Bible Discourse 33 Ordination of the Twelve Apostles and Sermon on the Plain

Discourse 33

Ordination of the Twelve Apostles and Sermon on the Plain

And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

And when it was day, he called unto his disciples: and of them he choose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Phillip and Bartholomew, Mathew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; and they were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.

And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue  out of him, and healed them all.

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, “Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.  Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

“Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the son of man’s sake.  Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner didtheir fathers unto the prophets.

“But woe unto you that are rich! For ye have received our consolation.  Woe unto you that are full! For ye shall hunger.  Woe unto you that laugh now! For ye shall mourn and weep.  Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

“But I say unto you which hear, love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

“And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.  Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

“And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

“For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? For sinners also love those that love them.  And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.  And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

“But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

“Be ye thereforemerciful, as your Father also is merciful.

“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.  For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

And he spake a parable unto them, “Can the blend lead the blind?  Shall they not both fall into the ditch?

“The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceives not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Either how canst thou say to thy brother, ‘Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye,’ when thy thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Thou hypocrite, cast not the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.

 “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  For every tree is known by his own fruit.  For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

“And why call ye me, ‘Lord, Lord.’ and do not the things which I say?  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, T will shew you to whom he is like:  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

“But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream beat vehemently it fell and ruin of that house was great.

Luke 6:12—49

And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

And when it was day, he called unto his disciples: and of them he choose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Phillip and Bartholomew, Mathew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.                               Luke 6:12—16

Parallel reference:

And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.  And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and he might send them forth to preach, and to have power to heal sickness, and to cast out devils:

And Simon he surnamed Peter; and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; ;and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: And the Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Mathew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.                   Mark3:13--19

Now the time has come for Jesus to choose twelve apostles to spread his message. Apostle means “to send forth”. It is Greek term. Jesus prayed the whole night on the high reaches of the nearby mountains in solitude with God-communion.

Mountains and caves are chosen by the Godly men for meditation. God first spoke to Moses on Mount Horeb (Exodus 3:1 ff). He gave him Ten commandments on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:15 ff).  Mount Camel is referenced in association with Elijah and Elisha and other prophets. The physical and astral bodies are adapted to finer atmosphere. It will help the meditating yogi in breathing exercises. 

Choosing 12 apostles by Jesus is significant. In Bharat, The Guru-disciple relationship tradition, two types of disciples come to him for training. Those who come for general instructions, married or unmarried, are known as students.  Those who come for spiritual training and to propagate the teachings of the master is known as disciples. They live for the master and God. They propagate the teachings of Sadguru. The ordained teacher who possesses both a holy life and convey the truth is a true apostle of the master, “sent forth”  to serve the master as a pure voice of his God-given message.

When a child comes on earth, the child inherits the family traits of good, and bad, in accordance with their own karma, and the related karma which they share with their respective parents. Parents have no choice to choose the kind of children they want.  By an act of super will-power and meditation only they can invite the good souls to be born in their family.

Jesus accordingly chose the selected known apostles to convey his message to the mankind. That is why Simon was commanded to follow Jesus.  He chose three categories of people as his disciples: 1) the people who were required more spiritual help in their final stage of realization, 2) reawakening their final spiritual potential and to help him to propagate the message of Christhood to the masses through their righteous living, and finally 3) Jesus knew that he was Elisha in his last incarnation, and was chosen by prophet Elijah.  Elisha was the son of Shaphat.  He was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen.  Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. (l Kings19:19).    12 yoke of oxen represent 12 apostles of Jesus to spread  Jesus’ message.

 The master changes the name of his disciple as per his choice. Simon was renamed as Peter, the rock, by Jesus.  (later was taken to task for denying Jesus three times under the impulse of fear).  Jesus changed the surname of James to John, the sons of Zebedee to Boanerges (the sons of thunder).

There is popular adage, “blood is thicker than water’.  But spiritual blood is thicker still.  Each person is born into a family for one life time only, but with spiritual bond, the spiritually related soul will walk together the related path to God through many life times.

Why did Jesus include the traitor Judas in the select group of apostles?  Jesus’ foreknowledge of Judas’s treachery is apparent in many Gospel verses. Disciple is independent to work against the will of God.  Jesus knew the law of cause and effect and the evil propensities of the karma of Judas.  Judas had the opportunity to change his karmic pattern. Judas heeded to his egoistic satanic ignorance. It was Judas who precipitated in culminating victory of Jesus’ life. For Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, Judas became his foremost publicity agent.  

And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; and they were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.

And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue  out of him, and healed them all.                                    Luke 6:17—19

Multitudes of people gathered to hear the gospel of Jesus and to be healed.  They touched his feet. The faith of the sick healed by the Life force from the body of Jesus.

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, “Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled.  Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

“Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the son of man’s sake.  Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner didtheir fathers unto the prophets.

“But woe unto you that are rich! For ye have received our consolation.  Woe unto you that are full! For ye shall hunger.  Woe unto you that laugh now! For ye shall mourn and weep.  Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

                                                                      Luke 6:20—26

“Woe unto you that are rich” means that Jesus did not condemn the riches, but attachment to earthly treasure. Rich should share their treasure with others who are in need.  Riches cannot prevent the disease or death.  The desire for God alone can give eternal satisfaction and security.

Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.                       Luke 12:15

Children, how hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.                                       Mark 10:24—25

Woe unto those who are content with material offerings  and earthly pleasures, feeling no real hunger for God and truth.  Woe unto those who are smiling and satisfied with material pleasure.

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with good, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I council thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.                  Revelation 3:17—18

It was not to condemn Jesus for his  wisdom and admonitions. Bhagavan Sri Krishna also said material  evanescent wealth, and  pleasures, are nothing compared  to the God realization.  

Chintaa maparimeyaamcha pralayaanta mupaasritaah

Kaamopa bhoga paramaa etaavaditi nischitaah                  Gita 16--11

They submerge in unending thoughts till death. Fully indulged in sense pleasures thinking that they are the real happiness.

Aasaapaasa satair baddhaah kaama krodha paraayanaah

Eehante Kaama bhogaardha Manyaaye Naardha Samchayaan  Gita 16--12

                                     

They are bound by physical desires always. They behave with passion and wrath.  For sense pleasures they strive to amass wealth through foul means.  

Idamadya mayaalabdha mimam praapsye manoratham

Idamasteeda mapi me bhavishyati punar dhanam              Gita 16--13

Asaumayaa hatassatrurhanishye chaaparaanapi

Eeswaroha maham bhogee siddhoham balavaan sukhee    Gita 16--14

Aadhyobhi janavaanasmi konyosti sadrusomayaa

Yakshye daasyaami modishya ityagnaana vimohitaah        Gita 16--15

Anekachitta vibraantaa moha jaala samaa vrutaah

Prasaktaah kaamabhogeshu patanti narake suchau           Gita 16--16

This desire I have acquired today, this another desire I can get fulfilled further.  This property I got now, I can get more.

I had killed this enemy now, I can annihilate other enemies also.  I am the Lord, enjoyer of all pleasures. I can get the contemplated works fulfilled. I am strong, happy, wealthy, and born in a noble dynasty. I am unparallel. I do sacrifices or yagnas, give charities, enjoy happiness. This way they speak with attachment, delusion, and unsteady mind, due to ignorance.

They are attached to and covered fully with the net of spouse, offspring, and fields.  They are very much interested in desires. With this demonic attributes they are falling in impure Hell. 

Believing that fulfilment of bodily desires is man’s highest aim, confident that this world is “all”, such persons are engrossed till the moment of death in earthly cares and concerns.  Bound by hundreds of fetters of selfish hopes and expectations, enslaved by wrath and passion, they strive to provide for physical enjoyments by amassing wealth dishonestly.

Yassrvatraa nabhisneha stattatpraapya subhaasubham

Naabhinanati NaDweshti Tasya Pragnaa Pratisthitaa          57

He who will not have any body attachment, and love in  mundane relations, unperturbed in happenings of good and bad, is said to be  settled in pure wisdom.

And he spake a parable unto them, “Can the blend lead the blind?  Shall they not both fall into the ditch?

“The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but perceives not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Either how canst thou say to thy brother, ‘Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye,’ when thy thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Thou hypocrite, cast not the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother’s eye.

                                                                                Luke 6:19—42

A physically, mentally, and spiritually blind or ignorant person cannot lead another person.  Both fall into the same ditch. Spiritually advanced cannot be above his master  and gives respect to his master.

“For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  For every tree is known by his own fruit.  For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.                                                               Luke 6:43—44

To get out of deeply embedded Maya or ignorance is not easy job.

No known comparison exists in the three worlds for a true Guru. If a philosopher’s stone be assumed a truly such, it can only turn iron into Gold, not into another philosopher’s stone.  The venerated teacher, on the other hand, creates equality with himself in the disciple who takes refuge at his feet. The Guru is therefore peerless, nay, transcendental.                                             Adi shankaracharya

A human being is a composite of three kinds of trees. 1) Physical nervous system with its roots in the brain and the trunk in the brain and the trunk in the spine i.e., cerebrospinal axis, and efferent and afferent nerves branching out from it, with the senses and their sensations at the end of the nerve branches as the fruits.  As per Yoga, physical body is endowed with (a) five instruments of knowledge or Gnanendriyas viz., sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch, and (b) five senses of action or karmendriyas viz., manual skill, locomotion, speech, procreation, and elimination.  2) an astral tree of life with its roots as the thousand-petaled rays or Sahasrara chakra in the brain, its trunk of life force in the sushumna, the astral spine, and burgeoning branches of life force in their life giving fruits of vitality and subtle perceptions, and 3) the tree of consciousness, which has its roots in the intelligence in the brain; its trunk consists of the mind, and its branches consist of reason, will, and feeling. It bears fruits of evil and good desires.  As an aggregate, these three systems of nerves, life energy, and consciousness constitute the tree of life in man.

Hidden beneath these is the creator, the super consciousness of the soul.   The super consciousness is rooted in the Coismic Consciousness of God.

