Ramana Maharshi (early 20th century Indian Sage and guru)
Questioning
Still on the kick of understanding what temptation, our tempters and sin really is from a broader more universal standpoint than the one I was brought up on. I go against everything I was brought up to believe even in my questioning. If my parents were still alive they would be packing me a lunch or an overnight bag and sending me off to the nearest confessional where they would expect me to be for quite some time. Still here I am...questioning and wondering. "Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been much, much too long since my last confession.... I question everything I was brought up to believe. I am looking outside the church for answers." How many Hail Mary's do you think that would get me? Still I ask: What is sin; what is the "evil" tempter and what is temptation?
What is Sin?
Religion as the Interpreter
Most of us would answer that question with, "That's easy...Sin is the breaking of the Ten Commandments; it is going against the pillars of Islam; It's what Hindu's and Buddhists call the defilement: killing anything, stealing, being unfaithful in marriage or partnership; lying or being inauthentic and using intoxicants. Simple right...sins are clearly labelled and the rules are there. Sins are "bad", "wrong", "evil" behaviours or qualities that our religions help us to avoid, right? Is it that simple?
Is There a Simpler Way to Understand Sin?
Is There a Simpler Way to Understand Sin?
In a way I think it is and in a way I think it isn't. Sin is probably a very simple concept to understand under a very complicated judgment offered by religiosity. I think it can be looked at in a more simpler way. Let's try to simplify it.
I believe that sin is anything that is unhealthy to our knowing the Self.
What is the Self? In the quote above the Self is something that is free of all qualities, that is not effected by thought form and judgment; that cannot be labelled as good or bad...that just is.
Say what, crazy lady?
The Self
The Self is who we really are beneath our bodies, minds and personalities.
The Self is spirit, soul, the Observer, true beingness, the One, Source, energy Life, Love or God...whatever way you want to label it.
Self is who we really are. It is what moves us, allows the blood to pump through our vessels and the air to be breathed in through our lungs. It is the force that allows the flower to push through the frozen earth in spring time; that sets the sun and that moves the tide.
The Self is the One thing that we all share. It is beyond mental judgment and the labelling of qualities. It is everything all at once...so there is no good or bad, right or wrong in the Self. We prescribe those qualities to things outside the Self using our minds.
It is our minds that see and understand sin...not the Self.
Sin: An Obstacle to Knowing Self
I believe that sin is anything that is unhealthy to our knowing the Self.
What is the Self? In the quote above the Self is something that is free of all qualities, that is not effected by thought form and judgment; that cannot be labelled as good or bad...that just is.
Say what, crazy lady?
The Self
The Self is who we really are beneath our bodies, minds and personalities.
The Self is spirit, soul, the Observer, true beingness, the One, Source, energy Life, Love or God...whatever way you want to label it.
Self is who we really are. It is what moves us, allows the blood to pump through our vessels and the air to be breathed in through our lungs. It is the force that allows the flower to push through the frozen earth in spring time; that sets the sun and that moves the tide.
The Self is the One thing that we all share. It is beyond mental judgment and the labelling of qualities. It is everything all at once...so there is no good or bad, right or wrong in the Self. We prescribe those qualities to things outside the Self using our minds.
It is our minds that see and understand sin...not the Self.
Sin: An Obstacle to Knowing Self
What we call sin is only that which is unhealthy on our journey to Knowing the Self. It is that which stands in the way or slows down our progress.
What we call sin will never harm the Self...the Self is beyond that. It will just harm us in our ability to get back home to where we belong.
The Self is reflected in humanity, all humanity...it is reflected in the universe, the entire universe. If I harm another; kill a living being or steal from the earth( that which we may prescribe to as sin under a religious pretext) I am delaying my progress to knowing who I really am. Because part of me is the thing I harmed, the thing I killed, the part of the earth I destroyed. It is an unhealthy behaviour and having the desire or the inclination that I have a right to do such things is an unhealthy quality.
It is All Relative
Bad or good; right or wrong are not relevant here...these judgments can change from one religion to the next, one culture to the next, one situation to the next...so it may not be universal.
Sin is not universal...but our progress is. If one of us delays the progress...we are all delayed. Sin then is simply an unhealthy thought, feeling or behavioural choice that leads man away from knowing who he truly is and from Whom he came. That simple.
What we call sin will never harm the Self...the Self is beyond that. It will just harm us in our ability to get back home to where we belong.
The Self is reflected in humanity, all humanity...it is reflected in the universe, the entire universe. If I harm another; kill a living being or steal from the earth( that which we may prescribe to as sin under a religious pretext) I am delaying my progress to knowing who I really am. Because part of me is the thing I harmed, the thing I killed, the part of the earth I destroyed. It is an unhealthy behaviour and having the desire or the inclination that I have a right to do such things is an unhealthy quality.
It is All Relative
Bad or good; right or wrong are not relevant here...these judgments can change from one religion to the next, one culture to the next, one situation to the next...so it may not be universal.
Sin is not universal...but our progress is. If one of us delays the progress...we are all delayed. Sin then is simply an unhealthy thought, feeling or behavioural choice that leads man away from knowing who he truly is and from Whom he came. That simple.
