If you believe that you are your body, you will strive endlessly to give your body sensual pleasure. You will struggle to fill up your inner emptiness with fleeting sensual flashes. But no amount of sensual pleasure will satisfy you. No matter how many taste orgasms, sexual orgasms, and other kinds of orgasms you may have, you still won’t be actually satisfied. You’ll always have a never ending desire for more.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
No matter how much sensual pleasure people have, no matter how much they consume, they always want more. This endless personal craving manifests as ever increasing material consumption.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
There is more than enough food, water, fuel and so on to satisfy the actual needs of everyone on the planet. But there is not enough to satisfy everyone's greed. Even if it were physically possible for you to consume all the food, water, and fuel in the world, you still would not be satisfied. “Material food” cannot satisfy spiritual craving. Since the materialist is never satisfied, he never feels that he has had enough.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
Showing posts with label Jagad Guru. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jagad Guru. Show all posts
Saturday, 20 June 2009
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Quotes on The Root Cause of Crime
Since no amount of sense gratification is ever enough to satisfy us, we always feel we need “more.” From the poorest person to the richest person, from the slum-dweller to the person who lives in a mansion, everyone wants more sense gratification and thus more material wealth. If you are poor, you feel you need a color TV to be happy; if you’re rich, you feel you need a new yacht. No amount of material wealth is ever enough.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Criminals, whether rich or poor, are criminals not because they are poor or rich, but because they are in the illusion that material things—material sense enjoyment—will satisfy them. And, of course, the reason they are in this illusion is because they erroneously identify their body as themselves.
Material happiness is likened to trying to drink from an ocean of salty water.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The fact is that the crime rate will continue to remain high as long as people are ignorant of their true identity and are bombarded with the message that more sense gratification will equal more satisfaction and happiness. As long as success in life is gauged by the amount of material goods amassed, the crime problem cannot be solved.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
It’s clear that the root cause of crime—at least in the West—is not the lack of the basic necessities of survival. The root cause of our crime problem is the lack of wisdom and inner spiritual satisfaction.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Criminals, whether rich or poor, are criminals not because they are poor or rich, but because they are in the illusion that material things—material sense enjoyment—will satisfy them. And, of course, the reason they are in this illusion is because they erroneously identify their body as themselves.
Material happiness is likened to trying to drink from an ocean of salty water.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The fact is that the crime rate will continue to remain high as long as people are ignorant of their true identity and are bombarded with the message that more sense gratification will equal more satisfaction and happiness. As long as success in life is gauged by the amount of material goods amassed, the crime problem cannot be solved.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
It’s clear that the root cause of crime—at least in the West—is not the lack of the basic necessities of survival. The root cause of our crime problem is the lack of wisdom and inner spiritual satisfaction.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Friday, 5 June 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Quotes on Sense Pleasure, Although Real, is Quite Superficial
In reality, the glossy picture of the “happy rich person” that most people hold in their minds is simply an illusion. Money can buy sense gratification, but not actual happiness or satisfaction.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Sense pleasure, although real, is quite superficial. It comes and goes quickly. It cannot compare to the sweet taste of spiritual love.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The most ironic thing about a life of crime is that it is based on a lie—the lie of materialism. The reason kids in poor neighborhoods idolize the local hoods is because they think that such hoods are happy. They see that by material standards the crooks are “successful”—they’ve got nice clothes, jewelry, flashy cars, the respect of others, pretty girls, lots of cash, and so on. But if such kids knew that material wealth and false lordship were not synonymous with happiness, then they wouldn’t see crooks as successful. So it is this big lie—the materialistic concept of success—that causes many youngsters to follow in the footsteps of hoods.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Children obviously would not be so eager to emulate these hoods if they knew that crooks are not really happy. So whether you are an educator; a producer of movies, television shows, or popular music; or just a plain old mother, father, elder brother, elder sister, aunt, uncle, etc., you will really help the children if you try to teach them that material wealth and power are not synonymous with success.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Economic and spiritual well-being can and must go hand in hand. A yoga master is not against material prosperity or development, but sees it in the correct context. He is not against any knowledge that can lead to economic development, but neither does he believe that such material prosperity will bring complete satisfaction to the people. Therefore he is offering the science of the soul to the educators with the humble but firm request that they please add it to their curriculum.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Sense pleasure, although real, is quite superficial. It comes and goes quickly. It cannot compare to the sweet taste of spiritual love.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The most ironic thing about a life of crime is that it is based on a lie—the lie of materialism. The reason kids in poor neighborhoods idolize the local hoods is because they think that such hoods are happy. They see that by material standards the crooks are “successful”—they’ve got nice clothes, jewelry, flashy cars, the respect of others, pretty girls, lots of cash, and so on. But if such kids knew that material wealth and false lordship were not synonymous with happiness, then they wouldn’t see crooks as successful. So it is this big lie—the materialistic concept of success—that causes many youngsters to follow in the footsteps of hoods.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Children obviously would not be so eager to emulate these hoods if they knew that crooks are not really happy. So whether you are an educator; a producer of movies, television shows, or popular music; or just a plain old mother, father, elder brother, elder sister, aunt, uncle, etc., you will really help the children if you try to teach them that material wealth and power are not synonymous with success.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Economic and spiritual well-being can and must go hand in hand. A yoga master is not against material prosperity or development, but sees it in the correct context. He is not against any knowledge that can lead to economic development, but neither does he believe that such material prosperity will bring complete satisfaction to the people. Therefore he is offering the science of the soul to the educators with the humble but firm request that they please add it to their curriculum.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Saturday, 30 May 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Quotes on No-Self Philosophers
