Ramanisblog

Tag: God

  • Jesus ‘mentally ill suffered from paranoia’ Bible Not Historic Study

    I chanced upon this.

    I thought about skipping it.

    But the names associated with it included A. Schweitzer.

    Worth reading.

    That the Bible was concocted is a fact, that it was compiled by Emperor Constantine to suit his political ambition is true.

    As to Christ, I doubt he existed,

    Please read my post on this.

    Dead Christ supported_by the madonna and saint John pieta.jpg
    Dead Christ supported_by the madonna and saint John pieta

    ‘

    Even those who deny that Jesus existed – and I am one of them – must agree that whether the gospels are true or not they don’t give us any confidence in the sanity of Jesus Christ.  Even if Jesus didn’t exist the gospels could have been based on stories about eccentrics and fairly obscure prophets of the time who did exist. 

     

    If we can prove that the Jesus Christ in them was mad then that is all we need to destroy Christianity.  It would mean that the apostles he chose and the Church he founded were all very silly people indeed.  It would mean that we have to be on guard against any other religious movement because if Christianity was founded on the ravings of a madman and was such a success any other religion could have been the same.

     

    We can be sure that there is no evidence for Jesus’ sanity and plenty of evidence against it.

     

    You will see plenty of Christian books written in defence of the faith that deny that Jesus was mentally ill and claim that he was the sanest person that ever lived.

     

    It is possible that Jesus was a manic-depressive.  He said he was the light of the world (John 9:5) and the only way to God (John 14:6) and the unique Son of God (John 17).  That is the sign of severe mania.  He was unnaturally full of himself.  Even if it were true, we would expect him to let others say he was this great being instead of him trying to convince him.  If he really had the power to influence people through using the Holy Spirit he did not need to make such declarations.”

     

    The following information is worth thinking about as it throws quite a few questions about Bible and Jesus.

    ‘This study was published in Dutch as: Jezus de Messias. Was het christendom een vergissing ? Antwerpen, EPO, and as:Toen God sliep schreef de mens de Bijbel. De bijbel belicht door een psycholoog. Antwerpen, Facet.

    Summary.

    This psychopathological study of the Gospel resulted in a revolutionary view on the personality of Jesus and his life, the sources of his spirituality and ideas. The hypothesis of paraphreny was able to explain a number of otherwise unexplained events. Did Jesus survive the crucifixion ? Is the Apocalypse the first Christian document, earlier than the letters of Paul ? Was the resurrection a myth? These questions find an answer in this study.

     

    About 1910 three competent psychiatrists: Ch. Binet-Sangle, G.L.De Loosten (G. Lomer) and W. Hirsch concluded after thorough examination of the texts, that Jesus was mentally ill and suffered from paranoia. They were criticised by A. Schweitzer who alleged that from an historical point of view most texts were dubious or certainly not historic, e.g. the quotations from the Gospel of St. John, and from a medical point of view that the alleged symptoms of paranoia or another mental disease were misunderstood.
    Three objections seemed essential: first: there is no certainty about the historical truth of the texts, secondly: what seems to us like a symptom was possibly a normal trait, a cultural feature in that civilisation, thirdly: there are not enough sure elements in order to found on them a safe judgment.

    If witnesses describe in a text correctly (according to modern psychopathology) a number of elements (symptoms) and if these symptoms are coherent and can be identified with a known syndrome, while these witnesses ignored completely psychopathology and moreover intended to prove a very different interpretation of the facts (a faulty one), there can be no more doubt about the authenticity of the described facts.

    The decision consequently about the historicity of the facts will no more depend upon mere philological criteria, but also upon psychopathological ones. Schweitzer supposes incorrectly, that the philological criteria are the only ones that can decide about historicity; in fact: the psychopathological control is more efficient and safe. So the first objection of Schweitzer is eliminated.

    The second objection of Schweitzer, that symptoms may be misunderstood cultural features, is at least superficial. It is very clear that the true pathological nature of the observed symptoms is culture-independent, although they may be coloured by the cultural background. Unadapted and strange behaviour as it is seen by extraneous observers, is on account of this fact itself matched against the own cultural background of the observers, but if this background is identical with the background of the subject no cultural interference exists any more. Therefore it is important to study the reaction of the own cultural milieu of the subject…

