One Seeker's Journey: Discovery Channel Special: "Jesus the Complete Story"    
 Discovery Channel Special: "Jesus the Complete Story"7 comments
23 Dec 2002 @ 21:11, by Craig Lang

A couple of nights ago I saw an interesting documentary, aired on Discovery Channel. It was entitled "Jesus the Complete Story". The program had a very interesting take on the mission of Jeshua Ben Yusef (arguably the actual name of Jesus at that time). It looked at the context of the drama, including the politics of the time period, and described some very interesting themes.

One of the biggest themes was Jeshua's mission in the context of the resistance to Rome. He was looking for a way to resist Rome without violence. Many military messiahs had come and gone. Rebellions had occurred, and failed. For long-lasting freedom and reform to occur, the documentary stressed, was that it would not come by military might - Rome was too powerful. The only way that they would be free was to embrace a spiritual path, and nonviolent resistance.

I was struck by the similarity between the situation of that time, and the situation today. In fact, at times they verbally described the Roman occupation, but the visuals on the TV were of Israeli soldiers today, patrolling Jerusalem, the West Bank, etc. So today, while the players are different, the props are arranged differently on the screen, and the weapons have alot more power, the drama is essentially the same. It is a story of political tension, military occupation and resistance - constant rebellion, and simmering hatred.

The tides of history seem to be carrying us closer to war, yet deep within us, the still small voice of God tells us that the answer is seldom if ever force. The spirit is the answer - the only source of real peace.

Deep down, I wonder if this wasn't at least part of the real message of Jeshua Ben Yusef. A message of peace and freedom through nonviolence preached by this itinerant preacher and healer 2000 years ago. A message largely lost until Ghandi, made it succeed in our own times.

I wonder if heeding this message now is how we might achieve peace in the present day - a combination of spiritual enlightenment and nonviolent resistance to war. An interesting thought as we enter the (re-located) holiday celebrating His birth.

Namaste,
-Craig



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7 comments

24 Dec 2002 @ 01:11 by shawa : Hi, Craig...
The way to counteract the craziness and re-establish a balance of powers, is to know how "the adversary" (not the enemy) works. You can never defeat a shadow adversary whom you don´t know. In fact, western civilization´s shadows are its worst enemies, - not any other religion or culture.
"Peace and love" is not enough. A sound development of consciousness, awareness of just how the whole "old" civilization actually works in its obscure skeleton structure - might tip the scales in favor of peace. Actually, knowledge LEADS to peace, - and ignorance leads to war. And it will do so, until we LEARN.  

24 Dec 2002 @ 06:38 by craiglang : Agreed
Hi Shakti,
I agree. Thanks for the insight.
I think that's part of the spiritual path. Might that be another way of viewing the message of both Jeshua and Ghandi?
-Craig  

24 Dec 2002 @ 06:47 by martha : my wish
It would be nice for a change of pace to have a female spiritual leader. Both Jesus and Gandi did their best to send messages of love and peace. Obviously the"males" of this world haven't gotten the message.  

24 Dec 2002 @ 06:56 by spiritseek : Mother Teresa
Remember this lady with fond memories of her contributions to the poor. Lady Diana was a wonderful lady as well. Joan of Arc received her sainthood long after her death. Just a few I could think of right now but I'm sure there was more. Love and Light,Merry Christmas Marie  

24 Dec 2002 @ 08:02 by martha : Saintly women
You are right there have been some women.Somehow they don't seem to be valued in the same way. Good thing it is all shifting.
[email protected]  

24 Dec 2002 @ 10:38 by craiglang : Beyond Gender?
One thing that I've often heard is that when one gets closer to enlightenment, gender differences tend to become less important. Gender roles seem to be to be a largely external/cultural imposition. The more one becomes soul oriented, the less important these are.

I'm sure that those who are more knowledgable on specific traditions could say more on this than I. But many I know of or have met, who seemed to me to be pretty high on the enlightenment scale tend to be that way - an ever decreasing emphasis on gender roles. One of the finest spiritual teachers I've met in meditation study was a teacher named MaGita. She is a Swami in the Himalayan tradition and one of the more enlightened people I have met.

Thanx,
-Craig  

3 Jan 2003 @ 22:43 by vibrani : I saw it
I saw the special, and the special on the search for the burial place of Jesus. I enjoyed the various "experts" discussions on the subject of the times. In fact, I had shared some of this info in the Asylum. In ref. to the answer - I feel the answer will always be to realize the self as representative and image of God, and to that God in another. This asks for seeing the spirit or higher self of a person rather than just the physical body. When you have that common ground, you can work together on anything.  

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