The no-self philosophy is made to order for people (for the most part highly educated) who really can’t or won’t make the necessary effort and sacrifice to become enlightened masters of the senses but who nonetheless wish to think of themselves as enlightened and wise.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Modern no-self philosophers say that when the gross body is finished, the illusion of the self ceases. The Buddhists claim that the mind is different from the gross body, and that the mind continues to exist even after the gross body has died. As long as this mind continues to exist, then there is a continuation of embodiments. So the Buddhist’s aim is for no more mind—because when there is no more mind, then there will be no gross physical body. And since there is nothing other than the mind covered by the gross physical body—no atma within or covered by the mind—that leaves nothing.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Although both Buddhist and modern no-self philosophers contend that there is no self, Buddhist followers do not tend toward hedonism.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Buddhists do not believe in a life of hedonism because they believe in the law of karma (that is, a person’s actions in this life will affect his existence in his next life) and because they preach that happiness can be obtained not through sensual enjoyment but only through ceasing to exist (the bliss of nonexistence—nirvana).
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Modern no-self philosophers say that when the gross body is finished, the illusion of the self ceases. The Buddhists claim that the mind is different from the gross body, and that the mind continues to exist even after the gross body has died. As long as this mind continues to exist, then there is a continuation of embodiments. So the Buddhist’s aim is for no more mind—because when there is no more mind, then there will be no gross physical body. And since there is nothing other than the mind covered by the gross physical body—no atma within or covered by the mind—that leaves nothing.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Although both Buddhist and modern no-self philosophers contend that there is no self, Buddhist followers do not tend toward hedonism.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Buddhists do not believe in a life of hedonism because they believe in the law of karma (that is, a person’s actions in this life will affect his existence in his next life) and because they preach that happiness can be obtained not through sensual enjoyment but only through ceasing to exist (the bliss of nonexistence—nirvana).
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Quotes on Genetic Engineering and Respect for Life
The Supreme Court has ruled that genetic technology or engineering that deals with the manipulation of the bodies of living organisms is no different from any other technology that deals in the manipulation of matter.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
As far as the Supreme Court is concerned, a machine is a machine, a product is a product, an invention is an invention. There is no difference between a so-called living invention or a living machine and a nonliving machine or nonliving invention.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Researchers seeking the right to patent microorganisms testified before the Supreme Court that scientists cannot draw a line between the living and the nonliving. But contrary to such testimony, matter displays definite characteristics when life is present that it does not display when life is not present.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
However rudimentary the awareness of bacteria may be, it does exist. Bacteria also have a sense of self-awareness, as indicated by the fact that their observable activities seem to center on survival.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Mankind doesn’t own the lower or higher species of life.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The basis of ethical protest against genetic engineering on lower and higher species is respect. And the basis of our respect for living beings is our perception of a fundamental distinction between the living and the nonliving. We see life as special. Without that respect for the living, there is no basis for protesting the treatment of the living as if they were nonliving.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
As far as the Supreme Court is concerned, a machine is a machine, a product is a product, an invention is an invention. There is no difference between a so-called living invention or a living machine and a nonliving machine or nonliving invention.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Researchers seeking the right to patent microorganisms testified before the Supreme Court that scientists cannot draw a line between the living and the nonliving. But contrary to such testimony, matter displays definite characteristics when life is present that it does not display when life is not present.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
However rudimentary the awareness of bacteria may be, it does exist. Bacteria also have a sense of self-awareness, as indicated by the fact that their observable activities seem to center on survival.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Mankind doesn’t own the lower or higher species of life.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The basis of ethical protest against genetic engineering on lower and higher species is respect. And the basis of our respect for living beings is our perception of a fundamental distinction between the living and the nonliving. We see life as special. Without that respect for the living, there is no basis for protesting the treatment of the living as if they were nonliving.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
Sunday, 10 May 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Quotes: The Impersonalist Yogi Can Be Very Dangerous
An impersonalist yogi can be very dangerous because he may try to take the position of the Supreme Lord, believing himself to be the Supreme dominator and enjoyer of all that he surveys. This is the darkest region of ignorance. He may try to act on the illusion that he is God and that the world is his playground. He may become, in other words, a “super-hedonist.” One such “I am God”ist, Richard Alpert (Ram Dass), formerly a professor at Harvard University, declares that no one exists except oneself, and that after merging with the impersonal Brahman, one returns to the world and is the world and is everyone.
