Message 2

So, as I look out over the world scene now I wonder what I should start with on this website. What subject, what ideas. There are many issues, disputes, conflicts, questions in the world now, because it is getting smaller, with greater international travel, contact with other cultures, religions, ways, points of view. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, the New Age. Where do you start. Most people in the world, now, I think, agree that there is a spirit world and that this material life isn't all there is, and that we continue to exist after physical death.

So, I figure I might as well begin with something that has intrigued me for a long time, the ancient, mysterious land and people of India. I'm starting to think that there are two major spiritual "epicenters" on the planet. One is the region of India and Tibet, the other is the Middle East. India and Tibet have exerted a fascination on many people for a long time. There is some significance and importance to that region, spiritually. People are drawn to it, and I'd like to find out why. There's some kind of mysterious power there or spiritual "source". I'd like to investigate that phenomenon and see what I can find out. One thing that, for many years, has kept beckoning to me or "calling" me, for some reason, is a 20th century European novelist named Hermann Hesse, and his works. Hesse is famous for his works related to the region I mentioned above, India and Tibet. Hesse's parents were missionaries in India for a while, as were his mother's parents (his mother was actually born there). Undoubtedly this inspired in Hesse a great interest in and love for the Indian people and their culture, ways and spirituality. Hesse's most famous novel is Siddhartha, the story of an Indian youth who at about age twenty embarks on a spiritual quest. I think that youth may be a "persona" of Hesse himself.

But let's look first at the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha lived in approximately the Sixth Century B.C. He was a prince, an aristocrat, but left that life to be a wandering monk. He continued that spiritual life for about 40 years, til his death, after which he became a legendary spiritual figure, and a cult grew around him. Buddha must have been an extraordinary person, of great charisma and magnetism, also, heroism. There is a legend that in previous lives, he sacrificed his own life for the sake of others. The Buddha was certainly a person of great intelligence, he was very learned in the esoteric philosophies of the time. In his life of about 80 years he set a great example for heroic altruism and self-sacrifice. It's an amazing tradition and legacy of noble and ethical conduct, of heroic dedication to spiritual and character perfection, of how one can be a better person, and eventually, through great effort, arrive at true "sainthood".

So Siddhartha Gautama, which was his given name, became a great "holy man" in India. But The Buddha and his religion arise out of Hinduism and the Hindu cosmology, which are very complex--many different ideas, opinions, beliefs. The basics of that cosmology would be: above Earth there is a "heavenly" realm, inhabited by various good gods and godesses, and the highest deity is "Brahma", which is the supreme being or deity, and creator. In addition to Brahma there are Vishnu, the "sustainer and preserver of life" and Shiva, who is a destroyer of some kind--this might mean a power which destroys the old to make way for something new, thus a creative process of replacing something old and obsolete with something new and superior. This comprises a Hindu "Trinity", which it is believed rules over and governs the universe. Then, below Earth, in some dark subterranean region, it is believed there are "demons" or "serpents", which have a leader, called "Mara". These evil spirits continually try to tempt, deceive and defeat human beings. In the beginning of Buddha's spiritual quest, was one of his greatest struggles: one day, Mara and some of his grotesque demonic coterie appeared, to try to dissuade Gautama from continuing his quest, and attaining enlightenment and bringing his teachings to the people. But Gautama was not fooled by Mara'a clever arguments and temptations, and defeated him spiritually and intellectually, and went on to begin his ministry.

Then there are many lesser gods and godesses. It is believed that they dwell in the heavenly realm permanently, while human beings exist in the earthly, incarnate realm, perpetually going through the cycle of incarnation and reincarnation, but human beings can break out of this cycle by rising to higher spiritual levels, and eventually attain a level of perpetual peace and tranquility, called "nirvana". The gods and godesses, while never really leaving their exalted state in the higher spiritual realm, often interact with human beings as helpers, guides, leaders, influencing and aiding them in their lives and certainly in any battle with the evil hordes which constantly try to throw them off and cause trouble in their lives. Buddha put much effort into answering the question of how human beings can attain the higher spiritual levels which will enable them to escape the endless cycle of life, death and reincarnation (and thus attain the spiritual level of the gods, which would be perpetual peace and happiness or "nirvana"--the gods are believed to be permanently above the miseries and sufferings of human beings, and to exist in an eternal "paradise").

