Love this! As a revert to Catholicism, I found studying vishitadvaita (qualified non-dualsism of the Sri Ramanuja lineage) as religion major in college really expounded on the metaphysics of God/The Universe/Brahman that I longed to explore but weren't fully articulated in the Christianity I grew up with. Hinduism (that catch-all term!) does such an excellent job of conveying the majesty and glory of God and marrying it with philosophy and devotion. I can honestly say that without studying Vishitadvaita, I would not be a convinced Catholic today.
I agree, of course. One of the things I appreciate about Hinduism, is that you don't have to be a Hindu to benefit from the philosophical framework that it establishes, it pretty much works on any other religion, including Christianity. I have used this framework to inform my own religious experiences and convictions, which has been super helpful.
Every religion has a mystical tradition, but none provide such a detailed and comprehensive philosophical framework by which mystical experiences can be understood and referenced in the correct manner. South India has its own version of Catholicism, which differs somewhat from the mainstream version, as it is based on the teachings of St Thomas the Apostle and uses the ancient rites of the Syriac church. I had some exposure to this, going to a catholic school there, though as a child I wasn't aware of any of this, obviously.
I love this topic (divine matter, consciousness/Krishna realms, subtle bodies, etc) and you wrote an excellent article about it!
And that's really interesting. I didn't know there was a version of Catholicism there based on St. Thomas.
I went to a kirtan weekend at New Vrindabhan (?) in West Virginia, I was one of only a few white people there, it was mostly Indians. I was speaking with a young man about my age who was originally from India there (I was 24 at the time). I was telling him how I was straddling bhakti to Krishna and being Catholic and he said matter-of-factly, "Well, everyone knows St. Thomas came to India, and we have a tradition that Jesus spent some of his "lost years" traveling India and learning from sages." I had never heard either of those things before but it made me think. As did the pooja of food for Krishna they left as an offering that became holy once Krishna ate of it (then they couldn't touch it). I was immediately reminded of the Eucharist.
St Thomas going to India and dying there is, as far as I know, accepted fact, but Jesus travelling to Kashmir to learn from sages there is more of a local legend, there is no record of it outside of Kashmir, so to me it seems somewhat unlikely. If Jesus went anywhere during his missing years, it was probably Egypt.
Yes, those parallels between Catholicism and Vaishnavism are interesting, I would not be surprised if it turned out, that this particular branch of Hinduism was influenced by Christianity in some manner.
As for the topic itself, I'm speaking from experience here as I have encountered a number of different spiritual beings during my own spiritual journey. I will be sharing parts of it over time. I have also travelled to different spiritual realms. They're no myths and there is an awful lot we can learn by studying accounts of different people who have gotten glimpses into them.
Have you read Ian McGilchrist? You must! I started with the Master and his Emissary, then I suggest The Matter With Things. I believe Rod Dreher also urged you to read his work! You won’t be sorry.
Karla McLaren used to write about the psychic aspects of our bodies, and then came to realize that everything she had thought was "spiritual" was in fact physical. You might find her fascinating.
I checked out the link and I think she's wrong. She completely ignores the vast literature on NDEs, OBEs, remote viewing and so forth, as well as research on extranormal phenomena. If she's happier with a materialistic mindset, that's her business, but I'm not buying it. Also, calling chakras new age is the height of ignorance.
Love this! As a revert to Catholicism, I found studying vishitadvaita (qualified non-dualsism of the Sri Ramanuja lineage) as religion major in college really expounded on the metaphysics of God/The Universe/Brahman that I longed to explore but weren't fully articulated in the Christianity I grew up with. Hinduism (that catch-all term!) does such an excellent job of conveying the majesty and glory of God and marrying it with philosophy and devotion. I can honestly say that without studying Vishitadvaita, I would not be a convinced Catholic today.
Thanks for reading!
I agree, of course. One of the things I appreciate about Hinduism, is that you don't have to be a Hindu to benefit from the philosophical framework that it establishes, it pretty much works on any other religion, including Christianity. I have used this framework to inform my own religious experiences and convictions, which has been super helpful.
Every religion has a mystical tradition, but none provide such a detailed and comprehensive philosophical framework by which mystical experiences can be understood and referenced in the correct manner. South India has its own version of Catholicism, which differs somewhat from the mainstream version, as it is based on the teachings of St Thomas the Apostle and uses the ancient rites of the Syriac church. I had some exposure to this, going to a catholic school there, though as a child I wasn't aware of any of this, obviously.
I love this topic (divine matter, consciousness/Krishna realms, subtle bodies, etc) and you wrote an excellent article about it!
And that's really interesting. I didn't know there was a version of Catholicism there based on St. Thomas.
I went to a kirtan weekend at New Vrindabhan (?) in West Virginia, I was one of only a few white people there, it was mostly Indians. I was speaking with a young man about my age who was originally from India there (I was 24 at the time). I was telling him how I was straddling bhakti to Krishna and being Catholic and he said matter-of-factly, "Well, everyone knows St. Thomas came to India, and we have a tradition that Jesus spent some of his "lost years" traveling India and learning from sages." I had never heard either of those things before but it made me think. As did the pooja of food for Krishna they left as an offering that became holy once Krishna ate of it (then they couldn't touch it). I was immediately reminded of the Eucharist.
St Thomas going to India and dying there is, as far as I know, accepted fact, but Jesus travelling to Kashmir to learn from sages there is more of a local legend, there is no record of it outside of Kashmir, so to me it seems somewhat unlikely. If Jesus went anywhere during his missing years, it was probably Egypt.
Yes, those parallels between Catholicism and Vaishnavism are interesting, I would not be surprised if it turned out, that this particular branch of Hinduism was influenced by Christianity in some manner.
As for the topic itself, I'm speaking from experience here as I have encountered a number of different spiritual beings during my own spiritual journey. I will be sharing parts of it over time. I have also travelled to different spiritual realms. They're no myths and there is an awful lot we can learn by studying accounts of different people who have gotten glimpses into them.
I'm excited to read about your travels!
Have you read Ian McGilchrist? You must! I started with the Master and his Emissary, then I suggest The Matter With Things. I believe Rod Dreher also urged you to read his work! You won’t be sorry.
Sounds interesting, thanks for the recommendation!
Karla McLaren used to write about the psychic aspects of our bodies, and then came to realize that everything she had thought was "spiritual" was in fact physical. You might find her fascinating.
https://karlamclaren.com/a-message-to-followers-of-my-earlier-work/
I checked out the link and I think she's wrong. She completely ignores the vast literature on NDEs, OBEs, remote viewing and so forth, as well as research on extranormal phenomena. If she's happier with a materialistic mindset, that's her business, but I'm not buying it. Also, calling chakras new age is the height of ignorance.
Thank you.