So according to the “I am God”ist, since you and I—each of us—is God, whatever you and I and others are doing is what God wants us to do. You can be engaging in the most illicit or the most heinous activities, but since you are God, you are doing the will of God. Your will is God's will. In other words, he believes his will is God's will because he wrongly believes he is God.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
1Ram Dass, Grist for the Mill (Santa Cruz, CA: Unity Press, 1976), p. 166.
2Swami Muktananda, Siddha Meditation, p. 59.
3Ram Dass, Remember, Be Here Now (Albuquerque, NM: Lama Foundation, 1971), p. 86.
4Quoted in Adelaide Bry, est (Erhard Seminars Training): 60 Hours That Transform Your Life (New York: Harper and Row, 1976), p. 66.
==========
There is nothing more dangerous to real religion than fanatics who seek to lord over others by force in the name of God.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
There's a saying: “Misery likes company.” So-called religious fanatics are so miserable that they want to create as much havoc in society as possible. They want others to join them in their misery.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
- If you come back into form from having merged with God ... you fill the forms [bodies] though there is no one home, it is just more lila, the dance of God.1
Assuming physical bodies, He appears as separate entities.2
What you're doing is what God wants you to do. Be happy.4
The late Swami Muktananda, a well-known “I am God”ist who had thousands of followers, wrote:
According to the “I am God”ist, the apparent existence of others is just a hallucination. And since you are God, you are the creator of the laws of the universe (or as Ram Dass puts it, “You are the laws of the universe!”).3 And since you are the laws of the universe—since you are God—then there is no higher person or law to which you must subject yourself. Your will, your desire, is God's desire—God's will—so there is no need whatsoever to check or control your desires or actions. As another “I am God”ist, Werner Erhard puts it:
So according to the “I am God”ist, since you and I—each of us—is God, whatever you and I and others are doing is what God wants us to do. You can be engaging in the most illicit or the most heinous activities, but since you are God, you are doing the will of God. Your will is God's will. In other words, he believes his will is God's will because he wrongly believes he is God.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
1Ram Dass, Grist for the Mill (Santa Cruz, CA: Unity Press, 1976), p. 166.
2Swami Muktananda, Siddha Meditation, p. 59.
3Ram Dass, Remember, Be Here Now (Albuquerque, NM: Lama Foundation, 1971), p. 86.
4Quoted in Adelaide Bry, est (Erhard Seminars Training): 60 Hours That Transform Your Life (New York: Harper and Row, 1976), p. 66.
==========
There is nothing more dangerous to real religion than fanatics who seek to lord over others by force in the name of God.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
There's a saying: “Misery likes company.” So-called religious fanatics are so miserable that they want to create as much havoc in society as possible. They want others to join them in their misery.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Quotes on the Absurd Proposition of the "I am God" Philosophy
The chief historical proponent of such “I am God”ism philosophy was Sripad Shankaracharya. Shankaracharya lived and preached throughout India in the eighth century. The preaching of Shankaracharya and his followers was so strong that, practically speaking, it drove Buddhism out of India. Today, throughout India and the world, Shankaracharya's teachings (or slight variations of them) are still having a tremendous influence on people.
In Calcutta, India, for example, we can see the ridiculous sight of a starving, sore-infested man meditating on the side of the road: “I am God. I am God.” In America and Europe, you'll find many so-called yogis and gurus who are directly or indirectly in Shankaracharya's line of “I am God” ism teachers.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Rajneesh, infamous for his advocation of “free sex” among his thousands of Western disciples, writes:
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
*Swami Muktananda, Getting Rid of What You Haven’t Got (Oakland: S.Y.D.A. Foundation, 1978), p. 43.
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
In Calcutta, India, for example, we can see the ridiculous sight of a starving, sore-infested man meditating on the side of the road: “I am God. I am God.” In America and Europe, you'll find many so-called yogis and gurus who are directly or indirectly in Shankaracharya's line of “I am God” ism teachers.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Rajneesh, infamous for his advocation of “free sex” among his thousands of Western disciples, writes:
- The word “brahmacharya” means that you have come to attain, you have come to know that you are the Brahman, the ultimate, the divine, that you are God Himself.1
You have not heard Me fully; I say I am God; I say also that you are God. The difference is that I know it and you do not know it.²
Meditate on your Self. Honor and worship your own Self. Kneel to your Self, because the supreme reality, the highest truth lives within you as you.*
Satya Sai Baba, India's most famous contemporary mystic and “holy” man, says:
The idea of the “I am God”ists is that each of us is actually the Supreme Spirit, but that somehow we forgot our true identity as God and came under the spell of ignorance. So you are supposedly God, the Supreme Being, but you are now caught under the laws of material nature. You are supposedly the Supreme Lord, but you are now bound on the wheel of birth and death. It is an absurd proposition.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
1Rajneesh, Yoga: The Alpha and the Omega, vol. 3, p. 36.
