By Catholic Evangelist, Eddie Russell FMI
TANTRA. YOGA. TANTRIC SEX. CHAKRA. HATHA. RAJA. BLISS. MEDITATION. KUNDILINI. MANTRA. MANDALA. NIRVANA. CHRISTIAN ZEN. HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS. SELF-REALISATION. CENTERING PRAYER. YOGI. YOGINI. GURU. ENLIGHTENMENT. SODHANA. ECKHART. JUNG. BELITZ.
This extensive commentary is meant to sound a warning bell to those who, perhaps unwittingly,
have become caught up in New Age practices masquerading as “Christian” prayer & meditation.
First published in 1994 in the Blaze Magazine Print Edition. This online edition has been updated as new information has become
available to us. Considering the years, and it was not new then, this article is prophetic and should not be taken lightly.
There are many ‘words’ used by Christians today of which they have no knowledge regarding what they really mean.
These words AND PRACTICES are introduced to them by plausible people, and they are never questioned. The result is that many Catholics (and other Christians) may be practicing New Age occult religions without realizing it. Some of these practices are spiritually dangerous to say the least.
These words are not common nor ordinary language.
They are usually the “Sanskrit” words of the Hindu Scriptures: Upanishads, Rig Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita. Sanskrit is only used by Brahmin priests in their ceremonies and the worship of their deities. This may be valid for them of course, but how valid is it for a Christian? Sadly there are a frightening number of Catholics caught up in these many forms of New Age practices. A black & white version of the picture above for example, was used to advertise a “De Mello Weekend” in a Catholic parish. It depicts Jesus in the yoga lotus position, seated on a multi-hooded Cobra: the goddess Kundilini. Not only is this a sacrilege, but it is also an offense to the Hindus who worship these snakes.
Here are some of the most common words and their meanings.
The most influential infiltration into Catholic spirituality apart from paganism and the syncretism with Hinduism, comes through Buddhism.
It seems somewhat ironic that whilst Hinduism and Christianity are theist [albeit diametrically opposed], Buddhism [an offshoot of Hinduism] on the other hand is atheist and claims no god other than a state of Buddha consciousness. Never-the-less, in spite of calling itself a philosophy, it has many deities which are consulted and communed with through their meditations and many acts of worship. The Dalai Lamas are discerned and chosen through using the horoscope [a practice condemned by God] and believed to be an incarnation of the Buddha [a concept diametrically opposite to the Resurrection]. A discerning look at the differences will alarm you when you consider that Christians are asking these religions that do not know Christ to teach them how to pray to him. (2 Corinthians 7: 14-16)
[a] Mantra [Magical Incantation]. [Sanskrit lit;]
A sound symbol of one or more syllables often used to induce a mystical state. It must be passed on by the living voice of a guru and cannot be learned any other way. The user need not understand the meaning of the mantra; the virtue is in the repetition of the sound. It is said to embody a spirit or deity and, the repetition of the mantra calls this being to the one repeating it. Thus the mantra both invites a particular being to enter the one using it and also creates a passive state in the meditator to facilitate this fusion of beings. [Source: “Death of a Guru” by Rabindranath Maharaj].
The meaning of the word Mantra according to John Main, Dom Freeman et al – World Christian Community Meditation.
“The mantra is simply a means of turning our attention beyond ourselves, a method of drawing us away from our own thoughts and concerns. The real work of meditation is to attain harmony of body, mind and spirit. This is the aim given us by the psalmist; be still and know that I am God. In meditation we turn the search light of consciousness off ourselves.
“Not quite the same is it! The WCCM have used a clever semantic to give a new meaning to a specific Sanskrit word to justify their syncretism with Hinduism and Buddhism in particular. In addition, “Be still and know that I am God” refers to abiding in The Word (The True Vine) and The Word abiding in us, not a vain repetition of a single mantric word like Jesus or Maranatha, but the whole Word of God in Holy Scripture; that is the true meaning of peace and harmony. (John 15: 1…) However, we will take a closer look at the WCCM later in this article.
The influence of these people have confused young Christian Brothers as well as many that teach in Catholic schools.
In August 2003 while speaking to a young Christian Brother in Perth WA regarding their discernment process for vocations, the subject of Enneagram, Yoga and Mantras came up. During what was a difficult but friendly conversation, he proceeded to explain that the word Mantra in the way they were using it didn’t mean the same thing as the Sanskrit. To him it was just a “prayer word” and said that the Rosary was, by that definition, a mantra. He continued to justify this by saying that many words had lost their meanings today and so I cannot be so literal in this regard. After a lengthy discussion he finally listened and I was able to make my point although he was not easily convinced.
Not only is the practice of Yoga used merely as a Christianized technique and not as it is in the East [although it remains Yoga by any other name], but also the accompanying mantra doesn’t mean what it meant either. I explained that even though he might mean something else by the use of the word, when one of his students accepted it and then saw it expressed in its Hindu, Buddhist or New Age context, it would be natural to think of it as the same meaning. It would then be easy to conclude that they are all the same and so it is OK to accept these religions into their Catholic faith.
All words mean what they mean and that is why we have dictionaries. In this case, the Sanskrit meaning of the word means exactly what that language says it means. We cannot take a word and add another meaning to it and expect it to be understood without confusion. The reality is, that is exactly what people are doing.
After sharing my journey from New Age, rock music and the drug scene when I practiced many of these things prior to my conversion, our meeting concluded with a sense of new friendship. Two days later I received a card thanking me for what I had said and encouraging me to continue. “Through tough experiences you know the pitfalls and you need to name them. Rightly so!”, he said. With a young man of this caliber in the Church there’s hope yet.
Articles from Newsweek August 4/03 on TM, Yoga, Mantra and other Hindu and Buddhist disciplines were distributed at a parish prayer retreat held at the Benedictine Abbey, New Norcia WA for Acolytes and other lay ministers led by a woman that presents Walking the Labyrinth for the Catholic Maranatha Institute in Perth. Clearly presented as acceptable for Catholic ministers, the whole religious practice is referred to in Newsweek as “The science of Yoga.” Of course, if we accept that lie it will be easy to adopt another religion as merely a neutral science and therefore harmless. The idea of science to our Western mind is more acceptable than the intuitive Eastern mindset. You can call it a science if you will, but it is still the same religious spiritual practice of Hinduism, New Age and Buddhism.
In order for eastern religious thought and practice to become acceptable to westerners, they have re-marketed and repackaged it as a science. It is boasted by those that have done this, that Yoga, because it is a neutral science, transcends all religions and aids all forms of prayer and therefore it is superior; they even refer to it as Christian Meditation.
The Gita tells us that all roads lead to Krishna. To achieve Krishna Consciousness one must perpetually repeat the mantra, and Yoga is the fundamental discipline for this as it is with all Hindu and Buddhist meditations. It seems that if we accept Yoga as a science and let it transcend all other forms of prayer, then no doubt, it will indeed lead us to Krishna.
Included in the material handed out at this parish prayer retreat was the use of the great occult magical mantra – OM. I wonder what they meant this to mean if it didn’t mean what it really meant in the Sanskrit meaning of the word.
About OM [Aum] – The great Hindu/Buddhist Mantra.
Dubois stated that the Brahmins of his time [approximately 190 years ago] tried to keep the real meaning of this sacred word a profound secret. In fact, many of them did not even understand it themselves. He said that Om is “the symbolic name of the Supreme Being, one and indivisible.” [1, 143]. It is also said that “As long as there has been a Hindu Faith, the power of sound has been recognized in the sacred Word. In that lies all potencies, for the sacred word expresses the one and latent Being, every power of generation, of preservation and of destruction“.
Om is the most solemn of the most powerful class of mantras [magic words] and magical utterances called bijakshara. Every true bijakshara mantra ends with a nasal sound, actually going over in a kind of “vibration”. The bijakshara are used to worship the deities, like Shiva, Ganesh, Lakshmi etc. The brief Mandukya Upanishad is entirely devoted to the mystic syllable Om. “It is compounded of three sounds, a, u, m, representing the three Vedas [Rig [Veda], Yagur [Veda], Sama [Veda], they are the three words, heaven, atmosphere and earth, which are the three deities, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Om Embraces all the secrets of the universe, which are, as it were, gathered to a point within it, it is used for invocations, affirmations and blessing and at the commencement and termination of prayer, meditation or work. It is said to be the mystical quintessence of the entire cosmos… the monarch of all sounded things, the mother of vibrations, and the key to eternal wisdom and power.” [Vol. II, 103-104].
It is clear that if any Christian is using this particular Om mantra [amongst other Sanskrit words], then they are calling on this deity and not the True God that they intend. It is also clear that those Christians that dabble with eastern mystical prayer come to embracing the Cosmology of Christ in their attempt at Syncretism as we find underpinning Bede Griffiths, Anthony de Mello and Matthew Fox’s ‘Creation Spirituality’.
The Word, “Jesus” is used as a mantra by those teaching meditation.
Judging by the above definition of the “Sanskrit” meaning and use of the word mantra, one needs to consider if the “Name of Jesus” should be used in this way. Jesus is not a mantra! Nor does He need to be conjured up by magic and incantation to be present to anyone. I suggest that, to do this is heretical, and blasphemes the person, and the Holy Name of “Jesus”.
Another, perhaps more popular mantra espoused by the WCCM is the Aramaic word, Maranatha which means, Come Lord Jesus. – Considering that a mantra ‘both invites a particular being to enter the one using it and also creates a passive state in the meditator to facilitate this fusion of beings.’ One can begin to see the subtle corruption of authentic Christian Mystical Theology which I believe is leading so many spiritually hungry Christians away from the Tree of Life and sitting them firmly under the Bodhi Tree. [Genesis 3: 1-15].
[b] Yoga, Literally, “yoking” and refers to “Union with Brahman.”
There are many schools of Yoga, and various techniques, but all have the same ultimate goal of, “union with the Absolute.” The bodily positions and breath control are intended as aids to “Eastern Meditation” and are a means of controlling the body in disciplining oneself to renounce all desires which the body might otherwise impose upon the mind.
Yoga is designed specifically to induce a state of trance which supposedly allows the mind to be drawn upward into a yoking with Brahman. It is a means of withdrawal from the world of illusion [Maya] to seek the one true Reality. There are Yoga exercises for physical fitness only, but no part of Yoga can be separated from the philosophy behind it. [Source: “Death of a Guru” by Rabindranath Maharaj].
