide in a dark corner and start gossiping which usually doesn't make any change to the subject of their gossip.
I think it will come a time when gossiping will be describe as psychological pathology .. Special treatment will have to be provided to increase in them self confidence , self esteem and a stronger mind.
The concept of "sin", in the gnostic sense, does not carry the meaning that the nature-religious churches have appended to it throughout the last two thousand years. Sin is simply "error" in thought, desire or action; a deviation from the Plan of the Logos.
Fore more, see Sin = Error
~ g
Yes but as discussed before , I don't subscribe to the concept of sin or error.
Simply because for one , all creation originated from the same source.. if creation contain errors then we might have to go back to the designer to understand why. But we know God is perfect.
What seems to appear as errors are just part of the process of spiritual development.
A child who is learning to walk will fall down when performing his first steps. no one never blame the child or describe those falls as sin or errors.. It is part of his growth and that's how he will learn progressivly to stand of his 2 feets.
God may be perfect, but Mankind is not. There are basic cosmic laws that human-beings stubbornly and consistently continue to disregard.
This is error.
Shooting another human-being in the head is not the same as a child falling down as it tries to learn how to walk. The child is dealing with a physical limitation; the human-being knows better, but does what he wants to do simply because he wants to do it, cosmic laws be damned.
This is error.
To classify global warfare, murder, rape, robbery, etc. as "spiritual development" is an insult to Spirit. These are examples of spiritual degeneration, as man lowers himself closer to beast than man.
To say that "God is perfect" and to imply that God's creatures should thereby also be perfect is a gross over-simplification. Creator emanated a perfect Creation. Man, through abuse of the free will bestowed upon him, polluted the Creation, and subsequently fell into his own morass, in which he now struggles blindly to escape.
Man should stop blaming Source for his problems and start taking responsibility for the Hell he has created and maintains.
~ g
We are all at the school of consciousness which has different degrees.. From unconsciousness to divine consciousness.
And there is no waste in the economy of spiritual progress.
Even what you call sins or error are part of the process.
In one verse of the bible it says : Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you"
I guess you will ask how corrupt people and prostitutes can be linked with spiritual development.
Isn't that an insult to the spirit.
It is sometimes in the deepest "hell" that we find the light.
Agreed, everything is part of "the process". However, learning via the error-and-correction method is the slow way up the mountain. There are microcosms that have spent millions of years on the Wheel of Death and Rebirth and will spend many billions more on this treadmill before they finally tire of the Illusion and begin to seek the Way Home. So be it. Some microcosms need the repeated lashes of the harsh whip of Karma, the Great Balancer, before they will gain insight into their plight and relinquish their rock-hard I-centrality. Others enjoy wallowing in the same pig-sty and quite look forward to returning, over and over again.
The "tax collector" verse that you referenced is directed towards the haughty Pharisees, who represent all those who follow nature-religions and think themselves "holy". These ones will not find the Path before those who are considered "sinners" because they willfully choose to follow doctrines of error: i.e., the various nature-religions with their false teachings. As a result, they voluntarily choose to shut their ears to the Gnosis, locking the door to Salvation.
The fragment of the verse in question reads "tax collectors and sinners". By allegory, it teaches that the odds of a so-called "sinner" preceding the so-called "righteous" into the Divine realms are better than even, simply because the error-and-correction method, billions of years or no, will eventually lead those who err to a nadir, a bottom. From that nadir, from that rock-bottom of despair, many will choose to seek for that which is not-of-this-world. Spiritual degeneration of the microcosm will have reached its end. Only then will the process of
spiritual development begin.
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, 'Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?. On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick". Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."Matthew 9:11-13
Here, the Christ-Spirit, speaking through Jesus, revealed that the flesh sacrifices and posturing of "Pharisees", both ancient and modern, are worthless. It is Mercy towards those who are in error that will attract the Light of the Gnosis.
We are mostly in agreement here, except for the classification of sin as "spiritual development". On that point I will capitulate, in order to avoid hair-splitting and circular argument.
Best,
~ g
I think Jesus was addressing the pharisee to compel them to stop judging other people or being condescendant.
No one really knows what is going on inside a human heart.
The pharisee from the outside view might be looking clean but from inside might be very dirty when in other hand the so called sinner might be looking creepy from outside but a clean heart inside.
Human beings like to judge other people actions according to their limited perceptions or views.