2Andrew Shaw, Words of Truth: A Second Compilation of Sayings by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Ltd., 1998), p. 7.
==========
The impersonalist “I am God”ist Swami Muktananda advised his students:
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
*Swami Muktananda, Getting Rid of What You Haven’t Got (Oakland: S.Y.D.A. Foundation, 1978), p. 43.
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
Monday, 6 April 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Quotes on Love, Real Happiness, & the Sage
LOVE
Real love between people has become so rare that people don’t even know what it is.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
REAL HAPPINESS
Pleasure or blissfulness is not bad. To be blissful is our natural condition. But where will we find such pleasure, such bliss? Spiritual teachers state that happiness is to be found in loving devotional service to the Absolute Whole– not in the glittering but temporary goodies of this material world.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
THE SAGE
Like the swans, which drink only the pure nectar of the blooming lotus flower, the liberated souls drink only at the fountain of transcendental love; they never try to find happiness in a life of material sense enjoyment.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
Real love between people has become so rare that people don’t even know what it is.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
REAL HAPPINESS
Pleasure or blissfulness is not bad. To be blissful is our natural condition. But where will we find such pleasure, such bliss? Spiritual teachers state that happiness is to be found in loving devotional service to the Absolute Whole– not in the glittering but temporary goodies of this material world.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
THE SAGE
Like the swans, which drink only the pure nectar of the blooming lotus flower, the liberated souls drink only at the fountain of transcendental love; they never try to find happiness in a life of material sense enjoyment.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
Saturday, 28 March 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Quotes on Lust
Lust is a manifestation of inner spiritual hunger. The attempt to satisfy spiritual hunger in sense pleasure is due to ignorance. The development of pure, all-expansive love within the heart satisfies one’s spiritual hunger. Love cancels out lust.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
When a person is under the influence of lust, there are many handmaidens that accompany this lust. The person does not only taste the bitterness of lust but also those of jealousy, hatred, malice, etc. The children of lust are frustration and purposelessness.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
As lust is transformed into its natural condition of spiritual love, the person begins to taste not just the sweet flavour of love, but also its handmaidens such as kindness, patience, forgiveness, tolerance, humility, etc. When a person tastes these qualities, he experiences real happiness.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
When a person is under the influence of lust, there are many handmaidens that accompany this lust. The person does not only taste the bitterness of lust but also those of jealousy, hatred, malice, etc. The children of lust are frustration and purposelessness.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
As lust is transformed into its natural condition of spiritual love, the person begins to taste not just the sweet flavour of love, but also its handmaidens such as kindness, patience, forgiveness, tolerance, humility, etc. When a person tastes these qualities, he experiences real happiness.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - The Desire for Sense Pleasure
If you identify your body as yourself, you will try to satisfy yourself by trying to satisfy your body. You’ll think, “I am the body and I want to be happy, I want to be satisfied.” Thus, you’ll try to satisfy the belly, the tongue, the genitals, the ears, the eyes, the nose, and so on, believing that this will bring you the inner satisfaction and happiness you crave.
But sense gratification does not satisfy. This is further evidence that you are not the body. No matter how much sense pleasure you have, you are still never satisfied within.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Due to the desire for sense pleasures, people try to conquer nature but end up destroying the world.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Most people are not concerned about the problems we are creating on earth. Our whole attitude towards this planet is that it is disposable. Everyone thinks that they can take anything they want, exploit it, and then conveniently throw it away. So many things have become disposable, not only diapers, towels, plates and spoons, but babies, wives, husbands and old people too.
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
But sense gratification does not satisfy. This is further evidence that you are not the body. No matter how much sense pleasure you have, you are still never satisfied within.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Due to the desire for sense pleasures, people try to conquer nature but end up destroying the world.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Most people are not concerned about the problems we are creating on earth. Our whole attitude towards this planet is that it is disposable. Everyone thinks that they can take anything they want, exploit it, and then conveniently throw it away. So many things have become disposable, not only diapers, towels, plates and spoons, but babies, wives, husbands and old people too.
