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The Beatitudes
December 28, 2008
Center for Non-Dualism, Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Good morning. One of the best known and oft quoted sections of the New Testament, the Beatitudes from Latin beatus, meaning "blessed" or "happy" is my topic for today. Blessed or happy means possessing an inward contentedness and joy that is not affected by the physical circumstances.
The beatitudes are actually found in two places, the book of Mark and the book of Luke. In the Book of Mark, this is the beginning section of what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. In the Book of Luke, since Jesus went to the mountain and prayed during the night but in the morning “went to a level place” where the multitudes had gathered, this is known as part of the sermon on the plain. Some scholars think both are the same thing. Others think they are different since Jesus regularly preached on the same theme at different times. However, Mark’s version has eight beatitudes while Luke’s version has four. I’ll make note of those parallels as we go along this morning. For this morning, I used the New International Version of the Bible since it sounded closest to what we hear so often. There is a version called “The Message” Bible that I found particularly enjoyable and I’ll close this morning with a reading from it.
From the New International Version, Mathew, book 5; the Sermon on the Mount:
1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
2 and he began to teach them saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Now, from the New International Version, Luke, Chapter 6; the sermon on the plain:
(This chapter deals with two consecutive Sabbaths and what Jesus did on those days.)
12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated, apostles:
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon,
18 who had come to hear him
20 Looking at his disciples, he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
Alright then. Let’s go through each of these and see where our yoga practices fit into this sermon. I’ll take each one of these and explore it a bit.
* Blessed are the poor in spirit. (Mark)
* Blessed are the poor (Luke)
Look at poor. What does it mean, Lacking? Not enough? Humble? Would you rather be in a position where you feel you are lacking in spirituality or wealthy in your spirituality? Wealthy means you have more than you need.
To be poor materially, I have to have an awareness and a belief that there is something I don’t have. If I don’t know what I’m missing, I can’t feel like I’m lacking in it. Knowing something exists that I have a desire for, a burning for, will make me work towards it. However, we know that worldly wealth means nothing. What wealth would we really want? The wealth of wisdom that comes from actual self realization.
Swami J’s site includes a good description of this poverty in spirit:
The most important teaching of yoga has to do with our nature as human beings. It states that our "true nature" goes far beyond the limits of the human mind and personality--that instead, our human potential is infinite and transcends our individual minds and our sense of self. The very word "yoga" makes reference to this. The root, "yuj" (meaning "unity" or "yoke"), indicates that the purpose of yoga is to unite ourselves with our highest nature. This re-integration is accomplished through the practices of the various yoga disciplines. Until this re-integration takes place, we identify ourselves with our limitations--the limitations of the body, mind, and senses. Thus we feel incomplete and limited, and are subject to feelings of sorrow, insecurity, fear, and separation, because we have separated ourselves from the experience of the whole.
This feeling of sorrow that Swami J mentioned leads us right into the next Beatitude:
* Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Mark)
* Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. (Luke)
What do we mourn or weep for? Usually if not always, it’s the loss or lack of a person, place or thing. A worldly thing we have lost that is causing us great distress. This is not what Jesus was talking about. I think he was talking about those of us who realize that we have lost the knowledge of unity with God, Atman, and Grace. Those who mourn, that Jesus were talking about, are those who wallow in divine melancholy that arises from the awakening consciousness of separation.
Mourning for material things can be settled by having that thing, whatever it is, being provided to us. However, the thing is only temporary and will be snatched away at some time in the future. Jesus was talking about the single-minded yearning for Truth or God consciousness
Paramahansa Yogananda says it this way:
“Blessed are you who cry for God-realization now, for by that single-minded yearning you shall attain. With the entertainment of ever new joy found in divine communion, you shall laugh and rejoice throughout eternity!”
* Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Mark)
* Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. (Luke)
This one is easy. We should have a hunger or need for knowledge and be thirsty or have a desire for the actions, attitudes, and attributes that lead us on a path of righteousness. Righteousness is acting rightly in the physical, mental, and spiritual departments of life. This thirst and hunger will be satisfied.
