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As Atheism Declines From Western Thinking, Ancient Religions are Emerging

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http://religion.upi.com/view.php?StoryID=20050301-052524-8669r

March 1, 2005: With the decline of atheism as evidenced when British

philosopher Anthony Flew turned his back on his previous belief

structure, new spirituality with new and ancient roots is replacing the

former movement. Flew calls his new-found belief 'embracing the

intelligent design' and he said, "It is, for example, impossible for

evolution to account for the fact than one single cell can carry more

data than all the volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica put

together." Turkish philosopher Haan Yahya said, "Atheism, which people

have tried to for hundreds of years as 'the ways of reason and

science,' is proving to be mere irrationality and ignorance. The time

is fast approaching when many people who are living in ignorance with

no knowledge of their Creator will be graced by faith in the impending

post-atheist world." The news release said, "A few years ago, European

scientists sniggered when studies in the United States -- for example,

at Harvard and Duke universities -- showed a correlation between faith,

prayer and recovery from illness. Now 1,200 studies at research centers

around the world have come to similar conclusions, according to

'Psychologie Heute,' a German journal, citing, for example, the marked

improvement of multiple sclerosis patients in Germany's Ruhr District

due to 'spiritual resources'."

Traditional Christians have been waiting for this time when atheism,

that was formerly backed by scientific evidence, would lose its

credibility when new findings were recorded. However these same

Christians are surprised that a different kind of spirituality is

emerging. Rev. Paul M. Zulehner, dean of Vienna University's divinity

school, explained, "True atheists in Europe have become an

infinitesimally small group. There are not enough of them to be used

for sociological research. However, in the rest of Europe

re-Christianization is by no means occurring. What we are observing

instead is a re-paganization." Rev. Gerald McDermott, an Episcopal

priest and professor of religion and philosophy at Roanoke College in

Salem, Va., commented about a similar phenomenon in the U.S., " The

rise of all sorts of paganism is creating a false spirituality that

proves to be a more dangerous rival to the Christian faith than

atheism."

In conclusion, Zulehner said, " In the long run the survival of

worldviews should be expected to follow this lineup: The great world

religions are best placed. As a distant second he sees the diffuse

forms of spirituality. Atheism, he insisted, will come in at the tail

end."

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What a mildly arrogant and unspiritual thing to say. Embrace the Void, Capra. Unless you're too attached to maya that is...:D

 

I think he's right, though, in that we'll see an upsurge in Buddhism and Taoism in the West. Well, not so much Taoism. But Buddhism yes, as long as someone with the right talents applys themselves to the situation.

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http://www.beliefnet.com/story/161/story_16115.html

 

IOWA, USA, March 6, 2005: In this news release V.V. Ganeshanathan, a

freelance journalist and graduate student at the Iowa Writers'

Workshop, shares her religious experiences growing up in the Sri Lankan

Hindu community in Bethesda, Maryland. V.V. Ganeshanathan recalls, "We

sang traditional thevaram, prayers in Tamil and Sanskrit, and listened

to legends of the gods recounted in English. For the children, the

stories were the best part; we sat through an hour of prayers that most

of us did not understand in order to hear them. Cross-legged on

someone's living room carpet, we passed the time by studying the

pictures of various gods--Siva, Murugan, Ganesh--propped up against a

fireplace, with flowers, incense, and prasatham, an offering of food,

before them. To some, the scene might have looked like a conflict:

prayers and thoughts directed to (essentially) one God; pictures of

many."

 

At school Ganeshanathan tried to resolve the apparent contradiction

where Western religious textbooks described Hindus as polytheists but

inside she felt Hinduism was also monotheist. Ganeshanathan explains,

"Polytheism and monotheism are the religious categories that everyone

knows, the ones everyone thinks matter. But there are religions that

are neither, and to me, Hinduism is one of them--not as easily

explained, perhaps, as the binary-inclined Western world would like it

to be. Hinduism is not unique in falling outside of the

polytheistic/monotheistic binary model that most people and textbooks

use. I have Buddhist friends who are irritated by the idea of even

being classified as a religion--they consider Buddhism a philosophy,

not a religion. But Hinduism is unique, at least in the scope of my own

knowledge about religion, in the way it presents its "monotheistic" and

"polytheistic" facets. One enfolds the other. A prayer directed to

Ganesh often asks for welcome--at other times, it requests blessings on

studies. To process a world in which everything is one, a Hindu

separates out parts of God for different purposes." Ganeshanathan

offers further elucidation, "This multiplicity of truth is a pillar of

the Hinduism I know. To categorize is not just impossible, it's

irrelevant. Just as, throughout life, we discover parts of ourselves we

had not known, we discover more faces of God. Just as a mother is also

a daughter, God will always exist both in one face and beyond that

face. A Hindu praying for something specific simply underlines the

request by directing it to the facet of the deity whose business that

is. My God has different faces; he does not explain them. He simply has

the ability to be both One and Many."