That is the basic Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, as far as I know, now. But while I'm on that subject, let me say a bit more about Hindu beliefs in an underworld and "evilness". Some, nowadays, are saying that Hinduism rejects any idea of evilness, evil spirits or an "underworld" except human beings' capacity for their own personal evil or "dark side", and says that there is no external force of evil represented in evil entities or a "Devil" figure, as in Abrahamic religion. But I've found evidence recently, searching on-line, that that is not true. In Hinduism there is "Kali Purusha", a "demon", not to be confused with the goddess Kali, which is supposed to be good (at least in some ways), and this being sounds alot like the Abrahamic "Satan" or "Lucifer". Kali Purusha has all the usual characteristics of the Abrahamic "Devil": he's a "cosmic mastermind" of all evil, corruption, vice, villainy, and is the leader of a horde of horrible "demons", all of which are arch adversaries of Brahma and everything he represents, and constantly try to lead astray, tempt, deceive and corrupt human beings. The being "Mara" which I mentioned above must be the same as Kali Purusha. It appears there are several names for this "Devil" figure in Hindu theology, which is a vast, ancient and multivaried religious system, with many different versions, names and traditions. But basic theological concepts, in Hinduism, appear to be about the same throughout: a "heavenly" realm above, then the realm of incarnate human life, then a dark underworld, benevolent gods and godesses in the higher realm, and grotesque, reprehensible demons below. So, I think talk of an "evilless" Hinduism, where there is no evil except human beings' own personal failings and vices, is false.

Hinduism is similar to mythological/spiritual systems in other parts of the world, many of the same elements and ideas. In most of these you have benevolent elements and malevolent elements. People in ancient times were trying to understand and describe something that I think is real, but they weren't quite sure what it was. I think they had alot of contact with that spirit world they were trying to describe, in their many myths and stories, and much of their lore was given to them by that spirit world. But since they were relatively primitive people, without advanced science and learning, as we have now, their descriptions are somewhat fanciful and childlike, at times confused, even. I think all these peoples around the world were describing the same thing, the same reality, the same universe, in both its spiritual and material dimensions, and this accounts for the many similarities in these mythological/spiritual systems. But I think all these ancient religions substantiate the existence of spiritual good and spiritual evil--I find consistent references to these, in all the world's ancient religions, that I am familiar with--and I don't think what is meant is just the foibles and failings of individual human beings...I think it's something more than that.

A few more facts on Kali Purusha or "Kali Demon": I've read he is the central antagonist or adversary in Hinduism, that he was created by Brahma to be "personified evil", that he has several "progeny" or "children", which represent various evils like slander or greed (compare that to this statement from Abrahamic religion: "Satan's daughter is sin--his son is death").

There are many stunning but chilling artists' depictions of "Kali Demon" on-line. One I saw sticks in my mind the most. The spirit, red, with large reptilian wings, stands on some volcanic-looking terrain in some dark netherworld, its face sardonic and mocking, with an expression that can only be described as one of pure malice, pure diabolism. If such a being really does exist, somewhere in the universe, this artist's depiction gives us an idea of what human beings might be up against...

January 20, 2023

Dear readers,

It's been a while since I've added anything to this site. I encourage you to send questions or comments, because those will give me an idea of what people want to hear about. I've got alot of information for those interested in these kinds of things, mystical and otherworldly issues, and practical ones. Send a question on any subject you'd like to hear about, and that will give me something to start working on. Doesn't have to be on Hinduism or Buddhism. Look at the top of the first post, the introduction--anything in those areas that are mentioned.

Chris

February 28, 2023 Dear readers,

Two of the subjects in the introduction are spirits and a spirit world and what they're calling "the End Times". Think I'll turn to those now.

Based on everything I've learned, I'll say that the spirit world is everywhere, throughout the universe, and that we're in it right now. We don't see it because it's non-material. Some people think that there isn't any such thing because we can't see anything like that with our material eyes--scientists look out with telescopes at the universe and they say, "Well, there's nothing out there--just endless stars, planets, rocks, dust and such. There are no gods or goddesses, paradisical realms--there's nothing out there!". The people who think this are the biggest fools. I used to think this, but I eventually found evidence that I was totally wrong. It's still difficult to believe, at times, but I know it's true because I've seen extraordinary evidence of it.

The second major fact everybody needs to know is that there is a supreme benevolent spirit being, which has, apparently, total power over everything in the material world. The third major fact would be that there are inherently evil spirits also, as well as good. Why, and how? Because they were intentionally created by that supreme spirit being. Then why is there all the evil in the world? Because human beings, some time in the dateless past, rebelled against the supreme spirit being, and, thus, fell under the "dominion" of those evil spirits. They belonged to those evil spirits, you could say, who had a right to rule them. The supreme being had to allow these evil spirits to do that, even though it had the power to destroy them at any time. That's why you have all the evil.

