Ann knows how it began. Remember her response to your original comment? Take her advice and go research the topic on your own rather than continuing to flounder around here without knowing what you're talking about, any more than you had any idea what my religious beliefs are.
<< Ann, I suggest you go back to how this topic began. Judy threw out the phrases enlightened days and genuine enlightenment with reference to Robin. I said I thought those phrases were inaccurate given that Robin himself called his enlightenment a delusion. That is how this discussion began. >> BTW I don't have TV hookup so I don't watch the Olympics, was in Vancouver during the 2010 games! Judy, if Robin thinks that his experience of union with God was a delusion, then there is no validity to his saying that enlightenment defined as union with God is wrong because he did not have it! How could he know if it is right or wrong? Share, it would be best, if you really are interested in any of this, to go back and re-read what Robin himself actually wrote, God knows he said a lot in his time at FFL so you won't lack for reading material. Instead of using Judy as the "translator" look it up for yourself. That way you can decide on your own how you feel about what he said and you can take your time with it if you really want to. On another note, do you watch the Olympics and if so do you prefer the summer or winter version? What is your favorite winter sport event to watch? Favorite summer event? Strangely, I don't watch much TV let alone sports events but I do really enjoy the Olympics and also Wimbledon. On Saturday, February 8, 2014 1:34 PM, "authfriend@..." <authfriend@...> wrote: We've had this discussion before, Share. Yes, it's inaccurate. Search your memory. And my beliefs, such as they may be, have nothing whatsoever to do with this discussion, so just drop that angle of attack, please. << Judy, what your beliefs have to do with this discussion is that you're the person with whom I'm having the discussion! And I've gotten the impression that you're a devout Christian. Is that inaccurate? << What does it mean that Robin said his union with God was a delusion? >> He said his experience of union with God was a delusion. << Is this where the evil forces come in? >> I don't know what "come in" means in this context. << My point is that Eastern traditions define enlightenment as union with God. But if Robin wasn't really united with God, then how can he validly comment on enlightenment?! >> Share, you're not making any sense at all. I can't respond to questions that are incoherent. I suggest you drop out of this discussion altogether. It's way over your head. On Saturday, February 8, 2014 12:53 PM, "authfriend@..." <authfriend@...> wrote: Yes, that's what it means. Me, I haven't a clue. (What do my beliefs have to do with this?) Yes, Robin's experience was of union with God. He believes it was a delusion. << Judy, does ontological union mean: due to their respective natures, there can be no union between God and human? And do you also believe that there can be no ontological union between God and human? Another question: was Robin saying that he experienced union with God? >> On Saturday, February 8, 2014 12:32 PM, "authfriend@..." <authfriend@...> wrote: Let me put it this way: He believes all forms of enlightenment, etc., that entail the experience of union with God are delusionary. His viewpoint is strictly Judeo-Christian in that regard: God is wholly, immutably Other; there can be no ontological union between human beings and God. << Judy, do you think Robin thinks ALL forms of realization, awakening, enlightenment, etc. in ALL traditions are a delusion? >> On Saturday, February 8, 2014 11:28 AM, "authfriend@..." <authfriend@...> wrote: Absolutely correct. He was insistent that enlightenment is a real state of consciousness, and that he was in this state for 10-plus years. What he says he came to realize is that the state itself is delusional--the experience of being one with God, the identification with Self rather than self, and so on, everything Maharishi describes, is a trick, a seduction engineered by dark forces that do not have the welfare of human beings at heart. It's all very real--including the special powers, the mastery of nature--but it leads away from God. And that, of course, is why he spent 25 years attempting--apparently successfully--to break the unholy spell and pull himself out of that state back into ordinary consciousness. He made these points over and over in his posts. How anyone could read those posts and come away with the notion that he was saying he was deluded to think he was enlightened is just beyond me. People understand what they want to understand, I guess. Whether one finds Robin's analysis convincing or not, it's what he believed on the basis of extraordinarily painful experience, and should not be misrepresented or denigrated. << Judy, Robin himself called his alleged enlightenment a delusion. So I think it's inaccurate to use the phrase "enlightened days." Here is the important point Share: Robin believes "true enlightenment" to be a delusion, an illusion. It is not that he is saying he wasn't enlightened in the sense that MMY or others who understand the kind of enlightenment the East embraces, it is that that state is a delusional state. Here is the crux: it is not that he believes himself to have been delusional to think he was enlightened, he would still maintain that he was enlightened, it is just that enlightenment is not something he feels is a positive state to be in. >> On Friday, February 7, 2014 8:04 PM, "authfriend@..." <authfriend@...> wrote: Oh, and of course you were never around Robin during his enlightened days anyway. << What's "NPS," and how were you in a position to think Robin had it, whatever it is? << As for Robin, yes I found him extraordinary in many ways. Whether he had classic NPS, I couldn't say, but it sure seemed that way to me much of the time. But then again, it doesn't register with me much if a person is said to be enlightened or not. >> >>
