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My ex-guru worshipers used to scoff at the way Christians "read" the Bible and their dog-like-devotion to a book. Our egos were so enormous, in that we thought Christians were el-stupido and morons to hold onto such old and moldy beliefs! If you believed Jesus Christ was the Only Way, you were labelled as someone with a crutch.
Mind you, this is from the mentalities of people who were practicing a religion older than Christianity, and with no known orgins...but somehow Guru's Special Hinduism was scientific and modern, buzz words they threw around to validate their beliefs.
They professed to be a church of all religions but they were not tolerant of Christians behind closed doors. The mere fact that they published a New Testament interpretation based on the guru's understanding of Jesus Christ is ludicrous. He based his understanding of Jesus on a few scriptures, such as, " the kingdom of God is within you" and "know ye not that ye are gods," to give him license to hijack Jesus Christ and make him a Hindu Guru! His pseudo Christ did not die on the the cross and forgive our sins, but is, in fact, living in a cave with Babaji (another Hindu sage) working out the problems of the world. They take the very core of Christianity out of their teachings, yet claim to be reconciled with Jesus Christ and understand the true meaning of his teachings. They spin "truth seekers" as their own motto, and anyone else is not seeking truth unless they're reading their teachings. And for the record this book didn't come out until the guru was dead for over 50 years. The dead guru continues to churn out books and writings similiar to the prolific after-death writings of L. Ron Hubbard.
How I wanted to expose those Christians for their foolishness! I didn't hate them, but I pitied them. They were so lost in delusion, while I was on the golden highway!
One of the most dramatic Christian upsets was during a Thursday night service when someone stood suddenly and yelled, "This is blasphemy!" and they left making a lot of noise. For a moment everyone was shocked, our eyes flying from the door to the pulpit, everyone waiting for our sadhu to say something profound, but he said nothing about the commotion as if it never happened. Our sadhus never, ever said anything about current events, whether in the now or the newspapers. For example, the day after Princess Diana died I ached for the sadhu to say a prayer or something, but noting was mentioned about the tragic event. They felt it was better not to "read the news" lest it upset you. Don't read anything, they'd say, other than the Master's teachings. Why get worked up? We were specifically told not to read anything negative about the church or go to another church. Every once in a while a group of Christians would arrive and sit in a neat little row, Bibles open, and get about half-way through the service, before they stood quietly and made their way to the exit. Other devotees would make eye contact with each other, raise a "knowing and pititful" eyebrow. If a Christian sat by me, I would meditate extra hard--back straight, shoulders back and during the chant be as loud as I could, "OM GURU!" The pride!
Us devotees spoke amongst ourselves how ridiculous it was to quote Bible scripture. I couldn't get my head around the Bible or it's importance, but once I began to read it--study it, pray over it, I realized how wrong that guru was in saying it took a "master" to understand scripture.
One of the most beautiful explainations of the Bible came to me from our old family Bible. It's The New Standard Alphabetical Indexed Bible with a copyright of 1936 (last printing anyways), and tucked in the middle of this musty, moldy book is a beautiful description of what the Bible is:
This book contains:
...The mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, doom of sinners and happiness of believers. It's doctrines are holy, it's precepts are binding, it's histories are true and it's decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you and comfort to cheer you. It is the travelers map, the pilgrims staff, the pilots compose, the soldiers sword and the Christians charter. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject our good it's design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the mind, rule the heart and guide the feet. read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgement and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, rewards the greatest labor, and condemns all who trifle with its holy contents.
This Book unfolds Jehovah's mind.
This Voice salutes in accents kind
This Friend will all our need supply
This Fountain sends forth streams of joy
This Mine affords us boundless wealth
This Good physician gives us health
This Sun renews and warms the soul
This Sward both wounds and makes us whole
This Letter shows our sins forgiven
This Guide conducts us safe to heaven
This Charter has been sealed with blood
this Volume is the Word of God.
What a powerful reason to never touch the meaning or interpretation of the Bible.