* There is no part of yoga that is not rooted in the occult and that includes Hatha touted in the West as a merely a physical exercise only that is allegedly good for your health… Oh really?
| WHAT MUKTANANDA SAYS ABOUT HATHA YOGA – He teaches this to his students. (From an article, “What Eastern Gurus Say About Occult Practices Part 1” by Dr. John Ankerberg, Dr. John Weldon quoting Muktananda). “I was assailed by all sorts of perverse and defiling emotions. My body started to move, and went on like this in a confused sort of way…. After a time, my breathing changed, becoming disturbed. Sometimes my abdomen would swell with air, after which I would exhale it with great force. Often the breath that I took in would be held inside me. I became more and more frightened… my mind was sick with fear…. My thoughts became confused, meaningless. My limbs and body got hotter and hotter. My head felt heavy, and every pore in me began to ache. When I breathed out, my breath stopped outside. When I breathed in, it stopped inside. This was terribly painful and I lost my courage. Something told me that I would die at any moment…. I could not understand what was happening, how it was happening, who was making it happen…. By now it was after 9:00. Someone had seated himself in my eyes and was making me see things…. It seemed that I was being controlled by some power which made me do all these things. My intellect was completely unstable…. I heard hordes of people screaming frightfully… and saw strange creatures from six to fifty feet tall, neither demons nor demigods, but human in form, dancing naked, their mouths gaping open. Their screeching was horrible and apocalyptic…. An army of ghosts and demons surrounded me. All the while I was locked tight in the lotus posture, my eyes closed, my chin pressed down against my throat so that no air could escape. Then I felt a searing pain…. I wanted to run away, but my legs were locked tight in the lotus posture. I felt as if my legs had been nailed down permanently in this position. My arms were completely immobilized…. Then, from over the water, a moonlike sphere about four feet in diameter came floating in. It stopped in front of me. This radiant, white ball struck against my eyes and then passed inside me. I am writing this just as I saw it. It is not a dream or an allegory, but a scene which actually happened—that sphere came down from the sky and entered me…. My tongue curled up against my palate, and my eyes closed. I saw a dazzling light in my forehead and I was terrified. I was still locked in the lotus posture, and then my head was forced down and glued to the ground…. I started to make a sound like a camel, which alternated with the roaring of a tiger. I must have roared very loudly, for the people around actually thought that a tiger had gotten into the sugarcane field…. I am in a terrible state. I have gone completely insane. You may not be able to see it from the outside, but, inside, I am crazy…. My body began to twist…. Now, it was not I who meditated; meditation forced itself on me. It came spontaneously; it was in all the joints of my body. Then, suddenly, a red light came before me with such force that it seemed to have been living inside me. It was two feet tall and shone brightly…. Every part of my body was emitting loud crackling and popping sounds…. At this time, I understood nothing about the various experiences…. Only afterward did I learn that they were all part of the process pertaining to [spiritual enlightenment]…. People who have experienced it call it the awakening of the Kundalini. The experiences I had had under the mango trees were due to the grace of my Gurudev Nityananda; they were all his prasad [blessing]…. Sometimes I would jump and hop like a frog, and sometimes my limbs would shake violently as though shaken by a deity. And this was what was actually happening; a great deity in the form of my guru had spread all through me as Chiti [consciousness], and was shaking me with his inner Shakti [power]…. The power of the guru’s grace enters the disciple’s body in a subtle form and does many great things…. Every day I had meditation like that. Sometimes my body would writhe and twist like a snake’s, and a hissing sound would come from inside me…. Sometimes my neck moved so violently that it made loud cracking sounds, and I became frightened…. I had many astonishing movements like this. Sometimes my neck would roll my head around so vigorously that it would bend right below my shoulders so that I could see my back. When the intensity lessened, I became peaceful again. But because I did not understand these kriyas [spontaneous yoga movements], I was always worried and afraid. Later, however, I learned that this was a Hatha Yoga process effected by the Goddess Kundalini in order for Her to move up through the spinal column into the sahasrara [upper psychic center].” |
YOU DECIDE – CAN THIS REALLY BE CHRISTIANIZED? IN MY OPINION – NO IT CANNOT!
The man was/is clearly possessed, and it would seem to have been induced – transferred – by what he calls “The power of the guru’s grace” and that, “My body began to twist…. Now, it was not I who meditated; meditation forced itself on me. It came spontaneously; it was in all the joints of my body.” As I read this it astonished me that the experience was clearly demonic, out of control, dangerous and could have killed him, and yet the lying spirit behind it, convinced him that it was grace and enlightenment.
This description from Muktananda should serve as a warning and evidence that those teaching Hatha Yoga as being for physical exercise only are blatant liars. This is even more repulsive when certain priests and nuns teach this as well as Raja Yoga on the pretext that it has been Christianized and only used as a prayer technique, or as Don Freeman would say, a discipline, and yet even in his teachings as well as others, we find a clear recognition of the same phenomenon with the same instruction – Just ignore it and keep on with your mantra.
As you continue to read through the meanings of the Sanskrit words in this article, keep this in mind because this is what all yoga leads you to no matter who teaches it or on what premise it is based. – As someone once said, “You cannot come to a sound conclusion based on a false premise.”
[c]Brahman – The Ultimate Reality.
Formless, inexpressible, unknowable, and unknowing; neither personal nor impersonal; both Creator and all that is created. Brahman is all and all is Brahman. The ultimate truth and salvation for the Hindu is to “realise” that he is himself Brahman [self realization] that he and all the Universe are one and the same being [I am God]. Brahmin is everything and yet nothing; it comprises both good and evil, life and death, health and diseases and, even the unreality of Maya [illusion]. [Brahmin is all good, but also, all evil].
[d]Self Realization.
The ultimate goal of Eastern Meditation and Yoga by whatever name it is called: deliverance from the “illusion” that the individual self is different from the Universal Self, or Brahman. Through ignorance man has supposedly forgotten who he really is and thus thinks of himself as distinct from his neighbor and Brahman. Through “SELF-REALISATION” he is liberated from this ignorance of individual existence and returns to “Union with Brahman” again.
[e] Nirvana. Literally;a blowing out” as to extinguish a candle.
Nirvana is “heaven” to both Hindu and Buddhist. Supposedly it is neither a place nor a state and is within us all waiting to be “realised.” It is “nothingness”, the bliss that comes from no longer being able to feel pain or pleasure, through the extinction of personal existence by absorption into pure Being.
[f] Bliss.
The state of being achieved when the illusion of existence apart from Brahmin, who is pure existance-knowledge-bliss, has been dispelled through meditation and enlightenment, and all desires have ceased. Since this state is said to be beyond pain or pleasure, Buddha, who was raised a Hindu, thought of it as “nothingness,” which he also called “Nirvana.”
[g] Meditation.
To the Westerner this signifies rational contemplation, but to the Eastern Mystic it is just the opposite, causing considerable confusion on the subject in the West. Eastern Meditation [taught as Yoga, Zen etc.] is a technique for detaching oneself from the world of things and ideas [from Maya] through freeing one’s mind from all voluntary or rational thought, which projects one into “higher” states of consciousness.
[h] Higher Consciousness.
There are various “levels” of consciousness opened up in Yoga and Meditation, called “higher” states because they differ from one’s normal state of consciousness and are experienced on the road to Nirvana. Different schools of Eastern mysticism define the different ways. Typical states would be “Unity-Consciousness,” where one experiences a mystical union with the universe and, “God-Consciousness” where one experiences that he himself is actually God. Similar “states of consciousness” are experienced through certain drugs such as LSD, Hypnosis, Mediumistic Trances, Witchcraft Ceremonies, Voodoo etc., and all seem to be slight variations of the same occult phenomenon.
[i]Kundilini, Literally -“coiled.”
This is the name of a goddess symbolized by a serpent with three and one half coils, sleeping with its tail in its mouth. This goddess, or “serpent of life, fire, and wisdom” supposedly resides in the body of a man near the base of the spine. When aroused without proper control, it rages like a vicious serpent inside a man with a force that is impossible to resist. It is said that without proper control, the “Kundilini” will produce supernatural psychic powers having their source in demonic beings and will ultimately lead to moral, spiritual, and physical destruction.Nevertheless, it is this “Kundilini” power that meditation and Yoga are designed to arouse and control.
[j] Chakra, Literally – “wheel” or “disk”
The word chakra is Sanskrit for wheel or disk and signifies one of seven basic (psychic) energy centers in the body. Each of these centers correlates to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column. In addition the chakras also correlate to levels of consciousness, archetypal elements, developmental stages of life, colors, sounds, body functions, and much, much more.
[Source: “Death of a Guru” by Rabindranath Maharaj].
Mandala: A visual mantra.
According to Victor and Victoria Trimondi, experts on Mandala Politics (see Shadow of the Dalai Lama, http://www.trimondi.de/SDLE/Index.htm): It is an act of sorcery — “a magic title of possession, with which control over a particular territory can be legitimated…. One builds a magic circle (a mandala) and “anchors” it in the region to be claimed. Then one summons the gods and supplicates them [through ritual prayers and incantations] to take up residence in the ‘mandala palace.’ After a particular territory has been occupied by a mandala, it is automatically transformed into a sacred center of Buddhist cosmology. Every construction of a mandala also implies the magic subjugation of the inhabitants of the region in which the ‘magic circle’ is constructed.”
They also state, “In the case of the Kalachakra sand mandala, the places in which it has been built are transformed into the domains under the control of the Tibetan time gods. Accordingly, from a tantric viewpoint, the Kalachakra mandala constructed at great expense in New York in 1991 would be a cosmological demonstration of power, which aimed to say that the city now stood under the governing authority or at least spiritual influence of Kalachakra….”
(Later in this article we will see the connection of the Dom Freeman’s promotion of this in Canada as advertised on the WCCM web site).
Jung’s psychology was not scientifically neutral.
He included all sorts of ‘pagan’ religions in his writings relating to what he called, the Collective Unconscious. There are numerous programs on ‘spirituality’ offered in Christian circles based on Jung’s teachings which use art as a therapy: By designing your personal Mandala for getting in touch with the ‘self’. However, considering what the word ‘Mandala’ means and what Jung’s psychology is based on, it cannot be divorced from the ethos behind it.