A bit about the evil spirit "kingdom": it has a single dictatorial ruler, an evil "fallen angel", of the highest order and intelligence of any created being, I think, so that any evil person will have a leader almost as intelligent and capable as the supreme being (so nobody could say the battle between good and evil forces wasn't fair, that evil people were at an unfair disadvantage). This cosmic leader and mastermind of all evil, corruption, vice, etc., became known as "Satan" or "the Devil".

So, we're in the spirit world right now, while we are in the incarnate state, sort of like the way fish are in a pond. The water of the pond is the spirit world, the rocks and twigs and such in the pond would be the various planets, stars and other matter, and living creatures on those planets would be like the fish. We can never be out of the spirit world. But if, as evidence suggests, there are evil as well as good spirits, what about them? Are they far away and can't harm us? Or might they be close at hand, all around us. And if they are possibly all around us, what are they doing? Nothing? Is there any chance that they might be trying to harm us, in some way, if they are, possibly, lurking around?

I'm starting to think this may be exactly the case, that spirits and spirit powers, good and bad, are always around, wherever we might be in the material world, and those bad spirits are trying to harm us (or at least they can). Throughout history, until the age of modern science, which began about 150 years ago, this is what people believed. All over the world, in every country or culture. So what might be going on around us, of a spiritual nature, as we live our incarnate lives here? Evidence suggests, alot of things, most of which we are unaware of, since it is non-material and thus undetectable by our physical vision and other senses--a constant battle, if you will, between good and evil forces. But don't start thinking it isn't real because you don't see any physical evidence of it. Actually, we do detect some evidences of supernatural or spiritual occurrences. We have spiritual senses, as well as physical, it appears, and with those spiritual senses we detect plenty of things from the spirit world--even people who don't believe in these kinds of things do, but they don't know that that's what it is. They see something, but don't know that what they are seeing is something spiritual.

So if we've established that these evil spirit beings do exist, and are close at hand rather than in some far off place, and at least can harm us, what exactly does that "harm" entail? Well, traditional folklore about things like that tells us plenty. Do I really mean the old folklore about things like ghosts, witches...monsters? Though I'm sure it will be difficult for many people to believe, as it was for me when I first started finding out about these kinds of things, 30 years ago, and it will probably make me look like a fool to say it, the answer to that question, based on everything I've learned in a lifetime, is yes.

The big question, that you're probably wondering, now, is what--what are we talking about here, if "evil entities" do exist. What should we do, what does this mean for we poor incarnate human beings? Should we hide somewhere...under the couch, maybe? start saying prayers, and imploring the supernatural powers of good, to help us, save us? I'd have to say, yes and no. On the one hand, I think this is a real danger, not to be taken lightly--it's not a joke, something to laugh at--it isn't comedy, as alot of popular entertainment leads us to believe. This kind of thing is what you call the occult, and from what I've read, the occult isn't anything funny, but is totally serious. I've read that the occult--witchcraft, sorcery, seances, fortune telling, spells, curses and, indeed, "monsters"--is part of a satanic war on human beings, an intentional attempt to wreak havoc on us, of all kinds, to destroy lives, wreck homes, lead people to ghastly, horrible ends, and, ultimately, ruin souls (as it says in this site's introduction, "war for your soul"). I've read that the evil spirit world takes the occult very seriously, also, that it's like their religion--it's something sacred to them.

On the other hand, I don't think we need to panic, because, as I said above, there's a supernatural power of good, also--all we have to do is call on it and it will help. Most researchers on this subject seem to forget that. They seem to only be determined to debunk belief in anything supernatural, good or bad, believing, probably, that science explains everything...that's what I used to think...

So the occult is far from being comedy--don't let the popular entertainment world make you think it is. I've noticed that--that the popular culture seems to be trying to get people to laugh at things like this, not take them seriously. Why would that be? Maybe to get people to let their guard down? Instill in them a false sense of security? Traditionally, people in most parts of the world, especially the "peasantry", which is, people in rural areas, "country folks", who tend to be highly conservative, religious and in tune with the spirit world, have had a keen awareness of the danger of supernatural evil--it's part of their culture, you could say, a vital and real part of their lives. They know about it, from long experience, and don't need any convincing. They have their guard up, there's no question of any kind of false sense of security.

Hopefully now I've established that spiritual good and evil both exist--if anyone still needs more evidence I can give you mountains of it. Now allow me to get to what I think is a good example of it, a kind of "test case" which will show you everything I've been talking about: the age-old legend of vampirism.