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Everyone is Suffering. An Intelligent Person Seeks a Solution
Everyone is suffering. Everyone experiences birth, disease, old age and death. Everyone experiences fear, loneliness, emptiness, confusion, mental agitation, and heartache. Yet a fool, despite the fact that he keeps getting his teeth kicked in, never thinks twice about the whole thing. An intelligent person sees he is suffering and wants to know why. He thus becomes motivated to seek a solution to the problems of life. He seeks liberation. That is the beginning of spiritual life.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The search for wisdom is a great challenge; to act on wisdom is an even greater challenge.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
For a person who cultivates wisdom or true knowledge, the results are inner peace, satisfaction, patience, respect for others, freedom from duplicity, compassion, joyfulness, remembrance of his spiritual identity, freedom from the fear of death, freedom from anxiety and depression, and so on.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The yogi’s interest is inner peace and self-realization and social harmony.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The search for wisdom is a great challenge; to act on wisdom is an even greater challenge.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
For a person who cultivates wisdom or true knowledge, the results are inner peace, satisfaction, patience, respect for others, freedom from duplicity, compassion, joyfulness, remembrance of his spiritual identity, freedom from the fear of death, freedom from anxiety and depression, and so on.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The yogi’s interest is inner peace and self-realization and social harmony.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - The First Thing We Must Understand is the Reality of Our Identity
A famous football player in the United States who recently retired was discussing the particular event that made him decide to quit playing. He had been running with the football toward the goal, with two tacklers chasing him. As his legs started giving out, he thought, “Come on, you old legs—don’t give out on me now!” This is like a race car driver who talks to his car: “Keep on going, Betsy—don’t let me down now!” In other words, you use your body as a type of vehicle; but like all vehicles, it is bound to break down sooner or later.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The material body can be likened to a computer/machine. Each person operates his own private computer/machine, and when he is finished using his machine, it no longer has any value because no one else can operate it. When the operator is present, the value of the computer certainly exceeds the net worth of its ingredients. Without an operator, however, a computer has no useful function, and is worth no more than the scrap value a junk dealer will pay for its component bits of plastic and metal.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Perfection means being in tune with reality. The first thing we must understand is reality—the reality of my identity, i.e., my essence, position and function. Who am I? Just as a person does not identify himself as being the shirt that he is wearing, he also should not identify himself with the body that he is wearing.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
A person who understands that (1) one day the body will cease existing, and that (2) he himself will not cease existing, naturally becomes less interested in material gain and material pursuits (which he knows will be taken away one day) and becomes more interested in making spiritual advancement—advancement in wisdom, love, and compassion.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The material body can be likened to a computer/machine. Each person operates his own private computer/machine, and when he is finished using his machine, it no longer has any value because no one else can operate it. When the operator is present, the value of the computer certainly exceeds the net worth of its ingredients. Without an operator, however, a computer has no useful function, and is worth no more than the scrap value a junk dealer will pay for its component bits of plastic and metal.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Perfection means being in tune with reality. The first thing we must understand is reality—the reality of my identity, i.e., my essence, position and function. Who am I? Just as a person does not identify himself as being the shirt that he is wearing, he also should not identify himself with the body that he is wearing.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
A person who understands that (1) one day the body will cease existing, and that (2) he himself will not cease existing, naturally becomes less interested in material gain and material pursuits (which he knows will be taken away one day) and becomes more interested in making spiritual advancement—advancement in wisdom, love, and compassion.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Discovering Your Real Identity
WHO ARE YOU? DISCOVERING YOUR REAL IDENTITY
What is your essence? Is it matter—a mere collection of material atoms and molecules? Or is it something else?
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
You are your body, right? You are chemical in essence ... right? At least, that’s what one of America’s most influential scientists claims:
Like Sagan, most people believe that they are their body. So if you ask them who they are, they think and respond in terms of bodily labels.
“I’m Susan. I’m blond, 29 years old, a mother, and still 36-24-36!”
“I’m Henry. I’m a white American male and proud of it!”
“I’m John. I’m a lawyer. I’m 40 years old and getting older every day.”
“I’m Alice. I’m a female student. I’m fat and I’m a Methodist.”
Name, race, age, sex, religion, nationality, occupation, height, weight, and so on—all these are bodily labels. Therefore if you consider your body to be yourself, you automatically identify yourself with such labels. If your body is fat and ugly, you think, “Woe is me! I am fat and ugly.” If your body is 60 years old and female, you think, ”I am a 60-year-old female.” If your body is black and beautiful, you think, “I am black and beautiful.”
But is the body really the self? Are you really your body?
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
*Carl Sagan, Cosmos (New York: Random House, 1980), p. 127.
==========
Many people believe that a person is the brain or some part of the brain. You may be one of them. If so, the following should boggle your mind:
Your brain—that mass of matter which is contained in your skull today—is not the same brain that was in your skull last week.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
*Paul Weiss, “The Living System: Determinism Stratified,” in Arthur Koestler and J.R. Smythies, eds., Beyond Reductionism (London: Hutchinson, 1969), p. 13.
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
What is your essence? Is it matter—a mere collection of material atoms and molecules? Or is it something else?
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
You are your body, right? You are chemical in essence ... right? At least, that’s what one of America’s most influential scientists claims:
- I am a collection of water, calcium and organic molecules called Carl Sagan. You are a collection of almost identical molecules with a different collective label.*
Like Sagan, most people believe that they are their body. So if you ask them who they are, they think and respond in terms of bodily labels.
“I’m Susan. I’m blond, 29 years old, a mother, and still 36-24-36!”
“I’m Henry. I’m a white American male and proud of it!”
“I’m John. I’m a lawyer. I’m 40 years old and getting older every day.”
“I’m Alice. I’m a female student. I’m fat and I’m a Methodist.”