But we’ll let Jung speak for himself.
“I am for those who are out of the Church.” Jung wrote in a letter to Joland Jacobi when he heard she had become a Catholic.
Jung: “What is so special about Christ, that he should be the motivational force? Why not another model – Paul or Buddha or Confucius or Zoroaster?”
In a letter to Freud: “I think we must give [psychoanalysis] time to infiltrate into people from many centers, to revivify among intellectuals a feeling for symbol and myth, ever so gently to transform Christ back into the soothsaying god of the vine, and in this way absorb those ecstatic instinctual forces of Christianity for the one purpose of making the cult and the sacred myth what they once were—a drunken feast of joy where man regained the ethos and holiness of an animal.”
Right now you might be thinking this is an over reaction on my part. After all, if Sister so and so, or Father so and so taught it to you, then it must be ok. Well, consider the “words” you have been taught to use such as “mantra”. If you ever asked what that word means you would have been told that it was only your “prayer word”. Perhaps when you questioned them about the techniques such as visualization and deep breathing whilst repeating your prayer word, you were told that, “It doesn’t matter, we are only using the techniques, we have Christianized it”. If you ask if it’s some sort of Hindu thing, they simply tell you to “ignore it”.
Also consider what practices you have been taught.
Breathing exercises whilst keeping your back straight, emptying your mind, repetitions of words, imagining Jesus in front of you, then imagining Jesus coming into you. Perhaps you have been “guided” to visualize yourself next to a sparkling brook and walking up a path to a house on the hilltop where you enter for some form of encounter with Jesus. This technique is called “visualization” and it is guided prayer in the same way as that done in Hinduism, Buddhism and Shamanism. This particular meditation is the Christianized version of the Buddhist meditation called “Back to the Market Place”.
There is no problem using your imagination to picture a scene when reading the Bible, but that is a far cry from sitting in a group and being led by the facilitator as they project those pictures into your mind – During this technique you are usually asked to to get in touch with your Inner Child and converse with it. Often referred to as Inner Healing or Healing of the Memories, it is nothing more than a Christianized version of regressive hypnotherapy masquerading as Christian prayer. If you want to know exactly what true Christian Meditation really is, Click Here and return.
You may have sat in a cross legged position and gone through some form of ceremony using fire, water, flowers and incense and, possibly in front of the Eucharist to give it credibility. You may have been taught to count down from Ten to One as you go deeper into so called prayer states [which in reality is self hypnosis] to get in touch with “the Christ within”. Focusing on the end of your nose and concentrating on the area between your eyes. This area is one of the seven “chakras.” These are the psychic energy centers located in various parts of your body through which your soul can supposedly leave to travel astrally.
Yoga Body Disciplines [Hatha Yoga] are designed to protect these chakra centers when the practitioners [Yogi-male, Yogini-female] are experiencing an out of body experience [astral flight] to communicatewith the ascended masters on their planetary domains. If you recognize any of these techniques, then know they are taken directly from Hinduism [or Buddhism] and you may be practicing thesereligions without realizing it.
Certainly, keeping your back straight, focusing and deep breathing techniques also appear to have their roots in these practices.
Let’s not just take my word for it –
[j] “Many today are discovering the healing power of deep, transcendental prayer, found in the prayer disciplines of the Far Eastern Religions, such as Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, and the modernized version of Transcendental Meditation [TM] as taught by Mahirishi Mahesh Yogi. Sufism, Eastern Christian Hesychasm, and Mind Control Techniques have their devotees…
Such techniques are not prayer in the Christian sense… To pass beyond the superficial levels of our own controlled consciousness in order to pass into the innermost core of our being, great discipline is required. But as one does pass through layers of psychic experiences, danger zones rear up… Repressed material that has been drowned in the unconscious can rise threateningly to disturb the one in prayer. Sexual feelings can arise, even influencing our whole body and bringing us close to move over to see strange faces of the demonic that flash now brilliantly, now darkly from within.”
Fr. George Maloney and Necromancy.
“Flashes and lights, psychic powers of telepathy, communing with the dead can come forth.
“What is reality, what is hallucination before the beckoning visions of enticing forms that whirl over the screen of our consciousness? Voices that we recognize and strange voices give their messages with impelling realism. Again, what is real, what is false?… I have known Christians who have given up Christ and spent several years in India meditating daily for hours under the guidance of a Hindu guru who felt they had unleashed powers within themselves that they could hardly control[Kundilini].
“This summer a veteran yoga meditator in Ohio went into a trance over a weekend and never returned to this life. He wanted to project himself as far as he could “astrally.” The demonic is within all of us. We carry within our minds psychic power undreamed of. Only in Heaven will we understand what potential is really locked up within our minds and that for both good and evil. But because such powers can be dangerous and the evil spirits can enter and manipulate us if we passively yield to their presence is no reason why we should avoid deeper prayer.” [bold emphasis mine].
Not only does the author recognize the spiritual, mental and physical dangers, but encourages the reader to ignore them, and continue on regardless! We also note that it admits that these techniques are not prayer, they are psychic, not spiritual and, admits to Satanic influences. In spite of this, Fr. George Maloney S.J. refers to it as, “deeper prayer.“
Mons. Vincent Walsh sums this up when he said it was appropriate for a young person to date different people before they are married, but when they find the right one and marry them, it is not appropriate for them to flirt or date other men or women. He says that it is valid for people to belong to different religions as they search for the truth, but when one has found it and becomes a Christian, it is no longer appropriate for them to flirt or date others outside their marriage. It would be adultery to do so.
Many of my friends have accused me of fundamentalism in this regard. Perhaps they have forgotten that I have not always been a Christian. These practices were part of my life before then. I have experienced these things first hand so I “know” what it is that I have rejected to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. I can assure you, they are not valid for Christians. Regardless of what people might think of my position on these matters, I am certain that I will be vindicated in the end and the Church will act to protect the faithful.
Rabindranath Maharaj was a Brahmin Priest and was worshipped as an Avatar [Incarnation of a Hindu deity] before he found Christ. His understanding and definition of the words used in the above glossary, come from the “horses mouth” so to speak. I think you will agree that he, of all people, would know what he is talking about when he warns Christians about the dangers they can experience when practicing or dabbling in these things.
“The Marriage of East and West”.
The late Fr. Bede believed that Christianity was incomplete [West] until it is fully synchronized [married] with Hinduism [East]. He seemed to believe that Christianity needed feminizing. The way to accomplish this is to marry Christianity with Eastern spirituality, practice and thought with a balance of left brain and right brain functions; male-female.
Whilst Fr. Bede firmly claimed that he was a Christian, he included the Hindu scriptures in his Mass. Not only that, his altar displayed a great deal of Hindu paraphernalia, not the least of which was a statue of the Snake god Kundilini right at the front and attached to the door of the Tabernacle. It seems to me that he [like so many] spent more time preaching the virtues of Hinduism rather than Christianity and affronts the Eucharist in the Tabernacle with a Satanic deity to seal the doors. In other words, to access the Eucharist we must go through the goddess Kundilini first – How blasphemous can they get before retribution strikes. Not only is this a nefarious sacrilege but I wonder if he, and many like him, consider that this might be a serious offense to Hindus too?
The John Main/Freeman WCCM are closely associated with Griffith’s and his spiritual adultery and recommend his works to their members. Not only that, both Griffiths and Freeman are real pals with the Dalai Lama who is doing a marvelous job of Buddhising the world and, through these priests and their nuns – the Catholic Church. Do not underestimate the impact of all this as these pictures show. (Further on you will see the connection between the Dalai Lama/Freeman-yoking too).
The evidence speaks for itself and this is especially notable in the fact that Griffiths has replaced the Crucifix with an abomination called “The Cosmic Cross.” This is the penultimate syncretism and corruption of Catholics that have been blinded by the “charming” (a witchcraft technique) of Griffiths and his satanic disciples. Why am I so blunt? Because some people can only be awoken by a hammer blow to the third eye chakra! Do take note of the use of the OM mantra, and if you did not read what it really means earlier in this article, go back and read it again to see the incredible effrontery of this so-called Catholic priest.
The sacrilegious Cosmic Cross used as a Shantivanam community symbol by Bede Griffiths. He says, “The Cosmic Cross bears the inscription: Saccidananda Namah around the circle, and OM at the centre of the cross. This means that we try to live our Benedictine Life in the context of Indian spirituality, that is, in the recognition of the Divine Presence in the whole cosmos and in the centre of our own being.”
(Dom Bede Grififiths)
Its very bastardized symbolism states that the Cross of Calvary was ineffective and this cross brings redemption: The crucified OM mantra becomes the savior and Hinduism the true faith; “Indian spirituality”.
The following testimonies posted on the WCCM web site are disturbing in their ignorance of the Bible and Christian spirituality. Read them and judge for yourself if they express a proclamation of Jesus or another doctrine other than Christian.
FROM THE WCCM [World Community of Christian Meditation] WEB SITE 2003
“… By 1992 it seemed crisis time was approaching in my spiritual life. Then one Sunday after Mass I saw a small advertisement inviting people to come to a certain church hall in Brisbane to hear Dom Bede Griffiths speak. The photo of a man with long white hair and beard did not fit my image of a monk but I said to myself, “Why not go?” The hall was packed. Down the centre isle walked a thin, frail-looking, bearded old man in saffron robes. I couldn’t believe he was a Benedictine monk. And then he began to speak with his beautiful Oxford English accent! He spoke about the Universe, morphogenetic fields, the interconnection of energy fields, then on to the Vedas, the Vedanta and the Upanishads. I was turned upside down and I can remember that evening as if it were yesterday.
The first step I took was to buy “The Marriage of East and West.” I began to meditate. I bought “New Vision of Reality” and tapes and videos, anything by Bede Griffiths! I also turned to John Main, Laurence Freeman, Abishktananda and there have been many other teachers. However it is with love and gratefulness that I look at Bede Griffiths. I never met him or knew him personally but it doesn’t matter because we will meet again in that other way. [Name omitted by the author] OSB Obl – Kenilworth, Qld, Australia.”
We note that there is NO mention of Jesus Christ or the Gospels in Griffiths’ teachings to this priest. On the contrary, Griffiths espouses, preaches and extols the virtues of metaphysics and New Age concepts along with the Hindu scriptures and gives no testimony to the Lordship of Jesus Christ or of the Christian Bible. It is clearly Hinduism and Buddhism along with New Age metaphysics et al that are promulgated by these meditators following Bede Griffiths OSB, John Main OSB and Dom Freeman OSB.
