We should meditate upon the writings of God.

 

147. We are told in religion that we should meditate upon the writings of God if we wish to have knowledge and attain enlightenment and joy: In most of these religions the word meditate means to reflect or think over the writings of God and what the message found in the words might be.  Judaism: Sirach 6: 37 “Let thy mind be upon the ordinances of the Lord and meditate continually in his commandments: he shall establish thine heart, and give thee wisdom at thine owns desire.” (Deuterocanonical Apocrypha) Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Psalms 1:1 “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Psalms 1:2 “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Psalms 1:3 “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”  Christianity: 1 Timothy 4:15 “Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.” Thomas “Keep in mind that true understanding of this text was meant to come from PERSONAL contact with the Divine, inspiration from within.” So, think about or meditate upon the revealed word and discover the truth within the writings of God. (Apocrypha, The Gospel of Thomas)

ISLAM: 29. “(Here is) a Book which We have sent down unto thee, full of blessings, that they may meditate on its Signs, and that men of understanding may receive admonition.”

(The Qur’an (Yusuf Ali tr), Surah  38)

Islam: “Thus have We sent down to thee an Arabic Koran, and have set forth menaces therein diversely, that haply they may fear God, or that it may give birth to reflection in them.”

(The Qur’an (Rodwell tr), Sura  20 – Ta. Ha.)

ZOROASTRIANISM: “Who will praise us? Who will offer us a sacrifice? Who will Meditate upon us? Who will bless us? Who will receive us with meat and clothes in his hand and with a prayer worthy of bliss? Of which of us will the name be taken for invocation? Of which of you will the soul be worshipped by you with a sacrifice? To whom will this gift of ours be given, that he may have never-failing food for ever and ever?” “I praise, I invoke, I meditate upon,”

(Zoroaster, The Zend-Avesta, Khorda Avesta – Book of Common Prayer pt. 1)

Zoroastrianism: Denkard. Zoroaster, “They considered this, too, thus: namely one ought to endeavor most for meditations on the Religion, that is, on the Avesta and Zand; since meditations on the Religion are an armor for the soul.”

HINDUISM: “The Eternal Place! Thus hath been opened thee This Truth of Truths, the Mystery more hid Than any secret mystery. Meditate! And- as thou wilt- then act!”

(Hindu, Bhagavad Gita (Edwin Arnold tr) chapter 18)

Hinduism: 65. “By deep meditation let him recognize the subtle nature of the supreme Soul, and its presence in all organisms, both the highest and the lowest.”

(Hindu, Laws of Manu chapter 6)

BUDDHISM: “Those who meditate with perseverance, constantly working hard at it, are the wise who experience Nirvana, the ultimate freedom from chains.”

(Buddhist, Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha 1 (tr. J. Richards))

Buddhism: “Whoever meditates with awareness obtains great joy. When the wise conquer thoughtlessness by awareness, climbing the terraced heights of wisdom, free from sadness viewing the sad crowd below, they gaze upon the fools, like one on the mountain peak gazes upon those standing on the plain. Aware among the thoughtless, awake among the sleepy, the wise advances, like a racehorse leaves behind the slow.”

(Buddhist, Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha 2 (tr. J. Richards))

Buddhism: “Though one should live a hundred years, Without conduct and concentration, Yet, better is a single day’s life Of one who is moral and meditative.” “Though one should live a hundred years, Without wisdom and concentration, Yet, better is a single day’s life Of one who is wise and meditative.”

(Buddhist, Dhammapada – Sayings of the Buddha 3 (tr. J. Richards))

Buddhism: “Each must follow the path of study and meditation by himself gradually and with effort,” “So Universal Mind cleared of its defilements through the gradual purifications of the evil out-flowings that come by effort, study and meditation, and by the gradual self-realization of Noble Wisdom, at the long last, like the Dharmata Buddha shining forth spontaneously with the rays that issue from its pure Self-nature, shines forth instantaneously.” “In meditation; one’s mind should be concentrated at all times, whether sitting, standing, moving, working; one should constantly discipline himself to that end. Gradually entering into the state of Samadhi, he will transcend all hindrances and become strengthened in faith, a faith that will be immovable.” (Buddha, Lankavatara Sutra and Diamond Sutra)

SABEANISM: “Life supported life, life found its own. Its own self did life find and my soul found that for which it had looked. Renowned is life and victorious and victorious the man who went hence.” The soul’s contemplative search for self and completeness. (meditation) (Sabeanism, Ginza Rba- chapter  96)

BABI RELIGION: “Were all the people that dwell on earth to assemble together, they would be unable to produce a single verse like unto the ones which God hath caused to stream forth from the tongue of the Point of the Bayan. Indeed, if any living creature were to pause to meditate he would undoubtedly realize that these verses are not the work of man, but are solely to be ascribed unto God, the One, the Peerless, Who causeth them to flow forth from the tongue of whomsoever He willeth, and hath not revealed nor will He reveal them save through the Focal Point of God‘s Primal Will.”

(The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 104)

BAHA’I FAITH: 10. “The time foreordained unto the peoples and kindreds of the earth is now come. The promises of God, as recorded in the Holy Scriptures, have all been fulfilled. Out of Zion hath gone forth the Law of God, and Jerusalem, and the hills and land thereof, are filled with the glory of His Revelation. Happy is the man that pondereth in his heart that which hath been revealed in the Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Meditate upon this, O ye beloved of God, and let your ears be attentive unto His Word, so that ye may, by His grace and mercy, drink your fill from the crystal waters of constancy, and become as steadfast and immovable as the mountain in His Cause.

(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, p. 12)

BABI RELIGION: “At times they would find that the Báb had betaken Himself to a shaded, secluded spot in a corner of the orchard to pray and meditate.”

(H. M. Balyuzi, The Bab – The Herald of the Days, p. 36)

BAHA’I FAITH: “One hour’s reflection is preferable to seventy years of pious worship.”

(Bahá’í Faith, Baha’u’llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 237)