Name, race, age, sex, religion, nationality, occupation, height, weight, and so on—all these are bodily labels. Therefore if you consider your body to be yourself, you automatically identify yourself with such labels. If your body is fat and ugly, you think, “Woe is me! I am fat and ugly.” If your body is 60 years old and female, you think, ”I am a 60-year-old female.” If your body is black and beautiful, you think, “I am black and beautiful.”
But is the body really the self? Are you really your body?
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
*Carl Sagan, Cosmos (New York: Random House, 1980), p. 127.
==========
Many people believe that a person is the brain or some part of the brain. You may be one of them. If so, the following should boggle your mind:
- Recent studies on the turnover of the molecular population within a given nerve cell have indicated that ... their macromolecular contingent is renewed about ten thousand times in a lifetime.*
Your brain—that mass of matter which is contained in your skull today—is not the same brain that was in your skull last week.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
*Paul Weiss, “The Living System: Determinism Stratified,” in Arthur Koestler and J.R. Smythies, eds., Beyond Reductionism (London: Hutchinson, 1969), p. 13.
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - A Society of Self-Centered, Hedonistic People Cannot be Peaceful
The negative social results of a society populated primarily by hedonistic people should be obvious to anyone. A society of self-centered, animalistic people who have no other interest than their own sense enjoyment cannot be at all peaceful or progressive—either materially or spiritually.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Because our materialistic society considers the acquisition of wealth and power to be the goal of life, the more wealth and power you possess, the more “successful” you are considered to be. If you are materially poor, you are considered a failure in life, whereas if you are wealthy and powerful (regardless of how you acquired such wealth and power), you are considered a great success. So obtaining material wealth is not only essential for your direct sense gratification, but also for your feelings of self-worth. In other words, you feel only as valuable as the things that you possess and control. Lacking appreciation of your real value as an eternal, blissful spark of the Original Cause -- falsely identifying the temporary body as yourself—you try to achieve feelings of self-worth by acquisition and control of material things. To achieve such economic development, you may end up engaging in illegal activity—in other words, you might become a crook.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Unfortunately, a person who is materialistic, greedy, and self-worshiping wants to take the place of God. He sees himself as the center of the universe. He sees everything and everyone—the world, people, his family, animals, plants, the environment—as revolving around him. He sees everything and everyone as meant for his enjoyment. The world is full of such exploitative people, and they cause so many problems.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
(On the other hand,) the positive results of a society populated mostly by people who are serious about cultivating wisdom and spiritual understanding should be clear. If the citizens are peaceful, satisfied, respectful of others, compassionate, selfless, and so on, then society will be progressive both materially and spiritually.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Because our materialistic society considers the acquisition of wealth and power to be the goal of life, the more wealth and power you possess, the more “successful” you are considered to be. If you are materially poor, you are considered a failure in life, whereas if you are wealthy and powerful (regardless of how you acquired such wealth and power), you are considered a great success. So obtaining material wealth is not only essential for your direct sense gratification, but also for your feelings of self-worth. In other words, you feel only as valuable as the things that you possess and control. Lacking appreciation of your real value as an eternal, blissful spark of the Original Cause -- falsely identifying the temporary body as yourself—you try to achieve feelings of self-worth by acquisition and control of material things. To achieve such economic development, you may end up engaging in illegal activity—in other words, you might become a crook.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Unfortunately, a person who is materialistic, greedy, and self-worshiping wants to take the place of God. He sees himself as the center of the universe. He sees everything and everyone—the world, people, his family, animals, plants, the environment—as revolving around him. He sees everything and everyone as meant for his enjoyment. The world is full of such exploitative people, and they cause so many problems.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
(On the other hand,) the positive results of a society populated mostly by people who are serious about cultivating wisdom and spiritual understanding should be clear. If the citizens are peaceful, satisfied, respectful of others, compassionate, selfless, and so on, then society will be progressive both materially and spiritually.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2009 Science of Identity Foundation
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - The Life Force
Work has been done regarding the life force present in plants. In one typical experiment, electrical wires are connected from an electro sensitive meter to a plant. After a stable reading is obtained on the instruments, a small twig is cut from the plant. Invariably, at that moment, a significant response is perceivable on the meter, indicating that the separation of the twig has disturbed or agitated the plant.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Many Chinese and Japanese acupuncturists (possibly out of a desire to “prove” the existence of chi to skeptical Westerners) have invented all sorts of electrical technological gadgetry to monitor the flow of chi through the meridians and to precisely locate the acupuncture points. So although chi cannot be perceived directly, its presence can be detected by a meter that monitors electrical activity.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Some of the characteristics that matter displays when life is present include metabolism, thermodynamically unstable composition, internal growth, a highly organized and sophisticated flow of matter, the potential for reproduction, active response to external stimulation, capability of self-induced movement, and complex molecular composition. These characteristics are displayed even by the tiniest microorganisms.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
If life is materially based, then why don't we see it springing from matter in the natural world? And why can't we create life from matter in our laboratories?