When asked for direction about a dream in which a Buddhist statue smiles at a participant on a guided retreat, the priest concerned does not explain about Jesus Christ, but directs the person to Bede Griffiths’ book, The Marriage of East and West. Judging by the response of the participant it only approves of, and reinforces his previous involvement with Hinduism.
He says, “…I was at the Pecos Monastery. A monastery that is part of the family of monasteries that Fr. Laurence belongs to. I had a dream: a Buddhist statue turned and smiled at me. I was on a guided retreat so the next morning I asked my spiritual adviser, Fr. —-, how would you interpret this dream? He was quiet for a moment then popped up and said; “Read Fr. Bede.” Soon after, in reading Fr. Bede’s book “The Marriage of East and West,” I was introduced to Fr. John Main. I am looking forward to this year’s John Main Seminar. I was raised catholic, I spent 4 years in a Hindu Ashram, Christ is again Lord and Sat Guru. For anyone who has been touched by Hindu spirituality this seminar will be wonderful. If you cannot make it, get the tapes. Peace. [Name omitted by the author] Phoenix AZ”
To the discerning reader these letters should speak for themselves as a witness to the deceiving spirit at work here. However, I do not cast any judgment on the authors of these testimonials and they are published here in good faith that they are public domain. I have removed reference to any names other than those of whose doctrines I am concerned with. However, I do cast the responsibility on those priests who teach this to them; Their ordination should compel them to preach Christ and him crucified and not the doctrines of false gods. I do call upon the Church to take these matters to heart for a more serious consideration and I hope that She wakes up quickly to this spiritual syncretism and accommodation.
Faith and Reason – East and West Dialogue.
Dialogue, which is a frank exchange of ideas or views in an effort to attain mutual understanding, is vastly different from actually practicing something. In the encyclical ‘Faith and Reason’ the Pope encourages us to learn from what he calls ‘the rich heritage of the East’, but nowhere does he encourage us to take on their religious practices and disciplines as Dom Freeman is doing. What is offensive to me is the propagation of the idea that these yoga meditations using mantras, are Christian.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t investigate that which is good and compatible and, I firmly believe that many of those Christians who practice these things are genuinely seeking the Lord with a good heart albeit in ignorance and error. However, I cannot say the same for Dom Freeman and the other Catholic nuns and priests that teach this eastern mystical syncretism. Therefore by presenting this article I am not trying to be uncharitable to anyone. I am simply attempting to make people aware of what they might be doing without understanding it. I am however, saying to those who know the difference – Stop lying, confusing and deceiving people by your words. You are guilty of corruption and deception and as Jesus said, “It is far better for you to be thrown into a lake with a millstone around your neck than to lead one of these little ones astray”.
Does Freeman [The successor of John Main] forget that Buddhism is the ultimate atheistic humanism, or does he simply ignore the fact? Since the object is to learn prayer from the Dalai Lama’s Buddhism, how is it that someone who doesn’t believe in [a] god and yet has so many acts of worship, teach anyone about praying to the living and true God? Clearly it is not prayer, nor is it meditation as practiced by the Christian Saints and early Desert Fathers as John Main has claimed.
Published in the Record Catholic Newspaper in Western Australia, Freeman told how John Main learned meditation and mantra prayer from Eastern religions. He said this is the prayer-methods used by the early Desert Fathers and Christian mystics like St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila and many others. As stated above, I have read all the works of St. Teresa, John of the Cross and others and there is absolutely no mention nor even the slightest hint that they ever did such a thing! In addition, you will not find this in the Bible or any Catholic teaching.
Even more alarming, is that in order for Father John Main to learn yoga, he needed to submit to his guru and given his mantra by initiation because a mantra cannot be passed on except by a living (Hindu/Buddhist) guru. This is an act of betrayal to Jesus, because submission and a religious initiation makes the guru his Lord and Master over Jesus Christ. Furthermore, in order for Father Freeman to continue this work, he too needed to submit and receive his mantra and initiation in the same way. Hence, we are dealing with Buddhist priests in Catholic garb.
As much as John Main postulated the authenticity of his mantra meditation as rooted in, and derived from, ancient Christianity is not only a lie, but it is not borne out by Freeman’s statements on the ABC series – ABC Sunday Nights; 18/02/2007 – Christian Meditation with Benedictine monk, Dom Laurence Freeman – http://www.abc.net.au/sundaynights/stories/s1850678.htm.ABC programme excerpt – “John Main was born and raised in Catholicism. After studying Law he joined the British diplomatic service and was sent to Malaya. One day he visited an Indian monk to thank him for the work he was doing for peace in that conflict-torn country. During the conversation he realized he was with a man of spiritual depth and they began to speak about prayer. This was John Main’s first introduction to meditation. … The monk opened John Main’s mind to a prayer of silence and simplicity that itself opened the heart to the presence of the Spirit of God praying in us. The universality of meditation is shown by the fact that he was able to learn how to meditate from another tradition while continuing to grow in his own.” (Freeman).
I guess that sums it up; it is not Christian meditation, nor is it rooted in it as claimed. Also we note that the concept of the universality of meditation mentioned is not that from Christianity but in fact, Buddhist. – This displays clearly the syncretism and accommodation of Main and Freeman in that the Buddhist meditation is the universality.
I noted after reading about a WCCM retreat in Penang in January 2003, that Freeman and participants referred to this meditation as a gift,“Each participant was asked to relate his/her own experience on how they received this gift.” – “Fr Laurence reminded us that meditation is a gift to be shared.”
Titles of Freeman’s publications reveal what I consider to be a subtle shift establishing this Christianized Eastern meditation to be accepted as a Christian [Holy Spirit] Gift. Such titles as ‘Sharing the Gift’ are very interesting. For example, using a capital G for gift gives it a Holy Spirit connotation. I am now waiting to see if this makes the subtle transition to becoming refereed to as a Gift of the Holy Spirit in future Freeman teachings.
In isolation this seems harmless enough until we note other titles like, ‘Jesus the Teacher Within.’ This title also seems very innocent and we can forget that John Main learned his techniques from Eastern mystics. The god within concept is very essential to New Age spirituality and it is central to Hinduism. Most importantly we need to see if this has any Scriptural basis. St. John’s Gospel explains that Jesus told his disciples that he would send Another Advocate. He taught that this Advocate was the Holy Spirit, who, at Pentecost would be ‘in’ them. Jesus said that The Holy Spirit would teach them [and us], all things and lead us into all truth; It is the role of the Holy Spirit therefore to reveal the Mind of God. – In the Bible, they shall be taught by God is referring to Jesus during his earthly ministry and afterwards, to the indwelling Holy Spirit at Pentecost and onwards.
John Main, Dom Freeman and the Cassian Semipelagianism heresy.
One of the main mystics cited by Dom Freeman to validate authenticity of his yoga-mantra is John Cassian, a monk and ascetic writer of Southern Gaul, and the first to introduce the rules of Eastern monasticism into the West. John Cassian was regarded as the originator of Semipelagianism that was finally condemned by the Council of Orange in 529.
Semipelagianism: A doctrine of grace advocated by monks of Southern Gaul at and around Marseilles after 428. It aimed at a compromise between the two extremes of Pelagianism and Augustinism, and was condemned as heresy at the Ecumenical Council of Orange in 529 after disputes extending over more than a hundred years. The name Semipelagianism was unknown both in Christian antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages; during these periods it was customary to designate the views of the Massilians simply as the “relics of the Pelagians” (reliquiœ Pelagianorum), an expression found already in St. Augustine (Ep. ccxxv, n. 7, in P. L., XXXIII, 1006). The most recent investigations show that the word was coined between 1590 and 1600 in connexion with Molina’s doctrine of grace, in which the opponents of this theologian believed they saw a close resemblance to the heresy of the monks of Marseilles (cf. “Revue des sciences phios. et théol.”, 1907, pp. 506 sqq.). After this confusion had been exposed as an error, the term Semipelagianism was retained in learned circles as an apt designation for the early heresy only. – New Advent Encyclodedia
As stated previously, you cannot come to a sound conclusion based on a false premise and it would seem that WCCM teachings and syncretism are just that, and considering the heretical doctrines of Pelagious that, along with the influences of Caelestius (411-415) should alert us to serious error. It said;
1. Even if Adam had not sinned, he would have died.
2. Adam’s sin harmed only himself, not the human race.
3. Children just born are in the same state as Adam before his fall.
4. The whole human race neither dies through Adam’s sin or death, nor rises again through the resurrection of Christ.
5. The (Mosaic Law) is as good a guide to heaven as the Gospel.
6. Even before the advent of Christ there were men who were without sin.
(“Contra traducem peccati”)
If there is any doubt that the WCCM is New Age and therefore Neo Gnosticism, the following announcement from their 2004 website should leave no doubts to the discerning Catholic.
“On… April…. 2004, at 7:30 pm, Father Richard Rohr, OFM, [The Enneagram man] well-known author and retreat leader, will deliver an address in a continuation of the WCCM’s Way of Peace initiative. The talk will presented at St. … Catholic Church, Texas. Father Rohr was chosen to continue the Way of Peace because of his powerful and eloquent witness for nonviolence and peacemaking…”
“On the weekend of April… in Houston Texas, Father Laurence Freeman, OSB, the director and spiritual teacher of the World Community for Christian Meditation, and Father Richard Rohr, OFM, Founding Director and animator of the Center for Action and Contemplation, will present a conference entitled Seeking Peace: A Dialogue on Jesus.”
“…Both Father Laurence and Father Richard believethat Jesus is one of the few individuals in history who can be called a universal teacher by all people. Jesus teaches and embodies not just a path of personal spiritual formation, but a way of tolerance and compassion, a unique bridge of the spirit among people of different faiths, between rich and poor, and among those suffering conflict or division. The great social and psychological distresses of modern society call for a new and deeper contemplative response. Each human being, whatever his or her circumstances, is called to a contemplative peace, and is capable of it.”
