Bible Discourse 47 “The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven”: Humble servants of all

Discourse 47

“The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven”: Humble servants of all

And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, “The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again.”  And they were exceeding sorry.

And they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute mony came to Peter, and said “Doth not your master pay tribute?”

He saith, “Yes”. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, “What thinkest thou, Simon? Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? Of their own children, or of strangers?”

Peter saith unto him, “Of strangers.”  Jesus saith unto him, Then are children free.  Not withstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast on hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up, and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.”

At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, “Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not come into the kingdom of heaven.  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

                                                           Matthew 17:22—18:6

Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.

And he said unto her, “What wilt thou?”

She saith unto him, “Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.”

But Jesus answered and said, “ye know not what ye ask, Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized  with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

They say unto him, “we are able.”

And he saith  unto them, “ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with:  but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is  not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.”

And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, “Ye know that the princes of Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.  But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

                                                               Matthew 20:20—28

And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, “The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again.”  And they were exceeding sorry.

And they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute mony came to Peter, and said “Doth not your master pay tribute?”

He saith, “Yes”. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, “What thinkest thou, Simon? Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? Of their own children, or of strangers?”

Peter saith unto him, “Of strangers.”  Jesus saith unto him, Then are children free.  Not withstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast on hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up, and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.”

                                                                              Matthew 17:22—27

Jesus said: Kings take tribute from their subjects. People who are interested from material things have to pay taxes.  We, the realized children of God need not pay any taxes.  However, dear Simon, my Cosmic Father free me from this earthly obligation by sending a coin through the mouth of a fish you will catch in the sea.

At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, “Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not come into the kingdom of heaven.  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

                                                                                 Matthew:18:1—5

Parallel reference:

And he came to Caoernaum: and being the house he asked them, “What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?”  But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, whoshould be greatest.  And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, “If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of allo.”

And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, whosoever shall receive such one of children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receiveth me, receiveth not me, but Him that sent me.”                                                               Mark 9:33—37

Jesus said: Love and humility win the heart of God. The devotee who is utmost humble and embodiment of Love shall be dearest to God  the Father. One must express the pure, child-like heavenly qualities, karmana, manasa, and wachaa, stock, barrel, and gun.

The pure chil’s mind is by nature centered in the paradise of the spiritual eye.  But with sexual arousal and urge of senses he will be thrown out of gear which the child has to control.  The growing children should guard their Adam (reasoning) and Eve (feeling), and should not allow it to fall in the trap of Maya i.e., delusion.

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit.

                                                                                                Isaiah 57:15

Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.  Verily, I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.           Cf. Matthew19:13—15 and Mark 10:14—15

  

What is a Heart..?*

Roughly.., thought can be attributed to the left half and the emotion to the right half of the Human Brain. Where does the Feeling FIT in this infinite activity of the Brain..? The new discoveries.. are pointing at the Human Heart..! As usual most of us know this... and it has been part of the human wisdom tradition since Time Immemorial, but.. ironically, it needs to be ratified by SCIENCE…, as it rules the Roost in the current Modern Era…!

There are about 3000 known hormones (more or less) in a Human body. Hormones regulate the human system, much like an operating system in a computing device.

There is a new KID on the Block.. that is a hormone named Anandamide.  Ananda is the Sanskrit word for “Bliss” or “ Joy” or “Happiness”.  Anandamide plays a central role in the human experience of “Bliss“. It activates in the brain and this has many effects including physical, mental, and spiritual.

"Heart is a “PUMP” said Dr Willaim Hearvey (1600 CE) and rest is history. The modern science... took it and run with it until it got “TRAPED” by itself.

The heart is part of the human endocrine  (hormone production) system, that makes hormones far beyond the capacity of the Brain. In fact, the newly emerging scientific discoveries are pointing that Heart is the seat of human “consciousness”,  not the brain. It can be called “JIVA-AATHMA”

Nirvana or Aaananda or Bliss or Joy or Mukthi the ultimate, a human being can experience.., as we all are seeking, that is beyond.. the scope and TRAPs of Indriyas (10 in total, ten heads of Ravanasura).So then the question becomes how to become “conscious” beyond the confinement of ten senses.

There are innumerable and proven ancient wisdom traditions. One of the easiest systems is called Bhakti-YOGA, for those who are already attuned, as it may not work for everyone.

Lord Hanuman Ji although, he is a scholar of all "Vedas," his heart is filled with Lord Sri RAMA and his entire being is pre-occupied with Rama-Naama.

“Ra” is Supreme Consciousness and “Ma” is individual consciousness., in Sanskrit. “RaaMa” is a taraka manthra, through Bakthai-Yoga.. it can raise human consciousness and unite with supreme consciousness..! Raama Naama Japa and sadhana is an epitome of Bhakti-YOGA.

There is a Community called “Ramnami Samaj” ..lives mostly along Mahanadi River in Eastern Ghats of India. This community follows Lord Sri Rama tradition in Being and Living. They also tattoo their bodies with Raama Nama.

By meditation and proper guidance of true Guru, change your ego into humility. Get ever new bliss. Real humility is transcending the ego and freeing the soul to unite with God. But even after uniting with God, liberated masters keep their individuality through their eternity.

Jesus says: He that is least among you all, the same shall be great.  Luke 9:48

The soul that has lost all egotism of the possessive little self, utterly humbled of  I, me, and nmine, knows only its identity with God, the One and Only, in whom there is higher or lower.  Jesus said: “What my Father knows, I know not.”

But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels  which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”         Mark 13:32

The liberated master may say at the most, ‘God has become myself’, but would never say, ‘I am God.’  Egotism is surest sign of ignorance.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts our fear has torment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.  First Epistle of St. John 4:18                    

  “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”                                                Matthew 18:6

Little ones implied that innocent children, and pure minded devotees, Jesus’ own disciples.  This is a vast world. There are people with diverse mentalities.  It is not possible to prevent the people doing wrong things against innocent children and saintly souls. The law of karma is aware of all this. Its judgment is dire towards anyone who deliberately offers himself to be a medium of wronging God’s “little ones.”

Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.

And he said unto her, “What wilt thou?”

She saith unto him, “Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.”

But Jesus answered and said, “ye know not what ye ask, Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized  with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

They say unto him, “we are able.”

And he saith  unto them, “ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with:  but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is  not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.”

And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren.  But Jesus called them unto him, and said, “Ye know that the princes of Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.  But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”               Matthew 20:20—28

Parallel reference:

And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.

And he said unto them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.  But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger ; and he that is chief, as he doth serve.  For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat? But I am among you as he that serveth.”

                                                                                         Luke 22:24--27 

Jesus said: O, Zybedee, You are asking a stupendous thing. Can you drink wisdom from the cup I can drink. 

He that is greatest among you shall be your servant.  And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and be that shall humble himself shall be exalited. 

                                                                                            Matthew 23:11--12

O, Zybedee, are you ready to be baptized with Cosmic Bliss, with which I am baptized. But I cannot arrange seat to my left or right, because it is arranged by Heavenly Father.

The Christ Consciousness in came not to be served  but to serve. It will offer divine light through sacrifice and ideal living.

‘He that sitteth at meat’ is considered to be superior authority in this physical world than ‘he that serveth.’  It is reverse in heaven.