When we try to satisfy our thirst and hunger with material things, grope around from one pleasure to another, we find our inner hunger is ever satisfied and we keep searching because each of them is ultimately inadequate.
“Blessed are you who thirst for wisdom and esteem virtue and righteousness as the real food to appease your inner hunger, for you shall have lasting happiness brought only by adhering to divine ideals—unparalleled satisfaction of heart and soul.”
* Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“The imperious egoist is easily riled, defensive, and resentfully offensive, repelling emissaries of wisdom who seek entry into the castle of his life; but the meek and humbly receptive attract the unseen assistance of beneficent angels of cosmic forces proffering material, mental, and spiritual well-being. Thus do the meek of spirit inherit not only all wisdom, but the earth, that is earthly happiness, along with it”
The New American Standard version says, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”
The New International Reader’s Edition says, “Blessed are those who are free of pride. They will be given the earth.”
The Message Bible has my favorite version of this verse. It says, “You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.”
If we’re meek, gentle, free of pride, and content with who we are, we will be blessed with earthly happiness.
Sounds good to me. Let’s move on.
* Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (Mark)
* Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. (Luke)
Mercy, compassion, forgiveness.
I think this mercy must begin with us, each of us. We must be merciful on our self before we can be merciful to others. This mercy and caring should extend from our self to our fellow travelers and even to the planet.
This is where the five yamas fit in, non-harming (2.35), truthfulness (2.36), non-stealing (2.37), remembering the higher reality (2.38) and non-possessiveness (2.39) and the four attitudes, friendliness, compassion, goodwill, and neutrality.
Jack Kornfield in A Path with a Heart sums it up when he says,
“Not killing can grow into a reverence for life, a protective caring for all sentient beings who share life with us. Not stealing can become the basis for a wise ecology, honoring the limited resources of the earth and actively seeking ways to live and work that share our blessings worldwide. From this spirit can come a life of natural and healing simplicity. Out of not lying we can develop our voice to speak for compassion, understanding, and justice. Out of nonharming sexuality, our most intimate relations can also become expressions of love, joy, and tenderness. Out of not abusing intoxicants or becoming heedless, we can develop a spirit that seeks to live in the most awake and conscious manner in all circumstances. At first, precepts are a practice. Then they become a necessity, and finally they become a joy. When our heart is awakened, they spontaneously illuminate our way in the world.
What about the awakened heart?
* Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
The Bhagavad Gita VI: 27, 29-30 says:
“The yogi who has completely calmed the mind and controlled the passions and freed them from all impurities, and who is one with spirit—verily, he has attained supreme blessedness.
“With the soul united to Spirit by yoga, with a vision of equality for all things, the yogi beholds his Self (Spirit-united) in all creatures and all creatures in the Spirit.
“He who perceives me everywhere and beholds everything in Me never looses sight of Me, nor do I ever lose sight of him.”
From the Yoga Sutras “Yoga chitta vritti narodha” the control (narodha, regulation, channeling, mastery, integration, coordination, stilling, quieting, setting aside) of the modifications (gross and subtle thought patterns) of the mind field allows the Seer to abide in Itself, resting in its own True Nature, which is called Self-realization.
Swami Sri Yukteswar wrote in his book, The Holy Science, that man’s heart progresses from the dark heart, to the steady heart, the devoted heart, and ultimately, the clean heart where Swami Yukteswar stated that man “becomes able to comprehend the Spiritual Light, Brahma, the Real Substance in the universe.”
We can clear and purify our mind and we will have excellent reasoning capabilities and razor sharp discernment of the right path to take. This discrimination ability metamorphoses into wisdom. It’s the purity of the heart in concert with this wisdom that leads us to where we should go. Like Jesus said in his number one commandment, “with all your heart”. As in Bhakti Yoga, we follow the path love and devotion.
* Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
This peace is not only for others, it must start within. In fact, yoga, with its powerful techniques for creating a sense of inner peace, harmony, and clarity of mind is a wonderful place to start.
