Author: Immanuel Joseph

4.11.14

My love-language is not found in “The 5 Love Languages”
Give me freedom & space to be me!
I love best by sacrificing my own desires to do something for you.

8.11.14
– Let the most commonly used apps (in the mobile) keep running in the background. This will prevent a lot of the (irritating!) delays.
– Guru is not GOD.
But isn’t unconditional obedience equivalent to worship?
For the disciple, this difference is not important.
But for the guru, knowing he is not GOD is vital!
– Is GOD the one who never changes, or is he the one who changes forever without ever ceasing to exist (& therefore change!)?
Instead of saying that GOD cannot dwell in a mortal body, why can’t we say that the (human) body in which GOD dwells cannot stay dead forever?!
Life is the engine of death??
If to exist fully is life, & to stop existing fully is death. If to move from life to death is decay, & to move from death to life is growth. When physical decay overcomes spiritual growth, it leads to rebirth (descent), and when inward growth overtakes external decay, it ends in resurrection (ascent). The point of transition between life & death is either birth or resurrection…
Then this whole process/cycle can be called GOD or Nature!
(Is all birth actually a rebirth??)
But if all creation is striving to ascend toward GOD, then what is the logic of GOD descending toward us?!
Because the only way to (eternally) perpetuate something is by alternating it with its opposite!
So maybe salvation is NOT release from this cycle, but to be caught up in it as union with this dynamic GOD……….
– Guru > mentor > teacher
If you want to make someone a demon, just tell him/her that he/she is your guru (GOD-representative)!
– Don’t sit in one place for more than an hour.
– Maybe self-pity is the root of all evil (hot & cold)!
What is the difference between this & healthy self-love?
How can we sacrifice ourselves in a way that is beneficial to ourselves (& others)?
– Can one be both an atheist and believe in the afterlife?
– Just spending around 2 hours a day in proper study is an end in itself, apart from finishing a course or book or getting a degree, etc.
– Maybe the linear view of history (Western) is more existential, & the cyclical view of time (Eastern) is more ontological.

11.11.14
– The zero-hero
– “Read to lead”
– The Hindu Friday Review November Music Festival: Nov.13-18!
– Yesterday:
World Science Day for Peace & Development
Today:
Armistice Day (World War I cessation of hostilities)
– Movies:
“Kung Fu Hustle 2:
Journey to the West – Conquering the Demons”
The vanquished (i.e. redeemed – destroyed & renewed) demons are the new demon-hunters!
Pacifism is the only way to fight (& conquer) the Devil. Force is effective only in warfare against lesser demons.
Devotion to the divine is the only way to preserve (one’s own) humanity when faced with ultimate evil.
Loving GOD is most clearly expressed when we see Christ in the unlovable (“the least of these” – the poor, not only in economic & social conditions, but also in terms of their moral character & aesthetic appeal)!
What are demons but depersonalized people (‘ex-humans’)?
The Tripitaka goes West! The Trinity – the Father is the one who sends, the Son is the Buddha (or the enlightened disciple of Buddha) & the Holy Spirit is the Church (those led by the Son).
Taoism vs. Buddhism

12.11.14
– Construction of a liberative knowledge-praxis
– Virtue – the perfect bond of a reverent conscience, human empathy & sound intellect!
– “For religious knowledge, equipped with nobility, O tyrant, is invincible!”
– “Let us not be cowardly in the demonstration of our piety.”
– “…let us use our bodies as a bulwark for the law.”
– What have we (Indian Christians) to do with Abraham, Isaac & Jacob? Is this not cultural hegemony?
– 4Mac.13:24-26
– In an unequal relationship, there is often, in the weaker party, an exaggerated/perverted sense of being oppressed, by the stronger.
– The child – so innocent, & manipulative!
– Convert the 1 day SFG retreat into a picnic! 😉
– It’s ironic how using the latest technology teaches you patience!

2.11.14

– The rule of GOD is established by praise!

What does that mean??

It is in the revelation of divine majesty-beauty (glory) & our spontaneous responsive adoration that GOD ‘reigns over us’…

The ultimate celebrity-worship!

It is in the universal acknowledgment of the Holy that human concord is achieved.

Leadership is all about sustaining the focus of people on this hallowing.

Theology is nothing but the ‘claiming of this undivided One’ & the ‘owning of this mystery’ by the seared, & therefore glowing, intellect!

– “Endless is Thy victory!”

– The Trinity at the top, the world/church at the bottom, and the Cross at the center.

– Appreciative enquiry must go hand-in-hand with constructive criticism.

– Winning BY quitting!

– How can I keep discouragement from becoming despair?

– How can hope be sustained when my own body is rotting away?!

