Popular Religion and Esoteric Spirituality

Popular Religion and Esoteric Spirituality

Dreams and Visions often symbolize Civilization and Society as a Mountain, and often as a very steep mountain with distinct teirs and levels. In such a Multi-tiered System, where base Barbarism would be found at the extreme the lowest level, we can see that Popular Religion would up in those levels where Civilization becomes possible. Religion guarantees social cooperation, self abnegation and self-sacrifice, and moral considerations against fraud, cheating and outright theft. Without such a basic Religion, then Life woud soon slide down into what Thomas Hobbes would call a “War of each man against every other”, where life would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short”.

Rational Cynics, such as Voltaire, would suppose that since Religion is Necessary to Civilization, then it must have been invented and consciously fabricated as something of a Benevolent Fraud … to trick the People into moral and socially beneficial behaviors. Remember what Voltaire had said: “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to Create Him”. Voltaire himself had been criticized by his atheist buddies for having built a Chapel on his own Estate. Voltaire said it was a choice between building a Chapel and hiring a Priest, or counting the silver ware every evening.

Well, that IS cynical, isn’t it?

The Truth is that Popular Religion comes down from a Higher Level of that Mountain of which I was speaking. Like Moses bringing down the Commandments from a Higher Level.

Above Religion is Spirituality. What are the distinctions? Well, anybody can be a member of a Popular Religion. It is ‘exoteric’. With Spirituality, one needs to be ‘initiated’, ‘called’… Spirituality is ‘esoteric’.

Spiritual Systems typically have ‘Masters’, ‘Gurus’. Yes, it is given to much fraud and pretence nowadays, but there is more genuine Spirituality then one would expect to find.

On the practical level, it is easy enough to discern the True Masters from the False. Years ago I read in a treatise on the Hindu Upanishads that “in the presence of a God or Saint, the Agna Chakra (Third Eye, Eye of Wisdom) will unfold and open”. This is a fancy way of saying that in the presense of a person whose Eye of Wisdom is already open, your own Eye of Wisdom will begin to open in a kind of resonant sympathy. What this feels like is a pressure in one’s forehead – a slight sensation that feels like a painless headache. It is easy enough to ignore if one is not expecting it. But if one does recognize the Sensation and latches one’s attention to it, then, if one meditates on it until one drifts into a very relaxed trance state, then this simple sensation turns into a perception of Light, often White Light surrounded by a violet (pink-purple) surrounding aura.

Ordinarily one has to go to such Masters and Gurus for official Initiation. These are the Shaktipat Gurus – Shakti meaning ‘energy’ and ‘pat’ meaning ‘to touch’. Often, before they will initiate you officially, you have to sign up for the complete program, swear allegiance, pay money… the whole Nine Yards. But… I shouldn’t spread this around… one can ‘steal’ such an Initiation if one really wants to. One does not need the official Initiation, but one only needs to be in the same room… close enough to feel that sensation in one’s own forehead, and then one has to keep one’s attention fixed on that sensation in order to keep the Chakra from Closing until it is solidly turned on.

Most of the time people give this slight sensation no attention at all, and the Agna Chakra that was on the verge of opening simply closes back up from lack of interest. However, if one focuses on the Sensation morning, noon and night… and several times in between, for a week or two after the first exposure… then the Agna Chakra becomes Operational. Then the sensation goes from being slight to being a full and obvious pressure. Often a real Headache. Well, at that point one has to jump into the books or find somebody who knows what to do… as the energy can be directed so that it does not cause pain and other problems.

Anyway, the artistic representation of Halos –auras surrounding the head – as depicted both in Christian Art and in Mahayana Buddhist Art – in separate Traditions arising spontaneously in different corners of the Globe. These Halos are depictions of this Shaktipat Energy from the Open Chakras in the head – the Agna Chakra in the forehead and the Crown Chakra on the top and back of the head.

