In the gnostic Gospels there are certain passages that indicate very secret metamorphosis of male and female. one of such passage,
"Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary* leave us, for females are not worthy of life.'
Jesus said, 'I myself will lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven.' "
- The Gospel of Thomas.
* Here Simon Peter is talking about Mary Magdalene, the beloved companion, and as hinted from the gnostic gospel to be the most wise disciple of Jesus Christ (blessed be his soul).
Now i would like you to give your insight and thoughts on this particular text where Jesus says, for every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven. I find it very significant when see the details description of the Heaven found in The Final Revelation, the Quran are mostly talking about male. i just wonder, is there a grand mystical secret itside it which Jesus gave hint here, when Peter asked Jesus to reject Mary from the group?! What did Jesus really meant by saing, 'make her male'?
Quoting the text (pg. 145) from the Book titled, Jesus : the Unauthorised Version (ancient accounts of the unknown Christ), edited and introduced by Mian Ridge (2006). publisher: profilebooks
check the comments section of this post for some facinating views. hopefully soon i will compile them in a separte post. also pls don't forget to add up your thoughts in the comment.
"Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary* leave us, for females are not worthy of life.'
Jesus said, 'I myself will lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven.' "
- The Gospel of Thomas.
* Here Simon Peter is talking about Mary Magdalene, the beloved companion, and as hinted from the gnostic gospel to be the most wise disciple of Jesus Christ (blessed be his soul).
Now i would like you to give your insight and thoughts on this particular text where Jesus says, for every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven. I find it very significant when see the details description of the Heaven found in The Final Revelation, the Quran are mostly talking about male. i just wonder, is there a grand mystical secret itside it which Jesus gave hint here, when Peter asked Jesus to reject Mary from the group?! What did Jesus really meant by saing, 'make her male'?
Quoting the text (pg. 145) from the Book titled, Jesus : the Unauthorised Version (ancient accounts of the unknown Christ), edited and introduced by Mian Ridge (2006). publisher: profilebooks
check the comments section of this post for some facinating views. hopefully soon i will compile them in a separte post. also pls don't forget to add up your thoughts in the comment.
Tag: Secret, Gnostic, Male and Female, Gospel, Jesus
10 comments:
Hullo Sadiq! A key may be provided by Erich Fromm in book "The Art of Love". He talks about the "masculine" and "feminine" within us, about paternal love and maternal love, and how each person is a complex of all thee elements. So when Jesus says "men" - that does not mean people born male; it means people born again and awakened as Men. Similarly, a person born female could as well be a Man in her make-up, and a born male be feminine. Its society that makes arbitrary and limiting and destructive definitions, all of which have nothing to do with inner life, growth, transformation, self-realisation. Thanks, and Best, rama
To me it's Jesus’ gender equalization thought, though at present this saying would be considered discriminatory. In the time of Jesus, he leaded woman empowerment, zero tolerance - which is shown from this saying. Although it relates to some story behind - but might have been used into different interpretation for attaining benefit from every possible point of views, in later days.
Let me hazard a guess. The Samkhya philosophy talks of the dual concepts of "Purusha" and "Prakriti" - and as the article quoted above says, "The Purusha is the centre of consciousness, whereas the Prakriti is the source of all material existence.". Literally, Purusha translates to man and Prakriti, a feminine word, translates to nature. We - men and women, are within the realm of Prakriti, and the Lord ( as per bhagavad Gita, chapter 15 ) is considered the Supreme Purusha. Aspiring love of/union with the Supreme Purusha means genuine desire for liberation - a crucial prerequisite for entry into the kingdom of heaven. For this reason, followers of some hindu sects think of themselves as "women" trying to unite with Sri Krishna. Incidentally, some people also consider the dual modes of Purusha and Prakriti as in some sense identical - like a rope and its wriggly motion. The rope is like the Brahman/Purusha which is the substratum of everything and the motion is like the Shakti/Goddess - this nature is nothing but a manifestation of that supreme consciousness.
By the way, I love this blog very much and find it extremely inspiring, though this is the first time I could think of something to write in, however random.
Dear Rama, Kowshik and Frog thanks a lot for sharing your ideas and insights on it.
Special appreciation to Froginwell for his/her first time comment in the blog. I really loved what u said. indian philosophy has so much to offer to humanity!
thanks a lot. i will compile the infos later in a separate post once i get insights from other friends. so looking foward to learn more from you.
I read in Cosmic Consciousness by Dr. Richard Maurice Bucke, as Rama mentioned, that the human body has both the male and female qualities. The male qualities of intelligence and power are in the spinal column and brain and then they are surrounded by the female qualities of love and caring that are in the remainder of the body parts. He said that the brain and spinal cord is where one achieves higher states of consciousness, or God-consciousness, whereby the body is the extension of mother nature, which is correlated with love and compassion.
Therefore, to achieve God-consciousness/realization, one must focus on the brain/spinal cord and so become more 'male'.
Some very interesting and thoughtful contributions here. Here is mine: Just as Jesus said you have to be a child or have the heart of a child to enter the kingdom of heaven, we could be reading something similar here. In other words, Jesus did not say only children can enter heaven. Similarly, perhaps Mary is being taught to bring forward her more male qualities, just as many of us males need to be taught to bring forth our more female qualities.
amazing post as usual sadiq! I love the way go into the intricate details of cetain points which may have a much deeper meaning than many people will initially observe and ponder upon.
I think it does go to show how sexist the mindset was in the past and lines quoted demonstrate how special a person Jesus was for showing compassion to the perceptions of the men whilst also giving mary respect and allowing her to grow in her own way.
Great stuff! :)
What did Jesus really mean by saying, 'make her male'?’
God only knows !
Are we sure that he actually said this ?
Or
could it be that something was lost in translation ?
Jesus taught through parables
Maybe he used the words ” make her male ” to teach a more profound concept using the vocabulary and frame of reference of the time.
To know the answer to this question , we also need to have an understanding of what ” to make male ” meant in those days ..
It’s complicated. Much is lost in translation and because of cultural differences.
Also , some things are not to be understood by the mind .
The Sufi way of the heart and Rumi’s poems unlock and access portals to the truth far more efficiently .
From what I know , Jesus was a teacher far ahead of his time; a pioneer, Jesus was teacher meek and mild , a healer who used simple language and archetypal images to communicate profound messages of love , guidance and healing in a very HUMAN way. He began to teach forgiveness and non- judgement and love in a way that was new at the time . Many of his messages were ambiguous capable of being understood in many ways, via us beings of flesh , blood and spirit.
I think it is interesting, as an exercise of the mind to contemplate a question like this , but as for finding the truth , the ´via tegia is via the heart and soul .. by going within and allowing the stillness of silence to speak .... a direct connection with the source of "ALL THAT IS" that is within us and all around us.
On a personal note , I'd like to thank you for this visit to your beautiful blog.( I was lead here by a friend ) Thank you for sharing your thoughts,
How did you get to be so wise ???
Blessings , I wish you well,
Namasté ?
Love love love ................
oops , correction
typo .. " via reggia " I meant " The Royal Road " .....
did typos exist in Jesus' time too ???
just a thought ;-)
How interesting, as I found your blog while googling the terms "when the two becomes one" & "when the female becomes male". I have been trying to understand the meaning of this as well and so far I believe that it all has to do with the human BRAIN !
How the left brain / right eye symbolizes the male and the right brain / left eye would be the female.
Entering the kingdom of heaven (when the two becomes one or when the male becomes female) simply means "when the left brain and the right become ONE".
Happy to have found your blog
:)
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