A little band of foolish men have robbed the West of a religious belief
Jesus And Reincarnation
BY JAGANNATHA TIRTHA
EDITORIAL, Aug 15 (VNN) — The Old Testament ends with the directly
spoken words of God: "Behold! I will send you Elijah the Prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord."
(Malachi 4:5). Here, God Almighty, speaking for Himself, is saying
that the soul of Elijah is coming again to Earth. This directly
implies that Elijah's soul will reincarnate as someone new.
Several centuries later, in Luke, an angel appears in front of
Zechariah, the Father of John the Baptist, and announces: "...and he
shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, and shall turn
the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the disobedient to
the wisdom of the just: and make ready a people prepared for the
Lord." So God Himself, as well as the angel sent of the Lord,
predicted the birth of John, formerly Elijah. This is also confirmed
by much other Scripture, as we shall see. To understand the travels
of the soul, all we have to do is think about it without prejudice.
In John's case scenario, there are two distinct bodies in time and
space, with one and the same individual soul. This directly refers
to the process of transmigration of the soul, that is, reincarnation
of the individual spiritual being.
But, God Himself and the angel sent by the Lord were not the only
ones alluding to this spiritual phenomena. With regard to the
specific questions of his disciples concerning John, Jesus was
glorifying the divine qualities of John, ending with: "And if you
will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come." (Matthew
11:14). Then in his own way of saying, "If you have a brain, then
just try to understand it," Jesus declares, "He who hath an ear, let
him hear, let him hear." Similarly, the disciples later asked him,
"Then why do the Scribes say that Elijah must first come?" Jesus
replied: "Elijah is to come, and he is to restore all things: But I
tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him,
but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of
Man suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he
was speaking to them of John the Baptist. (Matthew 17:10-13). This
is the same basic testimony that is found in Mark 9:11-13. A very
similar Scriptural evidence is Luke 1:17, another reference to the
angel of the Lord. Also, Luke 7:26-27 corroborates Jesus' testimony
that John was formerly Elijah, as the words are almost identical to
Malachi 4:5, and the reference cannot possibly be taken any other
way. Conclusively, John the Baptist was the reincarnation of Elijah.
Jesus, by his using these words in this very simple and lucid
manner, could not have meant anything else. He was not speaking in
allegory or parables in these instances. Jesus was speaking directly
concerning reincarnation.
In this way we can clearly understand that Jesus Christ taught the
doctrine of reincarnation, also known as transmigration of the
soul. "NO!" My Christian friends protest. But did not Jesus also
cast the demonic spirits called 'Legion' that inhabited the body of
a tormented man into the bodies of swine? And did not this forced
embodiment drive the swine crazy, and then prompt them to jump off
the cliffs into the sea? Does this also not mean that spiritual
beings can and do inhabit all creatures, such as the pigs in
question? Was this not a form of punishment for those miscreant
spirits who had challenged Jesus's authority? Do we also not
understand that there are pigs around us dressed as human beings? We
all know people like this.
And, did not Jesus also imply reincarnation when he asked his
disciples: "Who do you say I am?" (Mark 8:27) Some of his disciples
answered "John the Baptist," others said "Elijah," and still others
said "perhaps one of the Prophets." By asking this question, Jesus
was asking his disciples to consider who he had formerly been in
previous lives. Some contemporary authorities speculate that Jesus
may have previously been Ramanujacarya, Lord Brahma, the Prophet
Elisha, Prahlada, Haridas, and/or Melchisedec. Regardless of the
speculations concerning who Jesus may or may not have formerly been,
it is clear that Jesus asked these questions in a non-argumentative,
Socratic fashion in order to stimulate the intellectual acuity of
his disciples to think about the topic of reincarnation. Otherwise,
there is no purpose or logical reason for Jesus asking such a
question, specifically in this particular manner. The teacher wants
the students to think about such concepts and to figure things out,
based upon Scriptural evidence, by mulling things over and arriving
at logical conclusions. "Who by taking thought, can add one cubit to
his stature?" By bringing up these topics once in a while, Jesus
would at least stimulate his intellectually gifted disciples to
think about the body as the shell only, as completely distinct from
the soul, the real, eternal 'self'. Jesus was encouraging us to use
our brains, our God given intelligence.
Based upon his words in the Holy Bible, it is a conclusive fact that
Jesus Christ taught reincarnation. Unfortunately, at the Second
Council of Constantinople in about 530 AD., the assembled Priests
forever banned the doctrine of reincarnation as heretical, even
though it was a widely understood aspect of both Judaic and
Christian theology up to that time, implying also that it had
permeated the Catholic Church, and was of such significant,
widespread, and ingrained belief that the Catholic Clergy had to
deal with it by pronouncing it 'heretical'. The fact that the
Catholic priesthood did not understand the doctrine of
transmigration of the soul, how it worked as a part of an All
Merciful God's design to eventually liberate all souls, is a
testament to the level of spiritual awareness of the day. Over the
centuries, many were tortured, mutilated and killed for observing
such different blasphemous ideas, deemed "heretical" by
the 'Church". Today, the topic of reincarnation cannot even be
brought up at a Sunday service in a Baptist, Catholic or Protestant
church, although Jesus clearly taught the doctrine.
