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the hidden artesian spring, naturally bubbling up from the depths
Editor’s note: The argument I’ve made here about the primacy of the inner life is the same argument, in principle, Jesus made to the woman at the well in John 4.
Let’s listen in on the discourse, a paraphrased and expanded version:
“You Samaritans are proud of your temple here. It’s all very impressive, these large buildings. You set all this up a thousand years ago when Solomon died, and the ten tribes broke away from Judah in the south. You wanted a rival system – your own temple, your own priests, doctrines, holy days, and rituals. You saw it as a contest, and your forefathers wanted to exhibit that you were as good as the temple-system in Judah.
confusing a symbol with reality
"But here’s the point: none of this matters, either here in the north or in the south. Much of what you teach has no correspondence to how things really are. The doctrines, the rituals, the temple-systems in both north and south, are mere symbols of something much deeper.
"But symbols cannot take us to where we want to go; symbols, at best, are temporary teaching devices, for the immature, until the reality can be accepted.
"Here’s what I want you to know: a day is coming when people, whether north or south, will worship God not with symbols but with something very real. You have life and light, deep within you, and this is what matters.
do you really think you can tag-and-flag, reduce and confine, the God of the universe like an insect pinned for observation
"God is spirit – not “a” spirit, not a limited entity with bodily form – God is spirit, God is universal consciousness, God is universal life and intelligence, all pervasive reality, nothing exists apart from God, every element of the universe -- whether we see this or not -- works together to effect the divine will.
"And one such as God, it is ludicrous to suggest otherwise, cannot be worshiped as the pagans do, in temples with four walls. God is the God of all the cosmos, all that is, all dimensions, and the puny little idea of God in a box, called a temple, is utterly ludicrous; even more ridiculous is the notion that God is pleased with mechanical rituals, formularies, ceremonies, pageantries, glitz and strobe-lights, rote so-called 'worship and praise,' as if God were a narcissist needing constant stroking and affirmation. How terribly pathetic, but this is what fearful people think.
"Despite God’s supreme grandeur, s/he is very close to you, not far away, not up in the sky somewhere, but is linked to your very soul. A day is coming when all will worship God by “going within” and meeting God there, as, in symbolic form, your high priest claimed to meet God in the holy-of-holies of your temple made with human hands.
"Here is an analogy: the God-life within you is like an artesian spring, “living water,” that will naturally bubble up to the surface of personality without human effort. You don't have to work at it, or try very hard, as you were doing here at the communal well, trying to draw water -- no religious rituals required, no temple, no priests, no 'one true' doctrines.
people are afraid to let go of their favorite comforting doctrines
"When you learn how to become aware of this process, it will change everything in life for you. No longer will you be religious in a traditional sense, no longer going to temple, no longer will you fearfully cling to empty doctrines and rituals. Not even belief is required - the truth, the inner life, will carry you, you don't need to support it.
"Your eyes will open to the truth, you will know and feel and perceive what's real, God's presence will be very real to you, and now you will no longer be afraid to shed untoward doctrines, ignorant and primitive concepts of how the world works.
the fearful little child will outgrow the accoutrements of immaturity
"Now you will follow the inner whispering guidance of The Great Spirit, who will progressively and personally lead you into clearer perceptions of reality - and then you will leave the temple-system, the world of symbols, far behind...
just as the little fearful child comes to forsake the padded playpen, the night-light, the dolly as companion, the security blanket.”
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