Was Jesus Teaching Yoga?

The Middle Path of Jesus

What it Meant to Walk by Grace

The middle area of Jesus' life is something of a mystery. Where did he go? Why did he disappear only to return when he was 32? Could these offer answers to why the teachings are so different in the New Testament? There are clues, very obvious ones I might add, but ultimately the decision of whether you believe it is up to you. Here's what is known:

Madhyamāpratipad is the Sanskrit name for the middle path of yoga. This is the first teachings delivered by the Buddha upon his awakening into enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautama was the person often associated with the middle path of the Buddha, and his life has many parallels with that of Jesus, but that is another matter all together. This alone is simply to lay a minimal foundation for the purpose of the reader to understand the importance of this information. When he awoke, he had just come out of the most profound experience of this Prince's life, and he wanted all to have this sense of freedom. The greatest discovery of his time and the first and most important for everyone that was around was the Middle Path.

Jesus was the son of Mary and Joseph,  and they belonged to a very specific group of semi nomadic Jews known as the Essene. This group is also where we get the idea of full submersion when it comes to baptism, it being required as an emblem of purity in their culture. The simple sprinkle of a christening was sufficient everywhere else. This knowledge gives the answers many search for when it comes to the Immaculate Conception myth (tale/story; not meaning false) and the reason Jesus was so knowledgeable about other Jewish and Gnostic wisdom, both being required study in the Essene. This also means that Jesus was intimately familiar with the study and use of Kabbalah, a system of spirituality which predates Judaism as a religion. 

Why the mention of the Kabbalah? Any person who has done research into the Kabbalah knows that The Tree of Life has many "paths' to spiritual enlightenment. This is why it is fundamental to understand this before understanding what was meant to "Walk by Grace." First, let's look at the three main pillars/paths of the Tree of Life:

The center pillar/path has many names, but one of them is where we draw our immediate attention; Grace. Tiphareth is the center Sephiroth, most commonly known in English as Beauty, but also known as Grace, too. The two opposing pillars are the extremes of existence; perfect Mercy and perfect Justice. These can be seen as the ascetics and the Priesthood as ways of spiritual enlightenment. Jesus wanted all to have that freedom of spirit and soul, much like Siddhartha, and taught on the mount (parallels with the Tree of Buddha) the ways of peace and detachment from the world of things and desires. This path is the Middle Path of Grace depicted on the Tree of Life. Surely, though, something so important should have been said plainly, right? After all, Jesus was pretty direct unless he specified his parables, right? Well, he was, it is just missed by many because of cultural dialect, meaning the words meant something else depending on the culture. In this case, Jesus used the word that defines Yoga as the word itself, something Alan Watts picked up on as well. 

 

In the Book of Mathew, we have our most evident hint (if not scream) at the use of Yoga. it reads: "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden light." MAT 11:29-30. What is one of the many definitions associated with the word Yoga? You guessed it, Yoke! Jesus was not only saying the name of the Middle Path of the Tree of Life, something the Essene would have been very familiar with, but he even referred to it as Yoga! This changes so many things when it comes to a practical use of spirituality for those who practice the Christian faith. 

 

Something so simple and yet it is missed by so many. Yoga, regardless of your religion, is beneficial. It is also not just the Hatha form (poses) that I'm speaking about, either. At its essence, it is the divine union of the spirit and body, between man and his god, and between life and the universe. It transcends the body and confines of this world, allowing for a deeper spiritual oneness with everything. This is where one makes the steps towards being a spiritual person rather than just a religious one. 

 

Taking this in your mind, what sort of things does this answer in regards to other parts of Christianity? Does it begin to allow you to see through the fallacies perpetuated by those who wish to control their flock instead of liberate them?  Hopefully you begin to question more...

 

Point Within A Circle

Teachings & Meanings

It's time for some actual teaching to be added to this blog. For starters, we will take a look at one of the most ancient depictions of man's conception of a deity, the point within a circle. This symbol has led to many different understandings and interpretations, however, we will be looking at the Hermetic (and therefore Masonic), and Theosophical interpretations for this. 

The point within a circle tells a story of existence, of being, of time, and of space. It gives man the understanding (at least to the best of its finite mind) of infinity with regards to a deity or even the universe. In Freemasonry, one of its interpretations is a point that is everywhere and a circumference that is nowhere. This allows for the abstract thoughts to form some semblance of an understanding.

The point represents the spirit of the universe and the circle represents the womb of the universe. Taken together, they represent an androgynous deity with potentiality. That just means that it has the potential to create, where the will comes from is beyond human cognition. This is also known as the blending of opposites, ie primordial spirit and primordial matter, for the purpose of creation, which leads us to Theosophy.

