Sunday, February 10, 2008

Notes on Life and Learning Lessons Chapter 22

A Tree Has Roots

Which We Cannot See

I once attended the wake of my wife’s close relative in the province. Quite a number of people attended the wake. Most of them were honest folks. My wife introduced me to her cousin who was the town leader of a countryside spiritual association. She informed her cousin that I was knowledgeable in spiritual matters as well as in psychic phenomena. She told her cousin to ask me any question on the subject matter. I laughed, blushed and then I said, “That is my wife speaking. At any rate, what do you want to know? How can I help you?”

Her cousin, an unmarried woman in her late thirties, respectfully smiled and said, “I have been in this spiritual organization for 15 years. Can you advice me about my future role in this organization?”

I asked for the name of her organization and that of their leader. After her answers, I requested for a few minutes to get the answers from “somewhere up there.”

“What are the main activities of your organization?” I inquired.

She said that among other things, they pray regularly at their headquarters, study the bible regularly, study the teachings of their leader and perform spiritual healing.

I inquired from her the number of those who were cured and those who were not. I asked as well for the reason why some were cured while some were not.

She said that she did not really know the number of those who were cured and those who were not. She added that those who were not cured probably lacked faith.

“Many types of illnesses correspond with the many aspects of man, particularly with the aspects of his lower nature. A man may suffer from mental sickness, emotional sickness, or physical sickness. All these aspects are interrelated. An emotional sickness can eventually manifest itself on physical levels like high blood pressure, asthma, enlarged heart, etc. a sickness can also be karmic in nature, i.e., a result of certain deep negative/bad thought or action whether in this life or in other lifetimes.

Can a man with high blood pressure or diabetes due to inherited weakness in the body and overindulgence in eating fatty foods and sweets be made well by spiritual healing? Suppose that after the healing session, the man continues to eat fatty foods and sweet foods, do you think these foods will no longer have any effect on his physical body after the spiritual healing sessions?

To properly heal a certain sickness, one must first correctly determine the real cause before one gives the corresponding cure. If the person has high blood pressure or asthma because of deep emotional problems, medicines can cure the symptoms temporarily but only a healing of the emotions can permanently cure the person.

The body, the emotions, and the mind follow certain natural laws governing its health. If you follow these laws, you have good health. If you go against these laws, you get sick. Medicines and other forms of treatment only supplement or complement the natural healing process. Spiritual healing can not and does not go against these laws. It uses these laws. It works through these laws if and only if, the man or woman is worthy of being healed. And what makes one worthy of spiritual healing?

The power of spiritual healing comes from The Father Above or other highly evolved Spiritual Beings who follow His Will. If a man has a son who stole precious jewelries and is caught, is it right for the father to do everything in his powers to spare his son from going to jail and pay for his crime?”

She said that the father should let his son go to jail.

“It is so with our Father Above. He will not interfere with the diseases to make these people realize their mistakes. If a man eats and drinks too much and gets sick, should the Father heal him? What if the man goes back to too much eating and drinking?

If a man maltreats his wife and children and then his bad karma results to a certain disease connected with strong negative emotions, should the Father heal the man’s disease? What happens when the man gets well? What if he maltreats his wife and children again?

In the last analysis, it is only us who can heal our sickness by finding our root errors and by sincerely trying to correct them. The body, the emotions, and the mind have a definite way of healing itself. The simplest example is a cut on your skin. Automatically, the body heals itself by sending so many antibodies to protect itself against germs, bacteria, viruses, and by clotting the blood.

Many of those who thought they got healed through spiritual healing were actually healed by the strong suggestion of the mind to heal the body. Consequently, the body’s defenses were triggered to fight back. The body sent everything it had to fight the disease. It was actually self-healing. There was no miracle involved.

Sometimes the body’s defenses can longer counterattack the disease. The body’s healing forces can no longer stop the continuous advance of the disease. Then the disease can no longer be cured. There is no lack of faith involved.

If the Father or a highly evolved Spiritual Being following his Will sees in a sick man/woman’s heart and mind the deep sincerity to repent and change, then perhaps, they would heal the sickness. It is not a matter of faith. It is a question of understanding the roots of your disease, whether they are physical, emotional, or mental, and then resolving to change what has to change. Then and only then, will The Father or a highly evolved Spiritual Being cure the disease. Of course, They may have other things to consider. But tell me, how many of those who are sick actually try to find out seriously, sincerely and fearlessly what has gone wrong with their lives? Or what has gone wrong with their bodies, emotions and minds? That is why while there are miracles, there are very, very few and far between.”

