The Path of Christianity

For God so Loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son...

Of all the great religions, Christianity is the most widespread and has the greatest number of followers. Christianity centers in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. He was born in Palestine, probably around 4 B.C. and grew up in Nazareth. He was baptized by a prophet, John, whom Jesus refers to as the reincarnation of Elias, and who was stirring up the whole region by proclaiming God's coming judgement. Jesus, when in his early thirties, had a teaching and healing career lasting about three years. He finally brought about such a disturbance into the region that Rome as well as his own people were screaming for his crucifixion.

We could write volumes on what went on during the times of Jesus and afterward, on the divisions of Christianity into Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism, etc. But this information can be found elsewhere and that is not the point we are trying to bring across. Rather, the teachings, the mannerisms and even the miracles which Jesus performed are quite enough to prove this to be a true path to enlightenment. Often the spiritually devoted people who base their lives in the study of metaphysics and enlightenment have been turned off to Christianity by the hipocrisy found in the churches and those professing to be Christians. Yet, when study of the Bible is done in earnest, the path to enlightenment can clearly be found. If one studies the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism, one can also find it within the Bible. The yamas and niyamas of yoga are also found within the Bible. It is easy to see that a common thread of the process behind enlightenment is found within all the major religions, but not everyone finds that common path. As Jesus said, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." The path to enlightenment through Christianity (or any other religion for that matter) is not an easy one. The Word as taught to the masses through the evangelists and churches is not necessarily what the seeker is needing in his quest. But the answers are there within the pages of the Bible.

The miracles that Jesus performed are quite enough to prove this to be a true path, however Jesus never emphasized these as being important. Almost all of them were performed quietly, apart from the crowd, and as demonstrations of the power of faith. We get a better perspective on Jesus' activities if we place the emphasis where one of his disciples did. Peter found it necessary to epitomize Jesus' life and what he said was, "He went about doing good." Moving easily among ordinary people as well as social misfits, healing them, counseling them, Jesus went about doing good. He did so with such singlemindedness, that those who were with him found their estimation of him grow into a new level. They found themselves thinking that if divine goodness were to manifest itself in human form, this is how it would appear.

In the end it seemed to those who knew him best that here was a man in whom the human ego had disappeared, leaving his life so completely under the will of God that it was transparent to that will. It came to the point where they felt that as they looked at Jesus they were looking at something resembling God in human form. Jesus's path was one of Love and devotion as evidenced by his response when asked what was the greatest of the commandments; "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment and the second is similar to it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments rests all the law and the prophets."

It becomes quite obvious that the path of Christianity is similar to Hinduism's Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of Love and devotion. Compare those words of Jesus with that of Sri Ramakrishna's, "It is our duty to fall down and adore, where others only bow." and this similarity is easily noticed. The path of Love and devotion is said to be the easiest, quickest, and most rewarding.

If you have chosen this path, you are in good company. If it fits within your practice, meditation, yoga, prayer and studying other literature on the path are great additions to reading the Bible.