In Theosophy, we can see this image take on a unifying factor to all ancient religions. One of the ways I use theosophical interpretations is to find whether a symbol is being portrayed in a true sense of its meaning. This simply means that It has to meet certain criteria in order for me to take it seriously. This will make more sense in later post, but it should suffice that Masonry has made the mistake of creating new symbols that detract from the original teachings of the ancients, this symbol being one of them.

We see here that Freemasonry added the Holy Saints John to the parallel lines and even added the Holy Bible to the top of the circle. This detracts from the actual teachings of this symbol. The extras are redundant and adding the Bible to it is actually kind of hilarious. But, nonetheless, I have had other Brethren try to correct me with this symbol and I have shown why I doesn't work. The lines represent the tropics and also the sides of severity when explained with the Kabbalah. Having the Word of God, aka the Logos, when the third emanation isn't present yet is the act of redundancy I'm talking about. 

Back to the theosophical understanding. It fist can be seen as the Mundane Egg of existence. It carries in it the germ of life and the means to live. We can see the Circle being the shell of the Egg, the "void" as the White, and the Point as the Yolk. This is a way to explain infinite potentiality in abstract space. There is no vibration being portrayed so we are simply at the point of potential. This same split into thirds is done with nearly all other interpretations, this laying a foundation for the rest to make sense. 

This symbol also tells the story of the Lotus Flower in its three stage life. This represents the ascension of the spirit to overcome matter. How does this work though? You have to use the symbol to explain the other meanings. The Spirit is the Point, the Soul is the "Void", and the Circle is the Body. I know some may be confused that the words soul and spirit are not synonymous in their usage here. The soul and spirit, in their ancient understandings, were not the same. They were separated to show the distinction between the Ego and the Self, the former being the envelope of the latter. The journey of the spirit to overcome its earthly coffin is the story being told. This is why Plato is known to have called the human body a sepulcher.

The Spirit is the direct portion of the divine, the soul being a portion of the progenitors, the body being the animated matter of the combination of the two former variables. We see here that man is consistent with the depiction described in Gilgamesh where  he was said to be two thirds god and one third human. This is a clue that was left by the ancients as to the origins of mankind. The story of Gilgamesh holds other secrets, too, such as the same that can be found on the Tablet of Cebes and the Divine Comedy by Dante.

Put plainly, this symbol can be seen as an attempt to portray the reflection of the Macrocosm to the Microcosm. This can be seen with this next image, but before that, I want people to commit to memory this axiom: As above, so below; So below, as above. This is important because it can be use as a way to check your work. If you have a theory, it must be able to be reflected by the axiom somehow, otherwise it exist purely in the realms of matter. Now, that image...

This shows the reflection of above as man being a reflection of divinity. Notice that the navel is the Point in this circle. This is important because if you remember, the point is the source of life, the navel being a child's first source of life. We see Krishna with a Lotus on his navel as a symbolic expression of the unfolding of life providing life. If you apply this to the solar system, we get the sun (which still shares the same symbol) as being the center and source of light and life. If we apply it to the galaxy, we see an even deeper understanding and see that absolute darkness is absolute light. We are truly in a universe of mirrors. 

Hopefully this gives any who read something to think about and conduct some further research. Always remember, you have never not existed and will never cease to exist, for deep down the real you is the whole universe!

The Experience of Good and Evil

Good & Evil

Oftentimes the concepts of good and evil get thrown around as if the term has lost its true meaning. What exactly is good? Can we quantify it? Is what is good for one person good for the next? If they aren't, then what constitutes mutual good? Since they aren't viewed the same from different perspectives, does one of them cease to be good due to the contrast of viewpoints? There is a saying that goes, "Every patriot is a terrorist in someone's eyes." So where exactly does one draw the line between good and evil? Or do they even exist as concrete ideas in reality?

Sometimes good can be perceived as a benefit that brings joy and harmony to a person's life, but is it limited to those areas? For something to be concrete, it should be able to transcend the bounds of simple perception, meaning that it should be universal in a sense for all that experience it. We can all identify the feelings of joy and the state of being that is called happiness, yet we often disagree about the source or cause thereof. Let's take a look at a simple relationship many can understand.

When a spider is catching a fly, is it committing an evil act? Is the spider maliciously attacking the very existence of the fly simply for its own satisfaction as a form of some sadistic joy? Well, no, it's simply trying to stay alive and eat food to nourish itself. Does this make the fly become the evil one? Again, no, the fly is simply living its existence in a manner it knows. So where did good and evil go from this equation? Well, put simply, it ceased to be a relevant aspect of the equation and beyond the simple confines of the spider and fly. Does that mean that good and evil ceased to be as well?

Surely, simply adding humans to the equation would fix the confusion, right? This is where it gets confusing. Morality in the sense of good and evil is about as real as the concept of time. Both are contingent upon the consciousness that perceives it, and both cease to be when there is no consciousness present to differentiate it. Put simply, it doesn't exist outside the confines of the human experience. We are the ones guilty of creating the concept of good and evil, no one else.

