Emily,
For most Americans and people who've grown up in the traditional western culture, usiing the term the "gunas" is a foreign word and concept. We were brought to claim responsibility for our own actions. Thus, it is inconceivable to have a foreign entity or mode of nature to take ownership of our own actions. The idea is similar to the idea that the kingdom of God is within you, as you have quoted from Luke. MMY even says that the gunas are the powers of nature that come from God. In simple terms, the gunas include the basic elements of nature such as, water, fire, earth, air and ether. They are part of us and vice versa. Thus, our thinking process and consciousness are influenced by these basic elements. MMY has explained this concept in his commentary to the B. Gita. But in my opinion, it is the natural way to explain what Jesus meant by the kingdom of God. It also explains how we can act in the world without stress and influence from karma or action. Intellectual understanding of the process is not needed. It is experienced by the process of transcending while in meditation. This process is now more natural and familiar compared to some evangelicals, like a pastor from the Philippines, who claims that he is the appointed son of God. He's even stated that we are now in the stage of "rapture" as stated in Revelations. Moreover, he claims to have inherited the resurrected body of Christ. Is he crazy? But he has a worldwide following. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <emily.mae50@...> wrote : 1) You are the author of your actions. 2) Perhaps in living in the world of ordinary existence you *are* experiencing divine consciousness! "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you." Luke 17:21 ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <jr_esq@...> wrote : According to the B Gita, as explained by MMY, it is the gunas. But how can we experience divine consciousness despite acting in the world of ordinary existence?
