When we say exception, it could be in both the directions—downward or upward. We find moral decline, yet IQ has gone up. What a 5-year-old child grasps now reminds us of the amount a 10-year-old child did a few years ago. Man can innovate devices (compare the Mobile phones and cars with that of past years) yet some cannot innovate his behavior. Hence exception is exception, and what is universal remains universal always. That is what you left UNTOUCHED—the definition of true religion: “TAKING DELIGHT IN THE WELFARE OF ALL BEING.” For this principle, even a “shadow of variation” will not happen. It is eternal, always remains unchanged even in your worst dreams!
Posts by Pinku
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39What is a morally upright life?
by jgnat inis it relative, or do all human societies and cultures hold at least some things to be good?.
i don't think right and true is "universal" other than what is right and true for people.
a dolphin or a praying mantis may have alien perceptions of what is "good".
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Who is my neighbor? was a wrong question!
by Pinku inwhen a certain lawyer gave correct answer that one should love god and his neighbor, jesus confirmed the answer.
then the lawyer asked: who is my neighbor?
to which jesus gave the now famous parable of good samaritan [which unwittingly reduced love towards the hapless victims whereas everyonerich or pooris in need of love and compassion].
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Pinku
**Circumcision was introduced for a lofty purpose which was totally forgotten in the later days. This forgetting happens in every culture. For example, dowry was originally recommended to solve a very pleasant riddle that took place in the Orient. Mr. A purchased a plot of agricultural land from Mr. B. When Mr. A started plowing, he got a pot of gold coins. Mr. A returned it to Mr. B saying the treasure belonged to Mr. B who in turn declined to accept it saying: “When I sold the land, whatever land had in it belonged to you, hence you can happily take the treasure.” Mr. A said: “No, I don’t want this treasure which is more than 100 times the land-price, I have paid only for the land.” This PLEASANT dispute reached the King. King asked for some time, and studied the case thoroughly, and made the judgment: “Let Mr. A’s daughter marry the son of Mr. B, and let these gold coins in question be given as a dowry to the son of Mr. B.”
This judgment was never meant to start a custom, but was to solve a peculiar, unique riddle. But people forgot the essence, and started practicing its distortion which has become a social evil in some parts of the world now. One can cite plenty of examples like this.
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4
Who is my neighbor? was a wrong question!
by Pinku inwhen a certain lawyer gave correct answer that one should love god and his neighbor, jesus confirmed the answer.
then the lawyer asked: who is my neighbor?
to which jesus gave the now famous parable of good samaritan [which unwittingly reduced love towards the hapless victims whereas everyonerich or pooris in need of love and compassion].
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Pinku
When a certain Lawyer gave correct answer that one should love God and his neighbor, Jesus confirmed the answer. Then the Lawyer asked: “Who is my neighbor?” to which Jesus gave the now famous parable of Good Samaritan [which unwittingly reduced love towards the hapless victims whereas everyone—rich or poor—is in need of love and compassion]. The word neighbor is self-explanatory; hence the Lawyer should have asked a more serious question: WHY SHOULD I LOVE MY NEIGHBOR? (Luke 10:25-37)
Seen from the prism of what Jesus had already made clear (in Mathew 5:44-48: ‘God loves the righteous and the unrighteous, because love is His very nature. Hence be perfect as your heavenly Father is’) he would have said something like this: ‘LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR BECAUSE LOVE IS YOUR VERY NATURE. In other words, humans are like honey kept in different pots. Honey is same in all pots, and pots (made of mud) too are same but differ only in shape. There is ONENESS of the honey, and there is ONENESS of the pots! This provides the reason for honey to love itself, no matter in whichever pots it may be found.
Once the driver (the ultimate animating principle, the inner self/consciousness/divinity) leaves its seat, body becomes a horribly foul-smelling trash that provides a feast for micro-organisms and worms. This means “We are more than we’ve been taught in biology class,” and the divinity* is more important than the physical body, and the most fundamental factor of our existence is the CONSCIOUSNESS of existence. And this CONSCIOUSNESS/divinity, like honey, is same in all bodies (pots). [It was to highlight this oneness of the inner self that the Circumcision** was originally introduced (Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 30:6; 32:39) which later deteriorated into a meaningless physical ritual.]
