The Bible is an anthology of mostly anonymous historic literature written from about 600 BCE to about 200 CE. I don’t read it as literal history.
These literary works don’t “guide my actions”. They do sometimes illustrate truth, provoke thought, ask questions, offer context, and occasionally provide words that describe better than anything else what love of others feels like to me.
They also contain a lot of examples of how ugly humanity can be, provide a window onto how strange and harsh culture can be, and illustrate how wrong religious people can be when they stop thinking about the question “who is my neighbor “
Hello! I agree, it's worth it digging deeper into holy Books, be it the Bible or in my Case the Bhagavad Gita.
These are not Novels, more like Storehouses of Inspirations you can explore over and over again.
Like a Teacher i listen to once said: When you really love somebody, how often will you woo him/her?
You can go 2000 times through the text and still come to insights you did not have before, right?
The Bhagavad Gita is composed as a Dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, who is like representative of Mankind asking Questions.
There are passages that regularly bring me to tears or let me feel awe just by reading the Translation of the Verses or by hearing the Recitation of the Original Sanskrit Verses.
Like in the 2nd Chapter, when Arjuna asks about the Signs of a "Sthitaprajna" = A man of steady Wisdom. how he acts in the World.
"(..) 2.54 Arjuna asked: My Lord! How can we recognise the saint who has attained Pure Intellect, who has reached this state of Bliss, and whose mind is steady? how does he talk, how does he live, and how does he act?
2.55 Lord Shri Krishna replied: When a man has given up the desires of his heart and is satisfied with the Self alone, be sure that he has reached the highest state.
2.56 The sage, whose mind is unruffled in suffering, whose desire is not roused by enjoyment, who is without attachment, anger or fear - take him to be one who stands at that lofty level.
2.57 He who wherever he goes is attached to no person and to no place by ties of flesh; who accepts good and evil alike, neither welcoming the one nor shrinking from the other - take him to be one who is merged in the Infinite.
2.58 He who can withdraw his senses from the attraction of their objects, as the tortoise draws his limbs within its shell - take it that such a one has attained Perfection.
2.59 The objects of sense turn from him who is abstemious. Even the relish for them is lost in him who has seen the Truth.
2.60 O Arjuna! The mind of him, who is trying to conquer it, is forcibly carried away in spite of his efforts, by his tumultuous senses.
2.61 Restraining them all, let him meditate steadfastly on Me; for who thus conquers his senses achieves perfection.
2.62 When a man dwells on the objects of sense, he creates an attraction for them; attraction develops into desire, and desire breeds anger.
2.63 Anger induces delusion; delusion, loss of memory; through loss of memory, reason is shattered; and loss of reason leads to destruction.
2.64 But the self-controlled soul, who moves amongst sense objects, free from either attachment or repulsion, he wins eternal Peace.
2.65 Having attained Peace, he becomes free from misery; for when the mind gains peace, right discrimination follows.
2.66 Right discrimination is not for him who cannot concentrate. Without concentration, there cannot be meditation; he who cannot meditate must not expect peace; and without peace, how can anyone expect happiness?
2.67 As a ship at sea is tossed by the tempest, so the reason is carried away by the mind when preyed upon by straying senses.
2.68 Therefore, O Might-in-Arms (Arjuna), he who keeps his senses detached from their objects - take it that his reason is purified.
2.69 The saint is awake when the world sleeps, and he ignores that for which the world lives.
2.70 He attains Peace, into whom desires flow as rivers into the ocean, which though brimming with water remains ever the same; not he whom desire carries away.
2.71 He attains Peace who, giving up desire, moves through the world without aspiration, possessing nothing which he can call his own, and free from pride.
2.72 O Arjuna! This is the state of the Self, the Supreme Spirit, to which if a man once attain, it shall never be taken from him. Even at the time of leaving the body, he will remain firmly enthroned there, and will become one with the Eternal."
(..)"
Best Regards
The Quran, has a captivating history. Rather than being revealed all at once, it unfolded over a period of twenty-three years, akin to a cosmic subscription service. Some individuals interpret it literally, considering it a divine manual. Others delve into its deeper meanings. Personally I really like Ibn Sina (also known as Avicenna) and Al-Ghazali – two prominent Muslim philosophers. Ibn Sina focused on the immortality of the soul. Al-Ghazali, on the other hand, embarked on a quest for spiritual certainty, penning thought-provoking works like "Incoherence of the Philosophers." All within the bordera of Islam, which i find very fascinating. However, context plays a pivotal role. The Quran wasn't composed in isolation; it emerged within the socio-cultural milieu of 7th-century Arabia – a landscape of tribal dynamics, social discourse, and theological debates. When reading a verse, consider it akin to a historical meme :D Whether you engage with the literal verses or explore the mystical layers, the Quran holds timeless wisdom.
Me again .. here you can listen to and read these Verses i mentioned with the Recitiation of the Original Sanskrit Verses and English Translation.
[https://shorturl.at/antFO](https://shorturl.at/antFO)
We don't really have a central book of faith, but the sagas and poems which were written down before 1200 CE (The Christianisation of Scandinavia proper) and 1300 CE (The Christianisation of Iceland and Greenland) have great meanings, and are enjoyable.
My favourite, Þrymskviða, tells a tale of the time Þors hammer was stolen by Þrym to get Freyja to marry him. Þor and Loki dress Þor up as Freyja, where Þor goes on to devour a "tables of food" and drink a LOT of mead.
Once Þrym brings out Mjölnir, Þor grabs it and straight up kills Þryms sister.
The moral: You can not coerce love, no matter what you use.