Surely there must be a way to understand the existence of these perceived experiences though. It is a battle as old as we can remember, after all. So where did the notion come from exactly?

If we look at ancient and spiritual texts, we see what many know as the battle of light and dark. Darkness took away the vitality of the Sun (light) and left us blind to what was "out there." In this sense, we can see how darkness could be perceived as evil since it hid the things that could do us harm from our field of view. Does that make it necessarily evil though? Or is it the human perception of evil that is being projected onto the darkness? 

In the same way that a magnet polarizes itself, so does experience polarize itself, but that doesn't make it objectively evil, merely relatively. Light, by its very nature, cannot exist without the darkness to separate it. Same goes for the opposite. This is where many of the ancient myths of the Solar God defeating the God of Darkness come from, but that is merely surface level since they relate more so to the creation of the universe and the dual nature of man's existence, meaning that man is both spiritual and material in his existence on Earth. This is where the true meaning of good and evil comes from: For the spirit to overcome the material coffin that houses it, ie the body.

Matter, to the ancient sages and adepts, was symbolically expressed as the concept of evil. This is because they understood that mankind's true nature of being was spiritual, meaning the spirit was man's true essence. The body was nothing more than a vehicle of sorts which was animated by the spirit. This went with everything else in existence as well. To overcome or conquer your material desires was a goal for many of them. To gain true mastery of one's Self was another.

So what does that mean for good and evil? Does that mean that they don't exist? Well, yes and no. They exist so long as humans exist to experience them in their lives, but they cease to be an actual "force" of polarity in actual existence. We see them as good and evil, but in reality, they just are events happening that cause other events to happen. We apply the notions of good and evil to them based on our experiences and location in life. Morality is fluid and ever-changing and this has never been truer when it comes to good and evil. It only appears to be chaos, when in actuality all is in order. So what is good and what is evil? Well, that depends on you...

Religion Vs. Spirituality

Religion=Fear

Spirituality=Freedom

Hopefully, the title isn't too offputting, because it carries a very important message. There is a saying that states, "Religion is for those who fear hell, spirituality is for those that have been there." For quite some time now, that saying has endured in my memory as a constant state of reassurance of what I've overcome. I wasn't aware of such a dramtic difference between the two until it was necessary for my survivial (quite literally). But what really is so different between spirituality? That's what we're going to discuss briefly right now.

Looking at the picture at the top of this post, we can see a moonlit tree grove. This image was chosen for a reason. It can invoke two separate responses in people depending on how they have gone about their spiritual understanding; either it can show you the fears and insecurites still lurking in the shadows of you mind being manifested as emotion as you scan the shadows of the image for hidden objects, or it could give an ease of calm and serenity by being able to see the beauty of the wholeness of existence being so eloquently draped in front for our soul to admire. What could cause this sort of feeling to exist? Could it be that those who follow a spiritual path rather than a religious one know that the only real shadows that darken our existence are in ourselves? We are merely the projector shinning life into the world in accordance with our interior nature. The objective world remains the same in that moment, it is our minds that cause the inner dialogue telling us what we see, and if it be a spiritual mind, it will see order even in the midst of chaos for it knows that chaos is not real, it only appears to be. 

This isn't to say that religion in of its self is lesser than spirituality, rather that it should be a stepping stone of sorts towards one's own spirituality. A brother of mine once told me during one of our many long philosophical talks something I will always remember when it comes to this matter. He said, "Religion is someone else's story of how they dsicoved the divine, Spirituality is your very own and no one can tell that story other than you." Oddly enough, naming a religion is something of a newer concept when it comes to humans. Most indigenous cultures in ancient times didn't have a name for what their religion was because there was no distinct separation between their everyday lives and their spirituality, they were one and the same, simply living. This is an inner feeling that I've personally adopted as my own way of looking at my spirituality. 

I believe that most don't choose a spiritual life over a religious one because it takes too much individual responsibility. It is far too easy to have some religious body leader directing you and telling you how to be in accordance with someone else's spiritual story. Who decided this person was in charge of directing your spiritual nature? If it was yourself, you opted out of directing your own life. Besides, any person who tells you that they have the one and only way to spirituality is a person who is attempting to steal your own wallet and sell it back to you. They may be able to point the way but it is always you who has to walk that path. That is where spirituality comes into play.

Your religion, or lack thereof, should be your compass, but the compass isn't used on the outside world, it is used inside of yourself. The deepest and most life changing answers aren't found in some book, they are found within yourself. Sure, outside influences may have an effect, but they don't dictate the outcome. They may help point the way, but again, it comes down to you.

That is why I say spirituality over religion and why those who have chosen it are the ones that have tread the path of "knowing thy Self."