The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening: A Commentary on Jesus' Sayings as Recorded by the Apostle Thomas, by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri)
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The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening: A Commentary on Jesus' Sayings as Recorded by the Apostle Thomas, by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri)
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"From the very beginning there were two Christianities." While the rest of the Apostles dispersed to various areas of the Mediterranean world, the apostle Thomas travelled to India, where growing evidence shows that Jesus spent his "Lost Years," and which had been the source of the wisdom which he had brought to the "West." In The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening, Abbot George shines the "Light of the East" on the sometimes enigmatic sayings of Jesus recorded by his apostle Saint Thomas, revealing their unique and rich practical nature for modern day seekers for spiritual life. Below is a sample commentary on one of the verses of the Gospel of Thomas: Ending Duality Jesus said, When you make the two one, you will become the sons of man, and when you say, 'Mountain, move away,' it will move away. (106) Making the two one Unity is always the state of everything: duality is only part of the dream aspect of relative existence, of creation. So what Jesus is saying is that we must dispel the illusion of duality-banish it from our mind-not by intellectual affirmation or any thought process but by entering into the state of Oneness though meditational experience, through prolonged practice of yoga. This is possible because unity lies at the very heart of our existence; it is our eternal nature. Becoming the Sons of Man Jesus often referred to himself as Son of Man, and the expression occurs over eighty times in the four Gospels. It appears even more times than that in the Old Testament where it is used by God and angels to address prophets and others that are being taught by direct revelation. So just as Jesus is not the Christ, but rather a Christ, in the way he was a Son of Man in the sense that all human beings are destined to be just the same as he. Sons of Man and Sons of God are really the same thing, which is reasonable considering that man and God are one. That being so, these words of Saint Paul are very significant for us: "The earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.... Because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now" (Romans 8:19, 21, 22). Creation itself is the great womb of God in which all sentient being are gestating (evolving) unto the point of delivery (birth) into the Infinite Consciousness as liberated Sons of God. Moving the mountain The mountain will move when the Sons of God tell it to, because they are one with the mountain. In this verse, as well as in similar ones in the Bible, a mountain is any obstacle to spiritual life and progress. It is literal, too, because I have seen Dur Mountain in Cairo which moved several miles at the command of a Coptic Orthodox saint, a simple shoemaker. (After it had moved some miles he called out: "Dur!" which means "Stop!" So it is called Dur Mountain.) Anyone can see from the strata of the mountain that it is sitting in a place not native to it. If you go to its point of origin you see that the strata fit perfectly like pieces of a puzzle. No geologist can honestly deny the fact that the mountain is now sitting miles from its original location. The vistas opened to us by Jesus have no boundaries except those we set ourselves.
The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening: A Commentary on Jesus' Sayings as Recorded by the Apostle Thomas, by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri) - Amazon Sales Rank: #894115 in Books
- Published on: 2015-03-24
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x .74" w x 6.00" l, .96 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 296 pages
The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening: A Commentary on Jesus' Sayings as Recorded by the Apostle Thomas, by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri) About the Author Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri) is the founder and director of the Light of the Spirit Monastery (Atma Jyoti Ashram) in Cedar Crest, New Mexico, USA. In his many pilgrimages to India, he had the opportunity of meeting some of India's greatest spiritual figures, including Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh and Anandamayi Ma. During his first trip to India he was made a member of the ancient Swami Order by Swami Vidyananda Giri, a direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, who had himself been given sannyas by the Shankaracharya of Puri, Jagadguru Bharati Krishna Tirtha. In the United States he also encountered various Christian saints, including Saint John Maximovich of San Francisco and Saint Philaret Voznesensky of New York. He was ordained in the Liberal Catholic Church (International) to the priesthood on January 25, 1974, and consecrated a bishop on August 23, 1975. For many years Abbot George has researched the identity of Jesus Christ and his teachings with India and Sanatana Dharma, including Yoga. It is his conclusion that Jesus lived in India for most of his life, and was a yogi and Sanatana Dharma missionary to the West. After his resurrection he returned to India and lived the rest of his life in the Himalayas. He has written extensively on these and other topics, many of which are posted at OCOY.org.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. The book is written to read easily and flows so well in a light By Cheryl Bruedigam Review: The Gospel of Thomas for AwakeningBy Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri)As a perpetual spiritual seeker, I have attempted to study many pieces, teachers and practices. Though I have the understanding that it is all within, still I strive to learn as much as possible then put it into practice. With a foundation of Western Christian conditioning, it is sometimes hard to release that foundation; however, in "The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening," Abbot George Burke has helped me to more clearly absorb difficult concepts and metaphors that were previously unclear. Metaphors are my weak point. For example, his explanation of why the Gita is spoken on the battlefield or why Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12), is the war within; our personal battle to attain our inner spiritual immortality.The book is written to read easily and flows so well in a light, contemporary voice. Burke draws upon both Christian and Hindu teachings in his beautifully executed explanations of each verse in "The Gospel of Thomas." As the author clearly states, he has witnessed seekers who were,“. . . consulting in desperation any person or book they thought might help.”This is not just another book like so many others. As he also states, “False teachers promise effortless attainment, the most shameless of them even claiming: ‘I have done it for you already . . .’” In this book rather than promote the current climate