    In the Gospel of Mark a child is described, possessed by the devil. The features, found in the text, are all coherent with the syndrome of epilepsy and especially with an infantile type: perinatal infection of the ear with inflammatory complications, causing thrombo-phlebitis in the brain with the consequence of epileptic seizures and deaf-muteness. In the text of Mark all symptoms are precisely described: the child is mute, falls in the water and the fire (loss of conscience), utters a cry and is agitated, has foam on his mouth, becomes like dead and after a while is “cured”.
    2000 years ago nobody was aware of the true nature of epilepsy and the typical features in young children. (Hippocrates described the epilepsy as a disease, but we can consider that this was largely ignored in Judaea.)
    In the Bible numerous texts mention the hearing of voices, especially the voice of God. Current exegesis (Kittel, Theologisches Woerterbuch des Neuen Testaments, s.v. “Phone”) interbreeds these texts as metaphorical: hearing the voice of God is simply the expression for a vocation by God. However in psychopathology “hear a voice” is a current expression for an auditive (sensory) hallucination. Often the voice heard is identified as the voice of God. So the question is, if the voices heard by Jesus ( Baptism, desert, Thabor) were hallucinatory ones as even Schweitzer suggests.
    The narrative of the baptism of Jesus shows a text-evolution. In the Gospel: as Mark says that Jesus saw the Heaven opened, Matthew says that the heaven opened and that Jesus saw a bird… Luke lays a heavy accent on the physical appearance of a dove and eliminates any allusion to a vision, John adds the testimony of John the Baptist, the latter saw the ghost… The text-evolution seems to intend to change a subjective vision into an objective happening. Of course Mark has always the most original version: Jesus saw the heaven opened, he saw a bird, he heard a voice. This is the evidence, if one considers the complete narrative of Jesus baptism and his stay in the desert. Psychopathological investigation discovers in Mark, Luke and Matthew, regardless of the fact that especially Luke adapted the original version, a number of well-known symptoms of an hallucinatory state: hearing the voices of God and the devil, seeing wild beasts (zoopsie), having the impression to fly (vestibular hallucination), having visions of the whole world, suffering from anorexia (fasting). In that light the vision of the Baptism also is certainly another manifestation of this hallucinatory state: a well-localised (heavenly) vision, seeing a light (opening of heaven) , of a bird, the hearing of a voice, communicating a grandiose genetic message (you are my beloved son), a voice speaking in the second person as hallucinatory voices often do.
    Date Contradcition about the date of birth of Jesus
    It is important to see the essential difference between the Gospel of Infancy and the baptism-Thabor episode. Most biblical students see the Gospel of Infancy as a mythical corpus in the New Testament and they mention numerous reasons. First there are the chronological contradictory data. According to Matthew Jesus should be born (between 6 and 4 B.C.) during the reign of the great Herod, who died in 4 B.C.; the census which according to Luke, obliged the parents to travel to Bethlehem, was executed by Quirinius, who according to the precise indications of Flavius Josephus, the Jewish historian, became procurator of Syria in 7 A.D.., i.e. 11 to 12 years later. Furthermore the beginning of Jesus public life, when he was about thirty years, is situated by Luke (3,1) in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius (1 October 27-30 September 28). According to that indication Jesus should be born in 4-3 B.C . The historians never solved these difficulties.
    Secondly: the divergence between Matthew and Luke is striking. For Luke an angel appears to Mary and to Elizabeth. For Matthew each event is predicted in the Old Testament; for Luke the quotations of the O.T. are replaced by occasional prophecies by Hannah and Simeon. For Matthew a star appears, magicians come, there is a flight to Egypt and a killing of innocents by the great Herod. For Luke there are only shepherds, angels and music, the circumcision in the Temple and a simple return to Nazareth. He does not mention Egypt, or the Innocents. In the Protevangelium Jacobi another series of divergent elements can be found. Herod kills Zechariah, while John is sought for; there is no star, no magicians, no prophecies, only the angels and their message to Mary and to Elizabeth.
    Thirdly: the only elements, which all witnesses have in common are: 1° the exceptional pregnancy of Mary, 2° the hesitation of Joseph, 3° the birth of Jesus, 4° the  exceptional sphere of wonders. Each witness surrounds these historical events with a scenery of marvellous elements of his own…
    As has been said, if all symptoms coherently are in accordance with a well-known syndrome, there can be no more doubt about the historical truth of the described facts because it was impossible in Hebrew antiquity to describe accurately and correctly what twenty centuries later became known as a mental disease without having observed it. The fact that can be shown is that in the Gospel an image is found of Jesus, which is entirely coherent with the syndrome of paraphrenia, and that it is quite sure that this was not the intention of the authors of the Gospel. Nothing specifically divine or even superior is noted. Paraphrenia has to be understood as a mental disease sometimes also classified in the category of paranoia and opposed to schizophrenia. In opposition to the schizophrenic the paraphrenic remains adapted to his milieu, has a coherent thinking and a well-organised behaviour. Generally hallucinations are rare, but initiate a delusional state, often with a grandiose genetic theme. The paraphrenic is very sensitive to the opposition against his ideas: he is often full of resentment and hate. This is exactly the image the Gospel has painted of Jesus. If miracles are the only argument for the supposed divinity of Jesus, one must take into account that a number of these are certainly pseudo-miracles (cf. the epileptic child ‘(Mc. 9) or the possessed of Gerasa (Mc. 5)).
    Citation from the research Papers.
    * This Post is to present diverse views.I have posted artciles on Objectiobale material in Hinduism,Islam as well.
    So do not conclude this is Christianity bashing.
    Contradicting views with research welcome.