Incredible! – Jesus is not presented as Lord of all, but as a “universal teacher embodying a unique BRIDGE of the spirit to OTHER FAITHS!” – Note that ‘spirit’ does not have a capital “S” referring to the Holy Spirit, but a lower-case ‘s’ referring to the human spirit. If you read our article on Kything prayer you will see this connection very clearly.
Also note this comment, “A short meeting of lay people committed to the practice was held after the seminar. A six week programme has already been scheduled for this group. This we hope is the starting point of the Journey to the Centre of our BEING which we are all called to make by Jesus. It is Jesus who prays in us, with us and for us.”
I cannot find any reference to Jesus asking us to make a journey to the centre of our being. Also, according to Saint Paul, it is the Holy Spirit that prays in us. If Jesus is also praying for us, then it is easy to see why these people only sit around thinking about and contemplating the whole thing. Jesus mediates, he does not do our praying for us. We pray in the Holy Spirit, through Jesus, to the Father. The Lord’s Prayer alone makes that clear when Jesus says, “When YOU pray, pray this way, Our Father…”.
If Freeman is not influenced by New Age thinking as he and his disciples emphatically claim, he would not see the value in the Enneagram and feminism by working with Rhor. It seems this new initiative is another step in spiritual integration and the “marriage” that Bede Griffiths espoused that is inclusive of all faiths and the basic spiritual tenet of the New Age Movement.
This marriage of Rhor & Freeman: Meditation and the Enneagram, seems to be the next step. We will now have to see if those WCCM meditators are now asked to do Enneagrams as well, and the Enneagram people asked to deepen their meditations by learning from the WCCM.
To further advance my argument regarding the New Age spirit of these priests, we find on the same page a bold link promoting Yoga and Rolfing classes, and at great cost if you do them I might add. On this page you will find several dates advertising, “Meditation & yoga retreats with Laurence Freeman and Giovanni Felicioni.” Felicioni teaches Yoga, Rolfing, Bodyworks and, “Touching”.
Also on the WCCM events page are these disturbing announcements amongst others.
“John Main Seminar 2004 to be led by Sr. Joan Chittister, O.S.B. on the topic, “Heart of Flesh: A Feminist Spirituality for Women and Men’ at … The Seminar will be preceded by a 3-day silent retreat with Fr. Laurence Freeman at the same venue.”
“April 04 … His Holiness the Dalai Lama will confer the Kalachakra Initiation in Toronto. This is primarily for Tibetan Buddhists but is open to all.”
The way this announcement reads you could be forgiven for thinking that the Freeman and Chiitister segments are two separate things but they are not. They are connected and form a whole.
The constant brainwashing techniques used on these retreats is to fill the participants with these teachings and techniques and then keep them silent for three days. Those that have done this have told me that they are not allowed to interject and the three days of silence causes them to focus only on what they have been told and taught to practice.
The silence itself is the indoctrination time. By preceding the seminars, the silence causes people to focus only on what is to come. At the end of three days the participants are champing at the bit for the answers to the questions arising in their minds that have been stimulated by the subject matter. This works on the fact that no-one attends without first hearing of, knowing something, or having an interest in the subjects at hand.
So far the list of Freeman’s “Christian meditations” are in fact, Yoga, Mantras, Enneagram, Rolfing, Buddhist Initiations, Hinduism, New Age and Feminism!
July 2008:
Freeman has now claimed at the 08-WYD in Sydney, that his connection with Buddhism is only a wrong perception!
“Father Freeman said Christian meditation is making a comeback, and the practice is being reclaimed from the common perception that it is a Buddhist tradition.” – Zenit / WYD SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 18, 2008.
Frankly, I just do not know what to say about this incredulous claim that gained so much publicity through World Youth Day reports. It leaves me speechless considering the body of evidence to the contrary. How can Freeman now disassociate the self-confessed foundational connections after so many years, so much teaching, practice and indoctrination?
Dom, does this mean that all your Christian Meditation people and groups have now given up yoga and mantras?
I doubt it. This is just another deception, and even certain cardinals have swallowed the con. It is a blatant hypocritical statement contradicting everything Main and Freeman have ever said and taught about this form of so-called Christian meditation! And as someone once said, “Denial is not a river in Egypt.”
Wake up Church! Even blind Freddy can see this for what it really is.
These Catholic priests and all like them would be wise to learn from Sadhu Sundar Singh.
Still not convinced of the Dalai Lama’s real intentions?Click Here and return to this page. When you have viewed this site, you can then ask yourself why Dom Freeman would be so interested in Buddhist spirituality and not only teach us to practice it, but promote the Dalai Lama’s sexual sorcery.
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR CULTURE – PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR INTER RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE.
3.5.The “god within” and “theosis” Here is a key point of contrast between New Age and Christianity. So much New Age literature is shot through with the conviction that there is no divine being “out there”, or in any real way distinct from the rest of reality. From Jung’s time onwards there has been a stream of people professing belief in “the god within.” Our problem, in a New Age perspective, is our inability to recognize our own divinity, an inability which can be overcome with the help of guidance and the use of a whole variety of techniques for unlocking our hidden [divine] potential. The fundamental idea is that ‘God’ is deep within ourselves. We are gods, and we discover the unlimited power within us by peeling off layers of inauthenticity. 63
Spiritual Pride prevails in the Meditation Movement.
Over the years I have noticed an attitude change in people I know who have taken up this meditation. On one occasion I met a woman who used to attend my prayer group. After the usual politeness I asked why she hadn’t been to the meetings, “Oh, no, that’s not for me, I’m into higher things now.” She informed me that she was doing the John Main meditations. This incident could be ignored as pride-filled vanity from one individual except that I have had the same response from many people since then. When I have tried to talk to certain priests who do this meditation about my concerns with Yoga, they have patronizingly passed me off with a verbal pat on the head as child who just doesn’t understand. Consequently I have noticed a certain elitism, superiority and spiritual pride in these people and it seems to be a common fruit of this spirituality.
The insidious fruit of this spiritual vanity showed its ugly side when I recently discovered that invitations to preach in a certain country have been cut off through the influence of one woman that heads the WCCM and another national movement with international ties. This is because I explained my concerns at a private dinner with close friends. In addition, members of the WCCM in Perth, Western Australia, recently tried to get this page taken down using an attmepted manipulation of the Archbishop when Fr Freeman came to launch his book on the WCCM in Perth. As you can see, this page is still here.
Although this form of meditation has wide support within the Church, even from many bishops, and it certainly did at the 08 World Your Day in Sydney, the question remains as to whether this is really Christian or not? If it is, as the WCCM claim it to be, then other questions arise about why there is such a clear and obvious connection with Hindu and Buddhist spirituality as well as Dom Freeman’s relationship with the Dalai Lama? If it is in fact Christian, why is there such a strong connection and promotion of these Eastern religious methods and religious practice?
It seems that the term CHRISTIAN MEDITATION is a wrong terminology. CHRISTIANS MEDITATING would be a more accurate and fitting terminology to describe the prayer methods of the WCCM.
Buddhism is NOT accepted by His Holiness Pope John Paul II.
Crossing the Threshold of Hope. Pope John Paul II
Vittorio Messori: I would like to ask you to speak more fully on the subject of Buddhism. Essentially – as you well know – it offers a “doctrine of salvation” that seems increasingly to fascinate many Westerners as an “alternative” to Christianity or as a sort of ”complement” to it, at least in terms of certain ascetic and mystical techniques. John Paul II: Yes. you are right and I am grateful to you for this question. Among the religions mentioned in the Council document Nostra Actate. it is necessary to pay special attention to Buddhism. which from a certain point of view, like Christianity is a religion of salvation. Nevertheless, it needs to be said right away that the doctrines of salvation in Buddhism and Christianity are opposed.
The Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of the Tibetans, is a well-known figure in the West. I have met him a few times. He brings Buddhism to people of the Christian West, stirring up interest both in Buddhist spirituality and in its methods of praying. I also had the chance to meet the Buddhist “patriarch” in Bangkok, Thailand, and among the monks that surrounded him there were several, for example, who came from the United States. Today we are seeing a certain diffusion of Buddhism in the West. The Buddhist doctrine of salvation constitutes the central point, or rather the only point, of this system. Nevertheless, both the Buddhist tradition and the methods deriving from it have an almost exclusive negative soteriology. The “enlightenment” experienced by Buddha comes down to the conviction that the world is bad, that it is the source of evil and of suffering for man. To liberate oneself from this evil, one must free oneself from this world, necessitating a break with the ties that join us to external realities existing in our human nature, in our psyche, in our bodies. The more we are liberated from these ties, the more we become indifferent to what is in the world, and the more we are freed from suffering, from the evil that has its source in the world. Do we draw near to God in this way? This is not mentioned in the “enlightenment” conveyed by Buddha.
Buddhism is in large measure an “atheistic” system.
We do not free ourselves from evil through the good which comes from God; we liberate ourselves only through detachment from the world, which is bad. The fullness of such a detachment is not union with God, but what is called nirvana, a state of perfect indifference with regard to the world. To save oneself means, above all, to free oneself from evil by becoming indifferent to the world, which is the source of evil. This is the culmination of the spiritual process.
At various times, attempts to link this method with the Christian mystics have been made – whether it is with those from northern Europe (Eckhart. Tauler, Suso, Ruysbroeck) or the later Spanish mystics (Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint John of the Cross). But when Saint John of the Cross, in the Ascent of Mount Garmel and in the Dark Night of the Soul, speaks of the need for purification, for detachment from the world of the senses, he does not conceive of that detachment as an end in itself. “To arrive at what now you do not enjoy, you must go where you do not en joy. To reach what you do not know, you must go where you do not know. To come into possession of what you do not have, you must go where now you have nothing” (Ascent of Mount Carmel, i, 13, ii).
In Eastern Asia these classic texts of Saint John of the Cross have been, at times, interpreted as a confirmation of Eastern ascetic methods.
But this Doctor of the Church does not merely propose detachment from the world. He proposes detachment from the world in order to unite oneself to that which is outside of the world – by this I do not mean nirvana, but a personal God. Union with Him comes about not only through purification, but through love. Carmelite mysticism begins at the point where the reflections of Buddha end, together with his instructions for the spiritual life. In the active and passive purification of the human soul. In those specific nights of the senses and the spirit, Saint John of the Cross sees, above all, the preparation necessary for the human soul to be permeated with the living flame of love. And this is also the title of his major work – The Living Flame of Love.