Once a person has these Open Spiritual Centers, then their Spiritual Growth commences. From Human Beings they grow into Spiritual Beings. And as Spiritual Beings they become qualified to bring Popular Religion to the people who are on those levels below them.

 

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well... http://theempiricalchurch.blogspot.com/

this mountain must be started at the bottom... and it will be a difficult climb..
the paths are filled with jagged rocks and hill slides happen everywhere, storms strike regularly, and lightning plays all around the peaks most of the year.
it will be a difficult climb to be sure...

-MT

 

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Just a freaking business hmmm?

 

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Catholic Monastacism, like the Benedictine, was the best of all spirituality forms the world has ever known. They are fools for having abandoned it. Infernal civilization.

 

Yes... I get that same feeling. I don't think any money should ever change hands for these Initiations.

Traditionally, in the East, it was customary to bring token gifts to one's Gurus, and then it was ordinary for the wealthy members of the community to render some patronage for the local Holy Men. But the Gurus never set themselves up in business. They would be happy to get by from day to day.

Of course, I could see a Guru charging money in order to keep people away. Suppose a Holy and Spiritual Being found himself all at once beseiged on every side by Seekers, or even just the Curious. Well, it would only get worse if he continued to appear in every way Good, Holy and full of every virtue. that would only encourage the onslaught.

So this Good and Holy Saint of a Man could begin to charge for admission and be seen with some young girls bouncing on his lap. That would cut down on the crowds, wouldn't it.

but for those Gurus who actually advertise. Well, that is repugnant. A True Guru's concern should be TOO MANY people. If he has to contrive to get people to follow him, then he isn't much of a Guru, is he?

 

Well, they haven't.

There are still Ascetic and Contemplative Religous Orders.

What most people do not know or understand is that there are effectively Two Catholic Churches. There is the Secular Church (and yes, that is what they call it themselves) of the Bishops and their Priests. And there is the "Religious" Church of the Religious Orders.

The Secular Church -- the Bishops -- is Paulist. The Religious Orders are anything but. The Religious Orders are primarily Marian, or they emphasize a specific following of Jesus, the tacit understanding is that the doctrines of Paul would be beneath their moral consideration.

So, the Bishops and even the Vatican do their best to ignore the Religious Orders and to keep them out of the Public Eye. But they are still around.

Oh, you Protestants did do your best to exterminate them. The nuns were raped, systematically by those sure that their sins would be forgiven. and the Monks were tossed from their Monasteries and the properties confiscated by all of you "Good" Protestants.

Christ said we would know a Tree by its Fruits. So, therefore it is that we can never suppose Protestantism to be anything but an Overt Evil. Theft, Rape, Slave Trading, Rum Running, and now War and Capitalist Exploitation. That is what we get when 'Religion' is reduced to assuring people their sins are forgiven when they agree to Murder.

 

Although partly true in actuality, in the ideal of the faith it is heresy. I believe that opinion is anathema.

 

Well, we can see here that you are on the side of the Secular Bishops, and as I have well pointed out, they can screw themselves... and all the little boys...

In the History of the Catholic Church, no Saint has ever come from the ranks of the Secular Bishops. So they can pronounce on their own decisions about orthodoxy, but isn't it all rather hollow since we can clearly see that the Mystery of God is not in them.

 

Charging for spiritual knowledge

In the o-so-esoteric sufi culture, it is almost mandatory to charge or accept something in exchange for spiritual knowledge.The reasoning there is if some one was given something without him parting with something else for it, he may not value it much, thus not get the teaching.
From the teacher's perspective - he cannot give his knowledge to those who cannot keep it.The person must be willing to exchange something for it, rather than it just be given.
Generally speaking, it's implementation marks a significance, of sort, in the student, such that he does not miss the lesson.

Initially I had my misgivings, knowing what a corruptor money can be.Greed nor the want of riches, I doubt, is the motivation.Sufis are usually renouncers of wealth,but engage people on their terms of what value is.Not many people value a free thing it seems.Although, of course imitators & tricksters know this too.


