Barry... thanks for clarifying your POV. TurquoiseB wrote:
> > > It is clear from this account, directly by the Samhita of the > > > Veda, that criticism of ones spiritual path, and of ones > > > spiritual preceptor must be seen as a sin against the gods > > > themselves, whom the preceptor represents. > > > > While I respect both you and your devotional approach > > to spirituality, I think that you have come to believe > > that scripture was written by God. > > > > It wasn't. It was written by MEN, and in this case, > > by the VERY men who are saying that it's a sin to > > question them or their motives or speak ill of them > > of do anything other than what they tell you to do. > > > > You seem to be of the opinion that these MEN who wrote > > these things were doing so for only pure motives. I > > make no such assumption. They were establishing a set > > of guidelines so that no one would ever think for them- > > selves and judge spiritual teachers as *people*, for > > fear that to do so would be a sin. > > Just to temper this somewhat, and explain a little > bit more what might be easily misconstrued, I have > *no problem* with those who believe scripture is > the revealed word of God. I'm just making the point > that some people seem to feel that because *they* > believe this, that others should, too. > > I don't. First, I don't believe in a sentient God, > one who has thoughts that could be written down. > Second, although I easily accept the possibility of > lesser "gods" or devas, I give them no more credence > and pay no more attention to them than I would a > fellow human being. They are interesting, but not > much of relevance to my life. And it's not just the > Hindu or Western scriptures; I feel exactly the same > way about the canon of Buddhism. > > I tend to regard scripture as literature. I fully > believe that some scripture is *inspired* literature, > and that some of it was inspired in men who were fully > enlightened and writing their visions down for the > general betterment of humanity, as an act of service. > At the same time, I believe that some of it very much > reflected the prejudices and the assumptions of the > time in which it was written, and the prejudices and > the assumptions and the particular path of the enlight- > ened person who wrote it down. > > I'm not convinced that there is a "one size fits all" > spiritual path that "fits" everyone. Similarly, I am > not convinced that there is a "one size fits all" set > of scriptures that accurately describes the best path > to follow or best set of dharmic actions for everyone. > I tend to treat every scripture I read with as much > respect as I can, but as One Man's Vision, not as the > word of God or the word of the Absolute or even as > something that is applicable to all men in all times. > > I hope this clarifies what I was trying to say earlier. > I'm really not ragging on those who believe strongly > that scripture IS the revealed word of God, merely > pointing out that when interacting with people, assuming > that it is and that the other person *agrees* with you > that it is is fallacious. > > Wishing you well on your path, and everyone here just as > well on theirs, whatever it may be. I am convinced that > they all lead to the same place, and that occasionally > the paths -- however different they may seem -- run > parallel to each other. When they do, we can wave at > each other and trade stories about what our particular > path was like, and the adventures we had as we got to > this particular point in the journey that is not even > a journey, because there is nowhere to "go." And then > we each wave goodbye and "go" our own Way. > > Unc > > To subscribe, send a message to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Or go to: > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ > and click 'Join This Group!' > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