Jesus And Reincarnation
www.vnn.org/
"Although karma is really a scientific law it was appropriated by
the Asiatic religions as well as by the pagan faiths of primitive
Europe. But for an apparent accident of history it might also have
been an item among the tenets of modern Christianity, for it lived
in Christian faith for five hundred years after Jesus. Then a group
of men, the Council of Constantinople, banished it from the
Christian teaching, not because it offended the ethics of Jesus
(what could be nobler than its perfect harmony with the Master's own
statement: Whatsoever ye sow that shall ye also reap?) nor because
it offended the integrity of Christianity (where is there a clearer
advocacy of it than in the writings of the great Christian Patriarch
Origen?) but because it offended their own petty personal
prejudices. Thus a little band of foolish men sitting near the
shores of the Sea of Marmora so late as five hundred and fifty after
the appearance of Jesus, have been permitted to banish a Christian
tenet which did not suit their own cast of temperament. Thus they
have robbed the West of a religious belief which, in the turn of
history's wheel, must now be restored to the modern world for the
scientific truth that it really is.
It is the duty of those who rule nations, guide thought, influence
education and lead religion to make this restoration. Truth demands
it in any case but the safety and survival of Western civilization
imperiously demand it still more. When men learn that they cannot
escape the consequences of what they are and what they do they will
be more careful in conduct and more cautious in thinking. When they
comprehend that hatred is a sharp boomerang which not only hurts the
hated but also the hater, they will hesitate twice and thrice before
yielding to this worst of all human sins. When they understand that
their life in this universe is intended to be an evolutionary
process of gradual growth in understanding, they will begin to
assess their physical, moral and mental values aright. A sound
ethical life will follow naturally as a function of such
understanding. The West has great and quick need for the acceptance
of karma and rebirth because they make men and nations ethically
self-responsible as no irrational or incoherent dogma can make them.
Modern scientific knowledge can easily fit these doctrines into its
framework of reference, provided they are properly presented,
because they alone explain neatly how the simple-minded Hottentot
evolves into the subtle-minded Hegel.
We live in a shrieking tower of Babel. Nearly everyone has something
to say, says it at the top of his voice, and yet for all this
shouting few succeed in saying anything that is worth while, for few
tell us why we are here on earth at all."
Paul Brunton, Ph.D., The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga,
E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1966, p. 391.
"Although karma is really a scientific law it was appropriated by the Asiatic religions as well as by the pagan faiths of primitive Europe. But for an apparent accident of history it might also have been an item among the tenets of modern Christianity, for it lived in Christian faith for five hundred years after Jesus. Then a group of men, the Council of Constantinople, banished it from the Christian teaching, not because it offended the ethics of Jesus (what could be nobler than its perfect harmony with the Master's own statement: Whatsoever ye sow that shall ye also reap?) nor because it offended the integrity of Christianity (where is there a clearer advocacy of it than in the writings of the great Christian Patriarch Origen?) but because it offended their own petty personal prejudices. Thus a little band of foolish men sitting near the shores of the Sea of Marmora so late as five hundred and fifty after the appearance of Jesus, have been permitted to banish a Christian tenet which did not suit their own cast of temperament. Thus they have robbed the West of a religious belief which, in the turn of
history's wheel, must now be restored to the modern world for the
scientific truth that it really is.
It is the duty of those who rule nations, guide thought, influence
education and lead religion to make this restoration. Truth demands
it in any case but the safety and survival of Western civilization
imperiously demand it still more. When men learn that they cannot
escape the consequences of what they are and what they do they will
be more careful in conduct and more cautious in thinking. When they
comprehend that hatred is a sharp boomerang which not only hurts the
hated but also the hater, they will hesitate twice and thrice before
yielding to this worst of all human sins. When they understand that
their life in this universe is intended to be an evolutionary process of gradual growth in understanding, they will begin to assess their physical, moral and mental values aright. A sound ethical life will follow naturally as a function of such understanding. The West has great and quick need for the acceptance of karma and rebirth because they make men and nations ethically self-responsible as no irrational or incoherent dogma can make them. Modern scientific knowledge can easily fit these doctrines into its framework of reference, provided they are properly presented, because they alone explain neatly how the simple-minded Hottentot evolves into the subtle-minded Hegel.
We live in a shrieking tower of Babel. Nearly everyone has something
to say, says it at the top of his voice, and yet for all this shouting few succeed in saying anything that is worth while, for few tell us why we are here on earth at all."
Paul Brunton, Ph.D., The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga,
E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1966, p. 391.
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