From: "jagbir singh" <adishakti_org@yahoo.com>
Date: Sun Apr 2, 2006  7:24 pm
Subject: "She will bear witness to Jesus, declaring to the disciples the meaning of His words

Dear All,

More than two millennia ago Lord Jesus promised that He will send the Comforter in the name of God Almighty. The Comforter/Paraclete "will bear witness to Jesus, declaring to the disciples the meaning of His words and acts (16:12-15) in a way which was impossible during the earthly ministry."

According to Elaine Pagels the "Gospel to the Hebrews likewise has Jesus speak of "my Mother, the Spirit." [17] In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus contrasts his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, with his divine Father — the Father of Truth — and his divine Mother, the Holy Spirit." 1

To justify the feminine interpretation of the Comforter the Dictionary of the Bible will be examined.

"It states that the Fourth Gospel does not narrate Jesus’ baptism but explains its significance. Since the Holy Spirit descended and remained on Him, He is singled out as the Son of God who will baptize with the Holy Spirit (John 1:32-34.) His teachings direct to rebirth through the Spirit where a new state of being is attained by the grace of the Spirit — this is the only way of entering the Kingdom of the Spirit. Water is associated with the Spirit (John 3:5-8; cf 1:13.) However, this salvation of humankind through rebirth can only take place after His death and exaltation (cf 3:14.) Therefore this promise of the coming Spirit points to the future: "Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given [or, Spirit was not yet], because Jesus was not yet glorified" (7:39.) The discourses following Last Supper hold the key to the narration of the Spirit. It is referred to as the "paraclete" (Counselor) or "advocate", "intercessor" or more appropriately the Spirit of paraclesis . . . With these terms and the use of  masculine instead of neuter pronouns, the concept of the Spirit attains a more personal nature than at any other point in the Bible." 2
 
"Other texts discovered at Nag Hammadi demonstrate one striking difference between these "heretical" sources and orthodox ones: gnostic sources continually use sexual symbolism to describe God. One might expect that these texts show the influence of archaic pagan traditions of the Mother Goddess, but for the most part, their language is specifically Christian, unmistakably related to a Jewish heritage. Yet instead of describing a monistic and masculine God, many of these texts speak of God as a dyad who embraces both masculine and feminine elements. . . .

One group of gnostics sources claims to have received a secret tradition from Jesus through James and through Mary Magdalene. Members of this group prayed to both the divine Father and Mother: "From Thee, Father, and through Thee, Mother, the two immortal names, Parents of the divine being, and thou, dweller in heaven, humanity of the mighty name . . ." [5] Other texts indicate that their authors had wondered to whom a single, masculine God proposed, "Let us make man [adam] in our image and likeness, after our likeness" (Genesis 1:26). Since the Genesis account goes on to say that humanity was created "male and female" (1:27), some concluded that the God in whose image we are made must also be both masculine and feminine — both Father and Mother."  3

"A second characterization of the divine Mother describes her as Holy Spirit. The Apocryphon of John relates how John went out after the crucifixion with "great grief" and had a mystical vision of the Trinity. As John was grieving, he says that The [heavens were opened and the whole] creation [which is] under heaven shone and [the world] trembled. [And I was afraid, and I] saw in the light . . . a likeness with multiple forms . . . and the likeness had three forms. [14]

To John’s question the vision answers: "He said to me, ‘John, Jo[h]n, why do you doubt, and why are you afraid? . . . I am the one who [is with you] always. I [am the Father]; I am the Mother; I am the Son." [15] This gnostic description of God — as Father, Mother and Son — may startle us at first, but on reflection we can recognize it as another version of the Trinity. The Greek terminology for the Trinity, which includes the neuter term for spirit (pneuma) virtually requires that the third "Person" of the Trinity be asexual. But the author of the Secret Book has in mind the Hebrew term for spirit, ruah, a feminine word; and so concludes that the feminine "Person" conjoined with the Father and Son must be the Mother. The Secret Book goes on to describe the divine Mother:. . . (She is) . . . the image of the invisible, virginal, perfect spirit . . . She became the Mother of everything, for she existed before them all, the mother-father [matropater] . . . [16]

The Gospel to the Hebrews likewise has Jesus speak of "my Mother, the Spirit." [17] In the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus contrasts his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, with his divine Father — the Father of Truth — and his divine Mother, the Holy Spirit." 4

Had the Truth pertaining to the 'gender' of the Holy Spirit of Christianity been cross-examined against other scriptures — Adi Shakti of Hinduism, Prajnaparamita of Buddhism, Eykaa Mayee of Sikhism, Ruh of Islam, and the Shekinah of Judaism which are all feminine in nature — then we may have come across text that proclaim as follows:

Question: "What does it mean that the Holy Spirit is our Paraclete?"
 
Answer: The time of the arrest and consequent crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ was drawing near. As Jesus met with His disciples in the "upper room", He expounded to them many things. In John 13:33 He stated: "My children, I will be with you only a little longer . . . where I am going you cannot come." The announcement of the coming separation led to the indication of its purpose. The season of bereavement was to be a season of spiritual growth. To this end Christ gave a commandment fitted to lead His disciples to appropriate the lessons of His life, and so, by realizing their true character, to follow and to find Him as indicated in verses 34 and 35.

