A GRAIN OF SAND

All truth is ad hoc; that is, it depends on the time, the place and the understanding thereof to accord with a particular purpose. All the great Masters use truth ad hoc. In the East it is known as 'Upaya' (skilful means). Today we would call it 'applied psychology'.

When Yeshua bar Josef (Jesus) taught, He had to deal with a tribal society steeped in violence and superstition and a people whose concept of God was that of a male figure, jealous and vengeful. A god who demanded "an eye for an eye", who visited plague, pestilence, war and famine on even his chosen people. Yeshua changed the concept and represented a loving and forgiving Father, perfect in all ways, to whom the race could relate. He made God truly accessible to Man. It was an enormous step forward in understanding, but the concept of God as a human-like father rather than the Father of all life and consciousness was not to be taken literally.

Great Masters speak in parables and metaphors, for we are as alike unto them, in understanding, as chalk is to cheese. If they spoke from the depth of their awareness we would "see without perceiving (interpreting correctly) and hear without understanding."

The Buddha said that His teachings were like a raft. A raft to get man across the immediate river of ignorance. But he warned that if Man turned his teachings into rites and rituals, doctrine and dogma, the raft would become water-logged and sink. He advised his followers to use his teachings until they understood, then go on their own individual path in breaking down the barriers of ignorance that seem to separate them from that which man calls "God".

Of course the Buddha (a title meaning an enlightened man or woman) rarely used the world 'God' for he taught in India where gods were commonplace, so he used the word Dhammakaya which interprets as "the Source of Being."

Yeshua taught that God had to be loved in three ways. firstly to love with the heart, which is the way of worship and devotion. Bhakti as it is called in India. That is one way. It is a necessary way, but it is not enough. In more primitive understandings it is the only way.

Secondly, to love with the mind, which is the way of wisdom. Mukti as it is called in the East. It also is a necessary way. In the new-age it is the only way. But it is not enough.

Thirdly, to love in spirit. No longer paying lip service to our second-hand beliefs about God but realising through direct, personal experience. Ehipassika paccatam as it is called in the East. Loving God in spirit is not a matter of understanding, but of being. In itself it is not enough, for it will lead you back to the first and second way until all three are in perfect harmony. That is the great liberation. It is also one grain of sand on the beach of BEING.

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