as done by so many spiritual authors, that spirituality is easy, he tells us like it is. He tells the truth; it takes hard work and devotion.There will be continued debates and controversies over "The Gospel of Thomas," Jesus himself, the validity of this or the validity of that, or of Burke’s combined approach of both Christian and Hindu teachings; however any energies fueling these debates are simply a waste of time and a diversion from the truth. The truth is that it is the teachings themselves that are worthy and were given to us by those of true spiritual enlightenment for us to follow and practice for our own growth. As Burke also states though, “Even the wisdom of great masters means nothing if we do not apply it diligently.”I am grateful to Burke’s efforts and to this book. It has supplied a missing link for me and filled in some of the gaping holes that popular Christianity does not fill. It has cleared the path in my struggle to understand much wisdom of the more difficult Hindu teachings. It helped to demonstrate the commonalities of both, and help me to reach a new height in my own personal understanding. I highly recommend this book. I will study it for years to come.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. I was fortunate enough to be able to contribute feedback during the ... By Thomas Bradshaw I follow and study from the works published by the Light of the Spirit Monastery, the monastic community of Abbot George Burke. I was fortunate enough to be able to contribute feedback during the publication process of this book. This is a wonderful work that should be reviewed by all disciples of all walks of life who study from The Gospel of Thomas, to assist them in their own spiritual formation, wherever that path may lay.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Sanatan Dharma By Bani Sodermark The above title means a way of life that has been followed over the ages, a way of life that gives meaning and purpose to human existence. Sanatan Dharma enunciates principles of life that are concomitant with the spirit of all religions. The word “Sanatan” means the truth that is self-evident, and that has been followed over the ages. “Dharma” means a way of life that is unique to every human, a way of life that is an expression of his/her inner joy. When you live your Dharma, you prosper and the world prospers with you. Going against your Dharma, i.e. doing something not akin with your blueprint leads to ignorance, unhappiness and suffering.The concept of Sanatana Dharma applies especially to this book. It is a book that partakes of the best of the King James version of the Bible and combines it with the wisdom of the ancient Indian civilization with a view to understanding the recently unearthed Gospel of St. Thomas.There has been plenty of forthcoming evidence to show that Jesus spent the earlier part of his life in India. It is also rumoured that he spent the later years of his life in India after his resurrection and that his disciple Thomas followed him there and recorded his teachings for posterity in a manuscript which got lost. This manuscript has only recently been retrieved (Dec.1945) and translated from the original Coptic edition in several versions. This book expounds mainly on Thomas Lambdins version of the English translation of the Gospel of St. Thomas, while drawing also from other versions.It has also been an accepted fact that the form of Christianity practiced in the West has been corrupted, the Bible being more or less rewritten during the Dark Ages. Therefore, the Gospel of St. Thomas, (unearthed by an Egyptian farmer in December 1945) is quite likely to yield a more authentic version of the living word of Jesus as understood by his direct disciple St. ThomasIn this book, the author has taken Thomas Lambdin’s version of the Gospel of St. Thomas and for each of the 114 verses, presented a discourse on their meaning. Each verse forms the subject of a whole chapter and is accompanied by an analysis which relates it to a corresponding verse from the Bible, the Gita or some other text with a similar import. This analysis is commensurate with the concept of Sanatana Dharma, or eternal religion of the ages, a concept that goes above and beyond the external attendant rituals that blinds practitioners of contemporary religion to the reality of the illusion that is life.The corresponding chapters in the gospel of St. Thomas are akin to those in the Bible, only the injunctions are stronger, more clearly defined and with less possibility of misinterpretation. For instance, it is made clear that seeking knowledge can lead to being temporarily troubled.“Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished and he will rule over the All.”Also“Men think perhaps that it is peace which I have come to cast upon the world. They do not know that it is dissension that I have come to cast upon the earth, fire, sword and war.”The above implies that one person’s seeking could bring about discord in his/her extended family, the author calls it “Divine Discord”. Many psychologists are familiar with this, changing oneself has implications for the members of the extended family, who are confronted with the choice of either acceptance of the change, or departure from the family unit.This discord is what Jesus came to sow, so the seeker who perseveres, despite being troubled, ultimately rules over all. A specific aspect of this book, that I personally found interesting, is that it glorifies the Eastern Orthodox tradition of the Christian Church, in contrast to much of popular Western ecumenical texts which are mainly restricted to churches grounded in the Western traditions and deal with Western saints, or those who have moved to the West.Reincarnation is an accepted fact in this book. It is also suggested that Jesus had incarnated earlier as Adam and King David. Dying on the cross helped him to atone for the karma of those earlier incarnations. Contrary to popular Christian belief, he did not die to save the world and its people.There are many more injunctions to devotees in this book, recounting them all would be outside the scope of this review. But one exhortation stands out, we are strongly and repeatedly cautioned against false prophets and to be vigilant against them.This book is very multifaceted and the author displays enormous erudition, especially on Hindu religious symbols and personalities. The Western outlook on comparative Indian philosophy is always like a whiff of fresh air when compared to similar tomes by Indian authors and that holds true for this book as well.Warmly recommended.
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The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening: A Commentary on Jesus' Sayings as Recorded by the Apostle Thomas, by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri)
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The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening: A Commentary on Jesus' Sayings as Recorded by the Apostle Thomas, by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri)
The Gospel of Thomas for Awakening: A Commentary on Jesus' Sayings as Recorded by the Apostle Thomas, by Abbot George Burke (Swami Nirmalananda Giri)