In light of their weak faith at this point in time, Jesus told them in John 14:1, "Do not let your heart to be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me . . . ." Jesus had just explained to them that one them was a traitor; He had warned Peter that he would deny His Lord three times; and, perhaps the heaviest blow of all was that Jesus was going to leave them (John 3:33). Now He says, " . . . let not your heart be troubled" (John 14:1). In John 14:16, 17 Jesus gives them a statement of great encouragement: "And I will ask the Father (pray), and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever . . . the Spirit of Truth" (NIV).

The Greek word translated "Comforter or Counselor" is "Parakletos" as found in John 14:16, 26; 15:26; and 16:7. Once it is translated "advocate" (1 John 2:1). The New International Version (NIV) has translated the word as Counselor. The form of the word is unquestionably passive. It can properly mean only "one called to the side of another," and that with the secondary notion of counselling or supporting or aiding him. The contexts in which the word "paraclete" occurs in the New Testament lead to the same conclusions as the form, and the independent usage of the word. In John 2:1, the sense "Advocate" alone suits the argument, though the Greek fathers explain the term as applied to the Lord in the same way as in the Gospel. In the Gospel again, the sense of Advocate, counsel, one who pleads, convinces, convicts, who strengthens on the one hand and defends on the other, is alone adequate. Christ as the Advocate pleads the believer's cause with the Father against the accuser Satan (1 John 2:1; compare Romans 8:26, and also Revelation 12:10; Zechariah 3:1). The Holy Spirit (Parakletos) as the Advocate pleads the believer's cause against the world (John 16:8ff) and also Christ's cause with the believer (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:14).

Jesus, in saying what He did to His disciples was comforting their troubled hearts. In 14:16 He states: "I will pray to the Father and He will send you another Comforter (paraklete--another is 'heteros", one of the same kind, which is the Holy Spirit). First of all, this paraclete is God the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. She is a true personality and a personal being. She indwells every believer. She has been called in some translations "Encourager." As the "Spirit of Truth" the Holy Spirit illumines the Word of God so believers may understand it. She leads us in that truth of God's Word. Se uses the Word of truth to guide us into the will and the work of God." 5

"The Paraclete is to be sent by God the Father in response to the prayer of Christ (14:16), by Christ Himself (16:7), by the Father in Christ’s name (14:26), or by Christ from the Father (15:26.) She is to represent and mediate the glorified Christ to Her followers; She is to be the medium through whom they will enter into a full understanding of the historic revelation in the incarnate Christ, teaching and instructing them and through them witnessing to the world concerning Christ and the salvation and judgement which She has brought. As the Spirit of Christ, who is Himself the truth (14:6), She is the Spirit of truth (14:17, 15:26, 16:13) guiding Christ’s disciples into all the truth as She unfolds the meaning of the revelation of God in Christ’s deeds and words. She will mediate Christ’s presence to them (cf 14:18), bringing to their remembrance and instructing them in the full significance of the things which Jesus had said to them (14:26.) She will bear witness to Jesus, declaring to the disciples the meaning of His words and acts (16:12-15) in a way which was impossible during the earthly ministry, and through their mission, especially under persecution, testify to the hostile world (15:26 -16:4.) This mission of the Paraclete, like that of Jesus Himself, is two-sided; for to the world which has rejected Christ it brings judgement. She will convict the world in respect of the sin of its unbeliever, in respect of the vindication of Jesus in His exaltation to the Father, and in respect of the condemnation of the devil through His death and glorification (16:8-11.)"  6

Indeed Jesus gives them a statement and promise of great encouragement: "And I will ask the Father (pray), and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever . . . the Spirit of Truth" (NIV). That promise has been fulfilled to the letter.

But where is this Counselor, the Spirit of Truth? Where is She now, supposed to reside with humans forever after being sent by the Father? The 2,200-paged SHRI ADI SHAKTI: KINGDOM OF GOD and the websites prove beyond a shadow of doubt that She resides within our Sahasraras. She is a true personality and a personal being. She indwells every believer of the Last Judgment and Resurrection. She is the Shakti/Spirit within us that Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi has revealed. That is why the 1000 Names of the Shri Lalita Sahasranama are dedicated to Her. She is to be the medium through whom the believers of the Last Judgment will enter into a full understanding of the historic revelation in the incarnate Christ, teaching and instructing them and through them witnessing to the world concerning Christ and the salvation and judgement which She has brought. She has borne witness to Jesus, declaring to the disciples the meaning of His words and acts (16:12-15) in a way which was impossible during the earthly ministry. This Divine Message must now spread to the rest of the world.

Jai Shri Mataji,


jagbir

1. (14. Apocryphon of John 1.31-2.9, in nhl 99; 15. Ibid., 2.2-14, in nhl 99; 16. Ibid., 4.34-5.7, in nhl 101; 17. Gospel to the Hebrews, cited in Origen, comm. jo. 2.12.) Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, Random House, NY, 1989, p. 49-50.
2. Dictionary of the Bible, C. S. Sons, 1963, p. 393.
3. 5. Hippolytus, REF 5.6. Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, Random House, NY, 1989, p. 49-50.
4. (14. Apocryphon of John 1.31-2.9, in nhl 99; 15. Ibid., 2.2-14, in nhl 99; 16. Ibid., 4.34-5.7, in nhl 101; 17. Gospel to the Hebrews, cited in Origen, comm. jo. 2.12.) Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, Random House, NY, 1989, p. 49-50.
5. http://www.gotquestions.org/paraclete-Holy-Spirit.html
6. Dictionary of the Bible, [Edited by J. Hastings], Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1963.)