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Vatican
recognizes Jewish expectations of a Messiah
Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 2:12 pm
On January 18, 2002 the Vatican issued what some Jewish
scholars are calling an important document that explicitly
says, "The Jewish wait for the Messiah is not in vain."
The scholarly work, effectively a rejection of and apology
for the way some Christians have viewed the Old Testament,
was signed by the pope's theologian, Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger.
A number of Jewish scholars and leaders said they were
pleased but stunned and would have to take some time to
digest fully the complicated, 210-page study, published in
French and Italian.
"This is something altogether new, especially compared with
the earlier document from Ratzinger that was so
controversial," said Rabbi Alberto Piattelli, a professor
and leader of the Jewish community in Rome. "This latest
declaration is a step forward" in closing the wounds opened
by that earlier document, Rabbi Piattelli said. "It
recognizes the value of the Jewish position regarding the
wait for the Messiah, changes the whole exegesis of biblical
studies and restores our biblical passages to their original
meaning. I was surprised.""
It is interesting to note that according to Jewish belief the Messiah is expected to be
a mortal person who, through charisma, background and power,
proves to be the actual redeemer. By experiencing the Ruach,
a Jew can finally experience Judaism as a living force that
nourishes, heals and gives evidence of His Spirit during the
End Times:
Ruach, the breath of God experienced daily as cool breeze/wind
1
Ruach, the breath of God experienced daily as cool breeze/wind
2
All-Pervading Power (cool breeze, divine vibrations, God's
breath)
Divine flowing out of those born of the Spirit within
The connections between various spiritual traditions and
Judaism are vast. Not only that, the experience that Shri
Mataji can bring to Jews, or anybody else for that matter,
goes far beyond the expectations that any Jew (with the
exception of the Jewish mystics, known as Kabbalists) has
ever entertained.
This experience of the direct perception and sensation of
Ruach has become commonplace with those meditating on the
Messiah. Hundreds of thousands and even perhaps millions of
people from every corner of the Earth are feeling for the
first time the existence of God on their central nervous
systems. This experience transcends all religious and
cultural boundaries. Shri Mataji shows its practitioners the
universality of all the religions of the world. This
experience is described in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism,
Islam, Christianity, Greek Mythology, as well as most other
spiritual paths. This experience is also perfectly described
in Judaism. So we can say that Sahaja Yoga is not a
religion, but a tool to shed light on religion. And when we
bring the Light of Truth into Judaism, we can see how
fantastic it is.
The basic experience of the universal pure religion (as
described by Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi) is a very simple, yet
powerful evolutionary process that initially takes place on
the central nervous system. Through pure desire and the
Divine Compassion of God, the dormant spiritual energy in a
person is awakened, creating an enlightened personality. The
Torah clearly describes this in the Book of Numbers, Chapter
11, verses 16-17 and 25:
—16: And the Lord said unto Moses: "Gather unto Me seventy
men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the
elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them
unto the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with
thee.
—17: And I will come down and speak with thee there; and I
will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and put it upon
them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with
thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
—25: And the Lord came down to the tent in the cloud; and
spoke unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him,
and put it upon the seventy elders; and when it came to
pass, that, when the spirit came upon them, they
prophesied."
This spirit which is described is a reflection of the pure
desire of God in a human being. It is an innate energy which
lies in the sacrum bone, or the triangular shaped bone at
the base of the spinal column. The word sacrum comes from
the word sacred, because the ancient Greeks, of whose
language so much English is based, knew that the sacrum bone
was a sacred bone, and that it housed this sacred energy.
The spirit spoken of is actually the Shechina, or the Divine
Presence that protects a human being from evil. The word
spirit means wind. It is important to note that this energy
is described as a wind, for when it is flowing, it feels
like a cool breeze emitting from the body. The word Shechina
comes from the Hebrew word shochem, which means to reside.
The Shechina is the One who resides in the sacrum bone.
In Her upward journey, the Shechina (or Kundalini) passes
through a number of centers which are expressed in the human
anatomy as the nerve plexuses of the central nervous system.
In Sahaja Yoga, these centers have been called chakras for
thousands of years. There are numerous ancient drawings that
exhibit these chakras, and they are rendered with complete
anatomical accuracy. This was all done without any knowledge
of human physiology, so it is quite obvious that the source
of this knowledge must be spiritual in nature. The word
chakra means wheel in Sanskrit, and indeed, they spin like
wheels. They contain the pure qualities as designed by God
that every being possesses. The chakras and their Divine
energy were envisioned by the Jewish prophet Ezekiel, in
Chapter 1, Verses 19-21:
—19: And when the living creatures went, the wheels went
hard by them; and when the living creatures were lifted up
from the bottom, the wheels were lifted up.
—20: Whither so ever the spirit was to go, as spirit was
to go thither, so they went; and the wheels were lifted up
beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in
the wheels.
—21: When those went, these went; and when those stood,
and these stood; and when those were lifted up from the
earth, the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit
of the living creature was in the wheels.
In Judaism we find the same knowledge of Sahaja Yoga was
found through spiritual pursuit and serves the same purpose.
The Kabbalah, which is the core of the Law as taught by
Moses, describes the Sefirot. The Sefirot are the centers of
divine qualities in the spiritual body of a person. They are
ten in number, and they correspond perfectly to the chakras
in their location and their qualities. When one considers
the discrepancy in the number of chakras and sefirot, one
finds that it is merely an instance of two slightly
different interpretations of the same system. A few sefirot
are viewed in there different aspects as separate sefirot,
where as the chakra model establishes a connection, and
therefore views them as one. Furthermore, while the Sefirot
are numbered as ten, they are described as residing on seven
different levels.
But the result is the same. When the Shechina is awakened,
it nourishes these centers which are the milestones of our
evolution. In doing so, we begin to feel and emit the true
qualities that every human being possesses. The joy and
peace of this experience is a deeply profound one, and one
that can carry the practitioner to an entirely new and
ascendant level of consciousness, the consciousness of the
Spirit.
This is clearly expressed in many areas of the Torah, but
especially in Solomon's Proverbs, Chapter 3, Verses 13-18:
—13: Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man
that obtaineth understanding.
—14: For the merchandise of it is better than the
merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
—15: She is more precious than rubies; and all the things
thou canst desire cannot be compared unto Her.
—16: Length of Days are in Her right hand; in Her left
hand are riches and honour.
—17: Her ways are ways of pleasantness; and all Her paths
are peace.
—18: She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon Her,
and happy is everyone that holdeth Her fast.
That tree is the Shechina. That tree is the Kundalini. And
that tree is growing in humanity now. As a Jew is "the One
who knows', so is a Sahaja Yogi "the one who has become".
Truly, they are meant to be one and the same.
Millennia ago it was said that all who believe in the
Messiah will busy themselves trying to know the Lord.
Therefore, they will be great sages, knowing things hidden
from the vast majority. They will obtain a knowledge of
their Creator as far as possible by human understanding;
"For the earth shall be full with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9).
Jai Shri Mataji
jagbir
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