In the above awareness, you act toward your neighbor with pure motive which would, in turn, bring in qualities such as joy, love, peace ….. and your love is naturally reciprocated and a loving neighbor becomes your best security. The more love you display, the more security you receive.
All these benefits ensue because we focused our attention on the essence beneath the forms. This essence is too obvious to miss, you can see it everywhere. Take the familiar life-support system: the provision of trees. A tree exits leaving behind a seed(s) in the memory of which billions of its future generations remain protected. Thus the drama of tree–seed–tree stages on an invisible platform (or a principle), which it has not authored. How you name it matters not. What matters is to perceive that principle or BEING beneath all forms. Love is enjoying that PRESENCE underneath!
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*I have used a layman’s terminology here. If you want better terminologies, here are the links:
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7
If you feel deceived
by Pinku inyou may be feeling deceived, and may be thinking:.
if jws were gods people, why did they become exactly like the catholic church of the middle ages turning themselves into dogmatic folly?
while claiming to be gods appointed channel on earth, how could they become a cult of intolerance with its raging commanders, a cult where all questioning is banned, and shunning is openly encouraged?.
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Pinku
Thank you for that NICE conclusion--I would not have been able to put it in such nice wording!
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25
Was Charles Russell delusional or just a con artist?
by keyser soze ini've seen him referred to as both on this forum.. did he sincerely believe that he was an inspired prophet whose end-time predictions and biblical interpretations came from god?
or was he just a shrewd businessman who saw a market of disillusioned christians who believed that armageddon was imminent that he could exploit?.
i personally lean toward the latter.. .
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Pinku
I too personally lean toward the latter. Because an impartial and balanced reading of the Bible would reveal it is like a wild forest with a few fragrant flowers here and there, yet dedicating oneself to such a book, can't be for a divine cause!
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If you feel deceived
by Pinku inyou may be feeling deceived, and may be thinking:.
if jws were gods people, why did they become exactly like the catholic church of the middle ages turning themselves into dogmatic folly?
while claiming to be gods appointed channel on earth, how could they become a cult of intolerance with its raging commanders, a cult where all questioning is banned, and shunning is openly encouraged?.
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Pinku
You may be feeling deceived, and may be thinking:
‘If JWs were God’s people, why did they become exactly like the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages turning themselves into dogmatic folly? While claiming to be God’s appointed channel on earth, how could they become a cult of intolerance with its raging commanders, a cult where all questioning is banned, and shunning is openly encouraged?’
Those who came out may feel how they wasted their lives being among JWs! Loss and gain are part of live. Let the past be past. Do something creative, find out something you really enjoy doing. During Vincent van Gogh's whole life not a single painting was sold, but that didn't matter; he enjoyed himself. If they sold, good; if they did not sell, good. The real prize was not in their being sold and appreciated, the real prize was in the painter creating them. In that very creation he has attained his goal. In the moment of creation he becomes divine. Whenever you create something you become a small god in your own right. If God is Creator then to be creative is the way to become like Him and reach Him. Then you become a participant, no more a spectator. The real prize is not when a painting is sold and critics appreciate it all over the world that is just a booby prize. The real prize is when the painter is creating it, when the painter is lost in his painting. There is the real prize, there is the attainment. Let us live in the now!
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38
My jw mum threw us out.
by abbasgreta inmy brother (non-jw but became a christian 6 months ago) and i nursed my aged jw mother back to a semblance of strength over the last three weeks.. the elders were happy to pass the buck on to me, her da'd daughter and my bro.. he has been living with her for 3 months and has transformed her ill-kept home and garden and literally nursed her like a professional alone.
before i stepped in to help him care for her.
he repeatedly told her how much he loved her and was so caring, it brought a lump to my throat.. he has been going to church sunday mornings, telling her he 'was meeting up with friends' so as not to cause friction.but she knew where he had been.. we noticed a shift in her demeanour towards us (she knows i'm a church-goer) over the week-end and she started to.
