Meher Baba had mixed things to say about religion, some positive, some negative, some neutral.
But when it came to saying something that is 100% unacceptable to a faith, Baba was perfectly equitable.
Hindism: Baba said 'many gods are madness.' (The Everything and the Nothing, p. 91) Many gods is the foundational principle of Hinduism. Take away many gods and it's not Hinduism; it's something else.
Buddhism: Baba said that nirvana is a stage before God realization. This defies the central tenet of Buddhism, that nirvana is the goal and there is nothing higher than this obliteration of self. Buddhism with God-realization is not Buddhism. It would be Hinduism.
Christianity: Baba said Jesus did not die on the cross, but survived. Death and resurrention is the central tenet of Christianity. Remove that and it's something else, and not Christianity.
Islam: Baba said that Mohammad was God. Mohammad's humanness and non-divinity is the first principle of Islam. Islam where Mohammad is God is not Islam.
Judaism: Baba never named Judaism as a religion, and did not include it when naming the great religions. He mentioned 'Jews' as a cultural set, but not 'Judaism.' However, Baba taught that Jesus was indeed the messiah. A Jew who believes that Jesus was the messiah is not a Jew, but a Christian.
Zoroastrianism: Baba said that the prayers Zoroastrian priests perform for money are powerless, and people should not pay. (Lord Meher, 1986 print ed., p. 902) Such priestly rituals are the main focus of Zoroastrianism. A person who did not pay a priest for rituals would not be a Zoroastrian.
Sunday, July 23, 2017
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Great remarks. Baba is the supreme iconoclast. Baba says the only legitimate representation of God (with the authority to act as such) is the Avatar and the Perfect Master. No one and nothing else has any legitimacy to speak/ act for God.
ReplyDeleteSt Francis was the greatest saint, according to Baba, because his love for the Christ resulted in his deification as a Perfect master.