Table of Contents Selected Essays “… and the Truth shall make You Free” Organised Religion: from Failure to Liability Slaves of Love The Eastern Concept of Dharma and the Perversity of Western Uniformity The Singularity of Being About the Author Other Books by the Author Selected Essays Book III in the Series The primary focus of this selection is the experience of Cosmic Consciousness. "Seek the real instead of the apparent the base of All is One." Collated and Edited by the author, Lindsay Traynor “… and the Truth shall make You Free” I wish to make clear from the outset that I do not wish or expect anyone to believe a word I say; the imperative of realising Truth is based on personal endeavour – Truth is earned. I hope you all maintain your discriminating faculties and apply this principle to all – including theologians and other representatives of various religions, who would all expect that you believe them. Regarding the status of Jesus as a man, which offends many ‘Christians’ who maintain their belief in the supernatural as proof of divinity. I would respond that I too believe in the divinity of Jesus and Buddha and You. John 14:20 "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." Luke 17:21 "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Matthew 24:25 "Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not." Pigs do not fly and neither do men though everyone is at liberty to try and verify fact. Belief in great men/Sages such as Jesus and Buddha should not be based on fantasy or the supernatural as these men set examples for all to follow. So I offer the following interpretation of the account of Jesus ‘levitating’ or walking on water. In philosophical and theological discourse turbulent waters are indicative of unruly emotions. The reader would note that Jesus ‘walked’ on turbulent stormy waters (not calm.) He admonished his disciples for being fearful and then invited Peter to join him on the water. Please note that Peter was chosen intentionally, and what characteristics did Peter have? Impetuousness, short temper, cowardice, fear, violence etc., in short, Peter was a slave to his unruly emotions – this is why he began to ‘sink.’ The message of the great teacher here is obvious. We must rise above the ‘turbulent waters’ of our emotions in order to free ourselves from the slavery of negative behaviour patterns and to become immune to the attempts of others who would use emotional tactics of fear and other negative aspects of the emotions to enslave us, so common in advertising and the political propaganda of today. Now, do you find the above interpretation useful and instructive, or would you prefer the Walt Disney version, which would not require you to improve yourself? The question is rhetorical as I am all too familiar with the current disposition of the enslaved, media-nose- ringed, masses of today that expect to be provided for; improving oneself is almost beyond conception for these types. Now to the case of Magdalene, which quite a few puritanical hypocrites would view with disdain. I will say this to you prior to interpreting the casting out of ‘devils’ in order to make her 'acceptable' to Christ. Your views (whore) reveal much to the perceptive eye. Undoubtedly most of you are men; I empathise with your wives and children, I know you abuse them and you no doubt subscribe to the deplorable views (T.U.L.I.P) of Calvinism and the Evangelical political right. It would serve you well to remember Jesus stating, you will have your reward. Luke 8:2 "..Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils," Firstly, Jesus loved this woman above his other disciples – at least it appeared as such – why? In fact he loved all equally, but his behaviour with Magdalene was more intimate according to early Christian texts. Do you find this relationship unusual? He was a man and she a woman, perfectly natural response, especially when we consider the torment she would have suffered at the hands of the compulsive-obsessive, door-knob-wiping values of Judaism at the time, which relegated her to outcast status. Jesus accepted her before he cast out her ‘devils.’ He saw her pain and torment and her (our) need for Love, which he offered her unconditionally without regard for the priest class or the opinion of the next-door neighbours. Now dear reader, what do you suppose those "devils," which Jesus "cast out" were? Perhaps they were the cohorts of Beelzebub, Choronazin or horned demons, maybe even goblins – then again, why not ‘Snow White and the seven devils’ – point taken I would hope. He cast out perversity, vanity, avarice, sensuality, self-loathing, etc., and for this she was eternally grateful. She could not help but love the man who released her. She remained with him till the end. Compare this woman’s faithfulness, dedication and loyalty with the marriage contract of today and ask yourself which relationship is greater. Rather than deal with each issue separately, I will relay an anecdote that I hope will serve as a 'vaccination' against further tendencies to theological fantasy and illusion. A few million years ago when I was young, I travelled the world in search of Truth. My quest was unrelenting and difficult; life- threatening situations were not uncommon. There were many who claimed to ‘know,’ but proved to be frauds. When I had earned the right to discover that which I sought, I met a few extraordinary men. I am forever in debt to one for releasing me from the mental slavery imposed by my cultural background. When I met this man he promptly asked what I sought, I responded as I had a thousand times before – Truth! Upon hearing my answer, he roared with laughter, I mean he was 'splitting his sides' laughing and so were a few others present at the time. It was hard to take as it was all at my expense. Everyone could see my reaction and laughed even harder, the more I tried to compose myself and not react, the more ridiculous I must have appeared. Tears of laughter began streaming down some faces until I too began to laugh – it became so infectious I couldn’t help myself, even though I was conscious that it was all at my expense. One of the company then pointed at me and said, "look this idiot is laughing at himself," which of course resulted in more laughter from all except me. I was offended, dejected and getting angry – this