http://ompage.net/Text/singleeye.htm
I didn't want to publish the email because it was rather abusive, however I do think the question itself deserves an answer, so here it is.
First of all I looked up the passage in question, which was found here:
Treasures in Heaven
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206&version=NIV
It is a discourse on the proper view of money and possessions.
Ok, so back to the analysis by Mr. Ompage and Yogananda....
http://ompage.net/Text/singleeye.htm
synophthalmia
Highly advanced yogi with "single eye"
To the contrary, it makes perfect sense to modern day translators who are not Yogi's and do not meditate. It only makes sense to 'Yogis' as a reference to a "Spiritual eye" because they have taken it out of context.
The Spiritual eye depicted in images of Hindu Gods is a third eye, not a single eye. A single eye would be a cyclops.
There is no reference to anything like this in the Vedas or Gita that I can find. The only ancient Spiritual text that this appears in is the Christian Bible. So it makes sense to try to understand it within the context that it is written.
It DOES mean single or simple ("good") and it IS a figurative expression. So everyone agrees on these points.
http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/573.htm
In common Greek usage it means "simple". The text of Mathew was written in Koine Greek, the common language. It was written for the common people, in the language of the people, not formal.
Here is a site that illustrates why taking a few translated words from a religious text out of context, leads to strange fundamental practices.
WHY WE SHOULD NOT TAKE A FEW TRANSLATED WORDS OUT OF CONTEXT
WHY WE SHOULD NOT TAKE A FEW TRANSLATED WORDS OUT OF CONTEXT
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/30-sirach-nets.pdf
Laying up Treasures to the most high was another figurative phrase commonly used by the Jewish people of this time. So the "single eye' and 'Treasures in Heaven' were catch phrases. Sound bites. Kind of like "a stitch in time saves nine". Jesus gives no additional explanation because no additional explanation would have been necessary. Everyone knew what he was talking about. He was talking about charity and simplicity.
The eye as a lamp is paralleled in Luke and Matthew to mean generosity and simplicity. A Jewish man at the time of Jesus would have translated Proverbs 10:2 as "The treasures of the wicked are of no benefit, but the righteousness (tsedakah) rescues from death". Tsedakah meant alm giving. Charity.
Using your resources not for luxury (like mansions and swanky cars) but for helping others in need....
Ok, well, so much for Yogananda's analysis.
(Thanks for the help Tom.)
Peace and Best Wishes,
Katie (AKA 'Smartypants')
Thanks for making another post, Katie. I hope you have a great summer.
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered about the spiritual eye -I've seen it several times and have seen it referred to in other works. I don't know what it is or if it's not something my own mind came up with. I don't even pay attention to such things,anymore.
I do know this - those who send you abusive e-mails won't ever see it!
Thanks for the post. I just love this site!
Hi Gordon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to read and comment.
I don't know what the spiritual eye is or isn't but I am pretty certain it has nothing to do with 'finding God". An opthamologist once told me that we see it as a result of stimulating the nerves of the eye by turning them upward and inward in an 'unnatural' position. Sir Isaac Newton was able to create a response like the 'Spiritual eye' by sticking a bobkine behind his eye and manipulating the nerve. (OUCH!!)
Whatever it is, I am confident that it doesn't have anything to do with this passage from the Christian book of Matthew...
Hope you have a great summer also!
Katie
I agree with your analysis. I think its nothing more than a natural response to some kind of nerve stimulation. I've seen geometrical patterns, too and those can be reproduced.
ReplyDeleteCertainly, this stuff isn't memtioned in the Bible. Even when I dabbled with SRF it always amazed me that Yogananada's interpretations were so far off the mark, yet no one seemed to care or notice.
PS - Love the funny photos!
Keep laughing!
I disagree with your analysis. First let's establish that the bible was originally written in Hebrew so any contextual phrases your friend gleaned from the Greek translations may be a little off. Second i see that you are using the New International 1984 version of that quote which of course gives your pluralization of eye. Every other translation out there gives a singular grammatical number for eye. So 9 out of ten translators, who are probably better at translating than your friend, see the quote as "The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." If you do indeed replace single with say good or clear or true it still gives the singular for eye. Third I looked at the link for the Greek translation, it supplies clear as well as single and simple for possible translations. However what is even more noteworthy is that the link you provided gives a more concise translation of the word "properly, folded together, i.e. Single (figuratively, clear) – single." So really what the sentence says with your translation is “ When your eye is properly folded together your whole body will be full of light.” Fourth you draw a tenuous parallel between a quote from the old testament and these quotes from the new testament. The proverb you mention may indeed be about charity however if you truly read through Matthew it starts around 6:16 where it has nothing to do with charity but more about renouncing the material world altogether. It seems as though your analysis is only skin deep. Care to take a crack at it again?
ReplyDeleteYours in divine friendship
Chris
Ok, dear one, Lets take another crack at it.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with your analysis. First let's establish that the Gospel of Mathew MAY have been written in Hebrew or Greek originally, however no one knows and we only have the Greek to go by. It is written in common Greek, the language of the people, not formal Greek. We do know that Jesus would have spoken Aramaic, and probably Hebrew (formal) and Koine Greek (common Greek). We also know that the book of Mathew is divided into four parts. 1) Genealogy 2) Preparing for ministry 3) Discourses (including the one in question) 4) Death and Resurrection. For some unknown reason Mathew left out the very important information about Jesus’ trip to India to learn Kriya from the three wise men Babaji, Lahiri and Yukteswar. We may never know why Mathew didn’t find this key bit of information worth noting. In fact we don’t know why Luke, Mark and John didn’t mention it either. This seems odd given the details that they did choose to include . It may be because Jesus spent his 'missing years' doing ordinary things like studying Jewish scripture, learning to be a carpenter and helping his dad with the family business.
http://srfcultmystory.blogspot.com/2010/02/six-gurus-of-srf.html
but I digress. The part we are interested in here is the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus is talking to his disciples and a very large crowd of common people about morality and ostentation. He begins with Beatitudes, the Lords prayer and this discourse about laying up treasure on Earth. Since he is speaking to the common people it is likely he is using common terminology. This is why dumb religious scholars like my friend Tom believe Jesus would have been using terms, phrases and ideas that were known and understood by the common people. An out of context reference to the Spiritual eye would not have made much sense but an in context reference to simplicity given his audience and the subject being discussed, would.
As far as the Spiritual eye is concerned I have not been able to find a reference to the “Spiritual eye” “single eye’ or “third eye” specifically referenced in the Vedas or Gita. Maybe you could direct us to a reference for this? The only thing I can find is many statues of Hindu Gods with three eyes. I have found nothing about ‘single eyes’ in ancient Hindu text. A single eye would be a Cyclops The Hindu Gods have a “third eye”. I would be interested in seeing one with a single eye if anyone has reference to such.
Mathew 6:16 is about fasting. It is part of that ostentation thingy.
By the way, as far as renouncing the material world all together… Yogananda had two California mansions and the most expensive status symbol car on the market.
http://srfcultmystory.blogspot.com/search/label/Jesus
Peace and Best Wishes,
Katie
By the way, I have read all of your comments made here and just posted the most interesting ones. Now you can take up the argument with yourself at home. A mirror may be a good tool.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by to read but please try to decide if you agree or disagree with yourself before posting leaving another comment in my in box.
Thanks
Peace and Best wishes,
Katie