Ajay0

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Feb 17, 2022
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Article by Sister B.K.Asha of the Brahmakumaris on being self-aware to perform correct actions and attract success.


To be able to make the right judgment and act suitably, I need to have a clear intellect. If I am caught up with my own needs and desires, I will not be able to read situations correctly, as my thinking will be clouded by my weaknesses.

Sometimes we know what we need to do to resolve a particular situation, but we are so crippled by our faults, be it anger, ego, jealousy, or sensitivity that we are unable to speak or act in the required manner and end up making matters worse.

To acquire the freedom to act the way I want, unfettered by emotions and my inner flaws, I need to connect with my true self, the spiritual being that is at the core of my identity.

This being, called the soul, is originally pure, peaceful, loving, and powerful. I need to remind myself of what I am really like and acknowledge the fact that my defects are not a part of me; they are harmful accretions acquired unwittingly. I need not be a hostage to these shortcomings, which have only given me sorrow.

Once I know who I am, and stop identifying with the defects that I have acquired, I begin to experience my inner virtues and start expressing them in my actions. The more I maintain this self-awareness, the freer I become from negative influences, whether they come from within or outside. I am then able to see things clearly and act properly, which brings success and saves me from a lot of sorrow. ~ B.K.Asha
 
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This being, called the soul, is originally pure, peaceful, loving, and powerful. I need to remind myself of what I am really like and acknowledge the fact that my defects are not a part of me; they are harmful accretions acquired unwittingly. I need not be a hostage to these shortcomings, which have only given me sorrow.
While I'm sort of neutral on this, but I do appreciate the contrast with Western thought. In Christian thought, the self is wicked to its core since it has a sinful nature. So we look outward to God. But interestingly, the Buddhist like thought Ajay0 shares in the OP says to look inward.

In terms of psychology, we are often identified as being our thoughts and feelings, so changing to the right thoughts and behavior, will lead us to happiness. But contrast that with the OP where it looks past thoughts, emotions, and desires going straight to the "soul" as being the identity.

Good stuff!!
 
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This being, called the soul, is originally pure, peaceful, loving, and powerful. I need to remind myself of what I am really like and acknowledge the fact that my defects are not a part of me; they are harmful accretions acquired unwittingly. I need not be a hostage to these shortcomings, which have only given me sorrow.
While I'm sort of neutral on this, but I do appreciate the contrast with Western thought. In Christian thought, the self is wicked to its core since it has a sinful nature.

What about Jesus's exhortations on the 'kingdom of God (or heaven) is within you'!

This is the same as the Self or Buddha nature within oneself as per eastern religious philosophy, which indicates divinity is at the core of our nature.

I think 'the self is wicked to its core' is a misinterpretation of Jesus's teachings. This is bound to be so, because Christianity was accepted by the Romans much later without any actual communion with Jesus.

Modern christianity as defined by the church came into existence when christianity was accepted by the romans after centuries of brutal persecution of christians. Many of the roman pagan festivals were transplanted into christianity.

The romans, while being proficient in war, administration and political science, were not adept in spirituality and a religious culture.

The councils of Constantinople and Nicea compiled the biblical scriptures and editted them as per roman sensibilities. All other versions that varied with the roman version was considered heretical and ruthlessly wiped out, This is bound to have misinterpretations which is bound to be accepted by the general populace without questioning, and continued to the present era.
 
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The Kingdom of God is within believers. Only believers in Christ are part of God's kingdom. We have submitted to the Lordship of Christ making Him our King and we are His subjects.

The church was actually started on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit made His appearance and fell on the believers. The Romans had nothing to do with this.

The canon of Scriptures was confirmed at the Third Council of Carthage in 397AD. Not all other versions were destroyed. There are numerous books and versions that have been found in the last hundred years or so.
 
What about Jesus's exhortations on the 'kingdom of God (or heaven) is within you'!

This is the same as the Self or Buddha nature within oneself as per eastern religious philosophy, which indicates divinity is at the core of our nature.

I think 'the self is wicked to its core' is a misinterpretation of Jesus's teachings. This is bound to be so, because Christianity was accepted by the Romans much later without any actual communion with Jesus.

Modern christianity as defined by the church came into existence when christianity was accepted by the romans after centuries of brutal persecution of christians. Many of the roman pagan festivals were transplanted into christianity.

The romans, while being proficient in war, administration and political science, were not adept in spirituality and a religious culture.

The councils of Constantinople and Nicea compiled the biblical scriptures and editted them as per roman sensibilities. All other versions that varied with the roman version was considered heretical and ruthlessly wiped out, This is bound to have misinterpretations which is bound to be accepted by the general populace without questioning, and continued to the present era.
Lots of good and important points about the Councils that sort of created the Bible that we have now. Thankfully, we do have some of the writings that didn't make it into the Bible canon, like the Gospel of Thomas.

In terms of humans being a temple for God, there's this in the Bible:
1 Corinthians 6:19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?

But then there's also this which Scooter alluded to:
Acts 19:1, 2, 4-6 Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 ;and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”


He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

This to me indicates that the Holy Spirit only part of believers in Christ, although I've read He made some appearances in the OT.

But the Bible does say we are created in the image of God.🤔