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Many Chinese and Japanese acupuncturists (possibly out of a desire to “prove” the existence of chi to skeptical Westerners) have invented all sorts of electrical technological gadgetry to monitor the flow of chi through the meridians and to precisely locate the acupuncture points. So although chi cannot be perceived directly, its presence can be detected by a meter that monitors electrical activity.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Some of the characteristics that matter displays when life is present include metabolism, thermodynamically unstable composition, internal growth, a highly organized and sophisticated flow of matter, the potential for reproduction, active response to external stimulation, capability of self-induced movement, and complex molecular composition. These characteristics are displayed even by the tiniest microorganisms.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
If life is materially based, then why don't we see it springing from matter in the natural world? And why can't we create life from matter in our laboratories?
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Sunday, 11 January 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Subtle Coverings of Matter Over You - The Atma
As a yogi, you see the body that covers you—the pure atma or self—as being made of layers of material energy, from the subtle to the gross.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The subtle layers of matter that first cover you—such as the mind, intelligence, and false ego—are like underclothes. Then, over the subtle material elements come the grosser material elements (going from the more subtle to the more gross), which cover you, the self, layer by layer. The layer of ether or sky covers over the mind, intelligence, and false ego; then the element air covers the element ether; the element fire then covers the element air; next the element water covers over the element fire; and finally the element earth covers over the element water. So in this way, you, the self, are covered by these eight primary subtle and gross layers of material energy. Thus, just as a man may have different layers of clothes over his naked body, the self also has eight layers of “clothes.”
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
According to the science of yoga, you, the life particle are seated in the heart (but not inseparably—you can remove the physical heart, but you will not be removed with it). Your influence spreads throughout the body by means of this vast network of channels (nadis) that carry the life force to every cell of the body.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The subtle layers of matter that first cover you—such as the mind, intelligence, and false ego—are like underclothes. Then, over the subtle material elements come the grosser material elements (going from the more subtle to the more gross), which cover you, the self, layer by layer. The layer of ether or sky covers over the mind, intelligence, and false ego; then the element air covers the element ether; the element fire then covers the element air; next the element water covers over the element fire; and finally the element earth covers over the element water. So in this way, you, the self, are covered by these eight primary subtle and gross layers of material energy. Thus, just as a man may have different layers of clothes over his naked body, the self also has eight layers of “clothes.”
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
According to the science of yoga, you, the life particle are seated in the heart (but not inseparably—you can remove the physical heart, but you will not be removed with it). Your influence spreads throughout the body by means of this vast network of channels (nadis) that carry the life force to every cell of the body.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Monday, 5 January 2009
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - An Advanced Yogi Uses the Body Knowing That He Is Not the Body
Contrary to popular belief, hatha yoga exercises are not designed to make fat people thin or to make the body immortal, but to help unblock the gross and subtle nervous systems so that the “life air” can flow freely through the body (specifically, from the base of the spine to the top of the head).
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
An advanced yogi wants to use the body in accordance with his knowledge that he is not the body.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Just as there is no perfectly simple way to explain a complex principle of physics or biochemistry to a layman, so there is no perfectly simple way to explain the subtle material technology known to the yogis.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
First, as a yogi, you understand that you are the self within the material body. You consider your body to be like a suit of clothes.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
An advanced yogi wants to use the body in accordance with his knowledge that he is not the body.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Just as there is no perfectly simple way to explain a complex principle of physics or biochemistry to a layman, so there is no perfectly simple way to explain the subtle material technology known to the yogis.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
First, as a yogi, you understand that you are the self within the material body. You consider your body to be like a suit of clothes.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Life Attracts Life
Life attracts life.
We may think we are attracted to the beautiful body of a woman, but actually it is the spark of life which attracts us. When Marilyn Monroe “died”, when the life force left the material body, the body was no longer attractive. All that was left was a lump of unattractive matter that was thrown in the dirt. So is it logical to think that material energy is all-attractive? No. Life force or spirit is the attractive element.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
What are you worth? Your physical body made of various chemicals is not really worth very much. It may be worth $5 or $10, but is that all you are worth? Is that all your wife or your child, or your friend, or your mother, or your father are worth?
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The material body is valuable only when the infinitely valuable person is present within the body.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
It is the presence of the life particle—the person-- that makes the physical body valuable. If this atma is not present in the body then it has no real value. As soon as the person, the atma, leaves the body, the body becomes worthless. The closer you are to this understanding, the closer you are to wisdom and sanity.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
We may think we are attracted to the beautiful body of a woman, but actually it is the spark of life which attracts us. When Marilyn Monroe “died”, when the life force left the material body, the body was no longer attractive. All that was left was a lump of unattractive matter that was thrown in the dirt. So is it logical to think that material energy is all-attractive? No. Life force or spirit is the attractive element.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
What are you worth? Your physical body made of various chemicals is not really worth very much. It may be worth $5 or $10, but is that all you are worth? Is that all your wife or your child, or your friend, or your mother, or your father are worth?
