Friday, September 17, 2010

Should a spiritual seeker get a degree in Theology?


Thoughts about getting a degree in theology and philosophy etc.
All education does some good, but Does it really work  for us when it comes to spiritual growth/understanding/training etc?
Notes to a fellow seeker.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hi F;
I think your wandering will actually end up being your salvation!
Sorry to disturb your studies, but I could not help hearing in
your soul the longing of your heart for real TRUTH.
I deeply respect and understand your attitude in this regard.
And your present need to avoid too much debating..

Since we are all programmed by the "   blind "   from our birth, does the higher education process in theology, philosophy, religion etc reinforce that limited programming, or does in free us from it?
Is being part of this ongoing popular belief/education system part of the "   many"  whom Jesus says will go into the "   wide gate" ,   that leads to destruction? [as it is written]
How can one become cognizant of a refreshingly clearer approach to the real nature of the"    Christ" and become one of the "   few"   who enter in that narrow gate that leads to life[everlasting]?
Discovering this path  of the few will lead you to the truths
 that Jesus and [other world saviors] taught his apostles in private.

Remember Einstein, in his day all were being taught that the physical world was the ultimate final creation. He was one of a handful of students in the western world that saw through that myth. What saved him from Galileo's fate was the he proved his ideas mathematically, and times were different of course. 
Or when Columbus [who did not discover America] sailed across the Atlantic in a tiny wooden ship, after 500+ years of the church telling Europeans that the earth was flat and was the center of the universe. He also was one of the few.
To find our "   salvation"    is a very similar situation, all those who believe there is only "   one way"   are being taught by those with dark glasses. Those who unfortunately have not known any other way. They are just doing the best that they know. 
But where does that leave you - really?
What do they give you when you Graduate? 
Your very own lifetime pair of "   dark glasses."   And rare is the courageous soul who will take them off and become deprogrammed. History contains a wonderful list of persons who found "the way that leads to life,"    those few."
Persons like Charles Darwin, Sankara, Galileo, Socrates, Buddha, Krishna, 
St. Paul, Paramahansa Yogananda, Luther, Nikola Tesla,
you've heard many of their names and stories no doubt.
Even JC was one of them!
When you are taught that any great person says there is only "   one way"   [his way], what does that really mean, and one way for whom.
He was not speaking for  everyone in the world, or his way for all. Those would
not be the words of a wise man, but rather of an arrogant man who would wishes to control everyone else. The truly wise are humble and open and are not seeking power and status. There are many good paths to the same goal of Self-Realization/salvation! What may be best for one persons may not be as effective for someone else who can get the same or better results from another approach. However - it may be quite true that there is only one way for you, and only you!
Too many persons stop after reading the out of context comment in John 14, "   I am the way,the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me."   well, the problem is only clarified when we read a few versus further down, then do we see just who is really being referred to here. [ look it up !]
Do you realize that More that 3000 years before JC  a Savior living in India said those same words. Who copied who?
It may be true that there is only "   one way"   for those who have decided to become devotees of Jesus. For them only is it true. And it is just as true that for the devotees of Lord Krishna he is their only way to salvation. When you adopt a path you should be loyal to it. If it is a true path created by a true god -realized prophet [ one who knows the Reality] it will take you all the way there...
It is rather simplistic and immature to imagine that in this world there is only one way to do anything! you can get to the other side of the world by traveling in any direction you please.
The important common element about their lives is what one should focus on.
This is our greatest  challenge, no matter what our background, to deprogram ourselves from the limiting ideas we are being taught by those who still wear dark glasses. 
"   wisdom is not revealed to the scholarly[the wise and prudent], but unto the babes."   pp
It is then only,  that we will no longer "   see through a glass darkly."
That dark glass is the programming received from our ancestors , our culture, and teachers in the present lifetime. However, if one is really earnestly looking, a real teacher of light will come into your life. Such special teachers are almost never found in popular institutions. And though having departed this world of matter, they are the only true living prophets.
The problem is few of us are so courageous, or even near being geniuses. 
But Yoga Meditation is the great way for those of all paths.
So there are many ways to do the same job. And many great souls in the worlds history past and present have tried so hard to teach us all, even the most average of persons - just how to open that door to self-realization and higher awareness.
I am sharing these thoughts with you as I sense you are on the verge of deeper understandings about this life.
Think on these things.........in the meantime....
I wish you well in your studies.

Sincerely, PYislove