We believe in sin. Why? According to ACIM, The belief in sin is an adjustment. And an adjustment is a change; a shift in perception, or belief that was so before has been made different. Every adjustment is therefore a distortion, and calls upon defenses to uphold it against reality.(III:1: 1-3)
We have come to believe in sin, changing the truth we know deep down to be true, and we work diligently at defending this belief. How do we do that? We create evil doers and evil tempters in our mind.
We have come to believe in sin, changing the truth we know deep down to be true, and we work diligently at defending this belief. How do we do that? We create evil doers and evil tempters in our mind.
Who are the Tempters?
Christians are brought up to believe that the tempter is the devil. Hindus are brought up to believe, possibly, that the tempter is Mara. We personify temptation into a form we can understand but what is it really?
Ego as the Tempter
I have come to believe that our tempter is our ego...just that....a frightened part of human identity that we created, in our minds, to defend our belief in sin...in separation from God.
Ego wants us to identify with it, not the Self. It derives from fear and it breeds fear. What better way to induce fear than to create frightening demons.
Ego rationalizes sin because it knows "sin" keeps us from reaching the Knowledge of Self/Spirit that we seek ( whether we consciously know we are seeking or not). What better way to rationalize our unhealthy behaviour than to call it sin and say "The Devil made me do it!" Ego wants us to cling to this belief. It knows without it...it will perish under the truth of who we really are.
Ego as the Tempter
I have come to believe that our tempter is our ego...just that....a frightened part of human identity that we created, in our minds, to defend our belief in sin...in separation from God.
Ego wants us to identify with it, not the Self. It derives from fear and it breeds fear. What better way to induce fear than to create frightening demons.
Ego rationalizes sin because it knows "sin" keeps us from reaching the Knowledge of Self/Spirit that we seek ( whether we consciously know we are seeking or not). What better way to rationalize our unhealthy behaviour than to call it sin and say "The Devil made me do it!" Ego wants us to cling to this belief. It knows without it...it will perish under the truth of who we really are.
The real tempter is ego. It is ego that tricks us and manipulates us into believing things it wants us to believe for its own selfish gains. It is ego that leads us to attack others, kill living things, steal, collect, hold onto greedily the materials of this world. It encourages us to feel hate and anger, resentment and shame. Ego wants this because it wants us afraid enough to depend on it for salvation...and it sees that the only way we will adhere to its own twisted rules is if we are afraid.
Sin and tempters lead us to fear. Ego is our tempter but it offers no real salvation...just momentary pleasure if anything. salvation will only come if we get beyond temptation from our tempter.
Sin and tempters lead us to fear. Ego is our tempter but it offers no real salvation...just momentary pleasure if anything. salvation will only come if we get beyond temptation from our tempter.
What is Temptation?
Illusion and Distraction of the Outside World is Temptation
Temptation is the momentary reprieve ego offers us from the suffering, fear and destruction it gets us to believe is real.
Temptation is ego's promise of salvation. "If you succeed at this at all costs...you will feel better." "If you stand up for what is yours at all costs you will be righteous." "If you take, collect and own all you can from this world...you will be stronger and more powerful." "The world is a scary place and you are basically all alone in it...do the best you can to make it better for yourself...at all costs."
It encourages us to think thoughts that take us away from Self and focus on the little self...thoughts about how sinful we are; how alone we are; how awful the world is; how we need to constantly protect ourselves from others, how getting ahead is everything etc.
t encourages us to feel things that harm us in the long run like anger, jealousy, resentment, greed, lust, shame, worry, anxiety, guilt etc etc.
It encourages us to make choices that take us away from Stillness, solitude and the road that will take us home. It brings our focus away from the spiritual to the physical and material and tells us that this is all there is so we should make the most of it.
It's temptation is based on the need to take us away from the truth.
Temptation is ego's promise of salvation. "If you succeed at this at all costs...you will feel better." "If you stand up for what is yours at all costs you will be righteous." "If you take, collect and own all you can from this world...you will be stronger and more powerful." "The world is a scary place and you are basically all alone in it...do the best you can to make it better for yourself...at all costs."
It encourages us to think thoughts that take us away from Self and focus on the little self...thoughts about how sinful we are; how alone we are; how awful the world is; how we need to constantly protect ourselves from others, how getting ahead is everything etc.
t encourages us to feel things that harm us in the long run like anger, jealousy, resentment, greed, lust, shame, worry, anxiety, guilt etc etc.
It encourages us to make choices that take us away from Stillness, solitude and the road that will take us home. It brings our focus away from the spiritual to the physical and material and tells us that this is all there is so we should make the most of it.
It's temptation is based on the need to take us away from the truth.
What is Salvation then?
Salvation comes with getting beyond our thinking to our being who we really are.
It comes with recognizing ego's hold on us and the illusions of reality it provides.
It comes with recognizing that it is an illusion and forgiveness.
It comes with choosing another way of seeing.
Salvation is setting forth, once again, on the road to truth. That simple. Imagine!
It comes with recognizing ego's hold on us and the illusions of reality it provides.
It comes with recognizing that it is an illusion and forgiveness.
It comes with choosing another way of seeing.
Salvation is setting forth, once again, on the road to truth. That simple. Imagine!
All is well in my world.
ReferencesFoundation for Inner Peace(2007) A Course in miracles: Combined Volume (Third Edition). Mill Valley, CA: Foundations For Inner Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment