I love the "go-to-bed-you-silly-silly-man" truthfully I don't know why but it keeps making me laugh. Best, Lauren ~v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v~ On Thu, 17 Sep 1998 19:17:28 -0400 (EDT) jrovira@juno.com (J J R) writes: ><<this is no doubt all over the place, making little sense and i am >exhausted, in that just-finished-franny-and-zooey way and also in >that go-to-bed-you-silly-silly-man way and i apologise. think of it as > >a smiling and enthusiastic monologue by a distant relative. > > >and a good night to you all . . . > > >craig king>> > >eh, GOD that was a good post, Craig :). > >Now, I have some thoughts on Franny and Zooey and Christ that's been >bumping around in my head that does, indeed, connect with you saying, >"it wasn't God, it was Us all along?" And about Salinger's texts and >the beliefs expressed through them and how all that fits in. > >I think the spirituality underlying the Salinger fiction I've read is >of an Eastern variety. A Christian reading F and Z, and getting to >that line where the "fat lady" is Christ, well, will immediately think >of, "whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto >me" -- out of Matthew. For a Christian this would speak of Christ's >identification with His people, and how we are to love Him by loving >those around us. And he or she wouldn't be wrong. But approaching >this through an eastern construct, well, you get something entirely >different. Not entirely, I guess, but the same thing in an entirely >different light :) > >Now, by "eastern" I'm speaking of the Vedas, really, and beliefs >influenced by them. Esp. the Upanishads. The chief revelation for a >human being to attain within the context of the Upanishads is to >realize that "I am God and God is me." That there is no difference >between the individual and the Divine--between anything and the >Divine. That God is the ground of all being and the underlying >substance of everything. And that, therefore, all differences are >moot--are illusory, in fact. > >On an aside, when those holding to Eastern frames of thought approach >the teachings of Christ and His claim to divinity, they of course see >the same thing. When people approach the teachings of Christ and his >claims within the context of monotheism (the context within which he >spoke), then you get Christian doctrine. How you interpret those >teachings depend upon the presuppositions you hold prior to reading >the texts, what you already believe is true. I won't argue for one >side or the other here and now, although I could. > >But, at any rate, you read that last statement in Franny and Zooey >within an eastern construct and you see that yes, the Fat Lady was >Christ. On a more personal level, therefore, that Yes, Franny, you do >serve your ideals by serving those who seem to live up to them the >least. That yes, Franny, you yourself are something pretty special >too, even though you see your own hypocrisy more clearly than ever, as >well as the hypocrisy of others. And that yes, Franny, everyone is a >hypocrite. But they are all Christ too. > >So when you please people, serve them, in this sick, false, >hypocritical world, you aren't compromising. You're serving the >highest goals. > >That's what makes your statements really interesting. I think, within >the context of the spirituality underlying Salinger's work, that when >we say, "wait, it was us all along," that is true. It was us AND it >was God, because there is no difference between the two. > >Jim > > >_____________________________________________________________________ >You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get >completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno >at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]