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http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/03/14/findrelig.DTL

 

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, March 14, 2005: This news release features

an interview with former U.S. Air Force Colonel Kirby Knox, a devotee

of Ammachi, the Hindu holy woman revered as the 'Hugging Saint'. Mr.

Knox was raised in a strict Methodist family and his father was also in

the Air Force. He became interested in Eastern spirituality when he was

in medical school. After reading Raymond Moody's book 'Life after Life'

that gave personal accounts of near-death experiences, Knox began his

own personal search for his religious roots. Knox recalls his first

experiences with Ammachi, "One of my friends was a serious devotee of

hers and invited us to the ashram [in San Ramon]. Each time, I got her

blessing, her darshan, which is a very powerful spiritual experience.

About two and a half years ago, that same friend suggested I spend

three days on retreat with her. As I was sitting there, watching this

woman beam unconditional love to every person, every single person she

was hugging that day -- and feeling that unconditional love myself -- I

started thinking about that [memory] and how this was almost like being

in the presence of Jesus. One thing led to another, and it was like

some floodgate in my heart opened up, like a ton of bricks fell -- I

just fell in love with this person.

 

Since that time, I've gone to every one of her retreats here locally.

Tasha, my wife, and I have become fairly serious devotees." As a

born-again Hindu (this is what Knox calls himself), Knox said, "Part of

my spiritual practice is, as much as I can, turning over every aspect

of my life to Amma. I do it in little ways, like when I'm driving in a

car and I notice that I'm stressed out because I'm trying to get

somewhere in a hurry. I'll say to myself, 'Just let go of the anxiety.

Turn it over to Amma. If she wants me to get there on time, I will. If

she wants me to be late, then that's OK with me, because she's the one

establishing the rules here.' It's brought me a tremendous amount of

peace and serenity in my life. When you surrender the responsibility

for how things turn out, you're no longer burdened by it." When

questioned how he applies this surrender to his daily life as a

physician Knox replied, "As a Western physician, I was taught that I am

responsible for the health care of my patients. I had to decide what

the problem was, choose the right medication and do the follow-up to

make sure everything went well. So there's this tremendous

responsibility that I, as the physician, assumed. But since I met Amma,

I've done a lot more of saying to myself, 'OK, Amma, I'm asking you to

let me be an instrument of your healing. I'm going to do the best I

can, take care of people as much as I can, but I'm going to let the

result of my effort be in your hands.'"

 

Apparently most of Knox's friends have excepted his new found

spirituality. However his Methodist family prefer to keep the subject

at arm's length as they do not accept Knox's commitment. When asked

about his spiritual practises Knox said, "I do quite a few things. I

have a mantra that Amma gave me. I'm supposed to recite it 108 times a

day. But I try to do it as much as I can, when I'm shaving or driving

my car. I also try to get up once in the middle of the night to pray

and meditate for an hour or so." Summing up his religious beliefs and

finding his true nature, Knox said, "You probably don't know until the

moment you've awakened, because, up to that point, there's still a

concept of 'I,' which represents the ego. As long as the ego is there,

there is a sense of separateness between you and everything else. If

there's ever going to be an experience of oneness, then you, as an

entity, have to disappear. My desire is that, through spiritual

practices and the grace of Amma, at some point in my life, my sense of

individuality will be eliminated, and, in that instant of time, there

won't be a Kirby anymore. Everything will be God -- it will all be one

with me."

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Who's gonna save him from this ghastly act of self-murder?

 

____________________________

 

 

"You probably don't know until the

moment you've awakened, because, up to that point, there's still a

concept of 'I,' which represents the ego. As long as the ego is there,

there is a sense of separateness between you and everything else. If

there's ever going to be an experience of oneness, then you, as an

entity, have to disappear. My desire is that, through spiritual

practices and the grace of Amma, at some point in my life, my sense of

individuality will be eliminated, and, in that instant of time, there

won't be a Kirby anymore. Everything will be God -- it will all be one

 

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"Who's gonna save him from this ghastly act of self-murder?