What is peace? Krishnamurti defined it as a fundamentally existential condition:
"Peace is a state of being in which all conflicts and all problems have ceased; it is not a theory, not an ideal to be achieved after ten incarnations, ten years or ten days. As long as the mind has not understood its own activity, it will create more misery; and the understanding of the mind is the beginning of peace."
There are, of course, a few lessons in A Course in Miracles that deal with inner peace. Lesson 255 states:
This day I choose to spend in perfect peace.
It does not seem to me that I can choose to have but peace today. And yet, my God assures me that His Son is like Himself. Let me this day have faith in Him Who says I am God’s Son. And let the peace I choose be mine today bear witness to the truth of what He says. God’s Son can have no cares, and must remain forever in the peace of Heaven. In His name, I give today to finding what my Father wills for me, accepting it as mine, and giving it to all my Father’s Sons, along with me.
The lesson ends with a prayer:
2And so, my Father, would I pass this day with You. Your Son has not forgotten You. The peace You gave him still is in his mind, and it is there I choose to spend today.
Once this divine peace is manifested in us, it transforms our home, our neighborhood, our town, our country, even our world. A person who brings peace to a warring family, establishes God in their midst. One who brings peace to warring nations does likewise. It must start within though with proper meditation and awareness of our divine nature and the peace we all carry within.
* Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mark)
* Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. (Luke)
The Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 18 states,
“He who is tranquil before friend and foe alike, and in encountering adoration and insult, and during the experiences of warmth and chill and of pleasure and praise in the same light; who is quiet and easily contented, not attached to domesticity, and of calm disposition and devotional—that person is dear to Me.
My fellow man has excluded me from many activities since I started actively pursuing this path. I can’t remember the last time I was called by a friend to see if I wanted to go out and get drunk or go to a beer bust. There are a lot of worldly activities that I am no longer asked to participate in. I’ve also noticed a severe drop in the amount if gossip I’m privy to.
The activities I choose to take part in are those that I find useful to helping me on my path. I have the freedom to say neti neti, not this not this, to worldly activities that are a waste of time.
I also believe that unconsciously, folks around us see the way we live our lives with prolonged self exploration and self discipline and are acutely aware that maybe they should try a little bit of it themselves. I know that my closest drinking buddies no longer ask me over. Not because I don’t drink but because I was able to stop and they are still fighting their own demon. To see that it is possible, damages their internal belief system.
In a commentary on A Course in Miracles by Allen Watson,
The strength of innocence, gentleness, and love is seen as "weak" and is shunned. Attack is seen instead as strong. "Standing on your own feet" and being "independent" is seen as maturity and strength, and union with others and dependence on God is seen as weakness. The ultimate image of a mighty ego is a lone individual screaming defiance at the entire universe. The ego cannot see nor understand that this lone, limited, and separated self is the very symbol of weakness.
Ralph Waldo Emerson asks,
“Is it so bad to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh.”
In closing, I’d like to revisit the beatitudes as they are written. Please keep an ear open for the yogic principles. I’ll use “The Message” version of the Bible:
Matthew, Chapter 5
You're Blessed
1-2 When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:
3 "You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
4 "You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
5 "You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
6 "You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's good and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
7 "You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.
8 "You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
9 "You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
10 "You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.
And finally, from Luke, Chapter 6, the sermon on the plain, the last half:
Give Away Your Life
24 But it's trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you'll ever get.
25 And it's trouble ahead if you're satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long. And it's trouble ahead if you think life's all fun and games. There's suffering to be met, and you're going to meet it.
26 "There's trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.
27-30 "To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, gift-wrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.
31-34 "Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run-of-the-mill sinners do that. If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden-variety sinners do that. If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that's charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that.
35-36 "I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never—I promise—regret it. Live out this God-created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst. Our Father is kind; you be kind.
37-38 "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you'll find life a lot easier. Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity."
Thank you for letting me spend my time with you this morning.
Namaste.