Check out the linux windows debacle.Free vs Non-Free.For all it's attainments & innovation - linux has less market share than microsoft does, despite being better (arguably) & FREE.Baring technical issues, the only difference is that microsoft costs & linux dosen't & yet 1 of them is on the fringe (in comparison) while the other is in monopoly.It's down to the psychology of the masses.People believe paying assures them of something.Nevermind that it can be done freely. strange in'it?

 

I wish I had time to respond in a fuller manner, but just wanted to say..... excellent post.

 

Leo,

Yet the world at present lives in a constant state of fear from religiously inspired terrorists and where Iraq is being torn apart by civil war based on differences in a popular religion. And this popular religion supports degrees of barbarism, violence and intolerance that disprove your assertion.

And what of the USA, one of the most religious countries in the world, which has among the highest crime rates in the world and is rapidly showing among the worst education standards in the world. Contrast that record with most of the Scandinavian countries and some of Europe where religious belief is almost non-existent and where crime rates are the lowest in the world and education standards are among the highest.

Your assertion that without popular religion there would be chaos appears not to have any factual support, doesn’t it?

 

Cris

thats why we are only dealing with a handful of angry muslims instead of a billion angry muslims

Its also been documented how religiousity has declined in the USA - if you hav eever read any of the works by american theists around the turn of the previous century and further back you can see that there was a whole attitude to religion that is not present at the moment - a quicker road to self destruction than the absence of religion is the misrepresentation of religion

The places that you determine as flourishing in the absence of religion are relative babes in the woods- they have extensive theological influences over a thousand years that has shaped many social norms

 

Light,

A handful? Are you joking? An unguarded comment by the pope recently exposed widespread anger, violence, and hatred held by the Muslim communities around the world. This is not a sign that a popular religion is healthy and demonstrates that their underlying social structure is unstable and dangerous.

Yet the vast majority of Americans follow a popular religion. That it is ineffective as you have noticed further strengthens my point. It is not popular religions that provide for an organized civilization but the underlying social values held by the people, whether it is in the name of a religion or as organic atheism as exists in most of Scandinavia. The effectiveness of a social structure is not dependent on the existence of popular religion as Leo wants us to believe.

And the ultimate rejection of the institutions that helped form their current state tells us what? That they recognized that religion itself was redundant in the effectiveness of their social structure. The American people haven’t yet reached a point where they can see that their dependence on religion as a solution is a major detriment to their future growth as a civilized and progressive nation.

 

Good thing us Americans have come to stabilize them by forcing our secular ways upon them, then.

 

If only we really had a secular government though.

 

Do we have a state religion?

 

That doesn't seem to stop politicains acting as if we do.

 

The policies of the United States government have nothing to do with religion.

 

Riiiight!!! Try getting elected without stating a belief in God. And the assertion of trusting in God on all our currency has of course nothing to do with religion, right?

And the oath of allegience has of course no reference to religion, right?

And the Bush sponsored government funded faith based initiative has of coyusre nothing to with religion, right?

Are you blind?

 

Cris

Light,

did we see a handful of the muslim population engage in wide spread violence or the mobilization of large sections of the world's billion or more muslims?

actually the general principle I was advocating was that a process, in this case religion, implies real and apparent application

even scandinavia owes its social heritage (recent heritage too in terms of historical chronology) to christianity


“ The places that you determine as flourishing in the absence of religion are relative babes in the woods- they have extensive theological influences over a thousand years that has shaped many social norms ”

Either that or they are falsely puffed up due to the material opulence they have secured from the theistic values in their social structure -

BG 2.44 In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material opulence, and who are bewildered by such things, the resolute determination for devotional service to the Supreme Lord does not take place.

- happens on an individual level as well as a communal level

You allude that religion is synonomous with civil decay but you give examples that owe their prosperity to a rich history of theistic endeavour - in otherwords you don't give clear reasons of the elements of social decay intrinsic to theism and why theism should be abandoned, aside from your atheistic fervour to see theism fail