Concerning the microcosm getting back home.
I don't know where that concept came from but I don't think there is a home to get back into.
We are already home.
Our task is to fully explore it.
We are now just locked in the basement, but there are upper floors. God is inviting us to explore all the upper floors and rooms.
But the basement is part of the building which correspond in an esoteric term to a particular level of vibration.
The Bible confirm this.
"In my father's house, there are many rooms" Jn. 14:2.
"No one will say, Look here! or there!' For you see, the kingdom of God is among you" Luke 17:21
So saying getting back home is not very accurate.
Regards
(1) The Christ said: “In My Father’s house, there are many mansions”. He did not mention anything about basements. He also did not add the words: “You are currently in one of My Father’s mansions. Please stay as long as you like. I came to encourage you to remain in this sewer”.
Home is where one’s origins are. We, as microcosms, did not originate from the Physical realm. We originated as Virgin Spirits on a much higher plane and subsequently fell into this realm. This is not our home. On that point you are mistaken, my friend.
If one is satisfied with one's existence here, that is one's right. However, be advised that man cannot make a paradise out of a duality. It is impossible to do so because in a duality everything inevitably changes into its opposite.
The physical universe is a temporary emergency-order, established for the purpose of rescuing fallen microcosms from an ages-long exile. That rescue plan applies even to those who believe that they are already “home”.
(2) You have misinterpreted the meaning of Luke 17:21. The line reads "The Kingdom of God is within you". Here, the Christ is referring to the Divine Spark within the microcosm of spirit-spark human-beings. It is the only portion of the Divine Kingdom that resides within man. This tiny Divine Atom, if properly nurtured, will enable the True Original Divine Man to be reborn and to resume his place in the Divine Kingdom.
(3) We are not experiencing in the Kingdom of God. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Although the material-sphere that we experience in is a part of the All-Manifestation, it is most definitely not the Divine part.
~ g
The concept of a ‘trapped’ microcosm is so simple and straight forward but the real implications of the conundrum are always just a whisker away from being understood. It is never something that can be understood by ‘I’ because the very acknowledgment negates the existence of ‘I’ and nobody's ‘ego’ will permit its own annihilation. This is not something that can be intellectually grasped, that is why the concept has been gently revealed to us in parables and prose since the dawn of mankind.
The concept of trapped microcosm is beautifully illustrated in Richard Bach’s book ‘Illusion – The adventures of a reluctant Messiah”
The Master answered and said,
“Once there lived a village
of creatures along the bottom
of a great crystal river.
12. “The current of the river
swept silently over them
all - young and old, rich
and poor, good and evil,
the current going its own
way, knowing only its own
crystal self.
13. “Each creature in its own
manner clung tighty to the
twigs and rocks of the river
bottom, for clinging was their
way of life, and resisting
the current what each had
learned from birth.
14. “But one creature said at
last, ‘I am tired of clinging.
Though I cannot see it
with my eyes, I trust that
the current knows where it is
going. I shall let go, and
let it take me where it
will. Clinging, I shall die
of boredom.’
15. “The other creatures laughed and
said, ‘Fool! Let go, and that
current you worship will throw
you tumbled and smashed
across the rocks, and you
will die quicker than boredom!’
16. “But the one heeded them
not, and taking a breath
did let go, and at once
was tumbled and smashed by
the current across the rocks.
17. “Yet in time, as the creature
refused to cling again, the
current lifted him free from
the bottom, and he was bruised
and hurt no more.
18. “And the creatures downstream, to
whom he was a stranger,
cried, ‘See a miracle! A creature
like ourselves, yet he flies!
See the Messiah, come to save
us all!’
19. “And the one carried in
the current said, ‘I am
no more Messiah than you.
The river delights to lift
us free, if only we dare
let go. Our true work is
this voyage, this adventure.’
20. “But they cried the more,
‘Saviour!’ all the while clinging
to the rocks, and when they
looked again he was gone, and
they were left alone making
legends of a Saviour.”
Sometimes we just have to let go.
~m
The Bible currently went through different translations as you know throughout the time so the best thing is to capture the idea.. you can talk about mansions , I can talk about rooms and floors , the idea here is the same.. A Creation with different level of vibrations , different level of realities.
If you say we originate from the world of virgin spirit and the goal is to go back home then you are also meaning that the highest we can achieve in term of spiritual development is the world of virgin spirits.
bcoz the purpose is to get back home.