  • Adi Shankaracharya Explains Gayatri Mantra

    Some time back there was a  question about the number of Letters in the Gayatri.

     

    I had explained  the answer with Adi Sankaracharya’s Explanation.

     

    Gayatri Mantra.jpg
    The Gayatri Mantra.

     

    Now I am quoting Jagad Guru Shankaracharya’s commentary on the Gayatri Mantra.

     

    OM :- Pranava – The word that is God the Almighty
    BHUH :- God who is eternal,     Embodiment of vital or spiritual energy 
    BHUVAHA :- God who is the creator,     Destroyer of suffering
    SVAHA :- God who is Independent,     Embodiment of happiness
    OM TAT :- That eternal God
    SAVITHUR :- That creative principle of light manifested through Sun
    VARENYAM :- That Supreme God propitiated by the highest Gods
    BHARGO :- That light that bestows wisdom, bliss and everlasting life
    DHEVASYA :- The light of that effulgent God
    DHEEMAHI :- we mediate
    DHIYO :- May our intellect
    YO NAHA :- Be directed by that lord
    PRACHODAYAT :- Towards Illumination

     

    Nah – asmakam Dheeyah – Buddhi Prachodayat- prerayet
    Sarvabudhi samgnanthah karana prkashakah sarva sakshi prethyagathma iti uccyathe
    Thusya prachodayatu sabdanistasya atmanah
    Swarupabhutam param brahma tat savitur ityati padayh nirdisyateh
    Atra tat subdena prthyagbhutam swatah siddham param bramhma uccayathe
    “Savituriti” srustistitilayam lakshnasya sarvaprpanjasya dwaitabhavasya adistanam lakshyate
    “varenyamiti” sarvaraneyam niradhshayaandarupam
    “bharga iti” aviyatidosabharjanatmakam gyanaikavishayathwatu
    “devasya iti” sarvathyadhothanathmakaakandachitekarasam
    savitudevasya ityatra sastayarchi rahoha shirovatu oupacarikaha
    bhdhyati sarva dhrisyasya sakshilakshanan
    yanme swarupam thath sarvadhristanarupam paramanandam
    nirastasamasthanardharupam swaprkashachitatmakam brahma ityevam
    dhimahe – dhiyayeth
    evam sathi praytyagatmanaha brahmana saha thatahtmarupamekatvam bhavathi
    thayaa sarvathmakabrahmabhodakosyam gayatrimantraha sampatyate
    atah saptavyahritinam ayamarthah

     

    I pray,my Buddhi ( beyond Intellect shines forth),

    (Nah – asmakam Dheeyah – Buddhi Prachodayat- prerayet)

     

    By praying, chanting the Gayatri, all the inner organs,Gnanedriyas, Mans, Buddhi, Chitta and the Para Brahman in the Form of Witness reveal themselves,the first four being cleaned by the Gayathri.

     

    ( Sarvabudhi samgnanthah karana prkashakah sarva sakshi prethyagathma iti uccyathe)

     

    by chanting , praying the Savitri.

     

    The Sound of Savitri ,-all the gross elements get submerged in the Brahman, which is the embodiment of Sabda, the primordial Sound.

     

    (Thusya prachodayatu sabdanistasya atmanah
    Swarupabhutam param brahma tat savitur ityati padayh nirdisyateh
    Atra tat subdena prthyagbhutam swatah siddham param bramhma uccayathe)

     

    Savitri is the Creation, Sustenance and dissolution,the differentiation of being two as Jivatman and Paramatman gets obliterated.

    (srustistitilayam lakshnasya sarvaprpanjasya dwaitabhavasya adistanam lakshyate)

     

    Varenyam stands for the Ananda Rupa of the Brahman.

