tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10032287.post114122330606919666..comments2023-09-08T00:47:50.511-07:00Comments on Naked Reflections: Heaven on EarthStevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02549770321948541384noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10032287.post-1141402546742554502006-03-03T08:15:00.000-08:002006-03-03T08:15:00.000-08:00Thanks for your comments, Bill. They seem right o...Thanks for your comments, Bill. They seem right on the mark regarding how some major religions have traditionally viewed the afterlife, and how a genuinely spiritual path might well obviate the need for "priests, mullahs, or ministers."<BR/><BR/>As for Easwaran, I agree with you that his writings seem to imply the "pre/trans" fallaciousness of returning to an original stage of enlightenment rather than developing to a higher, later stage of it. However, I'm not sure how he actually viewed the matter and whether he may not have been exercising a degree of poetic license that doesn't detract from the possibility of walking his eightfold path to a higher or more inclusive level of spiritual development.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02549770321948541384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10032287.post-1141338242691215622006-03-02T14:24:00.000-08:002006-03-02T14:24:00.000-08:00Hi Nagarjuna,I agree with your sense of an afterli...Hi Nagarjuna,<BR/><BR/>I agree with your sense of an afterlife, or rather, the lack thereof. I especially agree with this: <I>I further believe that if there is a heaven, it’s a condition of joy, bliss, or supreme fulfillment in THIS life rather than a place in an afterlife.</I><BR/><BR/>The only major religions that really promise an afterlife are the monotheistic religions. Biblical-period Judaism didn't believe at all in an afterlife until later, when it was believed the Messiah would come and all God's children would be restored. <BR/><BR/>Several Eastern religions offer another life rather than an afterlife, which you may or may not agree with.<BR/><BR/>Christianity (and later Islam) are the main culprits for the afterlife belief, but mostly Christianity (Islam grew out of Judaism and Christianity) since Jesus taught of life after death. Many of the gnostic gospels convey life after death as reincarnation. The early Church counsils removed all such references and called those who held such beliefs heretics. The Church could have no real power over their believers is they could be reborn and get another chance at life. Thus the invention of hell, an idea that did not exist as such in Jewish teachings.<BR/><BR/>This belief system, as you suggest, has made Christianity and Islam "outer" religions in that acts in the world determine one's afterlife. There is little emphasis on prayer or meditation to experience union with God duting this lifetime. Those who do engage in such practices usually discover they have no need of priests, mullahs, or ministers.<BR/><BR/>As an aside, I like some of Easwaran's thought, but I don't get that he holds the view that we must develop toward enlightenment rather than return to enlightenment (pre/trans fallacy). Am I wrong in this reading (of which I have not done enough)?<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>Billwilliam harrymanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06981478282688361274noreply@blogger.com