Once home, what else are we looking for.. We've already make it.. We can just relax.
The perpective is that the whole creation is home.
You can choose to experience any rooms.
Even the very word micro-cosmos says it .. we are a mini cosmos.. We have all the dimensions in us.
not just the world of virgin spirit, but the entire cosmos which make things much more interesting.
The whole cosmos become our home and God is saying, come and experience everything my son..the 'worse' as the best .. Some part of the cosmos like the basement might contain tougher experiences but there are also higher floors with more joyful experience.
The apparent suffering in the basement is there to teach us some lessons and also to impel us to one day , say, comon , let's also visit the upper floors.
The whole creation is an intelligent and coherent system..There is no place for errors.
And each one is free to explore any mansions as long as he take on the initiatic path to get there.
I hope it is more clear.
Regards,
Re: “there is no place for errors”
All errors work ultimately towards the Good. That goes without saying and was never disputed. The original point in contention was that “there are no errors”. Acknowledging that all erroneous thoughts, desires and actions work towards the Good does not obviate the fact that they are errors.
Each Logos establishes an order, a cosmos. That order is governed by rules and laws. Those rules and laws are designed to help re-link fallen microcosms with Source. When those rules and laws are broken, then within that order an error has been committed.
The idea of the separated self, which is the Illusion that all of humanity is currently laboring under, is the Number One Error in all of Creation. It is the Prime Distortion.
From the standpoint of the Ineffable Creator, there are no errors. From the standpoint of the creature, the concept of error most definitely exists.
Re: “just relaxing” once we have “made it”:
Once a microcosm has effected a return to the Divine Kingdom, there will be plenty of “things to do”. To begin with, those who have achieved Liberation must first make a choice:
a. to continue on to a Nirvana of eternal bliss (of which nothing is known), or
b. to renounce their Nirvanic inheritance and reach back to lend a helping hand to the rest of sleeping humanity.
Most Liberated beings, in an act of the most unselfish Compassion, will forgo their rightful inheritance and instead choose the latter. They constitute the Universal Brotherhood that is engaged in helping us right now.
The Creation is Infinite. Therefore, evolutionary opportunities are also infinite. Under the Divine Plan of Evolution, microcosms are destined to evolve from Power to Power and from Glory to Glory. That’s what our life-wave was doing until we got distracted by the trappings of the Physical Universe and fell in. Because of our mistake, we have drifted outside of the original Divine Plan of Evolution and now have to be rescued by an emergency plan set into motion by the Logos, the Divine Plan of Salvation.
In closing, I did not state that “the highest we can achieve in spiritual development is the World of Virgin Spirits”. I said that was our place of origin. It appears that the meaning of my original statement was misinterpreted or misunderstood, an incorrect conclusion was subsequently drawn and then attributed to me.
That's okay, we all make mistakes.
Best,
~ g
~ m:
Your observations indicate a high level of insight. The personality, our “I”, will always struggle against the recognition that it is merely a temporary instrumentarium employed by the microcosm for use in effecting the Liberation of "the Other One" that is trapped within.
In order for this "Other One" to be liberated, our "I-being" must be completely erased. As you noted, this is something that the self-maintaining “I” cannot permit. The very thought of non-existence makes the “I” nervous and fidgety. Thus, it constantly works to create fear, anxiety and worry within the personality about such matters, which results in denial and resistance.
This is why self-surrender is one of the core elements of the fivefold universal Gnosis. Our "I" must recede into the background, in order to make way for the emergence of the "Other One" ("He must increase, but I must decrease" John 3:30).
~ g
You made some good points but I won't be able to clarify each one them.
But let me bring your attention to another point.
You talked about the I centered personality that need to go for the one.. It is true but the comprehension of it, is a bit twisted as it seems to appears that there are literally 2 different entities in the same being (personnality vs microcosm).
Sometimes we take daily language expressions a bit too literally..When we say for instance there is a champion hidding within that child or if you say there is a genius in you or there is greatness within each person.
No one never came up and say there are 2 separate entities in those people. For example , the child and the champion separate , or you and the genius separate etc..
It is the same being which through a process of trans-mutation or trans-figuration become a new being. A caterpillar becoming butterfly.
The lead becoming Gold. It is not that you have the lead(personality) on one side and Gold(microcosm) on another side.. It is the same Lead which through a process of transmutation become Gold .. And the alchemists did provide the steps how this process take place (purification , distillation etc..).
