Mathew Chapter six ......continues 4

We have been discussing what Jesus taught in the session known as ‘The Sermon on the Mount’. That reveals the fact about the non-material side of life, the opposite and inevitable pole of material life, which is possessed only by human beings. What we have to do with this side in order to get the right welfare for our life? By satisfying material side only, a perfect welfare is not possible (The important welfare is after this life). So, to a certain extend we have to be away from material world and proportionally close to the non-material world which is known as ‘Kingdom of heaven’ in this book – Gospel According to Mathew. To become away from that much distance which is needed to close to this Kingdom, we have to maintain a particular attitude, mentality or state of mind. That is explained in different way here in Gospels. So, when we examine closely each verse, we can see each of them tell us the attitude or mentality we have to maintain along with each office or deeds. We will feel them very much bitter because we so close to material world and an intense desire to enjoy the pleasures peculiar to material side of life, thereby our hearts (desires or emotions) adopt even this spirituality as a tool to enjoy that pleasures, which ultimately lead us to a hypocritical life that gives no satisfaction and any kind of welfare.
So when Jesus teach us about what we have to practice, he very clearly pointing out the other side which our hearts may lead us to, saying ‘don’t be like hypocrites’. Most of us become mad when we hear this because we are like that hypocrites. So forgive me, I know you become mad some times reading my studies as I become often. Follow Jesus doesn’t mean starve and die. If anybody want to know secrete of what Jesus teach us, read the portion of a story given below which is from an Indian classic.
Once one scholar who was a devotee had to encounter with the divine one, and to test the devotee he asked some questions and the devotee answered as follows.
“What is happiness?”
“Happiness is the result of good conduct.”
“Who accompanies a man in death?”
“Dharma (Righteousness). That alone accompanies the soul in its solitary journey after death.”
“What is that, abandoning which man becomes loved by all?”
“Pride – for abandoning that man will be loved by all.”
“What is the loss which yields joy and not sorrow?”
“Anger – giving it up, we will no longer be subjected to sorrow.”
“What is that, by giving up which, man becomes rich?”
“Desire – by getting rid of it, man becomes wealthy.”
Hearing these answers the divine one pleased and told the scholar to ask any boon.

Mathew Chapter six....continues 3

Whatever you perform yourself spiritually is mainly for the purpose of make changes in yourselves. Means the reaction of your activity should be from your inner being not from your outer environment. Your spiritual activities should make changes on inner-you. Each and every spiritual office should result in specific change on your inner being. To happen so, you should not focus on social environment for rewards and appreciations; let them learn from you, it should be so. Why? Let us examine these verses.

16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

What do we do when we fast? We starve our senses to disappear the objects of senses from us. What purpose for? Close to God and to be away from material world. When we starve our senses we became away from the world to certain extend and proportionally close to (fast) the Supreme power. So, if we desire appreciation or any other kind of reward from the part of world, what is the use of fasting? Does it make any effect on the spiritual plane, which is secrete or invisible? So when you fast, make it a personal affair and secrete so that it can make tremendous change on your spiritual plane. If it so, when you starve your senses, not only the object of senses disappear from you but the yearning for them also disappear and become close with The Supreme. Otherwise, when you fast, beholding God, the yearning for the object of those senses gradually disappear.

The soul disciplined by true fasting, moving among sense objects with the senses weaned from likes and dislikes and brought under the control of spirit, attain peace of mind.

Mathew Chapter six……………..continues-2

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

 “Our Father in heaven,

 Hallowed be your name.1 

 10 your kingdom come,

 Your will be done,2

 On earth as it is in heaven.

 11 Give us this day our daily bread,3 

 12 and forgive us our debts,

As we also have forgiven our debtors.

 13 And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.4 

 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

One important fact, what these verses remind us is that prayer is not a verbal exercise but spiritual exercise. Otherwise, the words of lips and tongue are the physical or material activities and, when we look from the point of prayer, it will not reap spiritual crop. How many words and sentences we used or how much length our prayer has, doesn’t matter but how our non-verbal prayer is matter. Means how our inner being is matter; whether it can communicate with the supreme power or not? Again, it is the matter of secrete part, the invisible sphere, of human being. If we borrow some psychological idea, we can state, ‘how your subconscious mind is so you are’.

Otherwise we mustn’t pray with the parts or organs which interact with material world. We have to with some other part or organ that interacts with non material fact. To do so, when we pray we have to completely give up relaying on the organs that help us to interact with material or natural environment, then the other organ or part that communicate with the heavenly one will come to life. Means need a lot of experience to do so. Practice leads to perfection. According to verse 8, we should not believe that God doesn’t know anything unless we tell him. Means, prayer is mainly to mold our conscience and mentality. Not to inform our needs and desires to God. How is that? Let us look into that.

We have to believe, according to verse 9, that a supreme power exists and he deserves praise. According to verse 10 our mentality should be in such a way that everything should go in Godly or righteous way. We have to exists, so we need what needed to exist, means, be away from the mentality to make unrighteous gains, verse 11 remind us. Verse 12 molds our conscience to forgive. And the verse 13 molds our mentality not to fall in temptations and evil.

Prayer is the auto suggestion for this.

Means mentality of praying is important. We have to mold ourselves through prayer. Make change in ourselves, not in God, in such a way that God may accept us.

Mathew chapter six …..Continues

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 

In this chapter many verses warn us to do our righteous deeds very secretly. There is a very important reason to advice us so. In Mathew 4:4 Jesus defined the two fold peculiarity of human life. One is material being; this side is always influenced by material world and its peculiarities. This side seeks satisfaction from outside world that encompasses material and social environment. Otherwise this side is satisfied by bread, material needs, alone. And this side and its behavior are very much obvious. The other side non-material or spiritual is not satisfied by bread, material needs, alone. This side does not seek satisfaction from outside world that encompasses material and social environment. And this side is not obvious and resides in persons invisibly or secretly.

So whatever deeds we perform to get satisfaction from outside world is a matter of our material being and it will not satisfy the other side, the secrete one. Then you have to perform most righteous deeds in such a way that they are away from material and social environment but quite in your inner world which is very secrete and it should be satisfied. This inner world only can contact the supreme power the Almighty. That is why here in these verses says that the one who sees in secrete will reward you your secrete activities.

Not only that everyone has two sides, one is public, anyone can see. The other one is secrete which determine the actual personality. God look into that side which is secrete. How we are in that side, so God reward us. We can perform many things to show people and can remain as a beast, means becoming an ostentatious Christian. These verses warn against such attitude. So what important is how our secrete life.