
Originally Posted by
The_Child
i think thats a misconception sir. just because ive read 24 upanishads, some parts of The Life Divine, the Enneads, Brahman sutrya bhasya, some buddhist books, doesnt mean that it would necessarily change everything in me. Its the same thing as telling someone to read the biblical texts and telling them that if they have not changed according to the teachings of the bible then they do not understand it?
i dont think it works like that sir. some may fall in-love with certain studies or with certain readings, but for me, so much as i was inlove with Indian thought back years ago, my first and favorite book was tge translation of 12 upanishads by swami nikilinanda it doesnt mean that i have to embrace it because i understood it.
dili diay pwede that i understood it, but i do not want to embrace it?
to abandon once faith, as ive said must be contextualized with the priest issue, i hope you dont take it away from context. the priest has commitments, promises, not only to himself but to his flock and to the church as a whole. Would it be right to break away from that commitment especially if that commitment concerns not only you but also others? Commitments are important. Before entering the priesthood, discern. reflect. meditate. all those things.
As ive said, there is that critical juncture in the history of human thought when it divided to gnostic tradition and rational tradition, and where at the end it was rational tradition that won over as the lingua franca discourse.
Now, child, how is your Philosophy program in the University of San Carlos? Do you still look full as before? I hope you are enjoying the academics and fun of discussing.

and god, someone i know seem to have pointed you out to me. who and how is that? let us keep it a mystery.
I would agree with child that you can read something, understand it
and yet not embrace it. I've read a certain biography of a certain popularly discussed western philosopher(of whose name i cannot state because my memory fails me.) that when he is asked about his stand on god and his faith, this Philosopher would not answer. In response, this Philosopher would say that Philosophy and matters of his catholic faith are 2 different things. To my understanding, you do not want your catholic faith shattered, thus it would be better of for you not to embrace such teachings like that of the indians ,etc.
You are learned in the language of reason, and it is right for you to say that
"there is that critical juncture in the history of human thought when it divided to gnostic tradition and rational tradition, and where at the end it was rational tradition that won over as the lingua franca discourse". This is what we know now as Roman Catholicism or to make it broader, mainstream Christianity.
Do not mind if I share my insights from your recent discussions.
I think it is only righteous to say that a Priest of the church should not break his commitments. Especially when he engages in such things such as the Esoteric. Most of the esoterics we know somehow have conflict with popular Christian Faith. To all we know, Ignatius of Loyola, a Christian Mystic knew and understood the deeper context of Christian Faith, grasped the idea of SEEING GOD IN ALL THINGS as a popular ignatian principle and value.
Do keep in mind that what is taught in Catholic/Christian Universities is truly different from those programs taught in non-sectarian Universities just like the University of the Philippines e.g.Philosophy from Ateneo & Philosophy from UP.
You say about the issue of the priest not a personal thing. I verily agree with this, it is not a personal thing for he is obliged to an institution that by nature is EXOTERIC and has clouded the ancient Mysteries which are ESOTERIC in nature. Thus, he should portray and stick to the rules. the institution. He may have practices which are esoteric from the view of esotericists(e.g. the spiritual exercises of ignatius of loyola), this is an exoteric practice by the church. Anthony de Mello is one Jesuit Priest who is somehow publicly practicing esotericism.
you are graduating, yet you have not understood what it means to be a Philosopher. Don't just argue with people like us here in the forum. Probably this is called istorya.net and not istorya+solutions.net ; You may give credible answers, but do not give solutions on how to deal with the situation. after your posts, one can ask, "so what?" and besides, what people mean when they say that "be more broad minded" does just correspond to your post saying that you havent embraced other teachings other than your own, it simply means that you ought not to criticize each post students of other schools of thought other than your own. Because it is useless. Criticize, then give amends. Don't just criticize. Its like cutting old trees then not planting new ones will cause floods. (it is reflected in your previous posts). After you remove and dispel the doubts & misconceptions, dont leave it hanging.
Most people have gone before you. in those years we have studied and experimented, we must have had a practical application of truth. have you? and have you met other practitioners of theosophy, mystics, masons, buddhists, islamic mystics, teachers of Advaita,vedantists etc.. ?
For me, the church is obsolete. Its practices arent. The politics behind it cloud the higher teachings of this religion. The so-called authorities are clouded by their faith that they think other belief systems(other than their own) do not lead to salvation. Even the morality. Just look at RELIGIOUS EDUCATION in USC, one can say that this may be a good subject, it doesn't truly give a scholarly and academic approach to the christian religion. why and how? probably because there are other teachers who are not competent enough to teach this divine studies subject. They even brng down ISLAM, BUDDHISTS, and other religions and compare them publicly discriminating other religions in their class lectures. tsk tsk...