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Posted on : Dec 23, 2011

The Spiritual Significance of 'The Sermon on the Mount'

Among the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Sermon on the Mount has been one of the most widely quoted elements of the Canonical Gospels. Probably because these eight seemingly simple statements contain in them the essence of what the Lord wanted every man to understand and implement in their lives. Commentaries on this collection of teachings which appear in the Gospel of Matthew are galore.

However Father Charles Ogada in his book “The I Am Principle – The Christ Within” offers a completely fresh and elevating understanding of these beatitudes. He raises the discussion from the level of the body and mind to the realm of the spirit.

Bhagawan Baba says: “To know the Self is of supreme importance.  Without this, one cannot enjoy peace. Though one may gain renown and recognition in the world, one will not experience happiness without Self-knowledge.  Knowledge of the soul, knowledge of God and spiritual knowledge – all these expressions connote the wisdom that promotes full awareness of the soul and God. Self-knowledge is that knowledge by which everything else is known....

“To identify yourself with the body is as absurd as to consider yourself to be the house in which you dwell, or the car in which you travel.  It is essential to realise the truth of your divine identity, through the instruments of body, mind and intellect. The true Self is non-dual.  There is only One, without a second.”

Interestingly it is this same message which is inherent in the Beatitudes too, but is not apparent unless one does a serious spiritual enquiry. Father Charles is one who has done this and now let us too embark on this journey.

Presented below is Chapter 19 of The I AM Principle – The Christ Within by Father Charles Ogada. This book which represents twenty years of the author's spiritual search is written in a question and answer format. Common names in the Bible, especially those of the disciples, have been used to express the questions.

Seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up to a mountain and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Filled with compassion, He opened His mouth and taught them saying:

Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

Once a certain king decided to give up his kingdom and all worldly things and become the disciple of a spiritual master. During the time of probation, the master put him to test. He was to sweep up the garbage in the monastery everyday and take this out of the village.

The other disciples pleaded with the master to relieve him of this duty since he was used to the comforts of the kingdom. The master knowing the aim he had in mind said, "We shall have a test."
        
One day, while he was taking his garbage pail out of the village, someone knocked against him and all the garbage were spilled on the ground. The disciple-king looked back and said to the person, “Well, thank your stars. It is not the days past. What can I tell you?”

When this news was brought to the master, he said, "Did I not tell you that the time has not yet come?”
        
After some time, a test was made again. This time, the king-disciple looked at the man who had knocked against him and said nothing. Again, this was reported to the master who said, "Did I not tell you that the time has not yet come?”

After a long period, he was tested again the third time. This time he did not look at the man who spilled his basket. He took all that was there in there and carried it along. When this was narrated to the master, he said, "Now is the time, now he can play death."

When you play death, you are dead to all the wrong things that come to you but you are alive to every good thing that can go from you.

Peter: Lord, explain to us the meaning of your sermon on the mount. What is 'poverty of Spirit'?

When the ‘I am' is stripped of the sense of 'me' and 'mine', the Self is aware of itself as God. They lack nothing those who are poor in Spirit. Theirs is the kingdom and there is nothing outside.

Secondly, the process of stripping the ‘I am' of the garments of 'me' and 'mine' brings about 'mourning'. Hence, they shall be comforted, those who pass through this purification.

Blessed are the meek. The meek are the humble. The humble are those who have no ‘I’ concept.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Only the Self is right because there is nothing left. Where there is righteousness, there is Truth and where there is Truth, there is God.

The Self is the embodiment of Truth. Hence, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, shall be filled with the Truth of the Self.

Be merciful unto yourself. When you condemn 'others' you condemn yourself since you are what you see and you see what you are. There is no 'other' apart from the ‘I am'.

And truly blessed are the pure in heart, they are one with God. The heart is the seat of the Self. God lives in the heart. When the Self is alone as ‘I am that I am', the heart shines in its pristine purity.

Thomas: Lord, has this heart anything to do with the physical body?

The heart is not any physiological organ. It is neither inside nor outside the body. There can be no in or out for it since it alone exists. The heart is another name for Self, Silence, ‘I am', God or Love. However, as long as you identify yourself with the body, the heart is where the ego rises and merges back. This is the seat of your Spiritual Self located few inches to the right of your chest.

This is the meaning of the Scripture which says, "A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but the fool thinks it is at his left." Whenever anyone says, 'myself’ or ‘I’, they point to this place. This is the experience of all, irrespective of age, culture or country. Even a little child will point to this centre while referring to the 'Self principle’.

Father Charles Ogada speaking in Bhagawan's Divine Presence

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Peace is the bliss of being. Being is that awareness where there is nothing to become. When the Self remains in itself as the Self, it is being. This is the ‘I am' peace. It is complete joy. When the Self projects itself as 'this' or 'that' it is becoming. This is worldly agitations. The presence of those who abide in the peace of the Self instills peace in the heart of all.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. You are blessed when you do everything for the sake of the Self. The seekers of the Self are non-violent. They act from the inspiration of the ‘I am'. They never react to the agitations of the world (the mind). Established in the stillness of the Self, they are equal in praise and in blame, gain and loss, success and failure, rich and poor, hot and cold.

This is why I say to you: Love your enemies, because there are none. Give away everything you have (this sense of 'me' and 'mine') and you will be perfect, lacking nothing. When someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the 'other' since there is no other. When someone tells you, 'walk one mile with me', go two since there is no place you are not.

If something is taken away from you, do not try to get it back since there is nothing that is not yours. Do not expect any return from your good deeds since there is no one to give it anyway. If someone asks for your coat, give him your shirt as well since your true Self is naked. Do not judge and you will not be judged since you condemn yourself when you judge.

The measure you give is the measure you receive since you are both. Be alike to everyone since there is only one. If you want to be the greatest, be the least since you are equally both. If you want to gain life, then you must first die since the Self remains unaffected. Be in the world like the lotus born and bred in the mud but unaffected by the slush. Yes! Come to Me and learn the secret of death which is the Way of the Cross.

- Radio Sai Team