Cheltenham Group Meeting 13/01/11 Synthesis

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fiona
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Cheltenham Group Meeting 13/01/11 Synthesis

Postby fiona » Fri Jan 14, 2011 1:49 pm

Cheltenham Group Meeting 13/01/2011
Synthesis
First, we focussed on pages 2-3 of the attached paper, in which H.H. (the Record, 1974) comments on the two streams – Devotion (Bhakti) and Knowledge (Adhyatma).
It provoked some interesting discussion. This included:
• Division? That doesn’t appear to be how one feels it. One holds the knowledge as true, yet one also has a devotional approach.
• But isn’t H.H. saying that those with Bhakti predominating give devotion to a ‘God’ outside of themselves, while those on the path of Knowledge experience Atman within?
• Although I can understand that division in the context of what H.H. was describing (i.e. the Mela), why do we need to stress the division between the two streams today?
• Well, some believe in Christ as external to themselves.
• But real Christianity is the Truth.
What followed were comments about one’s belief (e.g. in Christianity, or one’s sense of what Christ represented), and yet how we have also come to the Work, seeking a balance. Someone commented that he feels ‘the wedding is occuring right now in me’. The synthesis is happening.
The next focus was on page 3 of the paper (R.G.’s question on unity within the Society, and H.H.’s response - from the Record, 1988). This led to discussion/personal experiences regarding our understanding of words like ‘belief’ and ‘faith’. There was agreement that in regard to higher experiences, there is a synthesis of head and heart, producing a ‘knowingness’ that is the Unity. And, as in the final part of H.H.’s answer, on page 4, we felt that the meditation we have been given is the thread that holds our various approaches together.
What we now take away from this meeting, in regard to practical work, is the exercise and the work suggested in the 1963 Summer Programme.
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