    (“varenyamiti” sarvaraneyam niradhshayaandarupam)

     

    By chanting Varenyam one the impurities of the Mind, and Chitta are removed and Knowledge shines forth.


    (“bharga iti” aviyatidosabharjanatmakam gyanaikavishayathwatu)

     

    Chanting of  Devasya Iti’ is the the culmination of worshiping all the Devatas, the Meditation and merges one in the Aakasa roopa of Brahman, that is from the Gross to the subtle.

    (devasya iti” sarvathyadhothanathmakaakandachitekarasam)

     

    Thus the Savitri is the chief among the Obeisance and Oblations offered to the Devathas and is the culmination of all Perception.

    (savitudevasya ityatra sastayarchi rahoha shirovatu oupacarikaha
    bhdhyati sarva dhrisyasya sakshilakshanan)

     

    This is the essence of all the Siddhantas about the Para Brahman.
    (yanme swarupam thath sarvadhristanarupam paramanandam)

     

    It is the Unsullied Form of  the Reality  Brahman that shines forth
    (nirastasamasthanardharupam swaprkashachitatmakam brahma ityevam
    dhimahe – dhiyayeth)

     

    By chanting ,praying this/thus,the duality is vanishes and the One Reality dawns.
    (evam sathi praytyagatmanaha brahmana saha thatahtmarupamekatvam bhavathi)

     

    This is explanation and the results  of the Seven Vyahrutis of the Gaytri,

     

    And this is my (Shankaracharya) explanation.
    thayaa sarvathmakabrahmabhodakosyam gayatrimantraha sampatyate
    atah saptavyahritinam ayamarthah

     

    * There  might be errors in my translation.

     

    Scholars in Sanskrit are requeted to send in corrections as this, I consider to be the best explanation of the Gaytri Mantra and the essence of the Vedas

  • Abhishekam Hinduism Bathing Of Gods Origin

    In Hinduism Gods are bathed in a special Ritual called Abhishekam.

     

    In general,Water, Milk are the  materials used.

     

    In the case of Shiva, Subramanya and Ganesha Vibhuthi are also used.

    Bathing Shiva Linga with Milk.jpg.
    Bathing of Shiiva Linga,Thanjavur

     

    For female Goddesses Kumkum is also used.

     

    In Vaishanava Sampradaya, Turmeric powder Abhisheka is performed.

     

    Tender Coconut water, Panchamruth, Flowers are used in many temples for the Deities.

     

    The Deities are bathed in the morning around 5 am and are also bathed  five or six times a day depending on the number of Kaala Poojas, that is the time when the Deity is decked up for the Day.

     

    Origins.

     

    The seems to be no mention of Abhisheka in the Vedas, though the Veda Mantras are used now for this Ritual.

     

    Nor is there any reference to this practice in the Ramayana or Mahabharata.

     

    There is no information as to when this practice was started.

     

    Vedas, in essence, advocate the worship of the nameless, Formless Brahman, Reality.

     

    The worship of personal God is also encouraged to prepare the Mind o concentrate on the Abstract.

     

    Even here there is no mention of the Abhisheka in the Vedas.

     

    However Hinduism treats God as one close to the individual and does not keep God in a remote portal to be feared.

     

    Gods are taken to be a part of our family.

     

    One loves to do things for the loved ones.

     

    For a child, we bathe it, dress it up and enjoy.

     

    Hinduism attributes the qualities of man to God, though these attributes are perfect in Him.

     

    So when we bathe God we do so as we would for ourselves.

     

    In personal worship of Gods, the Smritis , The Bhagavad Gita, Vedas and the Puranas insist on cleanliness.

     

    For the Hindus, cleanliness begins with taking bath.

     

    There are three purifiers of Nature.

     

    Water, Air and Fire.

     

    Water purifies while air does purify the odor.

     

    What these two elements could not do, Fire does and it does it perfectly.

     

    So in purification ceremony water is used and air is used in the form of Dhoopa and Deepa.

     

    Fire if used shall destroy.

     

    It is used in the Homa.

     

    In temples water is used  for Abhisheka.

     

    There is also this concept.

     

    The idols used in the making of them have special properties.

     

    The stones used for the making of an Idol is selected carefully.

     

    The Agama Sastras are specific on this.

     

    The stones to be selected  must have resonance.

     

    In a temple Veda mantras are recited.

     

    The Idol absorbs the sound waves from the mantras and are charged .

     

    Depending on the Nature of the stone used the Abhisheka Theertha, Milk gains medicinal properties as well.

     

    Abhisheka is a Ritual to bring God closer to us mentally by treating Him as one of us.

