Logion 8: "Humankind is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of little fish."

Mar 21, 1923 – Feb 23, 2011
Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi was
Christian by birth, Hindu by
marriage, and Paraclete by duty.
"The Paraclete represents direct,
intimate divine intervention,
supporting and teaching
believers and challenging the
world, as Jesus did." (D. Stevick
Jesus and His Own, 2011, 290)

"A wise person will take in whatever is the wisdom. He won’t accept anything nonsensical. You go on reading the books, one after another one, after another one. So many books you read and where will you end up with that? You find you are reading books which are no good for you, useless but if you are fond of reading, you go on reading."

The Paraclete Shri Mataji


"At this time, I would like to say very humbly, that one should not discard this knowledge as useless because it is coming from a developing country like India. The Western culture has now advanced greatly as far as outward scientific life is concerned. Western civilisation is like a very big tree which has outgrown its own size. But one has to find the roots. If the roots are in India, or any other country, why do we not accept that a tree cannot exist without roots and roots have no meaning unless they nourish the trees."

The Paraclete Shri Mataj


"But now give up all nonsensical ideas about your seeking and useless ramblings. Seeking means not knowing about anything but becoming something.

For that, Christ crucified Himself. He resurrected Himself so that you all could be resurrected, so you have to, today, thank Him for giving you the lead of resurrection and in this lifetime only, you are going to be resurrected and you are going to see, with your own eyes, your resurrection as the disciples saw the resurrection of Christ. This is being all promised and this must happen to all of you.

So we should rejoice and be happy that the time has come for the resurrection and such a great event we are facing. We are such a people-give up our small visions and our petty hankerings, our small little lives in which we live like frogs. Expand yourself and think that today you are facing the drama of mass resurrection, not only that, but you are maneuvering it. So rejoice and be happy that what Christ did 2,000 years back, today we are going to do it. That's why Easter is a special day for all of us. It really is a very special day because in our lives the death has died and we are resurrected."

The Paraclete Shri Mataji
London, UK—April 6, 1980



8. And he said: The man is like a thoughtful fisherman who threw his net into the sea and pulled it out full of little fish. Among all the little fish, that thoughtful fisherman found one fine large fish that would be beneficial to him and, throwing all the little fish back into the sea, he easily chose to keep the large one. Whoever has ears to hear let him hear.

Saying 8 focuses on the act of finding. The discovery of the great fish is accidental; it is part of an ordinary catch drawn from the sea in the ordinary way, but the wisdom of the fisherman is to recognize and to choose the finest part. The great fish is, therefore, a symbol of something already out there in the world whose discovery can occur in the ordinary course of events. Realizing the value of what has been found is the real accomplishment.

Stevan Davies & Andrew Harvey, Gospel of Thomas Annotated and Explained Reviews, Skylights Path (2006) pp. 7-8

Saying 8

And he said, “The human one is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of little fish. Among them the wise fisherman discovered a fine large fish. He threw all the little fish back into the sea, and easily chose the larger fish. Anyone here with two good ears had better listen!"

The parables present an interesting interpretative problem. At the literary level, this one consists of a narrative within a simile that is explained by a narrative: the narrator’s voice (“And he said”) introduces a simile (“The human one is like”) that inaugurates another narrative (“a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea”). The perspectives on the meaning of parables reflect the complexity of literary angles within them: they will bear more meaning than appears at first, and, they provide readers (and seekers) a rich field with which to play for meaning (see Crossan 1973: 4-36). The word “play” should be emphasized: in every one of these sayings, the meanings and the theological or spiritual principles which inform meaning have been carefully and directly stated. The introduction of parables shifts from that discursive modality to one that requires greater interaction and less guidance from the narrative. The parables provide time and space for play.

The simile itself attempts to define, or to compare, the “human one” or “the man” to a fisherman. The ambiguity of the term “the human one” contrasts with the specificity of the description of the fisherman. The simile makes a definitive statement about the human condition: “The human one” resembles a “wise fisherman.” The human condition signified as the “human one” has the grammatical article (“the”) that indicates that this humanity is not just any human, but the ones who live in a special category of human beings, perhaps those capable of interpreting these sayings. That specific community reference to the human being as similar to a wise fisherman places the weight of the comparison on the description. Attentive readers, however, recognize that although the emphasis falls on the description, the import remains with the three suppressed elements (the sayings narrator; Jesus’ narrative; and the subject of that narrative, “the human one”). These voices seem to join with the voice at the end to say, “Anyone here with two good ears had better listen!” The suppressed elements find their voice in the injunction to pay attention: the readers and seekers (if they are as wise as the fisherman) will heed the understanding they might gain about their humanity, and especially about their humanity refracted through Jesus’ sayings and preserved in Thomas’ collection. That such an injunction to listen receives attention underscores that only select readers or seekers will be able to understand what transpires.

The narrative that follows has simple elements: a fisherman caught a net full of fish, but when he found a large fish he threw back all the other small fish. The wisdom of a fisherman throwing away the catch and keeping only one large fish inverts normal expectations. This is a wisdom of a different sort. This wisdom operates with a different set of values and a different orientation toward professional accomplishments. The goal of this wise fisherman is not to eat the fish or to sell them, but simply to reject all the smaller fish when he has found the largest one. The value of the one big fish makes all other systems of valuing irrelevant. Such a narrative defines a wisdom alternative to the dominant norm.

The readers/seekers may be located at any number of different points: they may be the fisherman who has gone fishing for their true self, and when they found it all the other petty identities were thrown aside; they may be the fine big fish that is found by the great fisherman of human souls and cherished beyond all the other fish who seem smaller in comparison;

The subtle narrative voices and parabolic subjects keep directing attention back to the interpretative community, the readers and the seekers who desire to understand their own human condition and to discover true wisdom. The truths expressed here, the playful exploring of meaning take on their ultimate significance among these final voices that make the playful interaction with the parable possible. Those who are capable of understanding these sublimated voices ultimately will find themselves and the truth.

Richard Valantasis, The Gospel of Thomas
Routledge; 1 edition (June 27, 1997) pp. 65-7

Related Articles:
The Gospel of Thomas Prologue
Logion 1
Logion 2
Logion 3
Logion 4
Logion 5
Logion 6
Logion 7
Logion 8
Logion 9
Logion 10
Logion 11
Logion 12 (October 4, 2012)
Logion 13
Logion 14
Logion 15
Logion ...

THE APOCALYPSE OF THE SPIRIT-PARACLETE
The fulfillment of the promise of eschatological divine instruction

 
 









 

"I am the one about which Christ has talked... I am the Holy Spirit who has incarnated on this Earth for your realization."

The Paraclete Shri Mataji


"Tell all the nations and tell all the people all over the Great Message that the Time of Resurrection is here. Now, at this time, and that you are capable of doing it."

The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Cowley Manor Seminar, UK—July 31, 1982


"This is the transformation that has worked, of which Christ has talked, Mohammed Sahib has talked, everybody has talked about this particular time when people will get transformed."

The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Chistmas Puja, Ganapatipule, India—25 December 1997


"The Resurrection of Christ has to now be collective resurrection. This is what is Mahayoga. Has to be the collective resurrection."

The Paraclete Shri Mataji
Easter Puja, London, UK—11 April 1982


"Announce it to all the seekers of truth, to all the nations of the world, so that nobody misses the blessings of the Divine to achieve their meaning, their absolute, their spirit."

The Paraclete Shri Mataji


"The main thing that one has to understand is that the time has come for you to get all that is promised in the scriptures, not only in the Bible but all the scriptures of the world."

The Paraclete Shri Mataji

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