The problem of outward prosperity & inward decay – how can I prevent physical/material wealth from causing moral/spiritual corruption?

– Cut-off the life-sucker!

– Eternal reality » eschatological perspective » indestructible hope » invincible power

– Is the Cross the victory of GOD over evil or the historical manifestation of his cosmic dance with death?!

– Just as the Apostles did the work of interpreting & proclaiming the Gospel (the salvific message of the crucified Christ) for their age, so each generation should do the same for their own day. But this innovation must build upon the foundation laid by the early fathers.

– The eyes of the heart – desire!

Set them on:

The things above

The things unseen

The inward things

The things to come

– If the Eucharist stands for the flesh & blood of Jesus, why is it vegetarian (bread & wine)??

– The Final Vindication still awaits……

– The Peaceable Kingdom:

1. Pacifism the norm & just war the exception.

2. Vegetarianism the norm & meat-eating the exception.

3. Minimalism the norm & consumerism the exception.

4. Equality the norm & hierarchy the exception.

5. Proactive contemplation the norm & reactive activism the exception

– Movies:

“The Face Reader”

Compare with “The Counselor”

3.11.14

– What is the difference between trinitarianism (Christianity) & monotheism (Judaism), if any?

– Source-book > text-books > note-books

– “Live to express, not to impress.”

– Psychological horror, erotic drama, political thriller

– Jesus mania – but Christianity ain’t just another personality cult!

– “Too Close” by Alex Clare

4.11.14

– Movie:

“Gone Girl”

This is what I call psychological horror!

Any similarities to your marriage??

Fuck public opinion – easy to say, but……

5.11.14

– Don’t eat more than 1 egg per day.

Eat the morning banana on fasting day also.

– Immanuel – maybe the vertical dimension is more inward than upward!

– The world is a silent symphony of pain!

– What does the butterfly have in common with the pupa?

Everything, & nothing!

– The best thing that money can buy is knowledge, but wisdom is a different matter altogether!

– Distinguish:

Rejection

&

Ridicule

– My life – personal, family & ministry – 70 + 15 + 15%?

My goal is not a specific (external/future) achievement, but a general quality of life (internal/present)!

– No specific theme for the retreat, unlike the seminar.

Retreat – bring out what is inside. More like an intimate conversation.

Seminar – put in from outside. More like an expert lecture.

DON’T mix the two!

Digestion & absorption is the time in between…

– Ministry circle (at any point of time in my career) ~ 10

– Discipleship is worship.

Fellowship is ministry.

Mission is evangelism.

– My fat friend can float on water, but I, though slim, cannot!

– Integrate:

Science (knowledge, skills, expertise)

&

Art (wisdom, character, mysticism)

– Breaking the link between human productivity & self-worth.

WOW… That is salvation!

– What use is money, family & health if you are living in structures (political, economic & cultural) that are utterly dehumanizing?

– If you play by their rules, then you can have the security & stability of money, family & social respectability. If not……….

look at Jesus nailed to the Roman Cross & Buddha sitting under the Bodhi tree…

– The more free (& happy) I become, the more afraid (& angry) they become!

Why??

– “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

&

“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

Faith (in God) surviving death (of GOD)!

What is GOD without faith?

The Cross (crucified Christ).

And what is faith without GOD?

The Cross (the last confession of Jesus)!

– Is it possible to experience union with GOD, personal salvation, spiritual bliss or eternal life WITHOUT losing everything you have?

Degree/job/role…

Can the human spirit survive absolute loss?

What does it mean to be “dead to sin” & “alive to GOD” in this context?

– Identity > Vocation!

– How does a superior respect an inferior?

– If everything is not enough, then nothing must be.

– Only a sociopath can be an authentic individual!

And only a psychopath can be a great person!

6.11.14

– Love, justice & happiness are expressions of the desire for eternity implanted in mortal beings.

– How ironic & vain, that we often consider the truly important things to be nuisances that detract us from ‘more productive’ stuff!

– All old people are poor!

– Non sequitur

– Redoubt

– Buzzards

– Proboscidian

– The circle of obligatory help (in case of poverty, sickness, ageing, etc.) is the joint family – my immediate family (parents & siblings) & my wife’s immediate family.

– Dromedary

7.11.14

– When we seek to help a really needy person, that is when all our selfishness, laziness & indifference is exposed!

It is very easy to talk about ‘love’, but only few realize its cost & are willing to pay it through self-discipline, sacrifice, team-work, planning, etc.

– “Practice mindful meditation” – Buddhist

“Wherefore, let us kneel in silence, & humbly acknowledge GOD’s presence with us now.” – Christian

– I command you ~ I empower you!

– “Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself.”