Name:Nate •
Title: THE 'DISCIPLE WHOM JESUS LOVED' IDENTIFIED BY JOHN •
Date posted: 05/20/07 21:52
Q: The identity of this disciple in not a secret. or a mystery! The identity of this person is plainly stated in the gospel of John. So, I find the speculation on this matter rather surprising and odd. Read the gospel of John chapter 11 verses 3 and 36:
1Now a certain man was sick, named LAZARUS, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2(It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother LAZARUS was sick.)
3Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, HE WHOM THOU LOVEST is sick....
36Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
Case closed.
Nate
Name:Panluna •
Date: 05/20/07 22:54
A: Ever wonder if Lazarus lived a normal life after he was raised from the dead.He was dead for four days.And ever wonder if the other people Jesus cured went on with their lives and did they live a normal lifespan?
Name:Nate •
Date: 05/20/07 23:04
A: Actually, yes, Panluna. I do sometimes wonder about such things. :-)
Nate
Name:Not Dattaswami •
Date: 05/23/07 0:10
A: .
Name:dattaswami •
Date: 05/23/07 12:36
A: Nate;
If you are loved by the Lord, you will be a liberated soul
If you are loved by the Lord, you will be a liberated soul belonging to His inner circle and you will attain eternal bliss by being close to the Lord. Ananda (Bliss) means continuous happiness without any break by misery. Brahmaananda means the continuous happiness of God, which is several times intensive than the continuous happiness of a realized soul here (Manushaananda). Bliss of God is not only continuous but also has the highest intensity.
Suppose a person got one lakh rupees and another person got one crore rupees by lottery. Both celebrate their happiness on that day continuously. Since their happiness is continuous, it is bliss (Ananda). But there is difference in the intensities of bliss of these two persons. By self-realization, you can get the bliss of the soul (Atmaananda) but that is not the bliss of God (Brahmaananda), which is millions and millions times more intensive. Mere continuity of happiness, which is common in both, cannot be misunderstood to unite both these as one.
Actually you are attaining the peace only by self-realization because by this you are detached from the body and the external world for some time by limiting your self to the soul. By this you are avoiding misery and absence of misery is not happiness. Moreover, when you avoid misery, you have to avoid the happiness also in the detachment. In such case you are assuming the peace as happiness relatively with reference to misery. Zero is plus with reference to minus. Such assumed plus cannot be the real plus. Therefore, the peace assumed as happiness in the self-realization is not even the real worldly happiness (Manushaananda) and you cannot think it as Brahmaananda even in dream.
Even a saint sitting in the meditation with self-realization enjoying the peace as assumed happiness will suddenly leave that state if you tell him that he got a noble prize for his spiritual knowledge and he starts enjoying the real happiness from that worldly affair! When Uddhava started preaching Gopikas about self-realization to attain constant peace and get rid of the misery caused by separation from Krishna, one Gopika asked him whether such peace is not the silence of a dead body! She told him that even in the misery due to separation from Krishna, bliss is enjoyed by her in the love of the Lord! She concluded that even misery in the love and service of the Lord is the highest bliss, which is far better than the peace of self-realization.
Therefore, your aim should not be to attain the bliss from the Lord but it should be your service and love (even if it ends in misery) that gives bliss to the Lord. Then, in turn you will receive the infinite divine bliss since you are not selfish at all in the Nivrutti.
Name:Nate •
Date: 05/24/07 18:19
A: Dattaswami, not everyone who comes here is a lost soul or a neophyte. I know you mean well, and I bless you for it, but I'm neither lost, nor confused, nor a neophyte. God's blessings to you.
Nathaniel J. Merritt
Name:JMD •
Date: 05/25/07 0:47
A: Did you ever think Lazarus just might have been in a coma? They didn't have the medical procedures/technology we have now back then. Also, I've read before how prior to embalming [which is likely why we do it] sometimes people were actually buried alive, [thought to be dead, but only in a coma] and however much later, coffins were discovered/unearthed with clawmarks on the lids ! :0 So, it's 'possible' that Lazarus was in a coma, and it was only thought that he was dead. Just a theory. :D
Name:CanuckChick •
Date: 05/25/07 8:22
A: John 11:14: "At that time, therefore, Jesus said to them outspokenly: ""Lazarus has died,""
