Jesus was a man, Krishna was a man, Buddha was a man, Mohd was a
man – after their ’’passing’’ away – Christianity,Hinduism, Islam
came into the pix; the same can be said so for the others. For the
purpose of collective identity down the years each was made into a
religion. Buddha, Jesus, Krisha, Mohd – all shared experiences and
it was existential expereinces in human form.
Of course, there are some who go to temples/church or … to pray
and sadly it is prayer of supplication which is tantamount to
’’begging’’. Prayer when it is a prayer of gratitude is healthy.
The same goes for all others. The neurosis is that man created a
fiction and that fiction is God in man’’s image. Hence, the
exclusivity, the prejudices, the judgements, the bigotry.
A fiction needs maintenance and what is true is missed cos the
preoccupation with maintenance of fiction is enegry-sapping. Eg
Personality needs maintenance cos it is a mask(s). Individuality
(indivisible) does not need cos there are no personas. Real
religion is always an individual experience and cannot be contained
or shut in a box cos what is true always changes! Not to be
confused with truth.
The sutras, the scriptures, the texts …. add on are mere devices
to bring one ’’home’’ inwards to one’s being. How to know? Am i
being nasty now? Am I being kind now? These are footprints of one’s
being It is a process, a continuum, that is the essence of being
religious, if one call himself or herself as religious. My standing
in a church or a temple does not make me religious. My being nice
to strangers, animals, all people without selection is the essence
of being religious. Sadly, when one were to look around it does not
feel so. Wearing ’’badges’’ or merely quoting texts, sutras or ..
is not religion it is a ritual.Knowledge cannot pretend wisdom.
Wisdom emanates from one’’s being, knowledge is acquired from
outside of oneself. The former frees, the latter binds. When one
comes across someone who can relate to … it reflects the quality of
his Being. Being means being eg, kind, being loving, being rude,
being considerate or …. .
Muse over this
A man is at the bar n another walks up to him n asks him, “Are
you Ernie Smith?” The man says, ‘yes” The man then says, ‘Were you
in Boston a few days ago?’ Ernie says, “Just a min,” n from his bag
takes out a notebook, turns some pages, and then says, “Yes, I was
a few days ago.” The man says, “Were you in rm 5?” Ernie looks into
his notebook n says, “Yes.” The man says, “Did you meet Mrs.Dorothy
in rm 6?” Ernie looks into his notebook n replies, “Yes.” The man
says, “Tell me, did you make love to Mrs Dorothy?” Ernie looks into
notebook again, says, “Yes, I made love to Mrs. Dorothy.” The man
says, “Well, I’m Dorothy’s spouse n I don’t like it.” Again, Ernie
looks in his notebook and utters, “You know, that’s funny. I didn’t
like it either.”
This is what hearing is all about. One agrees perfectly, but one
hears only what one wants to hear; one understands only what one
wants to understand.
In being somebody one is most likely to miss, in being nothing one
is likely to arrive sooner than one knows
This seems to be the predicament at least it seems for too many
of us for now