Therefore, despite similar aspects, there is a fundamental difference. Christian mysticism from every period beginning with the era of the Fathers of the Eastern and Western Church, to the great theologians of Scholasticism (such as Saint Thomas Aquinas), to the northern European mystics. to the Carmelite mystics – is not born of a purely negative “Enlightenment”. It is not born of an awareness of the evil which exists in man’s attachment to the world through the senses, the intellect, and the spirit. Instead. Christian mysticism is born of the Revelation of the living God. This God opens Himself to union with man, arousing in him the capacity to be united with Him,especially by means of the theological virtues – faith, hope and, above all, love. (Crossing the Threshold of Hope Pope John Paul II) [Bold emphasis mine].
Dalai Lama tells Australian school children that Gay Sex is OK.
During a visit to Australia the Dalai Lama was reverently interviewed on early morning national television on May 22nd 2002. When asked to give his views on homosexuality and same sex marriage his answer was, “As long as there is no abuse… Men, men, woman, woman, OK”. The incredible thing is that schools with students attending in the thousands revered the Dalai Lama like some divine being with teachers groveling before him as the epitome of wisdom and enlightenment. The question I have to ask, and the one I must challenge Freeman with is; Since when did light have fellowship with darkness?
You cannot dismiss the philosophy from the discipline and I suggest this is spiritual adultery is detrimental to Catholics and young people in general judging by his May 2002 visit to Australian schools. – This Freeman/Lama fellowship and Freeman’s adoption of Buddhist spiritual disciplines only condones the Dalai Lama’s views. I doubt very much that the Dalai Lama on the other hand has learned how to use Christian spiritual disciplines as a result of this association with Catholics. On the contrary, he seems to be doing a very good job of evangelizing us without any effort on his part, which of course is, pure Zen.
Words have meanings and they are real and have real effects no matter what language they are in. Jesus tells us that by our words we will be acquitted or by our words we will be condemned. He also says that we are accountable for every idle word that falls from our lips. He also tells us that the one is wise who hears his words and acts upon them. [Matt 7:24-27 – Matt 12:36-37]DOMINUS IESUS.
Repentance, restitution and turning to the Bible and true doctrine is the only hope for those who lead God’s people astray. If you are one of these, then heed the Word of God lest your names be completely removed from the Book of Life. [Because you were in fact created, this is an eternal absolute, conscious living knowledge that you are totally forgotten by God and removed from his creative thought, because as far as he is concerned, you had never existed: Your name never appeared in the Book].
Buddhism – Is it really a gentle religion?
This report appears on NEWS.com.au. 09 Feb 04
Arsonists torch charity office
ARSONISTS including Buddhist monks firebombed the office of a Christian charity today amid increasing religious tensions in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka, officials said. More than a dozen men hurled petrol bombs at a building in Anuradhapura housing the World Vision office, setting it ablaze, police said.
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization serving poor children and families in nearly 100 countries. The organization has been conducting social work in Anuradhapura, about 180 kilometers northeast of the capital, Colombo, for years.
“Nine men, including three Buddhist monks and a university professor, have been arrested for the attack,” said MN Junaid, secretary to the interior ministry.
The arrests were the first since President Chandrika Kumaratunga ordered police to take tough actions in response to mounting attacks on Christian places of worship.
Attacks on churches have escalated since December following the funeral of a Buddhist monk, Gangodavila Soma, who led a campaign against religious conversions by Christian groups.
Although medical reports said he died of a heart attack, some Buddhists have blamed Christians for his death.
Buddhists make up 70 per cent of Sri Lanka’s 18.6 million people. Buddhist groups have urged the government to introduce legislation against religious conversions. About 6 per cent of Sri Lankans are Christians. <End>
The above report is not isolated; Hinduism also wants to outlaw Christian evangelisation in several parts of India. Pakistan has the infamous Blasphemy Law and the new European Constitution omits the role of Christianity in the history of Europe. The reality seems to be that Christianity is becoming illegal, and when we consider the UN Peace Summit 2000 we can see that the major tenet of New Age 4th Reich’s agenda that calls for the abolition of Christianity, Islam and Judaism is taking root through many areas and currently focussing on Christianity.
Of course this is not true of all Buddhists as much as anyone else, but when we also consider the Mayanmar [Burma] government’s massive financial support of Buddhism to build gold layered temples whilst literally giving Christian parishes a few bags of rice and then boasting about it on the front pages of newspapers for an example, we really need to wonder about true justice in a world that prides itself on equality; the human rights violations against Christians continue with impunity in many countries and without comment or censure. Therefore, I have to question the WCCM’s relationship with the Dalai Lama as the head of Buddhism.
WCCM are not the only pseudo Christian Meditation organization.
There are many others claiming to be authentic “Christian” meditation, but just like the WCCM they all use techniques and teachings from Hinduism and Buddhism. They will usually quote Meister Eckhart, the Christian mystics and others to give them credibility. To the unsuspecting Catholic ignorant of the Bible, this mystical and biblical gobble-gook is very convincing. The so-called Association of Christian Meditators [ACM] have a link called “A Judeo-Christian technique of meditation.” This site looks very Catholic but apart from mixing Eckhart, Thomas Merton (another serious problem), Hinduism and Buddhism, they communicate with extra-terrestials telling adherents that “It doesn’t matter who communicates with you, it’s the message that matters.” Even the most innocuous meditation exponents will offer body posture instructions. All of these things will be your clue that they are not authentic regardless of the Christian words or images used by these people.
There is no such thing as “Christian Zen” nor a “Marriage of East and West.”
The only marriage for the Church is to Christ! That is the only wedding that Jesus of Nazareth will attend when He comes for His Bride. He will expect her to be ready for Him, prepared and waiting, clearly distinguished as His. He is not going to enter a relationship with other gods nor practice their ways. There is only “One Way” for Christians to follow; Jesus Christ, the One and Only True God, the “Word” that has come in the flesh!
The teachers of these techniques wrap their argument up in the Christian Mystical Theology of St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, the Desert Fathers and many others implying, no, stating clearly, that this is what they were doing way back then. John Main allegedly ‘discovered’ this ancient tradition and developed it to its present form.
The truth is that John Main developed this so-called ancient Christian method of meditation from Buddhist and Hindu teachings. I have read all of those works including the Book of Privy Counseling and The Cloud of Unknowing as well as The Desert Fathers and I cannot find anywhere the word mantra, let alone the style of prayer taught today. Jesus certainly didn’t use Yoga. Unless of course, you believe he went to India between the Resurrection and Ascension to learn this stuff as the New Age Movement, Theosophists and Cabalists would have us believe.
Never-the-less, the excommunicated Dominican priest Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing, the foundation of his teachings on Creation Spirituality says in the book, Breakthrough – Meister Eckhart’s Creation Spirituality in New Translation. – Introduction and Commentaries by Matthew Fox – The work of the 17th century Polish mystic-poet Angelus Silesius has been called a “seventeen-century edition of Eckhart” and, the 14th century Flemish mystic Jan van Ruysbroeck was influenced by him. – Fox continues, “We can be sure,” says scholar Jeanne Ancelet-Hustache, “that through the intermediary of Flemish mystics, Eckhart’s thought had anonymously found its way even into Teresa of Avila and Saint John of the Cross”…
Meister Eckhart was condemned posthumously by a Papal Decree issued on March 27th 1329, and yet, in spite of this, Eckhart still seems to influence Catholic spirituality today and the connection between the WCCM and its New Age Syncretism might not seem immediately clear, but a closer examination shows this to be so. There is more about Eckhart later. In the meanwhile let us continue with a closer look at Dom Freeman and his so-called ‘Christian’ Meditation.
Belitzkreig.
The line of spiritual infamy cannot pass without the mention of Fr. Justin Belitz OFM and his Silva
Method of Mind Control, touted in Catholic parishes as, “Success: Full Thinking” and “Success: Full Living.”
As a qualified Silva Master, Belitz has successfully morphed the occult Silva Method of Mind Control into titles more palatable with Catholic clergy and in turn the laity, and he is seemingly very successful in his alchemy. Certainly, judging by the amount of visits to Perth WA alone over the years, it would confirm this to be so.
Parishes that have hosted this occult master in Perth are: North Beach Parish, Bunbury Parish, Infant Jesus Parish in Morley to name a few, where he has conducted his Success: Full Thinking retreat, and, May We All Be One workshops.
But why should we concern ourselves with this Catholic priest?
All Belitz’s programs are based the vile occult Course in Miracles and the Silva Method of Mind control of which he is a registered and trained master.
At the formation of his method, the occultist, Jose Silva trained 39 schoolchildren from Laredo, Texas, in the use of ESP. A book of the subject states that Silva “had developed the first method in history that can train anyone to use ESP, and he had thirty-nine repeatable experiments to prove it.” In a quick parallel, we must take serious note that Belitz also taught in Catholic schools in Cleveland, OH, at Padua High School for 13 years. He was also on the Administrative Team at Trinity High School for 2 years.
Regarding Jose Silva, Rex Stanford says, “Perhaps no other large organization makes such a direct claim to ESP training as Silva Mind Control. The training generally takes 48 hours, culminating in a weekend intensive, and one “graduates” by ostensibly passing an ESP test which involves diagnosing the personality and medical condition of an unknown individual. Hundreds of thousands of individuals have taken this training and readily offer testimony as to its effectiveness.
“The training involves basic exercises in concentration, relaxation and visualization. The experience, while intense, is said to be rather pleasant. The techniques begin with simple exercises in visual imagination. Students begin by imagining the details of their own homes. Students are asked to actually feel the objects in the house, and also to cause their colors to change. In the next session students mentally project themselves into cubes or cylinders of various metals. Then students project themselves into various plants. Then the projection of the mind is into a pet animal, examining each part of the body individually. From this follows the graduation exercise of doing a psychic diagnosis on a human being.”
This is exactly what Justin Belitz teaches in Catholic parishes. Naturally, one also has to question the parish priests and bishops that allow this man to violate the faith of their parishioners.
Fr. Justin Belitz teaches these methods to Catholics and he has the blatant gall to call these little psychic reading circles, “prayer groups.”
In these so-called prayer groups, people are taught yoga meditation as the primary source of trance. This is in order to project and read another person’s psyche, as did Edgar Cayce, who entered into yogic trances to consult the Karmic Records and projected himself into another person’s body and mind to find cures.
