I have always been bothered by Jesus' statement, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
Why did this phrase bother me? First, because it seemed an impossible ideal. Who hasn't been hurt and therefore judged the situation or person that harmed you. Don't we need to respond, to condemn that situation or person, so as to know our way forward? Aren't we also advised to have discernment? To discriminate between right and wrong, good and evil?
The answer seems to be in perspective, the position from which one is looking. On the one hand we are a being, a body, a focal point. Metaphysically, we call this perspective relative. In other words, we are looking at the world as an individual, with needs, desires, goals and dreams.
On the other hand, there is the perspective from the Absolute, from Being itself. From this perspective, the world, the universe, is as it should be. As it was intended. From this perspective, the world is perfect. It could be no other way.
It seems to me, that to understand Jesus' directive, one needs to take the top-down view, not the bottom-up view. Jesus is letting us know that to be aligned with truth, with God, the Absolute, we are required to let go of the bottom-up view, the personal view.
Isn't it the personal view that suffers, that resents, that assigns guilt and feels guilty in return? Isn't it the personal view, the bottom-up view, that judges, that condemns?
Jesus was speaking from the top-down view, from the view of Being, the Absolute. He was speaking from a higher truth. The view from the Absolute, which loves the whole of creation, without judgment. Beyond good and evil.
It is said we are created in the image of God. In essence, we can be nothing other than That.
If we are strong enough, and brave enough to look deeply into our self, we can leave off the judgments of the small self. We can surrender to the Absolute, the Impersonal Self. And in this surrender, we can enjoy the "peace that passeth understanding," where there is no sin, no judgment, no guilt. Free at last.
Why did this phrase bother me? First, because it seemed an impossible ideal. Who hasn't been hurt and therefore judged the situation or person that harmed you. Don't we need to respond, to condemn that situation or person, so as to know our way forward? Aren't we also advised to have discernment? To discriminate between right and wrong, good and evil?
The answer seems to be in perspective, the position from which one is looking. On the one hand we are a being, a body, a focal point. Metaphysically, we call this perspective relative. In other words, we are looking at the world as an individual, with needs, desires, goals and dreams.
On the other hand, there is the perspective from the Absolute, from Being itself. From this perspective, the world, the universe, is as it should be. As it was intended. From this perspective, the world is perfect. It could be no other way.
It seems to me, that to understand Jesus' directive, one needs to take the top-down view, not the bottom-up view. Jesus is letting us know that to be aligned with truth, with God, the Absolute, we are required to let go of the bottom-up view, the personal view.
Isn't it the personal view that suffers, that resents, that assigns guilt and feels guilty in return? Isn't it the personal view, the bottom-up view, that judges, that condemns?
Jesus was speaking from the top-down view, from the view of Being, the Absolute. He was speaking from a higher truth. The view from the Absolute, which loves the whole of creation, without judgment. Beyond good and evil.
It is said we are created in the image of God. In essence, we can be nothing other than That.
If we are strong enough, and brave enough to look deeply into our self, we can leave off the judgments of the small self. We can surrender to the Absolute, the Impersonal Self. And in this surrender, we can enjoy the "peace that passeth understanding," where there is no sin, no judgment, no guilt. Free at last.
2 comments:
This is an excellent post. It might look elementary, but the pointer it contains ~ how to get unstuck from a limited perspective, frees the reader to understand the deeper meaning of many mystical texts, and also to open to a more complete view (not that this can be manufactured).
On another note, great interview with Shawn Nevins on the Journeys of Spiritual Discovery podcast ~ really appreciate your view…
Thanks!
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