28210
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: from The Prophet -- On Crime and Punishment
URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/58585/58585-h/58585-h.htm#link45
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Every few years I like to post a few chapters from this universal classic of spiritual wisdom...nothing quite like its all-inclusive presentation and context, to me... ;) On Crime and Punishment Then one of the judges of the city stood forth and said, Speak to us of Crime and Punishment. And he answered, saying: It is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind, That you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto others and therefore unto yourself. And for that wrong committed must you knock and wait a while unheeded at the gate of the blessed. Like the ocean is your god-self; It remains for ever undefiled. And like the ether it lifts but the winged. Even like the sun is your god-self; It knows not the ways of the mole nor seeks it the holes of the serpent. But your god-self dwells not alone in your being. Much in you is still man, and much in you is not yet man, But a shapeless pigmy that walks asleep in the mist searching for its own awakening. And of the man in you would I now speak. For it is he and not your god-self nor the pigmy in the mist, that knows crime and the punishment of crime. Oftentimes have I heard you speak of one who commits a wrong as though he were not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world. But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you, So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also. And as a single leaf turns not yellow but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree, So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all. Like a procession you walk together towards your god- self. Illustration: You are the way and the wayfarers. And when one of you falls down he falls for those behind him, a caution against the stumbling stone. Ay, and he falls for those ahead of him, who though faster and surer of foot, yet removed not the stumbling stone. And this also, though the word lie heavy upon your hearts: The murdered is not unaccountable for his own murder, And the robbed is not blameless in being robbed. The righteous is not innocent of the deeds of the wicked, And the white-handed is not clean in the doings of the felon. Yea, the guilty is oftentimes the victim of the injured, And still more often the condemned is the burden bearer for the guiltless and unblamed. You cannot separate the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked; For they stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread and the white are woven together. And when the black thread breaks, the weaver shall look into the whole cloth, and he shall examine the loom also. If any of you would bring to judgment the unfaithful wife, Let him also weigh the heart of her husband in scales, and measure his soul with measurements. And let him who would lash the offender look unto the spirit of the offended. And if any of you would punish in the name of righteousness and lay the ax unto the evil tree, let him see to its roots; And verily he will find the roots of the good and the bad, the fruitful and the fruitless, all entwined together in the silent heart of the earth. And you judges who would be just, What judgment pronounce you upon him who though honest in the flesh yet is a thief in spirit? What penalty lay you upon him who slays in the flesh yet is himself slain in the spirit? And how prosecute you him who in action is a deceiver and an oppressor, Yet who also is aggrieved and outraged? And how shall you punish those whose remorse is already greater than their misdeeds? Is not remorse the justice which is administered by that very law which you would fain serve? Yet you cannot lay remorse upon the innocent nor lift it from the heart of the guilty. Unbidden shall it call in the night, that men may wake and gaze upon themselves. And you who would understand justice, how shall you unless you look upon all deeds in the fullness of light? Only then shall you know that the erect and the fallen are but one man standing in twilight between the night of his pigmy-self and the day of his god-self, And that the corner-stone of the temple is not higher than the lowest stone in its foundation. |
28224
From: sandy, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: from The Prophet -- On Crime and Punishment
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Thanks for the post - good reminder to go get my book out again. Two years ago, after reading about The Prophet for probably 30 years, I happened to be walking a trail near the shoreline at Lake Arrowhead. There were a few little neighborhood lending libraries dotted along the shoreline at the bottom of people's properties that face the water. I came across one and saw The Prophet in it. I immediately brought it home and enjoyed reading it after all these years of hearing about it. |
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28225
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: from The Prophet -- On Crime and Punishment
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What a great story about how this little gem found you! Thank you for sharing, and you're most welcome... ;) |
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28212
From: Chuckles, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: from The Prophet -- On Crime and Punishment
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Incredibly beautiful writings! I was turned on to The Prophet by this Greek Psychologist when I was visiting my Father in Palm Desert many years ago as a teenager. Chris, my Dad's neighbor would purposely tease my dad to open him up, or should I say to break the dam he had inside of himself. My Dad didn't understand why Chris was teasing him, but I was chuckling when my dad told me about some of the stuff Chris would do, and knew exactly why Chris was doing it. Chris came over to visit me one morning sitting on my dad's patio as we talked about spiritual matters as I brought up the subject of reincarnation. Afterwards Chris gave me his copy of the Prophet which I still have today. Chris by the way was the number 4 person for IBM in charge of the European Sector who today if he was still alive in his body would be about 115 years old or so. Thanks for posting! |
28213
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: from The Prophet -- On Crime and Punishment
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Agreed, Chuckles! What a great story about how this gem came into your life... ;) I was a teenager too and had just been gifted w/my first tarot deck, at a local metaphysical shop in suburban Chicago... My generous friend picked up a copy of The Prophet from the shelf and asked, had I ever read this? When I said no, she smiled and included it with my gift... I was a little obsessed for awhile...lol...typed up and sent chapters of it to loved ones I felt would appreciate it...wanted to make a case for it being required reading in our local high schools...lol... Only in translations of Aramaic spiritual wisdom that I've come upon in the two versions of Lars Muhl's book, The Law of Light, the Secret Teachings of Jesus (his original and the revision) have I come across a similarly all-inclusive context of compassionate understanding of human/spiritual behavior... ;) |
28214
From: Chuckles, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: from The Prophet -- On Crime and Punishment
URL: https://www.amazon.com/Prophets-Candle-Daniel-Miller/dp/1591095905
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Some books are very powerful with spiritual wisdom, and if one is in need of that knowledge, that person and the book will eventually find each other. There's another book called The Prophet's Candle by Daniel, beautiful writings. |
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28215
From: shadow, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: from The Prophet -- On Crime and Punishment
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Agreed...when the student is ready, the teacher appears, in whatever form best serves... ;) Thanks, will have to check this out when I can! |
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