The first stage is therefore from birth to age eight, and corresponds to the nature of the first prophet and first religion, Adam, and Buddhism. Adam is identified by Bapak as the first Buddha. This corresponds to the beginning of our material existence. The important thing about the prophet Adam is that God created him, this was the beginning of enlightened human existence. Thus it corresponds to the material force, which is visible from the nature of Buddhist statues of gurus meditating - they adopt postures to bring about perfect stillness.
The second stage is from age eight to age sixteen, and corresponds to the Prophet Abraham. I also identify it with Hinduism and Paganism, and the figure of Arjuna in the Mahābhārata, who bears a strong resemblance to Abraham. The distinctive feature of Abraham's Prophethood was the depth of his faith and surrender to God. This can be seen from the story of when God asked him to sacrifice his only son. Abraham was completely willing to follow God's commands, even though his child was the most important thing in the world to him. This obedience to God's command is representative of a child reaching an age when they are able to follow their parents instructions, without considering the rightness or wrongness of these demands, nor the reasoning behind them.
The third stage is from age sixteen to age twenty-four, and corresponds to the example of the Prophet Moses, and thus the Jewish religion. At this age a youth is considered an adult in the law, and is able to think in terms of right and wrong not simply as a form of obedience, but as concepts important in themselves. However at this stage they still have difficulty relating to there being an underlying reasoning behind them. This is related to the advent of sexual maturity, whereby a person becomes ready to marry at this age. This is exemplified by the life of the Prophet Moses - whereby he parted the Red Sea. The colour red is symbolic of desire, the animal passions: his separation of it is representative of the awareness of the difference between right and wrong. Furthermore, his bringing of the Hebrew people out of Israel and into the Holy Land is symbolic of a child leaving their parents, and uniting with their spouse in Holy Matrimony. The complex system of laws in Judaism is thus a feature of this awareness of right and wrong.
The forth stage is from the ages of twenty-four to thirty-two. This corresponds to the prophet Jesus Christ, and the religion of Christianity. Whereas Moses was able to part the waters, Jesus Christ walked above them, and his crucifixion represented the intersection between this world and the next, his arms outstretched, holding open the gateway to heaven for all human beings who have faith in him. His teaching, that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, shows finally the appreciation of the purpose behind moral commands. His emphasis upon love for our fellow human beings represents this age of human life whereby men and women are responsible enough to look after and care for their families.
The fifth stage is from the ages of thirty-two to forty. This corresponds to the Prophet Muhammad, Sallallaahu 'Alayhe wa Sallam, and the religion of Islam. The exemplary aspect of Muhammad's life was its completeness. No one else in human history before him lived such a complete life so fully - in both the spiritual and the secular. He began as a shepherd, became a merchant, married, had children making him a family man, amongst his followers he went from being a preacher to being a Prophet, and then when his followers were driven out of their homes, he became a freedom fighter, and finally achieving victory, a king. There are no other examples of this in history. Thus this represents the stage of human life when we reach a stage of maturity when we can look after not only our own families, but our communities and the whole of society. This is responsibility in its fullness.
Are there stages beyond this? Each stage represents or one of the life forces. The life forces exist and resonate in a cycle of four. Christianity, stage four, equates to the physical human life force and resonates with stage one, the material, which we can see in the manner in which human beings keep material objects much closer to them in their lives than do other animals, and Christian societies are the richest in the world and were the first to industrialise.
Islam, stage five, is at the level of the noble human life force, and resonates with stage two, the plant life force, and we can see this in the manner in which Islamic teachings keep Muslims fit and healthy, by banning alcohol and pork, making the faithful fast and pray through a cycle of bending and prostrating.
Any further stage would correspond to the sixth life force, the rahmani, and resonate with stage three, the animal. It would concern the purification and correction of sexual desire so each human being can relate to their spouse in a truly humane way, bringing happiness and fulfilment to their lives, and peace, harmony and welbeing to society.
0 comments:
Post a Comment