28 Feb 2006 @ 16:52, by Shreepal Singh
The whole creation is divided into two opposite elements: the forces that serve Divine and the forces that serve all that that is opposed to Divine. On the path of communion with Divine, march is not easy. It is climbing up. It is struggle with oneself also. There are elements with ourselves also that serve the anti-Divine. In the steep climbing there is struggle all around: within oneself and struggle with the forces of anti-Divine that are there outside in the world. There are allurements, if these measure fail, then there are threats; and threats of all sorts. In this path of onward journey there is only one protection: protection provided by Divine. Nothing else works here. This protection is provided to those who SURRENDER to Divine. And, this exercise calls for complete sincerity on our part. This is the secret and this is the key. Through out the history of spiritual development of mankind, or the evolution of her consciousness, we consistently find this secret and key in operation. It has been with Lord Jesus Christ, it has been so with Lord Buddha, it has been so with all other pioneers of mankind’s civilization.
When an individual is opened up to Divine and comes into His communion, he no more remains fixed with the frame of reference of human being; he no longer sees things from the point of view of human beings. He, then, knows the secret of all secrets; he knows what human being knows and also that which the human being does not know and, till he remains what he is, cannot know.
The greatest problem confronting a human being who has got communion with Divine is this: he knows the secret of secrets; he has compassion on those who do not know; he is moved by that compassion to inform that secret to all those who are ignorant of the same and need to know it. But he is put to the task of finding the suitable means to convey the secret, the message. It simply cannot be conveyed through mere language. Then, Divine visionaries, prophets, seers and sages try to communicate the message through examples, parables, paradoxes, personal conduct and the story of their own life. We find so in the case Lord Jesus Christ also.
Saint Matthew informs us of Lord Jesus having said thus: (13-34) All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them.
He further says thus: (13-35) That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying. I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundations of the world. Matthew 13-10; And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 13-11; He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 13-13; Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not: and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
Lord Jesus Christ was in with communion with Divine and he always spoke as a person of authority who himself had seen the realty and knew the secret of secrets. He spoke as he was commanded to speak by Divine.
Saint Matthew speaks of the Lord thus:
7. 28 (Lord Christ) And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astounded at his doctrine; 7. 29; For he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes.
A human being in body and flesh has several limitations and constraints; he is not only limited in knowledge of things around him but he is rigidly stationed in a specific time-frame. He lives and acts with the events and circumstances that are placed ready made before him. He has no escape from this severe limitation. And, even an individual who has communion with Divine, though living in the knowledge of infinite and the secret of secrets, is made to accept by Divine the limitation of dealing with the events, personalities and circumstances of his particular times. Though such person knows the purpose and fate of his life, he knowingly and willingly completes his part of the cosmic play. Things in our mysterious universe are predetermined in their nature in the ultimate analysis, and yet they do not seem to us to happen that way. Though the unfolding of universe is a cosmic play, of which plot and theme are made out beforehand by Divine left only to be acted upon, nonetheless this play has to be acted upon by its actors with all the seriousness that could be there. The only difference here is that the ignorant ordinary human being (and all life) conducts his part unknowingly and the prophet conducts his part with full knowledge. Lord Jesus Christ, the prophet of mankind, spoke of the eternal truth and the words in which this eternal truth was conveyed thus:
Matthew 24-35-; Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Given the hard facts that the contents and nature of the message that prophets intend to communicate to the ordinary and ignorant laymen are the secret foundations of universe and that this subject for its conveyance to public admits only a language couched in parables and indirect indications, the task of prophets becomes doubly difficult. On the one hand, they are constrained to employ parables and examples to make things clear and unambiguous, on the other they have no alternative but to use contemporary circumstances, events and personalities, even though they the message they convey in this manner is immortal and applicable to all times that are yet to come and that have passed.
For the ignorant and ordinary people who live in the times of a prophet, and therefore are aware of the context of the peculiar circumstances then prevailing, it may not be too difficult to grasp the inner truth of the message. But it is not so simple for the people in later ages. These succeeding generations find themselves placed in distance not only of time but of circumstances and contexts. These later generations of people are apt by natural human tendency to take those words that were used thousands of years ago and in different circumstances in their literal sense. The depth of the intent sought to be conveyed by symbolic parables is rendered shallow by over simplification. The profoundness of the message is reduced to mere scripture. It is natural thing. It is the effect of time that is eternal on the message that is eternal.
However, despite the ill effects of time, there still remain in the utterances made and the parables used ages ago by prophets golden keys that are capable of opening the gates of secret treasures once indicated by them. These keys are preserved intact in the parables and examples used in the language and serve as the sustaining and life giving force of the prophetic message.
Let us try to locate these golden keys in the words of Lord Jesus Christ.
Saint Matthew says thus:
18-1; At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2- And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them. 3- And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4- Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 13-38; The field is the world; the good seed are children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
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