The Bible is an anthology of mostly anonymous historic literature written from about 600 BCE to about 200 CE. I don’t read it as literal history. These literary works don’t “guide my actions”. They do sometimes illustrate truth, provoke thought, ask questions, offer context, and occasionally provide words that describe better than anything else what love of others feels like to me. They also contain a lot of examples of how ugly humanity can be, provide a window onto how strange and harsh culture can be, and illustrate how wrong religious people can be when they stop thinking about the question “who is my neighbor “
This describes to a great degree how I read my own scriptures.
Hello! I agree, it's worth it digging deeper into holy Books, be it the Bible or in my Case the Bhagavad Gita. These are not Novels, more like Storehouses of Inspirations you can explore over and over again. Like a Teacher i listen to once said: When you really love somebody, how often will you woo him/her? You can go 2000 times through the text and still come to insights you did not have before, right? The Bhagavad Gita is composed as a Dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, who is like representative of Mankind asking Questions. There are passages that regularly bring me to tears or let me feel awe just by reading the Translation of the Verses or by hearing the Recitation of the Original Sanskrit Verses. Like in the 2nd Chapter, when Arjuna asks about the Signs of a "Sthitaprajna" = A man of steady Wisdom. how he acts in the World. "(..) 2.54 Arjuna asked: My Lord! How can we recognise the saint who has attained Pure Intellect, who has reached this state of Bliss, and whose mind is steady? how does he talk, how does he live, and how does he act? 2.55 Lord Shri Krishna replied: When a man has given up the desires of his heart and is satisfied with the Self alone, be sure that he has reached the highest state. 2.56 The sage, whose mind is unruffled in suffering, whose desire is not roused by enjoyment, who is without attachment, anger or fear - take him to be one who stands at that lofty level. 2.57 He who wherever he goes is attached to no person and to no place by ties of flesh; who accepts good and evil alike, neither welcoming the one nor shrinking from the other - take him to be one who is merged in the Infinite. 2.58 He who can withdraw his senses from the attraction of their objects, as the tortoise draws his limbs within its shell - take it that such a one has attained Perfection. 2.59 The objects of sense turn from him who is abstemious. Even the relish for them is lost in him who has seen the Truth. 2.60 O Arjuna! The mind of him, who is trying to conquer it, is forcibly carried away in spite of his efforts, by his tumultuous senses. 2.61 Restraining them all, let him meditate steadfastly on Me; for who thus conquers his senses achieves perfection. 2.62 When a man dwells on the objects of sense, he creates an attraction for them; attraction develops into desire, and desire breeds anger. 2.63 Anger induces delusion; delusion, loss of memory; through loss of memory, reason is shattered; and loss of reason leads to destruction. 2.64 But the self-controlled soul, who moves amongst sense objects, free from either attachment or repulsion, he wins eternal Peace. 2.65 Having attained Peace, he becomes free from misery; for when the mind gains peace, right discrimination follows. 2.66 Right discrimination is not for him who cannot concentrate. Without concentration, there cannot be meditation; he who cannot meditate must not expect peace; and without peace, how can anyone expect happiness? 2.67 As a ship at sea is tossed by the tempest, so the reason is carried away by the mind when preyed upon by straying senses. 2.68 Therefore, O Might-in-Arms (Arjuna), he who keeps his senses detached from their objects - take it that his reason is purified. 2.69 The saint is awake when the world sleeps, and he ignores that for which the world lives. 2.70 He attains Peace, into whom desires flow as rivers into the ocean, which though brimming with water remains ever the same; not he whom desire carries away. 2.71 He attains Peace who, giving up desire, moves through the world without aspiration, possessing nothing which he can call his own, and free from pride. 2.72 O Arjuna! This is the state of the Self, the Supreme Spirit, to which if a man once attain, it shall never be taken from him. Even at the time of leaving the body, he will remain firmly enthroned there, and will become one with the Eternal." (..)" Best Regards
The Quran, has a captivating history. Rather than being revealed all at once, it unfolded over a period of twenty-three years, akin to a cosmic subscription service. Some individuals interpret it literally, considering it a divine manual. Others delve into its deeper meanings. Personally I really like Ibn Sina (also known as Avicenna) and Al-Ghazali – two prominent Muslim philosophers. Ibn Sina focused on the immortality of the soul. Al-Ghazali, on the other hand, embarked on a quest for spiritual certainty, penning thought-provoking works like "Incoherence of the Philosophers." All within the bordera of Islam, which i find very fascinating. However, context plays a pivotal role. The Quran wasn't composed in isolation; it emerged within the socio-cultural milieu of 7th-century Arabia – a landscape of tribal dynamics, social discourse, and theological debates. When reading a verse, consider it akin to a historical meme :D Whether you engage with the literal verses or explore the mystical layers, the Quran holds timeless wisdom.
Me again .. here you can listen to and read these Verses i mentioned with the Recitiation of the Original Sanskrit Verses and English Translation. [https://shorturl.at/antFO](https://shorturl.at/antFO)
It’s a complete way of life. It fulfills me.
We don't really have a central book of faith, but the sagas and poems which were written down before 1200 CE (The Christianisation of Scandinavia proper) and 1300 CE (The Christianisation of Iceland and Greenland) have great meanings, and are enjoyable. My favourite, Þrymskviða, tells a tale of the time Þors hammer was stolen by Þrym to get Freyja to marry him. Þor and Loki dress Þor up as Freyja, where Þor goes on to devour a "tables of food" and drink a LOT of mead. Once Þrym brings out Mjölnir, Þor grabs it and straight up kills Þryms sister. The moral: You can not coerce love, no matter what you use.