 

____________________________

 

 

"You probably don't know until the

moment you've awakened, because, up to that point, there's still a

concept of 'I,' which represents the ego. As long as the ego is there,

there is a sense of separateness between you and everything else. If

there's ever going to be an experience of oneness, then you, as an

entity, have to disappear. My desire is that, through spiritual

practices and the grace of Amma, at some point in my life, my sense of

individuality will be eliminated, and, in that instant of time, there

won't be a Kirby anymore. Everything will be God -- it will all be one "

 

 

What is wrong with this? This is Hinduism, or at least one aspect of Hinduism, and he gets it. Maybe you choose to live in delusion and think that your individuality is the most important thing in the world. But at the same time, you're keeping that wall between you and Krsna, as far as I'm concerned. You'll keep reincarnating, and never go back to Krsna, from where all of us have come, simply because you treasure that individuality so much.

 

What he is talking about isn't spiritual suicide, it's spiritual fulfillment. To turns things completely over to God, to realize that your life is merely an illusion, and to return to Godhead should be the ultimate goal.

 

 

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Dear guest,

 

Please understand that these Krsna devotees consider your sayuja-mukti to be a form of hell. Losing awareness of your eternal individuality is also losing the oppurtunity for bhakti-rasa. I have seen some bhaktas turn white with fear and cover their ears when just the thought of such a thing was suggested to them, so please don't be surprised by their rejecting the impersonal form of liberation.

 

Also who cares what is or is not Hinduism?

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Deat guest

 

 

Maybe you choose to live in delusion and think that your individuality is the most important thing in the world. But at the same time, you're keeping that wall between you and Krsna, as far as I'm concerned. You'll keep reincarnating, and never go back to Krsna, from where all of us have come, simply because you treasure that individuality so much.

 

 

 

You confuse the false ego or ahamkara as it is called with the real ego or knowing oneself as the anu-chit (infinitesemal consciousness) of the infinite-consciousness God. The false ego is in fact a distorted reflection of the real individuality; nothing in this world comes out of thin air and everything is a distorted form of the real spiritual realm. The Lord has been fulfilling all our desires since time immemorial and if we desire to nihilate ourselves He will create a situation appropriate for that too. Also remember that without devotional service even sayujya mukti is not attainable for we cannot approach the spiritual realm without a "push" from the Supreme Spirit.

 

Additionally the statement "Everything will be God -- it will all be one" is only fooling oneself. The illusory material potency (mahamaya) is not God, we are not God etc.

 

 

What he is talking about isn't spiritual suicide, it's spiritual fulfillment. To turns things completely over to God, to realize that your life is merely an illusion, and to return to Godhead should be the ultimate goal.

 

 

 

Maybe a zero bank balance is a kind of spiritual fulfilment compared to previous situation of debt, but it can really mean to remain deprived of attainment of true spiritual position for eternity and so the devotees consider it to be worse than hell.
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Vaisnavism is the eternal constitutional position of the soul as the active eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead.

 

Hinduism is a hodge podge collection of various systems and approachs to the Absolute Truth which do not always have the same desitination. All of which Krsna told Arjuna to abandone and just surrender unto Him.

 

Externaly it may look the same or similar but when we look a little closer we see nothing sectarian about the Hare Krsna mantra.

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Thiest, hinduism is Hodge podge, I know cause I come from that background. I did find it funny when you said you are a part time practioner of krsna consciousness.

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Srila Prabhupada used the term hodge podge when refering to hinduism. That is where I first heard it. One reason I think that we have a hard time making distinctions with hinduism is that all the practices are so far from the western mind in general that is all looks the same to us. Exotic and over our heads with a bewildering display of gods and stories of those gods and it is all so vast.

 

I was being very honest about being a partime practioner. I am not even chanting 16 rounds and somedays I don't chant any. Although everyday I read something and try to bring the issue of our being spiritual entities into the public discourse. I am very unsteady in my practice and have always been unsteady. Some may behave this way from attaining some atual spontaneous love for Krsna and rise above sadhana bhakti which is still sadhana but transitioning higher. At least this is what I believe. But I am on the other end which is below the proper practice of sadhana bhakti.

 

I do what I can (or am willing) do. It is a rough stage charaterized by doubts, depression, joy and increasing knowledge all jumbled together in something called a life. And hopefully at some point some awakened faith and conviction will come.

