Hi Steve. i left Russia when i was 24 and i am 49 now. so, you see, i've been here over half of my life. no, i don't miss Russia any more. i did in the beginning for about ten years and then, one day the homesickness just vaporized and I stopped pining about my old home. the only advantage that i could think of is the taste of the deserts. i like Russian deserts more than the American ones.
but it may actually be an advantage that i am so far removed from them.
I understand your feelings about religion and about this web site i also understand now. I've heard the same protest against religion from other people and I understand how it may come to happen. For me, it is a bit different. I freely chose religion and I did not immerse myself completely in the church, although i've spent considerable time with people of different churches and my friends and I at one point even had our own little church group. My religion does not belong to one particular church or a denomination. For me religion is my relationship with God. I do like the words of Sai Baba:
"
There is only one religion; the religion of Love
There is only one language; the language of the Heart
There is only caste; the caste of Humanity
There is only one God, He is Omnipresent."
"
All religions teach one basic discipline - the removal of the blemish of egoism from the mind, and of running after trivial joys. Every religion teaches man to fill his being with the Glory of God, and evict the pettiness of conceit. It trains him in methods of detachment and discrimination, so that he may aim high and attain liberation. Believe that all hearts are motivated by the one God; that all faiths glorify Him alone; that all names in all languages and all forms man can conceive denote the one Supreme Being; His adoration is best done by means of love.
Cultivate that Eka-bhava (attitude of Oneness), between men of all creeds, all countries and all continents. That is the message of love, I bring. That is the message I wish you to take to heart."
"Let the different faiths exist, let them flourish; let the glory of God be sung in all languages in a variety of tunes. That should be the ideal. Respect the differences between the faiths and recognize them as valid so far as they do not extinguish the flame of unity"
~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba
I agree with this with all my heart.
Irina
What Sai Baba said here about the variety of tunes and respecting the differences in faiths is very true for me as well. I also believe that different sites serve their own specific purposes. What i find unfair is that some people on different sites feel that some how God is limited to that site or that religion. They are unable to embrace, even for a moment the expansive idea that they may benefit by sharing experiences with others on different sites or having different religions. This can become so sad that it leads to the religious strife that now exists all over the world and the resulting war. So many people know they are right. If they are so right why are they so wrong against others?
You see the equivalent of your indoctrination against religion was the propaganda and brain washing into Christianity in this country which still influences our culture in a very harmful way. I am not talking about the life of the lamb here. Jesus was an entirely different matter but how are we supposed to believe the version of his life in the Bible when 15 years of his life were conveniently deleted? Of course we couldn't entertain the idea that he went to India and Tibet and was trained by the Masters. This would put such a twist on Christianity that it would have to accept 'heathen' religions and so called 'false prophets' and that perhaps three wise men from the east were magi-astrolgers who Jesus spent time with during those 15 years. These are historical facts found in monasteries in the Eastern countries i mentioned.
My mother had this keen interest in Russia. I remember her reading 'War and Peace' and talking about Russia. I believe she had a past life connection to that country and in that sense i also felt connected. I remember reading some of Svetlana Alliluyevas' book who it turns out, was Stalin's illegitimate daughter and some of Solzhenitsyn. I was so happy for Russia, in a moment in time, when Gorbachev was leading Russia. I never was a heavy reader because I always meditated and practiced instruments. But i enjoyed America's romanticized version of Russia in Dr. Zhivago. My favorite film of all time is the Russian version of Solaris directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. It was very profound and had a deep spiritual message about the reflection of our consciousness in the reality we attract to us.