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
The material body is valuable only when the infinitely valuable person is present within the body.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
It is the presence of the life particle—the person-- that makes the physical body valuable. If this atma is not present in the body then it has no real value. As soon as the person, the atma, leaves the body, the body becomes worthless. The closer you are to this understanding, the closer you are to wisdom and sanity.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Thursday, 25 December 2008
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Quotes on Bonafide Guru, Bona Fide Disciple
BRAHMA AND NARADA – BONAFIDE GURU, BONAFIDE DISCIPLE
Mystic yogis, by the practice of mystic or psychic powers, can do things that ordinary people consider very wonderful and miraculous. Such yogis then exploit the people, claiming that they are God Himself. And millions of foolish people believe such charlatans and blindly follow them. This is very unfortunate.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
A fake guru wants his followers to believe that he is God Himself—that's why he tries to impress them with his mystic powers. If the disciple of a phony guru were to express doubts about his guru's lordship, the guru would surely be angered. So how did Brahma react when Narada asked the questions, “Under whose protection are you standing? And under whom are you working? What is your real position?” And how did he react when Narada asked, “Yet we are moved to wonder about the existence of someone more powerful than you when we think of your great austerities in perfect discipline”? In response, Brahmaji was not angry. In fact, he was extremely pleased.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Narada is a perfect example of a bona fide disciple. Even though his guru, Lord Brahma, was immensely powerful, still Narada did not blindly accept him as the Supreme Lord Himself.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Mystic yogis, by the practice of mystic or psychic powers, can do things that ordinary people consider very wonderful and miraculous. Such yogis then exploit the people, claiming that they are God Himself. And millions of foolish people believe such charlatans and blindly follow them. This is very unfortunate.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
A fake guru wants his followers to believe that he is God Himself—that's why he tries to impress them with his mystic powers. If the disciple of a phony guru were to express doubts about his guru's lordship, the guru would surely be angered. So how did Brahma react when Narada asked the questions, “Under whose protection are you standing? And under whom are you working? What is your real position?” And how did he react when Narada asked, “Yet we are moved to wonder about the existence of someone more powerful than you when we think of your great austerities in perfect discipline”? In response, Brahmaji was not angry. In fact, he was extremely pleased.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Narada is a perfect example of a bona fide disciple. Even though his guru, Lord Brahma, was immensely powerful, still Narada did not blindly accept him as the Supreme Lord Himself.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Saturday, 20 December 2008
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Learning from History
LEARNING FROM HISTORY
In this world, people are always fighting over property. They want to stake their claims of ownership on both the living and the nonliving. According to the Sri Ishopanishad, these people are like thieves fighting over stolen loot. If we look at the question from the relatively short-term view, we may find it hard to accept that no one is really an owner of anything. But if we adopt the point of view of the Sri Ishopanishad—which sees the universe not in terms of decades, centuries, or even thousands of years, but in terms of many millions of years—then we can understand this point.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
If you understand that you are not your body, then you’ll understand that a life of false lordship and sense gratification will not satisfy you. Therefore, you will not see the gaining of material wealth and power as the goal of your life. You won’t feel that you need things that in fact you don’t really need. Therefore, you won’t be driven to try to get something “at any cost”—including the cost of your life, someone else’s life, or imprisonment.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Why does a person claim ownership of a thing or of another person? To control it or them. And why does he want to control it? Usually because he wants to be the enjoyer of it.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
If a person sees himself as the Supreme Enjoyer, he will automatically live a life of exploitation. He will not respect others or the environment, nor will he care for the well-being of others. He will lead a hedonistic life of unrestricted sense enjoyment, lording over everything and everyone. Although human in form, he will be no more than an animal who lives by the philosophy “might makes right.”
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
In this world, people are always fighting over property. They want to stake their claims of ownership on both the living and the nonliving. According to the Sri Ishopanishad, these people are like thieves fighting over stolen loot. If we look at the question from the relatively short-term view, we may find it hard to accept that no one is really an owner of anything. But if we adopt the point of view of the Sri Ishopanishad—which sees the universe not in terms of decades, centuries, or even thousands of years, but in terms of many millions of years—then we can understand this point.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
If you understand that you are not your body, then you’ll understand that a life of false lordship and sense gratification will not satisfy you. Therefore, you will not see the gaining of material wealth and power as the goal of your life. You won’t feel that you need things that in fact you don’t really need. Therefore, you won’t be driven to try to get something “at any cost”—including the cost of your life, someone else’s life, or imprisonment.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
Why does a person claim ownership of a thing or of another person? To control it or them. And why does he want to control it? Usually because he wants to be the enjoyer of it.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
==========
If a person sees himself as the Supreme Enjoyer, he will automatically live a life of exploitation. He will not respect others or the environment, nor will he care for the well-being of others. He will lead a hedonistic life of unrestricted sense enjoyment, lording over everything and everyone. Although human in form, he will be no more than an animal who lives by the philosophy “might makes right.”
Jagad Guru Chris Butler - Science of Identity Foundation
~ Jagad Guru (Jagad Guru Chris Butler)
© 2008 Science of Identity Foundation
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)