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Re: Initiation
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Subject: Re: Initiation
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From: Don Dancing Feather <dms@efn.org>
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Date: Fri, 13 Jan 1995 11:19:10 GMT
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Apparently-To: uunet!alt-hindu@uunet.uu.net
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From news@efn.org Fri Jan 13 06: 09:48 1995
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In-Reply-To: <3aed63$845@ucunix.san.uc.edu>
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Newsgroups: alt.hindu
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Organization: Eugene Free community Network/Oregon Public Networking
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Sender: news@efn.org
Dear friend, no, you are quite right on a lot of things. Religion as a
concept has much to be desired. Fortunately, spirituality is a whole
different thing. Religion is a sociological institution and social
construct which sometimes serves to unite a community and sometimes by its
social nature diverts its member's true spiritual feelings and spiritual
lives into only socially approved forms, or the Divine is only to be
accessed through a priesthood of some kind.
Everyone, on the other hand, is on a spiritual journey from a
mystic's point of view, and each of us has only our own personal path
through this life, regardless of how our cultural expression has given us
for expressing that. I for instance am a American, many generations on my
fathers side and first generation from Romania on my mother's side, raised
in my Jewish tradition, who expanded outward from there to become a true
syncrete--that is, someone who finds truth wherever he finds it. Hence I
am a Shiva and Ram bhakti, a follower of the Buddha Dharma (not Vajrayana,
not Hinayana, not Mahayana, just the unadulterated kind), a Sufi musician,
a Taoist healer, a Goddess worshipping/loving Pagan, and a man shamanicly
bonded to the land I live in and the ancient Native American traditions
that it inspires and that live in every rock and tree. And--as with the
Buddhist tradition, I think the concept of the existence of a or many
God/s is irrelevant. What matters is if you have a good heart. Which will
take finding some inner peace. Which is a matter of an inward journey of
healing that no one can take for you, which you are on all your life
anyway, and which we might as well do well. As Sarte the French
philosopher said (or was it Plato...I don't recall who...) "The unexamined
life is not worth living." And, as Jesus said, "Except ye be as little
children you can not enter the kingdom of heaven." Because its within our
own hearts and within how we look out at life and live amongst the world.
One can be totally atheist and be very spiritual. One can also be very
religious and have deep inner wounds that leave one without love, without
self-awareness, without ability to access that inner sense of
spirituality. The key is in what may have happened to us in our
childhoods. The simple spirituality of our grandmothers is such a gift if
we are so lucky as to be touched by it. My grandmother's was love and
fierce loving protectiveness, and I am reminded of how the Indian teacher
and author Eknath Eswaren says that his guru was simply his grandmother,
and that it was often the case in many a village that this was so in
India...
So my friend, take the treasures that have been already laid at
your feet and I am sure you will find the key to your inner heart, the
temple that lies there within. Within is the sacred cosmic mirror that
reveals oneself to be nothing but light...
Like I say, my friend, God and religion have nothing to do with
this necessarily. No one else can always portray your own inner life of
the spirit as your soul journey's across this stage called existence...but
just ask the big questions and listen well for the answer and I am sure
you will find what you seek. Questions like, what is infinity and eternity
really? And, what was the original source of all creation? Not just what,
but how? What was the process and what can we call whatever instigated
that process? What should we thing about that? And who are we really
after all? Those sort of questions...
Good luck! Don Dancing Feather Ram Das Nataraj "As far as I can tell it
aint nothing but a burning light"--Bruce Cockburn my favorite spiritual
musician...
PS QUANTUM PHYSICS NICELY EXPLAINS SO MUCH OF ALL OF THIS! TRY READING ALL
THE BOOKS LINKING MYSTICAL TEACHING WITH QUANTUM PHYSICS, LIKE THE TAO OF
PHYSICS OR THE SELF AWARE UNIVERSE BY PROF. AMIT GOSWAMI... any of
those...
_______
< | 4
On 17 Nov 1994 1541291@sscl.uwo.ca wrote:
>
> To whom it may concern:
>
> I am a first year student at the University of Western Ontario. I am in a
> combined studies program and I am feeling very ostracized in my surroundings.
> Many of the people who know me know me well enough to agree that I am the
> Anti-Christ or Satan and any other sacrireligious pet name they have dreant up
> for me.
>
> I was born into a family of Hindu's and at an early age I was very much into my
> religion but as time progessed and as things happened I found myself very
> removed from any and all religions and God. Currently I am finding that
> religion, any religion, has a tendancy to irritate me or maybe it is the way I
> percieve religion and its followers to be. That is why I am writing to you.
>
> After I saw your discussion group I thought I should get involved. I mean,
> after all, I was a very Hindu at one time in my life and looking back I find
> that those days were among the most peaceful for me. Maybe I am trying to
> recapture a lost innocence or maybe a lost peace, I'm not sure. But I do know
> that I would like to educate myself in the ways of the Hindu religion and its
> people.
>
> I am very much interested in your group and I would like to be initiated into
> it as an active member. Mind you, I don't know very much about anything but I
> am one of those people who has an opinion on everything. If my being without
> God and religion in my life poses a problem or threat to the group I would
> fully understand in not being acceppted into it.
>
> I thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.
>
> Peace
>
> AB
>
>
>
>
> ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
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> editor@rbhatnagar.ececs.uc.edu
>
>