To: K-list
Recieved: 2000/09/18 11:21
Subject: [K-list] Re: K and religion poll
From: Bob Vincent
On 2000/09/18 11:21, Bob Vincent posted thus to the K-list:
_/969306064/
---------------------------------------------------------------------_->
Hi All,
I just wanted to say thanks to all who have responded on this
subject. Very illuminating! The more feedback the better on this.
Btw, one response came privately to me intended for the list which is
along the same lines of what others have written. I hope that person
will repost it to the list. It seems a lot of notes might be getting
lost to the group due to the email address "glitch" that exists for
this list. Perhaps the moderater(s) could get egroups to fix the
problem?
Anyway, Hillary, it looks like you have another K "trigger" to
consider. Or more correctly, it is a K non-trigger, i.e., religious
belief and background!
From the small sample of experiences recorded here, we could
postulate that religion is at best an aid to the fundamental process
of K awakening going on inside each person, and at worst, a detriment
due to outside interference from well-meaning "religious" influences.
What I am seeing here, and in my own experience, is that the imagery
of K is its own, self contained, coming from within, always symbolic
of the primordial process going on within us. It appears that formal
religion may have little or nothing to do with this process. Is that
an eye opener, or what?
Of course, in this time of rising spirit, K awakenings may be more
spontaneous than in the past, so a reduction of the role of religion
may be a new phenomenon. Nearly all great saints and mystics in
history have had a connection with their native religion, and in many
cases seeded a reformation or revival. Religion was the launching
platform, sounding board, and ultimately the clay which was molded by
illuminated ones and their followers to create new directions in
faith and spiritual practice. Now we seem to have a new dynamic with
the rise of science and the information age. It is easier to find
understanding of human spiritual experience through published
information and forums like this one, so perhaps our reliance on the
static traditions of the past is becoming less, particularly when
they do not speak to our inner truth. When they do speak to our inner
truth, there is much to be gained, I think. But often there is
conflict due to human distortions of original illuminated teachings,
and in this case a newly K awakened person is far better off to go
with their inner impulses than to try and adhere to the untruths
which may be forced upon them by their religious tradition. Isn't
this the very dynamic which has caused revivals and reformations in
the past? Illuminated souls have always sought to set right the
distortions in the traditions they were born into. That is the
history of world religions in a nutshell. Perhaps we are no different
in this modern age, working to set right the untruths in our
traditions with the powerful and very efficient new communication
tools we have at our disposal. Who knows what we will end up with?
But one thing is for sure. The dramatically increased flow of
information around the globe is changing everything. It is a rising
dynamic which seems to correspond with the rise of K in the world.
I recall the A&E Channel's program at the end of last year, ranking
the most important people of the last 1000 years. Ranked number one
over all the great geniuses was Guttenberg, the inventor of the
printing press so many hundreds of years ago. Why would a lowly
craftman from the middle ages be ranked over giants like Newton,
Shakespeare and Einstein? Because Guttenberg's invention marked the
beginning of information being widely available to the masses, and
made all of the other great creative outpourings, discoveries and
inventions possible, ultimately changing everything. And what was the
first book ever published on the newly invented printing press? The
Bible, of course! Now, with the internet, spiritual knowledge and
experience is being hashed over by thousands of people from all over
the globe on a daily basis. Will clearer understandings of the nature
of human spirituality be the result of this more efficient
information distilling process? I think it is inevitable.
Btw, I did not mention in my earlier note that my intense devotion to
spiritual studies for some 15 years gradually faded to almost nil
after my K awakening in 1987. My inner experience took over as the
primary source of spiritual knowledge at this stage. This is in line
with the postulate that religion has a secondary role, if any at all
in K awakenings. Even at its best, outer spiritual knowledge is but a
faint beam of light created by the glory of the vast eternal flame
which is the essential nature of all human beings, past and present.
For a time, the small beam of a flashlight may be all we have, and we
can use it to our advantage. However, when the great infinite flame
comes roaring up from within, illuminating everything everywhere, who
needs a flashlight? At that time, maybe sunglasses and a seatbelt
might be of greater value. :-)
But seriously, don't we who are blazing from within have a
responsibility to make sure that there are a few flashlights laying
around for those who might need them? I know I am thankful to those
who came before who left a few flashlights laying around for me to
find when I needed them. Thus is the usefulness of what we
call "religion."
Blessings,
Bob
http://www.onelist.com/community/Kundalini-Gateway
http://www.kundalini-gateway.org
DISCLAIMER!
Home | Archive Index | Search the archives | Subscribe
K. List FAQ | Kundalini FAQs | Signs and Symptoms | Awakening Experiences | K. list Polls | Member Essays | Meditations | List Topics | Art Gallery | Cybrary | Sitemap | Email the moderators.
symbol.