Life for Life: Approaching Religious Beliefs and Philosophy

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Approaching Religious Beliefs and Philosophy

Everyone of us has his/her own belief system and philosopy in life that influence the way we live. It's more likely that overtime it has changed from one belief system to another. Possibly because we were convinced that the new belief that we learned from another source is more correct judging it by our own comprehension. Or perhaps, we know from within the core of our being that it is true; Our intuition or inspiration tells us to be so. The latter, which is always right, seldom occured to majority of the people for we are always conditioned to think rationally and objectively. But that is not to say that thinking rationally should have no room in our life. I think that, at the present stage of human evolution, we still have to rely on our logical reasoning to function properly in this world of form. Of course we have to depend both on inspiration and rationality. What I am trying to say here is intuition and inspiration is 100% reliable whereas rationality has limitations and is prone to error.

Following this line of reasoning, we can say that the belief and philosophy that we accepted which is mostly derived from our own rationality, is subject to error. More so, if we simply accepted it blindly or we simply follow the beliefs of our parents, relatives or friends.

Consequently, in my opinion we cannot be too fanatic in our own belief. Everyone has limited knowledge and experiences. No one is all-knowing except God. Is this not the reason why our beliefs and philosophies in life change overtime? I think it would be better to have an open mind when we are faced with new knowledge, concepts, or experiences for in this attitude we will lean toward progress and we'd be able to find the Truth. If we are really sincere to find the Truth, we have to set aside our fanaticism for we could be blinded by it. I'm not saying that we should'nt explain or defend our own belief. But we should have an attitude that "This is my belief, I will defend and follow this unless someone of another belief has absolutely convinced me that it is not so". Discussions and debates can be constructive if those are done to sincerely find the truth, not just to win in the argument and should be done in the spirit of love and truth. Oft times, both beliefs are wrong or both are correct; it's just that something is missing or the perspective is askewed.

Meanwhile, I think we could know the value of a particular belief if upon putting it into practice we find that its effects are good to our well-being and well-being of other people. Or we can adopt the four-way test of the Rotary Club International: 1.) Is it the Truth?; (2) Is it fair to all concerned?; (3) Will it build goodwill and better friendship?; and (4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Quotes

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid - Jesus (Matthew 5:14)

Let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God - IJohn 4:7

In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God until we become the perfect man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself (Ephesians 4:13)

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is Love, and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:16)

T'was a thief said the last kind word to Christ.
Christ took the kindness and forgave the theft. - Robert Browning

Progress is obtained outside of sect and order, yet to deny that it exists within sect and order is to deny that God has worked with individuals and societies down through the ages. - Jesus Christ (through the Messenger Mark L. Prophet)

We must have access to men's consciousness in order to bring forth new ideas, yet it must be clear that the new ideas are also the old truths that have always lived in the universe. - Jesus Christ (through the Messenger Mark L. Prophet)

A hundred times everyday I remind myself that my inner and outer life depends on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the measure as I have received and am still receiving - Albert Einstein

We remind you that you may live the more abundant life. We teach new things from day to day; and we clothe the old mysteries in a more palatable form in the hopes that men who on this planet seek to magnify the good in life and pray that nature and nature's God may be made visible unto all will be willing to make any necessary changes in their lives and to accept any new hint from our octave. Thus it is our prayer that the universal love of God may increasingly release men from error's bane, blight, and pain and lift them to the golden sun again. - Kuthumi Lal Singh (through the Messenger Mark L. Prophet)

You must learn to become the arbiter of your own destiny, not by denial and severance, not by separation in all cases, but through understanding that the advent of the Eternal moves through societies and orders, through organizations and peoples, manifesting for a season in this or that order and then, in the interest of progress, forming a new order of the ages. - Jesus Christ (through the Messenger Mark L. Prophet)

The accepted tenets of modern science, being but partially true, are incomplete and therefore provide an inadequate foundation upon which to base advanced research and the control of the elements - Saint Germain

If man expects to succeed in alchemy, which is in truth dependent upon the higher laws of spiritual science, he must nurture the faith on which the strength of his invocation and concentration will rest - Saint Germain