I felt it was time to discuss the main issue. I continued, “Let us now deal with your spiritual leader. In a world of increasing tensions, of continuing poverty for the majority, of greater sufferings, of deepening loneliness and alienation, more and more people are becoming desperate in seeking answers to their worsening problems. In such a situation, many spiritual cults rise, the leaders of which claim they have some special relationship with God, that they have special powers, special knowledge, etc. Claiming and acting like special persons these leaders make their members feel awed and turn them into blind believers of each and every word they say. Their followers are taught to call their leader, Divine Master, Our Spiritual Father, The Blessed and Chosen One, etc. This is nonsense.

“A renowned mystic once said, ‘The real spiritual teacher is one who will teach you eventually the usefulness of having a spiritual teacher.’

“Indeed, as far as those who actually study and teach the ancient knowledge of the Art of Living and Inner Wisdom, the real spiritual teacher is one who will teach you to think by yourself. He teaches you how you should learn to teach yourself by analyzing your own positive and negative experiences and how to draw the lessons from each experience. Further, the real spiritual teacher is simply known by his real name.

“One of the best Sons of the Father, the Lord Buddha, when he was about to die, asked his disciples if they had questions about his teachings. His disciples did not ask any questions. Then the Lord Buddha’s last words for his disciples were,

We must not believe in a thing said merely because it is said; nor traditions because they have been handed down from antiquity; nor rumors as such; nor writings by sages, because sages wrote them; nor fancies that we may suspect to have been inspired by a god or a higher spirit; nor because of what seems an analogical necessity; nor on the mere authority of our teachers or masters. But we are to believe when the writing, doctrine, or saying is corroborated by our own reason and consciousness. For this I taught you not to believe merely because you have heard, but when you believed of your consciousness, then to act accordingly and abundantly.

“Remember, The Father gave each and every one of us a mind for our own use and not to be used by somebody else. We should never surrender blindly our bodies, hearts and minds to anybody. We should believe only after a very careful analysis. Always have an open as well as a critical mind.

Then I said, “Do you see that big mango tree in front of us? Can you tell me what you see?”

She looked quite puzzled at my question, nonetheless she answered that she sees a big trunk with many branches and many leaves.

“Can you see the roots which are an essential part of the tree?”

“Of course not. It is hidden under the soil.”

“You cannot see it and yet it is there,” I said. “The leader of your organization is like that big tree there, appears as a big special man to you and to all the members of your organization. He speaks well. He appears to be a deep spiritual teacher and leader. But he hides some very important things from ordinary members. If you want to know your future role future role in the organization, the answer lies in seeing that which is hidden, in hearing that which is not said. Let me just say for now that you should be prepared for anything you might find out.”

She looked quite intrigued and a bit offended I guess by my answer. So she asked me to say what I really meant.

I said that their leader was once a subject of an investigation. Some parents complained that their young daughters were sexually used by their leader. I asked her what she thought about these accusations.

“Assuming it is true, you see, men are men. Sometimes, ang palay na ang lumalapit na sa manok. (This literally means that it is the rice grains that go to the chicken to be eaten. This saying means that it is the women themselves who go to the leader and offer themselves). The women asked for it.”

“If you are referring to an ordinary man, I would simply say that it is indeed a common weakness of ordinary men. But you are referring to your leader who claims to be a spiritual teacher. For me, he is a big liar, a big hypocrite and worse, he uses the sacred knowledge of the Inner wisdom and the powers he has acquired through such knowledge to exploit women and people.

“The truth is, your leader has known something about the Spiritual Path but he has failed the crucial tests and has refused to change his ways. Further, the saddest truth is that he has gone over to the other side…the dark side where money, power and pleasures of the flesh are used for extremely selfish ends.

She thought for a while. Then she said quite sharply, “Of course, I can not just believe what you say.”

I smiled and said, “That is the correct attitude. Do not believe me merely because my wife is your cousin. You should find out for yourself. You are learning well and fast what I said earlier about the Lord Buddha’s teachings on this matter.”

Then she said she had to attend the rest of the people who came to express their condolences. Before she left, she asked, “How do I know what you know?”

I thought for a while. Then I said, “Can a fish know what life is on land? Can a dog know what a bird feels like as it soars through the skies? Can a man know more than what his five senses can tell him?”

“Let me just tell you now that man is different from the fish, the dog and the bird. Man can know what life is on the waters, on the land and on the air. Further, man can know much much more than what his five senses can tell him. Man can even know what life is beyond this world if he/she is worthy to know about it. When you have found whether what I have said about your leader is true or not, perhaps the right time for you to know how I know these things has come.”

There was silence between us for a while. Then, her face became calm. She respectfully smiled and said, “I have to go now but I would like to see you again someday. I would like to learn how you knew these things if you find me worthy.”

I happily smiled and replied, “I would be looking forward to that day.”

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