The Spark of Reconsideration of Faith
During my senior year of high school, after September 11, 2001, I started to reflect deeply about life and what I believed in. A special soul, whom I am forever grateful for, saved my life when I was 17. Her name is Ms. R. and she was my HS Guidance Counselor and my first Spiritual Teacher. Ms. R. gave me hope, inspiration, and believed in me, more than I had believed in myself.
I used to drain Ms. R. with all of my initial questions about spirituality, life, and the universe in a wider concept outside of Catholicism. She was the first person to introduce the deeper meanings of soul, "higher self", or spirit. One day I was asking her how "God" fit into the picture, if we were all souls.
She got a piece of paper and started drawing circles, and showing me the connection of souls to God. How we were like an ocean, but individual drops. She further explained that many souls do not really know their connection to God, but those that have reached that point of awareness were "masters". For the first time, in a very long time, something struck a chord in my soul....the word master.
I asked her about the spiritual masters, and from her understanding she explained that "Jesus, Buddha, and many others are examples of masters. Anyone can be a master, they just have to work on themselves."
It was this unforgetful simple line that deeply inspired me to become a master of myself. It was the first day I seriously and consciously started my spiritual path.
Deepening my New Understanding
With a shock to everything I had learned to believe in, and the ability to attain the highest states of conciousness like past great spiritual teachers, I began to search for answers and dived into research of the Christian faith, keeping in mind the newly presented truth I was still digesting.
After years of research and a deeper understanding through meditation and realization, these are my general conclusions:
The Strikes of Catholicism and Christianity
In no way do I disrespect the true teachings of Jesus, as he promoted love and compassion, which is nearly the same as the teachings of nonviolence. However, I do not agree with the organizations that followed Jesus' death.
Here are a few of my opions:
In the Bible, 18 years of Jesus life are missing; however according to Acharya Shree, and many other great masters, Jesus traveled to India for education at Buddhist and Jain schools in Nalanda, an Education Center. There is proof recorded by Nicolas Notovitch, in his written documentary, "The Unknown Years of Jesus Christ" where he cites a Tibetan temple with a signature by Issa, aka Jesus.
My Opinion: Deep down the Popes knew about this time of Jesus' life; it is even recorded in the Gospel of Thomas (not accepted to be among Mathew, Mark, Luke and John, because it takes Jesus from the idea "he is the Son of God and only way".) How can Catholics find faith in the "only savior" if that "savior" went to Indian schools of thought to learn about nonviolence, aka "love"?
According to enlightened masters and various Christian thought, Jesus was married and had children.
My Opinion: For the Catholic Church, by knowing Jesus was married and was a father, it somehow "takes away his divinity", therefore they feel they lose power. Women are not praised at all in the Catholic Church,except as saints, but have no powerful roles. The Church is completely male dominated and nuns admit this. If Jesus was married, then the Catholic leadership would have no choice but to acknowledge women and offer higher roles in the Church, such as Bishop, Cardinal, or even Pope-hood. By diminishing Mary Magdalene's role, who is "loved more than Peter" according to the Gospel of Thomas, Church leaders diminish women's role in Catholicism. Jesus was not sexist, neither should be the Church.
The Bible was written by men as guided by the King. It was not God inspired. The Bible reflects male dominance.
My Opinion: To know absolute truth about anything, one must be enlightened. For an enlighented master to write anything, it automatically becomes a lie because words do not describe actual truth - and the masters admit this. Therefore, how can simple men even come close to writing anything that is true? God is not a person, nor is it a "he", "father", or "king", therefore "words cannot be inspired by God". However, a king or ruler can inspire (or force) someone to write.
Secondly, men wrote it. Therefore, it will reflect the male-dominated ideology of that society's time. God will be made in "man's image" because the Bible was written by men. If the Bible was written by women, God would have a female identity. God is not a person, nor does it have a personality. God itself is Siddha - liberated souls that are shapeless, formless, and bodiless. Anything with emotions of "jealousy, anger, love, fear and revenge" as God is often depicted in the Bible reflects human characteristics and not the liberated soul's real qualities.
To Sum up my Realizations about Catholicism
Essentially, God is the liberated and expanded soul, and any soul can achieve the highest state of consciousness. Therefore, soul has no gender which automatically breaks the idea God is a "he". Secondly, any soul can achieve enlightenment, thus Jesus is not the "only way". With two deep rooted beliefs broken, how can one believe at all in Catholicism or Christian fundamentals of faith?
Now, I am not saying Jesus was not a spiritual teacher. Although I do feel the Bible is written by man and full of mistakes, Jesus is cited by other cultures and religions as being a good man, a revolutionary spiritual teacher, and a preacher about love. So yes, Jesus did exist, taught a few spiritual things, but he was just another soul on his search for truth, just like me and you.
It is better to know about Jesus' soul through deep meditation and realization, than just to simply believe in words and preachings.
Leaving Christian Religion, the Result:
By breaking free of Catholicism and Christianity as organized religions, I have realized more about myself, the soul of Jesus, and the Absolute Truth. Jesus was a revolutionary Truth Seeker and he should be recognized for that. He should not be worshipped for something he was not, as written my male human beings under the direction of a King. No master, wants to be worshipped.
*Photo Courtesy: Recuthies.co.uk