Without faith it is impossible to manifest the perfection of God's Laws - Saint Germain

In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I AM, there you maybe also. - Jesus (John 14:2-3)

Be thou still. Be thou at peace. Be thou aware of thy God. It is not in mere words, the release of holy sound, but it is in the release of holy substance that men are made clean by the clean flame of devotion, the clean flame that purifieth and sweepeth away all that is not clear and radiant and pure and lovely, until that which remaineth is God, is Good, the basic Christ Child simplicity - Beloved Lord Maitreya, POW vol. 27 No. 11

It is the sense of struggle that makes the struggle - Saint Germain

There is no such thing as constructive criticism - Ascended Master

"Perfection is a tangible reality here and now. I think that those who think they cannot be perfect imagine that perfection is a straitjacket or a sterile quality lacking any verve or energy or joy or spontaneity. Nay, perfection is the flowering of the lilies, of the gentle violets. Perfection is a smile upon a face.

God does not measure perfection by human standards. After all, how can the human have a standard of perfection? God measures the motive of the heart, the love in the heart." - Serapis Bey, Dossier on the Ascension

Sound is at the core of creation and as such has a hidden power, a stupendous force, even bigger than the power generated by the Falls of Niagara. - Albert Eintein

If words come out of the heart, they will enter the heart. But if they come from the tongue, they will not pass beyond the ears. - Al Suhrawandi

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved now are we the Sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. - I John 3:1-3

Understand, then, that it is the movement of the great God Self within that is your salvation in this age, that all problems of economy, the ecology, and the government can be resolved if you will take only ten minutes each day to go within and to find your own God Self, to meditate and to use the science of the spoken Word whereby you chant the mantra of the free: "I AM a being of violet fire, I AM the purity God desires!" This is my mantra which I give to you as your initiation into the Aquarian age. - Saint Germain

As long as men remain involved in the ego, no matter what religious study they undertake, no matter what devotion they temporarily manifest, no matter how many good works they do, no matter what level of striving they attain, they will never be free from the illusion of the self that pursues them as a wanton ghost of struggling identity. - God Meru

Like a beautiful and splendid mountain stream, the joy of God flows forth into the world everyday. It sparkles and run over the rocks and impediments. It leaps in the sunlight. It is happy because the joy of God knows nothing but purity, nothing but perfection. It sparkles like diamonds. It flows flows forth from eternity's fountainhead. And it is accepted by the hearts of the saints. They welcome it with joy. They reach down their hands and thirstily they drink of this fountain. - Serapis Bey

The statements made by my Son have been added to and in many cases enhanced by the spiritual experiences of men who in the centuries following his mission have entered into divine association with the heavenly hosts. As the great patriarch Athanasius said, "For he was made Man that we might be made God." - Mother Mary, Letter VII, August 27, 1972. (From the book, My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord! by Mark and Elizabeth Prophet)

There is only one God and He is God to all; therefore it is important that everyone is seen as equal before God. I've always said we should help a Hindu become a better Hindu, a Muslim become a better Muslim, a Catholic become a better Catholic. We believe our work should be our example to people. We have among us 475 souls - 30 families are Catholics and the rest are all Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs - all different religions. But they all come to our prayers. - Mother Teresa

When you wonder about the mystery of yourself, look to Christ, who gives you the meaning of life. When you wonder about what it means to be a mature person, look to Christ, who is the fulfillment of humanity. And when you wonder about your role in the future of the world look to Christ. - Pope John Paul II

True humility must be worn eternally. It is not a garment you place upon yourself for a moment, for a day or a year or when passing a test. It is an undergarment with which God himself is clothed, and unless it surround thee, thy hopes of attainment are slim indeed. - Serapis Bey

When you see any form of God in vision, behold in those eyes the consciousness of Infinity. It is a mistake to limit God to any form, to any definition, to any one religion - Paramhansa Yogananda

When true friendships exist between two souls and they seek spiritual love and God's love together, when their only wish is to be of service to each other, their friendship produces the flame of Spirit. Through perfected divine friendship, mutually seeking spiritual perfection, they find the one Great Friend.

- Paramhansa Yogananda