The I (lead) need to undergo a process to become Divine(Gold).
When we say there is a divine spark, we can also say there is a champion spark or a genius spark.. the spark symbol means a potential , a possibility.
But it doesn't imply that there are 2 different entities.
All we have is our I , which contain in itself different sparks , different possibilities,different potentialities and one of them is the divine possibility, the divine spark.
Regards
Re: "it seems to appears that there are literally 2 different entities in the same being (personnality vs microcosm)".
Actually, there are two separate entities inhabiting the microcosm. One is the human personality. The other is the Divine-Spark, the Spirit-Spark atom, which is the germ of an entirely New Consciousness.
Once a human personality begins to walk the Path of Return - which is designed to end in transfiguration - it will become apparent that in order for the Divine Man to arise, the human personality must be eliminated. Both cannot co-exist if the aim is to regain the Divine.
The human personality is a fleshly human-being. He is of the earth, earthly. The human personality cannot manifest itself in the Divine Realms. The vibrations there are too high. A human-being would be fried to a crisp if the attempt were even made to approach this region. That is why a new set of vehicles must be generated, whose vibration more closely approaches that of the Divine planes.
Re: "All we have is our I, which contain in itself different sparks , different possibilities, different potentialities and one of them is the divine possibility, the divine spark"
This is a gross error in thinking as it pertains to the Path and indicates that you may still be involved in maintaining your I-being at all costs. The "I" is a tool, a means to an end. That's all it is. It is a hard concept for many to accept, this is understood. That does not make it any less the Truth. These Truths are the "meat for the strong" that Paul referenced.
All seekers go through this phase of denial when confronted with the fact that the "I" must be left behind. They try to find a way to include the "I" in That Which Is To Come. I, as a personality, also struggled with this issue for a while until I began to gain insight into the process. Nobody wants to contemplate the idea of having to sacrifice themselves. We love ourselves. Self-maintenance is a basic human instinct. Be that as it may, the candidate on the Path has to fight against his old nature in order to embrace a New Nature. This key battle of self-surrender is what can make the Path a very difficult walk for many, until they gain the proper insight and relegate the I-being to its true position of responsibility in the Divine Plan of Salvation.
Crude Analogy Alert: Think of the "I" as a the yolk of an egg. After a process of proper incubation, a chick will be produced. The yolk is gone, absorbed to help create the chick. That chick represents the result of Transfiguration, the Divine Other One.
For more on this subject, you may want to read Transplant and The Two-In-One.
Also, you may want to pick up a copy of "The Mystery of Life and Death" by Jan van Rijckenborgh. He explains all of this very clearly, including the critical difference between the mortal part of ourselves (our "I") and the Immortal part of ourselves (the microcosm).
~ g
"Actually, there are two separate entities inhabiting the microcosm. One is the human personality. The other is the Divine-Spark, the Spirit-Spark atom, which is the germ of an entirely New Consciousness. "
If I say you have a genius in you.. And that if you need to become a genius , the genius part has to increased and lets say the 'non-genius' part has to decreased , does it mean that there are 2 entities in you?
Of course you will need to sacrifice everything that keep you in a 'dumb' state.
You will have in a way to make the dumb part die so that the genius part will arise.
Now based on that fact I can create a spiritual school tomorrow and purposely lead people into thinking that there are 2 entities.
The dumb belonging to one nature and the genius to another one.
And that the dumb and the genius can't co-exist in the same place at the same time which is true but it will never mean , there are 2 entities.
I can prescribe a set of intructions and teachings that will lead people to bring their genius part into full manifestation.
But I don't think anyone will think that there are 2 entities.
The I is the one going the process..the only problem is that in his current state , he doesnt carry with him the high divine vibrations.. he is carrying the very low ones.
So he will have to get rid of all the heavy stuffs of the lower regions to take on 'new garments' made of higher ethers.
I also think , we need to know exactly what is the 'I' which for me is different from personality.. Actually it is the 'I' who take on a personality as a tool.. personality is build up of a social, cultural etc conditioning..personality is not a permanent thing as you can immerge yourself in different cultures,or social environment and bring change to your personality.. but the 'I' is your core , your I-ndividuality .. It is what remains when you remove the personality (the mask in latin).. And that true I or true self carries the divine possibility.
Regards
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