Edgar Cayce, known as The Sleeping Prophet, was an American reputed to have had psychic abilities. He is claimed to have demonstrated an ability to channel answers to questions on subjects such as health or Atlantis, while in a self-induced trance. Though Cayce considered himself a devout Christian and lived before the emergence of the New Age movement, some believe he is the founder of the movement and was influential on its teachings.
Cayce became an American celebrity towards the end of his life, and the publicity given to his prophecies has overshadowed what to him were usually considered the more important parts of his work, such as healing (the vast majority of his readings were given for people who were sick) and theology (Cayce being a lifelong, devout member of the Disciples of Christ). Skeptics challenge the claim that Cayce demonstrated psychic abilities, and conventional Christians also question his unorthodox answers on religious matters (such as reincarnation and Akashic records). He may have been the source for the idea that California would fall into the Pacific ocean (though he never said exactly this).
Today there are tens of thousands of Cayce students. Most are located in the United States and Canada, but Edgar Cayce Centers are now found in 25 other countries. The Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE), headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA, is the major organization promoting interest in Cayce. (Wikipedia)
Like Cayce, Belitz et al, also profess to be devout Christians. However, I do not know of Belitz claiming any direct connection with Cayce, but by comparison, it is exactly the same thing, and so it is with the Justin Belitz pseudo prayer groups. This method of psychic invasion is the same Kything technique used in the Enneagram to connect to another’s spirit to draw on their so-called gifts. A close look will establish the link between Catholic priests; Mane, Freeman, Rhor, Johnson, Belitz, Merton and many others. All their methods and programs seem different, but in fact, they are not. Yoga, Visualization and Mantras seem to be the chosen occult method of meditation to achieve their New Age agendas.
(Stanford 1976) “The philosophy of this training is couched in psychophysiological jargon relating to EEG brain waves. Students are told to enter into an “alpha level” where they can contact their inner mental resources. The use of this terminology has been highly criticized as inaccurate and even antiscientific.
The Silva Method causes paranoid states.
(1976) makes the following comments: “Granted the inability of the typical student to adequately evaluate the parapsychological outcome of his training, granted the high-powered salesmanship, the morale-boosting atmosphere, and that the student has paid a considerable sum for such a course, it is little wonder that many persons leave the course feeling it has been a success. They graduate believing themselves capable of using ESP and other psychic powers consciously and reliably.
Stanford adds, that in his experience, many individuals who have taken the mind control courses retain an objective perspective on what happened to them in the course and on what has been the long-term result. However, he maintains that a certain proportion of individuals “emerge with ideas which would normally be regarded as paranoid in character regarding their psychic ability to manipulate other people.”
(Stanford, R.A. Scientific, ethical and clinical problems in the “training” of psi ability. Paper presented at the symposium on the Application and Misapplication of Findings in Parapsychology, American Academy for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, New York City, January, 1975. In R.A. White (Ed.), Surveys in Parapsychology. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1976.)
Eddie Russell FMI; Catholic Record Newspaper 2003: “Justin Belitz’ web site says he holds an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy of Metaphysics from the American National Institute of Psychical Research for his outstanding programs in the study and practice of Metaphysics. He is also a distinguished and award winning Silva Mind Development instructor.”
Unlike the original Aristotelian sense, this is Alchemy fundamental to New Age Consciousness. Alchemy attempts to change the physical at a subatomic level, as well as psychic and spiritual principles to re-create a Pre-Fall Adamic State denying Original Sin and God’s salvific plan in Jesus Christ. New Age Spirituality is a Theosophical view of God and Man to cause a change of consciousness establishing a new reality of a holistic, humanist one-world-religion and universal spirituality.
Shamanist witchcraft, Yoga, visualization, breathing techniques and mantras are basic elements in achieving this. The Sanskrit word Mantra means, Magical Incantation and embodies a *deity. Based on the vibration of the breath and mantra it attempts change in the meditator at a deep subconscious level. This is fundamental to the Psychic Projection and ESP taught by Jose Silva.
Inspired by New Ager Dr. Jerry Jampolsky MD who says he can help you tune in to the voice of your *inner teacher, Success: Full Living was developed from A Course in Miracles. The problem here is that it is not the Holy Spirit and A Course in Miracles deceptively uses Christian words to teach sources from other religions. Now appearing in another form it is a true Alchemy. [ology + mysticism = occult].
Putting a Big Mac in Burger King wrapper does not make it a Whopper. This concept of Man and God is diametrically opposed to the Biblical revelation of the Divine Image as well as Catholic Doctrine. It is no small matter, nor is it irrelevant.
Changing oneself and achieving success is a good thing if it is based on Matthew 6: 25-34 and 2 Corinthians 5:17.”
In short, Fr. Justin Belitz is a dangerous man, and so along with all the others of his ilk, I call on them all, to repent!
Neo Paganism and Eastern Mysticism.
At times people have said that we are against Buddhists, Hindus etc. Our answer is, “On the contrary, we are not against anything or anyone – we are simply for Christ.” In fact, we see it valid for these people to believe in and practice what they want and respect that.
However, we are against the false gods and the lying spirits that hold people in superstition and bondage and believe by revelation that Jesus Christ is The Truth that all true religions seek. We can therefore say to the reincarnationists, “The good news of Jesus is that you do not have to keep dying; your karmic debt was canceled on Calvary and the end of the never-ending cycle of birth-death-birth-death to reach your perfection is found by accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior in this life. By his death and resurrection he has beaten the power of death, forgiven your sin [or bad karma], canceled the debt and made you acceptable to God. (Romans 8: 1-13)
When we accept Baptism we die with him and are raised with him. Therefore, the sting of death is removed, and as a believer in the saving Grace of Jesus Christ you will not see death when you leave this life, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, who is the Lord and giver of Life, you will pass from life into everlasting life. (Romans 8: 11)
Our concerns in this article are addressed to Christians who are compromising the Good News of Jesus Christ which we believe is confusing the truth that he has revealed for all people to know and accept in order to be reconciled with God (Romans 1:16-23). Therefore we can also say to the Neo-Pagan, “What is more important, the gift, or the giver? Why subject yourself to the worship of the creature rather than its creator? – It is illogical and belittling to love the gift given by a lover more than you love your lover, and the truth we proclaim is, God loves you.” (Galatians 4: 3-7)
Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of Christian Meditation.
3. Christian prayer is always determined by the structure of the Christian faith, in which the very truth of God and creatures shines forth. For this reason, it is defined properly speaking, as a personal, intimate and profound dialogue between man and God. It expresses, therefore, the communion of redeemed creatures with the intimate life of the persons of the Trinity. This communion, based on baptism and the Eucharist, source and summit of the life of the Church, implies an attitude of conversion, a flight from “self” to the “you” of God. Thus Christian prayer is at the same time always authentically personal and communitarian. It flees from impersonal techniques or from concentrating on oneself, which can create a kind of rut, imprisoning the person praying in a spiritual privatism which is incapable of free openness to the transcendental God.
Within the Church, in the legitimate search for new methods of meditation it must always be borne in mind that the essential element of authentic Christian prayer is the meeting of two freedoms, the infinite freedom of God with the finite freedom of man.
6.This is why the Church recommends the reading of the word of God as a source of Christian prayer, and at the same time exhorts all to discover the deep meaning of sacred Scripture through prayer “so that a dialogue takes place between God and man. For, ‘we speak to him when we pray; we listen to him when we read the divine oracles.
[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith”. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect (Now Pope Benedict)& Archbishop Alberto Bovone, Secretary. Oct 15th 1989].
<See also DOMINUS JESUS 2000 and The Latest Vatican Document on the New Age>
Sodhana: A way to God.
Another Christian book that I came across some years ago, would have us believe that “Sodhana” is the way to God. The author of this book, Fr. Anthony De Mello seems to have forgotten, or rather, ignores the truth that there is no way to the Father except through Jesus Christ who is the only “Way”. The fact that the picture at the top of this page was used by someone [not Anthony de Mello] to promote a “De Mello Weekend” is testimony enough to make my point regarding the real influences within, and behind this kind of syncretism and inculturation.
A Hindu ceremony begins with Suddhi [purity]. Sodhana is a word that means ‘purification’. These are vital in Hindu religious observances; they are related to the concept saucha which means cleanliness. The Hindu religion teaches that he who practices this, “is qualified to witness the Self”. [d]
When you sum up de Mello’s doctrine, one finds that all religions have the same divine nature which is shared by all human beings. De Mello holds the view that Christ’s presence in the Eucharist for example, is merely ‘one’ way in which God’ presence is manifest in all ‘created’ things. Surely, God is omnipresent? Well yes he is, and in him we live and move and have our being, but de Mello’s view makes God and creation equal and one. True doctrine understands that God is separate from creation, whereas Hinduism holds that all is god and god is all. In other words de Mello seems to hold the classic sign of a heresy, which is when creation is lifted to the level of God, or God is brought down to the level of creation. Therefore God is impersonal and Cosmic.
From the Asian Age Newspaper:
De Mello’s books incompatible with faith, says Vatican.
Vatican City: With the approval of Pope Paul II, a Vatican commission has denounced some writings by Anthony De Mello, a widely selling Indian-born Jesuit author, as incompatible with Roman Catholic faith.
In the latest move by the Vatican’s watchdogs to crack down on doctrinal unorthodoxy, the congregation for the doctrine of faith concluded that while some early books by the priest, who died in 1987, contained “valid elements of oriental wisdom” there were “many dangers” in his body of work. Already in certain passages in these early works and to a greater degree in his later publications, one notices a progressive distancing from the essential contents of the Christian faith.” the congregation said. For the author, the congregation said, “religion, including Christianity, are one of the major obstacles to the discovery of the truth” and “there are no objective rules of morality.” Besides warning Catholics about the “dangers” in the texts, the congregation’s conclusion also put Catholic bookstores on guard. [AP]Asian Age.
Christian Tantric Sex.
I have even come across what appears to be a Christianized version of Tantric sex called a “Radiant Heart Retreat.” This retreat is based on a book by Linda Sabbath called “The Radiant Heart”. Tantra is the Yoga of sex. Tantric Yoga also involves black magic and the worship of the Lingnam [Penis]. Tantric Yoga meditation is used to release the Kundiliniserpent and to open the genital chakras. The meditators reach “Higher Consciousness” by prolonging their orgasms together for as long as possible. This is to be used for themselves, and as a source of spreading love to all sentient beings. The Christianized version uses the same techniques to “Lift Sexual Energy Into the Heart” as the book says. The author of the book also says, “This exercise can be dangerous and should not be done without a competent spiritual guide. It must be done with utmost sincerity of heart.”.
