ILLUSION

 ILLUSION


In discussions of religion and philosophy the subject of reality will almost certainly enter at some point. The question, “What is real?” falls under the category of Ontology in philosophical circles. By its nature, it's closely related to the subject, “What is not real?”; which we will address in this post. The reason that we should be interested in this subject is that we want to avoid the mistake of devoting our lives to that which appears to be real but is not. The interactions between the real and unreal can strongly affect our lives. We'll address the question of reality from four viewpoints: Eastern religions, Christianity, Platonic philosophy, and alchemy.

In the major Eastern mystical religions Hinduism and Buddhism the term Maya is normally used to refer to the ability of the physical senses to delude our minds into thinking that the sensations that they create in the brain represent a life of the spirit which periodically experiences a kind of life of the body. These experiences in the body seem to be real, and are often perceived as the only reality, but they actually are not; and that's why they're referred to as maya, or illusion, or Deceit. They're merely temporary artificial experiences, which may be viewed as dramatic opportunities to elevate the character of the real being, which is spiritual. Or they may be interpreted as tests to be passed, before moving on to a higher level. Or they may be experienced as just meaningless games. So, they are real in a sense, because they are experienced. But they just aren't what they appear to be.

Now, let's examine the concept of illusion from the standpoint of the Christian religion. In Matthew, Ch. 4, vss. 8,9, we find:

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.

”All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Of course Jesus resists the temptation, but he does not contradict the devil's assertion that he has possession of all the kingdoms of the world. In fact he seems to support it when he says (John. 14:30), “I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me”; and (Jhn.16:11), “because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” But Jesus also says, (John. 8:44) “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies”.

So, if this world that we experience with our body is ruled and controlled by the Deceiver, and if it is real, then his claim to have the ability to give Jesus power over kingdoms would not be a deception; and so there would be some truth in him. But, according to Jesus that cannot be. So, if Jesus is right on all counts, it isn't real. In fact he said. “My kingdom is not of this world”.

We can also consider the story of the Garden of Eden. The story of Adam and Eve is itself a symbolic tale, with its own message. Interpreted literally, it makes no sense at all. Eve being the only female, there was no wife available for either Cain or Enos. But the context reveals that there were actually other lands in existence at that time.

So, what is the real message of the Garden of Eden? God poses the question: “Who told you that you were naked?”. The answer, of course, was the serpent, symbolizing Deceit, who according to Jesus is, “a liar and the father of lies”.

We will continue this discussion of the Garden of Eden further under the mysticism label. Our present purpose is to demonstrate that the western religion, Christianity, is not incompatible with the eastern mystical religions on this subject of Illusion.


Return to table of contents for this label:

Table of Contents for Philosophy Label (augustmarsblog.blogspot.com)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Inabel

  Inabel One of the more interesting characters that I met during those hard years at Roanoke college was a girl named Inabel. She had a glaring physical defect. Her nose had a prominent hook, and on that hook there was a wart. In other words she was the living embodiment of a fairy tale witch. But her bright happy character was just the opposite of that of a witch. And she had a natural sense of humor that clearly overrode any anxiety she may have had about her appearance. The students who lived in Roanoke and did nor participate in dorm life were assigned a study room for those who did not have 8 o'clock classes, and it even extended to the 9 o'clock hour for those returning from an 8 o'clock class. These were hours of heavy study. We asked each other questions, some of which were anticipated test questions, and some real need-to-know questions as we struggled to keep our heads above water in the oner...
Read more

Introduction to Psychology Label

  Introduction to Psychology Label My formal education in basic psychology, consisted of undergraduate courses Psych.101,102, which focused largely on perception and study techniques and, at NASA, numerous noncredit courses in various aspects of human relations. They included Eric Bernes's “Games People Play”, Transactional Analysis, Stress Management, Oral Presentations (an excellent course that included salesmanship, debate, and speaking to a hostile audience), Problem Solving, etc. Most of these courses were more useful than one would suspect because they were not taught by local practitioners but by expensive professionals. All of these courses were helpful in some way in teaching me how to behave in certain situations, but they didn't do much in providing the information that I most needed. For that information I would have to delve deeper into all aspects of the mind, including the subconscious. This interest in depth psychology was driven by three motivation...
Read more

Why Doesn't God Prohibit War?

  Why Doesn't God Prohibit War? For those who are interested in pursuing a life beyond the mortal, it will be necessary to come to terms with God. This means knowing Him with a conviction beyond a set of vague beliefs, which often contain a veiled suspicion of retribution for failure to meet His high standards. We would like to be free of this fear of God, which stands as a roadblock on our path to Him. An early step that we can take to eliminate this fear is to answer this question that is so often asked by those who tend to tend to react through emotion rather than through reason: “If God is both all-powerful and all-loving, why does He allow such atrocities as those committed during warfare?”. The short answer is, “You would not want God to be any other way”. Of course you would like for those acts not to be committed, but you would not want them prevented by God's intervention. Why? Simply because that would take away man...
Read more