last display of emotion really hit the high-point for those rascals. The situation seemed cruel and uncalled for, so I decided to leave. "Well thank you for taking the time to see me," I said and made for the door. This gesture seemed to quieten things down a trifle. As I was about to disappear through the doorway the old man said, "didn’t you say you were searching for Truth?" He made the word sound like the most absurd word in the English language. Before I could respond, he gestured toward the verandah to where we both repaired, the others having taken their leave. "So where are you from and how long have you been in India?" he asked. Thinking that I may yet discover something, I politely answered his question. "You have come a long way for nothing." "So it would seem," I said. "What is your religion?" I tried to explain that I had none but he insisted on a direct answer, so I said, "well, I was born into a Christian family and baptised according to that faith." "Ah! a Christian, a great Sage your Jesus Christ." He then asked me if I believed in Jesus, I replied in the affirmative but added that I also believed in Siva and Buddha. "Never mind Siva or Buddha, you are not a Hindu or Buddhist." "Are you sure you believe in Jesus?" he asked again. It was obvious he was baiting me but I replied, "yes!" He then pointed to a mountain in the distance and asked me to move it, [hook, line and sinker!] "Impossible," I said. "But you confirmed your belief, therefore, according to his teaching and your belief, you should be able to move that mountain" He then referred to a New Testament which I observed was well read and marked and read the following passages: Matthew 17:20 "…If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." John 14:12 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." And then demanded that I move that mountain or he would expose me as a liar and hypocrite. I didn’t have any alternative but to concede. He consoled me by saying, "don’t feel too badly about it, “all Christians, without exception, are hypocrites and liars." I took slight offence and replied that there have been many mystics who have known God in the faith. "But could they move mountains or fly or raise the dead?" he asked. "So there must be an another interpretation that is more accurate than a literal reading, otherwise Jesus is a liar," he quipped without waiting for my response. I do not wish to turn this paper into a novel so I will summarise by saying that my experience with this wise man freed me from the stupid, implausible and fantastic interpretations of Christian theologians and those who profess to have ‘authority’ from Jesus. I was also taught an ancient Hindu method of discriminative inquiry, which reveals the Truth in all things including all scriptures/texts. The ancient scribes were acutely aware that corruption would occur, and as a precaution they buried the loftier aspects of the teaching in symbolism, allegory, metaphor and every other literary device available. In this way is Truth preserved in a text. An additional benefit (of the method) is that profound treatises open like a flower and reveal the beauty and genius of not only their creators but the Creator. When applied in the world of men, liars and hypocrites become transparent and are exposed to their lying ‘bones.’ Notwithstanding the above, Scripture also speaks quite plainly for numerous reasons, I offer the following to expose the nefarious manipulators of political Evangelicalism of today.’ John 13:34 "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." John 15:9 "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love." John 15:12 "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you." This is stated plainly for the simple reason that Love conquers All; not fear, missiles, bombs or the inane drivel of morons and fanatics that literally interpret and contort religious texts to serve their own interests. Moreover, we all know it, but what prevents people from applying common sense? Fear of course, this emotion is played to death these days. We should now all have the opportunity to ‘walk on water’ and rise above our fears and other negative emotions and set ourselves Free, though no doubt most enslaved, infantile people want everything provided for them; nevertheless, there is no escaping the reality we must All earn our freedom or forever remain enslaved to one force or another. Peace to All Organised Religion: from Failure to Liability It’s dreamboat time in pathological paradise. Yes, the topic is religion, a favourite of the mindless and enslaved regardless of race or nationality. No human society has been spared; religion induced murder, destruction, violence and insanity knock on every door, hut, tent and lean-to on the planet. But before proceeding I would in a sentence highlight the fact that ALL organised religions are Failed – irrefutable fact! Furthermore, religious leaders today are the most brazen liars and despicable hypocrites on the planet. With the example of the homicidal, sociopathic, God Jehovah, who seems to delight in genocide (Jericho) and displays a weakness for gold and silver, religions teach Peace. However, religious leaders throughout history have interpreted Peace as War and Theft. It becomes obvious that confronting religionists is confronting mental disease/psychopathology. I am not referring to faith based options but to the clarity of their texts – Christians and Buddhists are obliged to love everyone and not to engage in any violent actions. Clearly no real Christians exist on the planet for they are the most vocal warmongers. At least the Jews maintain theological integrity when they engage in genocide, infanticide and ethnic cleansing – their disturbed God is a homicidal maniac. Perhaps Christians should convert to Judaism or Islam in order to avoid the hell they fear so much – the text clearly indicates Jesus’ attitude to hypocrites. Jesus is known to have frequented dens of iniquity and to have socialised with foul mouthed sinners and drunks; it seems Jesus favoured Integrity above posturing. He displayed nothing but contempt for the wealthy, mercantile classes – as did the Buddha. Historically, all Christian churches/denominations pursued gold, gems and all manner of monetary wealth at the expense of the common people – nothing has changed today.