I'll mention two examples:

First, in 2004 there was a bizarre incident in the nation of Romania, in Eastern Europe, of a "strigoi", the Romanian word for "vampire". A young woman in a village called Marotinu de Sus complained that a family member who had recently died was bothering her at night, coming into her room and "draining energy from her soul" as she described it, something like that. Terrified, she told her father and others about it and pleaded with them to do something about what she believed was attack by a "strigoi". Apparently, this went on for a while and the young woman was getting weaker and weaker, her health deteriorating, and was in increasing desperation. Apparently the people of Marotinu de Sus did not need much explaining, were well aware of the "strigoi" legend--it had been part of their collective folk consciousness for centuries. In more recent times they kept things like this to themselves, knowing the disdain of the modern secular world for such "superstition", while, nonetheless, never doubting what they knew to be true.

So, at one point, some of the men of the village decided that they had to do something, or this girl would die, even though they knew that they risked the wrath of the Romanian authorities who had little tolerance for the kind of traditional practices of the Eastern European peasantry in dealing with supernatural attack. The men eventually decided to disregard the law to save the girl's life. One night a group of them went to the grave of the old man believed to be the "strigoi", dug him up and began their ancient ritual destruction of a strigoi. They said the corpse was fresh and actually writhed and groaned as they did the exorcism.

The attacks on the young woman soon ceased. But someone in the village reported the men to the authorities, who arrested them for "grave desecration". A trial ensued which became famous in Romania, and eventually went viral, throughout the world. The men who did the strigoi ritual were eventually released, but a barrier had been broken on the discrediting of traditional beliefs in supernatural evil, which beliefs suddenly and frighteningly re-emerged in the hi-tech, scientific 21st century. I'd say it was a blow to the scientific-materialist worldview.

The second example:

I'm sure everyone has heard of the 1897 novel Dracula, by British author Bram Stoker. You might be surprised to hear that evidence has been discovered recently that this "novel" is actually based on a true story, and that the "characters" in it are real people.

In 1997 novelist Edward M. Erdelac, who was then a professor at an American university, discovered a sheaf of papers belonging to a Dr. John Seward of England, dating from the early 20th century. Erdelac was shocked to see that this Dr. Seward was indeed the "Jack Seward" of the novel Dracula, and that the papers were part of a journal by a man named Abraham Van Helsing of Holland. Van Helsing is the "vampire hunter" in Dracula who helps Seward, the Westenra family and the Harker family defeat the infamous Count. The papers Erdelac discovered give all kinds of information about Van Helsing's life, before and after the events of Dracula, and his theories about the paranormal. One thing Van Helsing said in the journal is that, in his opinion, one of the greatest threats to "man's dominion on earth" is...vampirism. There is other corroborating evidence that Van Helsing was a real person. He was mentioned by T. E. Lawrence and the famous British archaeologist Sir William Flinders Petrie. According to the journal Van Helsing was so traumatized and shell-shocked by the battle against Dracula that he had to drop out of practicing medicine for a while just to recuperate.

So it looks like the "novel" Dracula is actually a true story. It is a "dramatization" or "novelization" of a real event. Stoker actually said this in some of the early editions of the book. There's another startling report on this, which appeared in 2018, written by Dacre Stoker, Bram Stoker's great grandnephew, and international best-selling author J. D. Barker. According to them, Stoker never intended Dracula to be a work of fiction, but to serve as a warning of a very real evil. Stoker wrote a preface for the original version of his book, in which he said, "I am quite convinced that there is no doubt whatever that the events here described really took place.". Then he said that all the characters in the story are real people and that the main ones, the Harkers and Dr. Seward, were well-known and well-respected, and that he had no doubt that they were telling the truth about their battle with the Count. So apparently Jonathan and Mina Harker and John Seward told Stoker about this, and it is a real event, something that happened to them. According to Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker, Bram was investigating this occurrence in 1890, so it probably happened in about 1887. If you've read Dracula you know that the Count sails from Varna in Eastern Europe to the town of Whitby in England on a ship called the Demeter, which runs aground in a storm. Stoker found out from Royal Coast Guardsmen in Whitby that a ship called the Dimitri ran aground there a few years before (about 1887), and that most of the crew were dead and a large black dog was seen to run from the ship as it hit the beach.

Obviously Stoker was reporting on something that actually took place, and was told to him by John Seward and the Harkers. Stoker tried to get the book published but publishers refused because they thought something like that represented as fact would be too shocking to the public, and could cause a general panic. They told him it would have to be published as fiction, and with a few changes made, or it couldn't be published at all.

That's the story on the "novel", Dracula. For about 100 years we've been being assured that it is the most complete fantasy, and that anything to do with vampires, ghosts, witches and such doesn't really exist--it's all superstition, childish nonsense--fairy tales, only taken seriously by the gullible and ignorant. What do you think, now?

[to be continued...]