     

    And to purify the Idol , charge it,

     

  • God with Form, with and without, and Attributless Levels

    Hinduism, though the Vedas, the scripture of Hindus, declare that the Reality is with out Attributes, Nirguna.

     

    The Reality is Nameless ans Formless.

     

    However it also advocates the worship of the Forms.

    Lord Subrahmanya, Neendoor,

     

    This is because the Human mind is incapable of concentrating on a vacuum.

     

    The Realization of the Supreme principle lies in realizing the Ultimate, Brahman, The Reality, the one with out Attributes.

     

    Yoga system defines(Yoga means Union),Yoga as the cessation of the modifications of the Chitta, the thought waves.

     

    Once removed of the thought waves  are removed, the Reality is realized .

     

    We have numerous thought waves churning in our mind,

     

    These have to be reduced gradually, they can not be removed at one stroke except by the very rare ones.

     

    Others have to go step by step.

     

    The though waves are present because of our attachment to objects of desire.

     

    We desire them ;hate them;these produce thought waves,

     

    If one focuses on an object of his desire, he becomes immersed in it.

     

    Since human nature is to go after things that are to his/her liking, an image has been suggested.

     

    This form may be that of a Mother, father, son, friend Man  or woman in terms of the qualities one expects.

     

    One feels like sharing things with these , either people or a mental projection of these.

     

    In this process one loses himself and this is the first step in realization of the Self.

     

    Hinduism has these names with forms in three stages.

     

    One without Attributes, the Nirguna Brahman, the Ultimate.

     

    The worship of this ultimate is difficult.

     

    So a step lower than this is devised.

     

    And that is with Form yet without Form.

     

    This is the symbol.

     

    It is represented by the Shiv Linga.

     

    This has a Form, in the form of a sign.

     

    It also does not have a specific Features.

     

    This is the Uruva Aruva worship ( Form yet with out Form)

     

    Then comes another lower level.

     

    This has a specific Name and Form.

     

    As Devi, the Mother, Vishnu as father,Shiva as the Mentor, Subrahmanya , the child,Ganesha and the rest of the Hindu Pantheon.

     

    Thus Hinduism guides an individual in the path of Realization by these easy steps in concentration.

     

    1.Gods with names and Forms.

     

    2.Reality with Form yet without It.

     

    3.The Ultimate, without Attributes.

     

    Related articles

  • Definiton of Bhagvan God Hinduism

    It is Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality or God who possesses these attributes.

    There are two names for him in ancient Tamil to describe Dhe deity.

    “Kadavul” beyond the mind.

    “Iraivan dwells in my heart.

    Post by these attributes.

    Hinduism uses the term Bhagavan to denote God.

    Bhag means Fortune, unlimited Wealth.

    In Hinduism material wealth is not considered as Wealth or Fortune.

    Attributes or Qualities that are Eternal are considered so.

    The Authority of Hinduism is the Vedas and they declare Reality as devoid of Attributes, Nirguna.

    It is a Principle.

    It is indescribable, Avaktavya.

    This is the reason the Upanishads, while describing the Reality, uses the ,Neti Nyaya’

    That is the process of describing a thing by excluding others from it.

    Brahman, The Reality is described as Neither Tall.nor Short, neither Male, nor Female……

    By excluding the Attributes through which we can know anything, the message implied is that the Reality is Unknowable.

    But can be experienced.

    This method of description is called the ‘Neti Nyaya’

    Yet,Hinduism advocates Image worship in the form of Gods, Symbols.

    This is because the Human Mind, being limited, can not grasp or concentrate on Nothing.

    The worship of Idols of God is the first step.

    This worship of Personal God, Iswara(Iswara means personal God in Indian Philosophy,is called Saguna Aradhana.

    As one evolves by worshiping the Personal Gods, he will realize that the Reality is in and beyond the Personal Gods.

    Please read my posts under Hinduism on this issue.

    Especially the one ‘Does God have and Form’.

    So the term Bhagavan is used to denote the Saguna Brahman, God

    Bhag implies six attributes:

    Absolute Fame,

    Absolute Dharma,

    Absolute Wealth,

    Absolute Knowledge,

    Absolute Beauty and,

    Absolute Detachment.

    One possessing these attributes is Bhagavan, the Supreme Person or God..

    The ancient language Tamil has two names for God.

    “Kadavul’, beyond the Mind.

    ‘Iraivan, one who dwells in the heart.

    I shall be posting on each of these Attributes.

    Related articles

    http://ramanisblog.in/2009/09/28/does-god-have-name-and-form/