 

But today the future looks bright and when we think in terms of our eternal nature it looks very bright for everyone of Krsna's sleep parts and parcels.

 

Just as an earth mother is watchful over her children even when they sleep, Krsna is even that much more loving and watchful.

 

That can only be a good thing. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

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http://www.harunyahya.com/articles/70scientific_world.html

 

TEXAS, USA, February 25, 2005: When 81-year-old atheist philosopher

Anthony Flew announced to the world that he was no longer an atheist

and considered his previous theories to be flawed, the world started

taking notice. After teaching atheism at prestigious universities such

as Oxford, Aberdeen, Keele and Reading and lecturing at many American

and Canadian universities, the final turning point came for Flew after

a conference at the Institute for Metascientific Research in Texas in

May, 2003. The news release explains, "Flew participated together with

author Roy Abraham Varghese, Israeli physicist and molecular biologist

Gerald Schroeder, and Roman Catholic philosopher John Haldane. Flew was

impressed by the weight of the scientific evidence in favor of creation

and by the convincing nature of his opponents' arguments, and abandoned

atheism as an idea in the period following that discussion. In a letter

he wrote for the August-September, 2003, edition of the British

magazine Philosophy Now, he recommended Schroeder's book "The Hidden

Face of God: Science Reveals the Ultimate Truth" and Varghese's book

"The Wonderful World." During an interview with the professor of

philosophy and theology Gary R. Habermas, who also played a major role

in his change of mind, and also on the video "Has Science Discovered

God?," he openly stated that he believed in intelligent design.

 

Flew cites the following three scientific reasons for his change of

perspective, "Biologists' investigation of DNA has shown, by the almost

unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce

[life], that intelligence must have been involved. It has become

inordinately difficult even to begin to think about constructing a

naturalistic theory of the evolution of that first reproducing

organism. I have been persuaded that it is simply out of the question

that the first living matter evolved out of dead matter and then

developed into an extraordinarily complicated creature."

 

The article says, "The DNA research which Flew cites as a fundamental

reason for his change of opinion has indeed revealed striking facts

about creation. The helix shape of the DNA molecule, its possession of

the genetic code, the nucleotide strings that refute blind chance, the

storage of encyclopaedic quantities of information and many other

striking findings have revealed that the structure and functions of

this molecule were arranged for life with a special design. Comments by

scientists concerned with DNA research bear witness to this fact."

Scientist Francis Crick who discovered the helix shape of DNA says, "An

honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could

only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment

to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have had

to have been satisfied to get it going."

 

Led Adleman from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles

says, "One gram of DNA can store as much information as a trillion

compact discs." Gerald Schroeder, the creationist scientist who wrote

the book "The Hidden Face of God," and who greatly influenced Flew,

sums it up, "A single consciousness, a universal wisdom, pervades the

universe. The discoveries of science, those that search the quantum

nature of subatomic matter, have moved us to the brink of a startling

realization: all existence is the expression of this wisdom. In the

laboratories we experience it as information that first physically

articulated as energy and then condensed into the form of matter. Every

particle, every being, from atom to human, appears to represent a level

of information, of wisdom."

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I have a lot of respect for the mind of someone who was so devoted to atheism and whose false ego status had been at the top rung of that view so much so as to be the shining light of that position , to suddenly and openly adopt the exact opposite position and proclaim all his previous life works flawed.

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Scientific research into both the functioning of the cell and the subatomic particles of matter has revealed this fact in an indisputable manner: Life and the universe were brought into being from nothing by the will of an entity possessed of a superior mind and wisdom. There is no doubt that the possessor of that knowledge and mind that pervade the universe at all levels is Almighty Allah. Allah reveals this truth in the Qur'an:

 

Both East and West belong to Allah, so wherever you turn, the Face of Allah is there. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing." (Qur'an, 2:115)

__

 

Give credit where credit is due. A fine article by our brother and fellow theist, who presently is identfifying as a Muslim.

 

 

 

 

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" The stream of human knowledge is impartially heading toward a non-mechanical reality: the universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine. Mind no longer appears as an accidental intruder into the realm of matter. We are beginning to suspect that we ought to hail it as the creator and govenor of this realm." - Sir James Jeans, British astronomer.

 

 

A devotee then would ask; "Whose mind?"

 

Krsna is the conclusive truth. It all goes back to Him.

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