Happy New Year to you, dear Charles,
May I butt into your conversation with Neil, which is part of our discussion together?
Charles, I think you have a lot of difficulty with the superstitions and falseinterpretations that have gathered around the original pure teachings about spiritual life. An intelligent, educated person who can think for themselves
will always have trouble with many concepts that were added, usually by often self-serving clery, through the centuries. Of course much of the misunderstandings were also were added by sincere clergy and others. The reason that another Manifestation of God has to come after enough time has passed, is to knock off the
accretions, so that the pure light can be seen again. Also, they come from time
to time because ages bring change, and teachings and laws that worked for past
ages need updating for our times. An example of this is the many things for which Mosaic law prescribes the death penalty. These laws are not enforced, even by the staunchest Jewish people, because they don't work in our time.
Charles to Neil: You seem to have had an interesting dialogue with Mary about the after-life world, where our souls are supposed to live on. That抯 an amazing idea and how I wish it were true! But as I was brought up in a communist country, which is guided by a philosophy called Marxist Materialism, I just cannotpersuade myself to believe it. I had been implanted within Materialism even before I was able to think. What a bad thing it is! Now as my years advances and Ihave read what you and Mary said, I hate it more acutely than ever!
Mary: Charles, other people have been brought up with terrible religious superstitions that blind them and cause them to do awful things. Don't be so heard onyour upbringing. It's up to you to learn to think independently for yourself,
as it is up to all of us. You need to seek out truth for yourself.
You are capable of doing so. You don't need to follow my path or Neil's path.
You will find your way. You are fully capable. The fact that you have a hungeris a clear indication of that. I don't hear you saying "If it feels good -- doit!" That's not how you live your life, is it? Good for you.
Charles to Neil: I抦 揹rawing further and further away from my youthful? too, but not from my 揼lorious years? because I don抰 think I
have had any 揼lorious years?at all. That抯 why I wish there were another life waiting I could use the experience and wisdom I collect in this life to riseup in the next and had some 揼lorious years? after all.
Mary: You see, dear Charles, you know exactly what the next world is for. If you want to hear from me why I believe it exists I will be willing to enter that discussion. :-) Not in order to change you into a Baha'i. I never do that.
That's strictly your own business what you find and what you make of it.
Charles to Neil: The utter nonsense, I mean Materialism, tells me that the soulis a product of the body. And as the body stops functioning and disappears, sodoes the soul. The soul can抰 exist independently at all. It applies to all physical things, it says. With the material things disappearing, the spiritual things disappear at the same time. Now after all what Mary told me, you can
imagine how I reluctant to accept Materialism. Yet I just can抰 find any
proof to defy it. Instead, all my observation tells me that it is true.
Mary: Charles, I must have left something important out of our discussion. I will try to add it after your next statements because they bring out the root of
the misunderstanding. If I looked and saw what you believe you have seen I would think exactly the same way you do. :-)
Charles to Neil' Let me take just a few cases as examples. For an example, when
a tree is cut down and burnt, it is burnt, leaving nothing but a little ash. The whole tree disappeared. What proof indicates that only the body of the tree has disappeared and there抯 a soul of the tree that remains to go around?
For another example, once in a while, I would kill a chicken to treat my family
and myself. Who can tell me that the moment I kill the chicken, a soul of the chicken will leave the body and head somewhere? Where does it head and where does the souls of chicken gather? It should have turned at me and killed me for
revenge, or at least, argued with my soul why I should kill him!
Charles to Neil: The same is with human beings, for human beings are but animals that are more intelligent.
Dear Charles, your above statement "humans are but animals that are more intelligent" is only partially true. That's where I believe your confusion lies and Iwill do my best to explain how I came to my different conclusions. It will take another post. I'll write it as soon as I can and it will be based on logic.
So take heart my friend, all is well with you as long as you are awake. You arecertainly awake, and not sleeping.
With warmth and affection for you both, Mary