God can be spoken of as the root of the universal tree of life. Cosmic Energy can be spoken of as the trunk.  All the rays shooting out of this Cosmic Energy for the creation of universes can be called the branches. The worlds, and universes of causal, astral, and physical constitution are the fruits of the tree of Cosmic Consciousness.

God’s plan of bearing good vibratory fruits was vitiated by was vitiated by Maya or Cosmic delusion, or Satan’s evil desires. 

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.                                                 Luke 6:45

A good heart will express itself in good actions, and evil feelings will express themselves in an evil way.

Here heart, feeling, or chitta, that has to be controlled in order to get God-realization. 

Yogah chitta vruddhi nirodhaha.— Yoga sutra 1:2, Patanjali, the great master and exponent of Yoga.

Yoga, scientific union with God, is the neutralization of modifications of chitta.  Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God –Discourse 26

That which comes out of the heart of man declares rather than which merely goes into his brain as knowledge.

When Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh,” he meant that speech is an index to the contents of the heart.

It is estimated that modern human thinks on an average about 80,000 thoughts a day. That’s more than 60 thoughts per minute. That’s incredible. This is like driving a Ferrari.

Needless to say, the high volume of thoughts would eventually cause a lot of STRESS, which leads to CHAOS and innumerable undesirable physical and mental illnesses.

Coupled with this chaotic situation and lack of WISDOM, prompting most of us into an insatiable desire to satisfy Ego and Senses, ....leading to fear and anxiety.

The question to ask is, Why is this promise of improving LIFE is working against us..!

Milton Friedman (Nobel laureate) once said “ ..The path to hell is paved with good intentions..! ”

Simplicity and Wisdom are the only proven ways to mitigate this undesirable manifestation.. both personally and globally.

“..There is more to LIFE than increasing its speed..! ” -Mahatma Gandhi

“..Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated…! -Confucius

"..Everything should be made as simple as possible, not just simpler...!" - Albert Einstein

As it appears... Money, Success and Materialism (a modern fanaticism) .. are popular mantras of Modern LIVING…! Needless to say, ..these IDEAs are running out steam FAST, ..proving to be biggest illusions and self-defeating..!

What we need are timeless wisdom, simplicity and spiritual consciousness..! ..If we choose to have a Good LIFE.

“The self-controlled soul, who moves amongst sense objects, free from either attachment or repulsion, he wins eternal Peace…” -The Bhagavad Gita

And how do we get beyond.. our own MIND & Conditioning (MAAYA)....! ..that prevents us from living at the source of LIFE.., which the only state of True Peace, Bliss, Joy and Freedom., we all long for... and seeking..!

“Brahma satyam jagat mithya, jivo brahmaiva naparah” -Adi Shankaracharya

“It is the truth that liberates, not your effort to be free.” -Jiddu Krishnamurti, The First and Last Freedom

 “A mind all logic… is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it.” -Rabindranath Tagore

“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them” -Albert Einstein

“The TRUE education is... by which character is formed, the strength of mind is increased, and the intellect is expanded…!” -Swami Vivekananda

 "...And where there is Ignorance…, the suffering will follow..,

Only when we have climbed above ourselves,

A line of the transcendence meets our path...

And joins us to the timeless and the TRUE..!” -Sri Aurobindo

On an average.. a human body contains about 30 trillion human cells. We make about 80 billion new human cells and lose 80 billion old cells, and replace with new human cells every day. It is proven now that less than 2% of all human diseases have a genetic co-factor.

The diet and mind can alter the state of health. A good & close analogy would be, Healthy nutrition is the like bricks and the healthy mind is like mortar on a wall. Nutrition effect on the health is called "Nutrigenomics" and the effect of the  MIND on the heath is called Epigenetics. Ayurveda called it, Aahara (Nutrigenomics) and Vihara (Epigenetics), about 5000 years ago.

If we eat and think "consciously", we can have a new BODY and new LIFE. We replace about 90% of all our cells in our body in 365 days. Now it is proven beyond any doubt that the most chronic degenerative disease can be prevented & reversed by a healthy, whole, diversified, nutritious vegetarian diet in moderation. Coupled with Asana, Pranayama and Dhyana, one can achieve Perfect Health. There are no short cuts to GOOD HEALTH.

We can not delegate our health and hope for the best..! We have to take responsibility and nurture our own HEALTH. Cause we live in our body every second of our LIFE. A healthy body and conscious MIND is essential for a good LIFE. 

Thomas Edison said once “The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human body, by a healthy diet in promotion and prevention of disease.”

“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.”    -Ayurvedic proverb

 ....in fact, on an average, a human being contains an equal number of bacteria residing in our body as our own human cells, that is 30 trillion..! It is called the human microbiome..! When we expose ourselves with the clean natural environment, It is now scientifically proven that... it boosts our immunity and makes our brain healthy also..! There is a symbiotic relationship between the natural environment and our bodies microbiome..! That is why MUD Bath is recommended in Naturopathy, ...also was used by Egyptians, Greeks, Romans at least for 2000 years or more..!