How is it, I wonder, that authentic Christian prayer, as these people claim these things to be, can be so dangerous? If this sounds a little reactionary on my part, let me quote from a typewritten instruction given at a workshop for Nuns on a Radiant Heart Retreat in Perth, “….then, looking at the drawing of the fountain, I ask Jesus to lift my sexual energy in union with his, to draw it into the well of ‘living water’ within, and, thus transformed, allow it to gush forth from my heart as a fountain of love for all. I continue for a few minutes in silent contemplation of the fountain. …”. [bold emphasis mine]
When questioned regarding these practices, many of these people can become quite abusive. If they had the same attitude towards the Holy Name of Jesus and Holy Scripture when it is abused I would be impressed, but as it is they rudely defend their paganism with indignation. Linda Sabbath knows what she is doing and covers any expected criticism in her “Acknowledgments” when she says, “This book will anger some people who will fire all sorts of accusations at it. There are always people who are angered by prayer, and throughout history angry people have imprisoned, guillotined, shot and burned to death people who refuse to stop praying. For provoking their anger I cannot apologize.”.
A Nun and female masturbation. One of the delegates attending our Set My People on Fire Seminars said recently, that the Nun conducting one of these retreats in Perth sponsored by the Maranatha Institute, asked how she masturbated. – Indicating her indignation at the question didn’t stop the Nun continuing the conversation detailing several female masturbation techniques. – Well, I guess the Biblical adage is true; “You will know them by their fruits”.
Yes I am angry, but not with negativity but rather with a righteous indignation. I am also disgusted and deeply concerned about the spiritual health of my Catholic brethren. This is not prayer as Linda Sabbath suggests! Energy of any sort, especially sexual, is not “prayer”in any way shape or form. I know this because I dabbled with Tantric Yoga before I became a Christian and I was taught that it was related directly to the worship of the Lingnam [penis] and the Yoni [virgina].
As for burning and shooting, well! I’ve heard that argument before from the mouths of new-agers, feminists and witches to justify their practices. In other words Linda Sabbath is saying that those Christians who object to her point of view are ignorant, bigoted, pre Vatican II, living in the dark ages, idiots and have a fascist mentality. Sadly, neo-gnosticism is rife in the Church these days and thousands are beguiled with the same lie and false promise that Eve fell for in Genesis 3:1-7.
Meister Eckhart of Hochheim [c, 1260-c, 1329] – The real snake in the grass.
The following is drawn from the book, “Breakthrough – Meister Eckhart’s Creation Spirituality in New Translation. – Introduction and Commentaries by Matthew Fox”.
Read it carefully and see if you can pick up the thread of this theology in regard to the authentic mystical theology of Avila and Saint John of the Cross that connects itself, and manifests itself in the New Age philosophies we are dealing with through the Christian Meditation teachings. Eckhart seems the be the link that allows them to claim an early Christian tradition of meditation. The Eastern connection allows the introduction of Yoga etc. in our current situation…
‘Eckhart was condemned posthumously by a Papal Decree issued on March 27th 1329. His profoundly, this-worldly spirituality, went underground where it fed many of the most significant movements of Western cultural and intellectual history. In Germany, his disciples and brother Dominicans Henry Suso and John Tauler drew extensively from his thinking even after his condemnation. Nicholas of Cusa in the 15th century commented on Meister Eckhart’s works, and Martin Luther in the 16th century, drew heavily on Eckhart by way of John Tauler, whom, as Hoffman points out, Luther admired unwaveringly from his youth to his final days. Lutheran mystic Jakob Boehme [1575-1629] owed much to Eckhart, as did the radical mystic-politician Thomas Munzer, who was born in the same German province as both Eckhart and Luther.
In England, the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing as well as Walter Hilton and especially Julian of Norwich, demonstrate a significant debt to Eckhart, Fox says. The work of the 17th century Polish mystic-poet Angelus Silesius has been called a “seventeen-century edition of Eckhart” and, the 14th century Flemish mystic Jan van Ruysbroeck was influenced by him. – Fox continues, “We can be sure,” says scholar Jeanne Ancelet-Hustache, “that through the intermediary of Flemish mystics, Eckhart’s thought had anonymously found its way even into Teresa of Avila and saint John of the Cross”…
Modern philosophy, as represented by the 19th century romantic idealist Friedrich Schelling and the philosopher of ‘evolving spirit’, Hegal, admits and indebtedness to Eckhart. Likewise, Marxist scholars like Erich Fromm and Ernst Bloch invoke Eckhart as a forerunner of the spirit of Karl Marx. Fox says.
Asian scholars like Dr. D. T. Suzuki speak of the “closeness of Meister Eckhart’s way of thinking to that of Mahayanna Buddhism, especially of Zen Buddhism” and Professor S. Ueda in Kyoto, Japan, says that Eckhart breaks “the sound barrier of the normal intellectual world of Christianity and thereby enters into the world of Zen.”
Catholic monk, Thomas Merton agrees, saying that, “whatever Zen may be, however you define it, it is somehow there in Eckhart.” Fox continues, Merton confesses to having been “entranced” by Meister Eckhart, and it can be documented that his conversion from being a romantic, dualistic, and Augustinian-minded monk in the 1950’s to being a prophetic Christian in the 1960’s occurred while he was studying Zen and Meister Eckhart.
Hindu scholar, Ananda Coomaraswamy compares Eckhart to Vedantist traditions.
Quaker mystic, Rufus Jones acknowledges a debt to Eckhart as well he should, [Matthew] Fox says. For Quaker founder George Fox is in many ways Eckhartian-influenced. For example, his notion of the “spark of the soul” seems more than coincidentally like Fox’s “inner light”.
Psychologist C.G. Jung confessed that Eckhart offered him the “key” to opening the way to grasp what liberation means in a psychological context. Jung wrote: The art of letting things happen, action through non-action, letting go of oneself, as taught by Meister Eckhart, became for me the key to opening the door to the way. We must be able to let things happen in the psyche. For us, this actually is an art of which few people know anything. Consciousness is forever interfering’.
To sum up Fox’s attitude in defense of Eckhart and his own doctrines in rebellion to Church teaching, the following is again quoted from Fox.
‘Creation-centered spirituality, the spiritual tradition that is the most Jewish, the most biblical, the most prophetic, and the most like the kind Jesus of Nazareth preached and lived, has been almost lost in the West since Eckhart’s condemnation. In place of this spirituality of blessing and of passing on a blessing to others by way of justice and compassion, we have often been fed introverted, anti-artistic, ant-intellectual, apolitical, sentimental, dualistic, ascetic, and in many ways masochistic spirituality parading as Christian spirituality’.
Fox has gone so far over to the other side, that when asked what he thought was most significant regarding animals having souls he gave a very interesting answer.
In an interview in preparation for the Kinship With All Life Conference in San Francisco in July 2003 he said, “I think its terribly important. I think animals have so much wisdom to teach us at this time. Its just the wisdom that we have been ignoring. We have a lot of knowledge, but we are low on wisdom. A shaman I met two years ago said to me “The four legged ones are very worried about us two legged ones, very worried. So much so that they are having many, many conferences about us and they have concluded that they have to do something to help us. One thing they are going to do is to appear more in our dreams. The other thing is just to make themselves more visible and play a bigger role even in our domestic lives.” So I think this conference is a sign of that. It’s the humans responding to the pain and the call of Gaia and the creatures that we better change our ways and wake up – get smart. So I think it’s a very important conference. I’m very much looking forward to it. I do a lot of speaking and I must say that this conference is something I’m looking forward to more than most.”
Well, it seems that Fox by name is a Fox by nature. Perhaps he will soon be attending four legged conferences as the guest speaker, but then, maybe not since they are so much wiser than we are.
As in the days of Elijah…
Since Buddhism, Hinduism and the occult New Age Theosophy have taught us how to pray by using their yoga, meditation and mantras, I wonder how long it will be before we teach them the Christian way of praying, in the Spirit and using the Gift of Tongues? One must therefore seriously ask, who is discipling [or evangelizing] who?If you recognize any of these words and techniques, then be warned, it is New Age Pantheism. Be on your guard, there are many false prophets in the world today and they have gained disciples even in the Church at an alarming rate. As in the days of Elijah who called down fire on the prophets of Baal and destroyed their idols, so too will the Baptism of Fire sift the chaff from the wheat and burn away the dross that is corrupting the Church today. We are called by Jesus to make disciples of the world through “His Word” not for us to be discipled by “its word”.
Remember: Whatever you practice, you will ultimately perfect.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Read 2 Peter 2: 1-3. & 17, 22. – 1Timothy 4: 1, 2. – 2 Thessalonians ff.] annotations [a] to [i] para, from “Death of a Guru” by Rabindranath R. Maharaj, pages 212 – 214. Published by Holman Bible Publishers Nashville. – annotations [j] from “Inward Stillness” by George A. Malony, S.J. pages 40-41 & 218-219. Published by Dimension Books Denville, New Jersey 07834. – Other research material – “The Paganisation of the Church in India” Victor J.F. Kulanday, Second Revised Edition published at “Galilee” Madras, India. – “The Radiant Heart” by Linda Sabbath with Introduction by Fr. George A. Maloney S.J. Dimension Books, Inc. “The Shadow of the Dalai Lama; Sexuality, Magic and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism” Translated by Mark Penny. “Breakthrough – Meister Eckhart’s Creation Spirituality in New Translation Introduction and Commentaries by Matthew Fox.”
How can I help to stop these practices in the Church?
1: Send a short but polite and respectful letter to your Bishop outlining your concerns. You can print off this articles and send it with your letter if you think that might assist you.
2: ?subject=You%20should%20see%20this%20web%20page&Body=%22What%27s%20in%20a%20Word%22%20exposes%20New%20Age%20in%20the%20Church%20http://www.flameministries.org/word.htm">Email this page to a friend and ask them to do the same.
3: Before 1 & 2, pray.
4: Now you know, pray each day for God to intervene.