Written and posted by Jean-Louis.
Note from this blog writer: I
know that a lot has been written about Mr. Bell and Eastern spirituality. I
just want to contribute with this post my first hand knowledge of the subject.
I am trying to make it as simple as possible in order for
the reader to understand and make up his/her own mind about spiritual
teachings and subsequent practices incompatible and irreconcilable with biblical teachings. They
have been promulgated, adopted and have been firmly established with
their roots growing in all segments of western society in general and
the church in particular. The result is: choking the true life of the Holy Spirit
and producing progressive disease and death of the soul for those who adhere to them.
and producing progressive disease and death of the soul for those who adhere to them.
Further Reading Here The Light Seed related posts written by this blogger.
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What Rob Bell teaches about
yoga, meditation and the breath:
"Now from way back when our ancestors understood
that there’s something divine about our breath. There’s something sacred and
holy about the very act of breathing."
What the Hindu Masters teach
about Jesus:
Jesus
Christ and Kriya Yoga
http://www.yogananda-srf.org/The_Kriya_Yoga_Path_of_Meditation.aspx#.UKGE3YY_ehs
One of the essential goals of Paramahansa Yogananda’s mission was “to reveal the complete harmony and basic oneness of original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ and original Yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna; and to show that these principles of truth are the common scientific foundation of all true religions.”
To the public at large, Jesus propounded a simple philosophy of faith, love, and forgiveness. He spoke often in parables, pregnant with timeless morals. But to his close disciples he taught deeper truths, truths that have their correspondence in the deepest metaphysical concepts of the more ancient yoga philosophy.
One of the essential goals of Paramahansa Yogananda’s mission was “to reveal the complete harmony and basic oneness of original Christianity as taught by Jesus Christ and original Yoga as taught by Bhagavan Krishna; and to show that these principles of truth are the common scientific foundation of all true religions.”
To the public at large, Jesus propounded a simple philosophy of faith, love, and forgiveness. He spoke often in parables, pregnant with timeless morals. But to his close disciples he taught deeper truths, truths that have their correspondence in the deepest metaphysical concepts of the more ancient yoga philosophy.
The full understanding of Jesus’ original
teachings — including the fact that he bestowed on his disciples the esoteric
techniques of yoga meditation — is revealed in Paramahansa Yogananda’s in-depth commentary on the Gospels:
2. Hong-Sau Technique of Concentration helps to develop one’s latent powers of
concentration. Through practice of this technique one learns to withdraw
thought and energy from outward distractions so that they may be focused on any
goal to be achieved or problem to be solved. Or one may direct that
concentrated attention toward realizing the Divine Consciousness within.
HONG-SAU TECHNIQUE
Excerpts from a talk at 2004 Convocation by Brother Ishtananda
Excerpts from a talk at 2004 Convocation by Brother Ishtananda
Hong-Sau — 'I am He'
Hong-Sau is one of those great
techniques of yoga for pinpointing the mind. Sri Daya Mata has praised Hong-Sau
so much over the years and she says that whenever she has a few moments she
practices.
Hong-Sau means "I am He"— "I am Spirit".
Hong-Sau means "I am He"— "I am Spirit".
“Hong” and “Sau” are sacred Sanskrit words that have a vibratory
connection with the incoming and outgoing breath and they have a calming effect
on the breath. Breath
and mind are very much interrelated. Calm breath automatically brings about a
calm mind. Restless breath creates a restless mind. Just observing the breath
will quiet it down. Hong-Sau is a
mantra. It is very simple – basics are simple!
(25:10) it’s not how flexible you are, it’s not whether you can do the poses, it’s not how much you can bend yourself, it’s can you keep your breath (breathes in and out) consistent (breathes out) through whatever you are doing. And the Yoga Masters say this is how it is when you follow Jesus and surrender to God. Is it’s your breath being consistent. It’s your connection with God regardless of the pose you find yourself in. That’s integrating the divine into the daily. (breath)
And so that whatever you’re going through, you never lose (breathes in and out) consistent … deep… breathing.
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What the Bible and Jesus-Christ Teach:
Now let´s examine and consider carefully what God says about Himself in His creative, eternal, pure, indestructible, inerrant Word and His son Jesus-Christ who gave birth to Adam made of clay by blowing His breath into His nostrils.
We have to be very careful to not attribute the miracles of Almighty God creator of the souls of all mankind to another source of occult wisdom and knowledge that is described in Genesis 3.
Evidently, Mr. Bell is not intimately familiar with Hindu teachings and practices. Maybe his knowledge is limited to reading books and practicing contemplative prayers handed down from the Catholic Mystics and the Desert Fathers. But one cannot plead ignorance when being confronted with the reality of spiritual bankruptcy based on the teachings of the Father of lies who leads
his victims through the desert with no chance of finding their way out
unless the Lord Jesus intervenes and rescues them by the power of His
omnipresent Spirit. For further reading on a Desert Journey Click Here
(Written by this blogger)
Judge for yourself which is true looking at the evidence provided in this post. But be aware, once the truth has been revealed to you, you are responsible to accept or reject it, and to perpetuate the lies or changing your mind about who Jesus-Christ is and what He did for mankind in general and for you in particular.
Deuteronomy 32:39
New American Standard Bible (©1995)
'See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
Isaiah 43:10
King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Isaiah 43:25
American King James Version
I, even I, am he that blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember your sins.
I, even I, am he that blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember your sins.
Isaiah 51:12
New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of the son of man who is made like grass,
"I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies And of the son of man who is made like grass,
John 8:24
King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
Revelation
1:18
King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
I am grateful for the fact that you are speaking out and writing on this subject. These practices are running rampant among church-goers, many of whom simply believe that if the "church" says it is okay, then it must be. They are not mindful of the epidemic of deception that is taking place, and as the Lord said, "my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge". Some pastors take the approach that "as long as I am teaching the truth, I don't have to worry about all of that other stuff" but the fact is, a lot of sincere, truth-teaching pastors are oblivious to the plethora of falsehoods their congregants are inundated with via books for the "Christian" book store, music and "ministries" online, etc. If the under-shepherds don't know and don't warn, what chance do the "sheep" have? And yes, I mean that both in the scriptural sense and in the derogatory sense that most church-goers are even more sheep-like than the unchurched. God did not tell us to "check our brains" out in the vestibule when we come in to church. We are to do our own study. Even when pastors get a little offended or nervous about it. There is often a backlash whenever a believer calls out a pastor, but though we are not to judge the unbeliever, we are specifically instructed to hold one another accountable within the body. Thanks for this article J-L. I'll be sharing it on my site tomorrow. All is well here.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your encouragement and keeping me in your prayers. I do the same. Would you do me a favor?
ReplyDeleteMy new blog in English only has been up for a few weeks now. Even though I put no restrictions on comments, I still have no feed back, which would not be unusuala this point. I just wanted to test the comments feature, so just a hello would suffice. I have reposted almost all my personal posts and am still in the process of streamlining it. I still am missing some functions, but the essential is there. Also, please tell me if the link redirecting readers is easy to locate on the top of the side bar and is working. Thank you for your kind help. Jean-Louis http://lightnseed.blogspot.com