The question of whether Jesus "died for our sins" may not be as trivial as it
looks on the surface.
It is a well-accepted doctrine in the East that a spiritual master often works
out the karma of members of his circle by processing it through his/her own
body. This can result in diseases and, in some cases, death for the master.
Also, many in the East regard Jesus as the "avatar," an incarnation of Vishnu,
the universal sustainer (Rama and Krishna were also avatars of Vishnu). If
Jesus was a "universal master" (a spiritual figure who claimed all humanity as
his students, many of them unconscious of the fact), there is a logical basis
for considering his sacrifice as having been on our behalf. One could also
consider Jesus' sacrifice as a kind of "clearing the atmosphere" of that time,
smoothing the path for future generations (Isaiah 40:4 uses a similar metaphor
when prophesying the coming of the Messiah).
On the foregoing basis, I'd answer Maharishi's question: "He both lived *and*
died for me."
[I will freely admit that most practicing Christians have a limited
understanding of the meaning of Jesus' sacrifice, and many other limitations in
their beliefs, e.g., exclusivism ("Jesus is the only way"), etc.]
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Robert" <babajii...@...> wrote:
>
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "shempmcgurk" <shempmcgurk@> wrote:
> >
> > Once when a born again Christian (who also happened to be a TM teacher)
> > told Maharishi that Christ died for his sins, Maharishi replied: "Did he
> > die for you or did he live for you?"
> > (snip)
> Great observation, simple and true...
> The whole 'Died for YOu'...is so absurd.
...
> Crazy Religion!
> R.G.