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Pinku
What a superb advice: "Focus your energies and love on those who appreciate it."
I love it!!!
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39
What is a morally upright life?
by jgnat inis it relative, or do all human societies and cultures hold at least some things to be good?.
i don't think right and true is "universal" other than what is right and true for people.
a dolphin or a praying mantis may have alien perceptions of what is "good".
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Pinku
When we say something is universal, there could be some exceptions because of the gradual deterioration of the system of things on earth. When I said universal—it is in general term. For example, people who habitually ill-treat others will not like to be ill-treated. This means everyone knows what is right and wrong. People choose to do wrong because of its immediate benefit and feel confident of facing the consequences later somehow! Such people may abound, yet the universality of right and wrong remains intact!
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Spirituality is innate!
by Pinku inon seeing the horrifying scene of world trade centre being attacked and knowing the pain of those trapped in and their loved ones, not only in new york but across the world millions of people turned into silence, prayer, and meditation.
they gathered on the streets, lit candles, wrote condolence, anything to feel solidarity and to spread a wave of love.
churches, temples, mosques and retreat centers were flooded with people seeking to raise their consciousness beyond the senseless killing to a higher, more noble plane.
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Pinku
Thank you for that Dalai Lama's quote. Actually it was there in my original post; but in the last moment I removed it to make it shorter. But God's will is that it should appear--and He acted through you!
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22
Spirituality is innate!
by Pinku inon seeing the horrifying scene of world trade centre being attacked and knowing the pain of those trapped in and their loved ones, not only in new york but across the world millions of people turned into silence, prayer, and meditation.
they gathered on the streets, lit candles, wrote condolence, anything to feel solidarity and to spread a wave of love.
churches, temples, mosques and retreat centers were flooded with people seeking to raise their consciousness beyond the senseless killing to a higher, more noble plane.
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Pinku
Spirituality means living by the spirit of the whole truth, in harmony with the “kingly law” (James 2:8): “Loving others as yourself.” Or “taking delight in the welfare of all beings,” as another Scripture puts it. If possible, try to enhance others’ happiness and reduce the pain of the suffering.” If this is not possible, we can at least refrain from doing harm to others.
Now the question would arise why one should do the above. When Jesus told: Love your neighbor as yourself, disciples asked a wrong question (who is my neighbour). They should have asked: WHY SHOULD I LOVE MY NEIGHBOR AS MY SELF? That has to do with knowing/seeing the reality with real eyes. We all have a wonderful vehicle called our physical bodies. Once the driver (the self/consciousness/soul/divinity), leaves its seat, body becomes a horribly foul-smelling trash that provides a feast for micro-organisms and worms. This means the divinity, or the soul is more important than the body, and the most fundamental factor of our existence is the consciousness of existence. (Ecclesiastes 12:7) This means it’s very easy to become spiritual because all it takes is UNFOLDING like a wound-up spring, not actually about effort! When you have the above understanding, your values and priority will change, many spiritual qualities will surface one after the other automatically:
1) In the above AWARENESS, I know that my spirit (conscious energy) is superior to material energy that make up the physical body, hence have to re-establish my sovereignty over my body-senses, and begin to act with PURE motive towards others as I am one with them in make-up (spirit + body).
2) In this PURITY, there emerges JOY.
3) In this JOYFULNESS, I want others also to be joyful as I am, hence I should begin to care for others’ needs without being asked for and without even expecting anything in return (which is called LOVE).
4) In this LOVE, I give and receive love, as a result of which PEACE is experienced by me and others around. [In all these five basic qualities of spirit, there are positive side-effects—they make me powerful (POWER) against any relapse, like butter extracted from milk will not merge with water any more. They will also help me to remain blissful/balanced (BLISS) towards all circumstances and all beings!]
So matter is very very very simple ! Just a change in view brought in seven elevated qualities. These are qualities of the spirit (compare Galatians 5:22) Manifesting them in your life is SPIRITuality! See for yourself what a difference it will make, and how much people will love you for this change!