Thunks 1-22-2005
I recently happened upon "A Course In Miracles" some months ago - there's a
free copy at:
http://a-course-in-miracles.net
Inasmuch as millions of copies of the book are being read, and the Course
discussed by various thousands of folks in study groups and what-not, I felt
I should at least get familiar with their map.
Other than their very good teaching on self-forgiveness, what bothered me
most about the Course is that they teach that the whole manifest universe
was caused by a 'momentary rebellious' thought in the Son of God, who just
for a wee instant wondered what it would be like to go it alone without the
Old Man around. The not-so-subtle implication is that the whole Creation was
a big mistake.
Now, for me, this about as close to blasphemy as I can view things, because
to put down this whole absolutely mind-boggling-beautiful manifest universe
as a 'mistake' is totally absurd. Here's this tiny group of tiny beings on a
tiny planet on the outer arm of one of ten ZILLION galaxies, and they're
passing judgment on the whole Creation - well, it's beyond funny! Sort of
like a flea pondering an elephant's behind with pachyderm seduction in mind.
Anyway, the quote's critique of the Oneness/advaita axiom rings a bell for
me -- and there are a lot of folks treading the Advaita path. Advaita
(Oneness) can become a cop-out to making any effort to plumb the depths of
the mystery. Also, in my opinion, at least in the guru-hopping set, it tends
to lead to an attitude best summed up as "Well, since we're all God, so
what's on TV?"
Humans are remarkable in their innate anthropocentritude... heh-heh, who
else could it be?
For me, our creation as _individual_ droplets in the vast ocean of Self
contains a deeper meaning, and for me that meaning can best be navigated via
the 'I -Thou' instead of " I Am." For this reason I am a bhakti yogi who
stands blissfully under the waterfall of Her grace. If it's The Mother who
manifests first from the Unmanifest, then all actions and all results are
Hers. Sitting on her lap is a good antidote to spiritual self-inflations,
which I notice quite frequently in the spiritual crowd.
I'm not knocking the rare saints who just naturally fall into nirvakalpa
samadhi and are capable of putting others there by their glance or their
touch. But frequently it seems those who follow in their footsteps try to
take on their aroma of sanctity without the necessary and prerequisite
spiritual high colonic.
At the same time, I am convinced we all are here as individuals to discover
something that is gradually growing conscious of itself. Yes? Now I wonder
just what/who that can be? Who is it that is saying, "Please tell me a
wonderful story -- with a happy surprise ending!"
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