If you look at just the man/women after he/she has died, what part of the humanity do you eulogize? Every person has something to bring to us in his or her death; it is a gift from the other side and is the knowledge of the past and an open door to a new path for the future. The life lived by any person can motivate us to a brighter and more enlightened future. Most of us try to eulogize all the good stuff we know of the person, and yet there is much to be learned about of this person and his life from the dark side as well, the side that we know little about. Our lives are all physical statements of how enlightened we are and were we stand on the path to total awareness; it is our thought process gone physical. Ones light can only shine from the background of darkness and if light was all that there was we would not know it. The Late John Paul II, leader of the Roman Catholic Church died leaving behind Christianitys testament to the dark side of humanity. On the lighter side of the Popes tenure at the Vatican, he made several gestures of reform marking his higher level of awareness for all of history to learn from. He openly admitted and apologized for the evil and wrong doing of the Church over thousands of years of its history. He apologized for the Holy Wars, and the murders and persecutions of persons who spoke out against Catholic policy and believes. He apologized for the persecution of the Jews, reformers and other philosophers of the times. The Pope recognized that some of the atrocities the church did in the past did not work for it and he spoke out. The apologies brought to light the need for reform in the Catholic Church, Christianity and all religions. I believe that the Pope did not go far enough, and it may have been the best that he could do in his short time. It may also be a move to try and bring back believers to the fold by appearing to be progressive, repentant and apologetic. What the Pope brought into the light was the dark side of humanity and the Roman Catholic Church. Men cloaked in good deeds are well camouflaged; those that could not see suffered and died for the Church that was in contradiction with itself. The church has been primarily responsibly for the division of man from man, man from woman and man from God and its general policies have not changed in John Pauls administration. The church still promotes oppression, fear and guilt and I dont remember hearing the Pope proclaim that its members are free to explore their own spirituality outside of the doctrine of the Catholic Church (the box). I dont remember hearing him say that the soul is a free spirit to choose how it wishes to experience its physical life. Catholics are not free people within the body of the church and Christianity continues to promote fear, guilt, oppression and regression. The Pope stopped short of freeing his people while the church still practices assimilation. As people from around the world eulogized the Pope, what is the gift that they will receive from his death? Will they see the need to open up the box and set the spirit free or make the reins even tighter? What was the purpose for John Paul II and what did the man bring to the world? Was he just another Pope perpetuating the doctrines of a dying church, or did he bring some new life into it. The man has died, but the Pope left a sign behind for all to read and all people will not read it the same way. John Paul II represented the light that shines in Catholicism and also the dark side of Christianity and religion. In this new awareness comes the opportunity for change and enlightenment. Man can never be the light, he can only move back to it. Religion can never be God; it is mans attempt to explain God. The church can never be God or represent collectively mans awareness of spirituality and it can never interpret what God wants for man, because God is in all men and women. God is all that there is, and there is nothing else, all of life is God. Humankinds attempt to put spirituality into a box has failed; it is obvious that what humanity wanted from the Church has not worked for him. To know what God wants man only needs to look around him, and know that all that was created is perfect and is in harmony with Gods will. Life has only one will and that is to create more life. What humanity gets out of the death of a Pope will be that of his own resolve, from plain ignorance of the fact to loss and grief. The Pope himself was just a physical symbol of ancient philosophy, but he was also a man amongst men and his presence was known; he reached the epitome of a personal wish to serve what he believed to be his truth, for better or worse and no man can do more. Let the death of this Pope be the death of the dark side of the Catholic Church and Christianity. Let us celebrate the man that brought us light and the beginning of a new age of awareness. It is my hope that it will be used as a stepping stone into enlightenment. |
