Theos-Talk Archives (May 1997 Message tl00245)

On Fri, 9 May 1997 07:30:41 -0400 (EDT), you wrote:

>Check our new domain names!
>http://www.netforward.com
>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
>
>
>>>>"And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go
>>>>    through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter
>>>>    into the kingdom of God."
>>
>>Alan responded:
>>
>>>Scholarly bit: (clip)
>
>
>The version I was taught: the "Eye of the Needle" was a colloquial
>expression, referring to the short archway door in the outer wall of the
>Temple.  The purpose of such a short entryway is that it forced every man to
>stoop over, or bow, before entering the holy place as a reminder of the
>proper place of man before his God.  According to this version, it would
>have been *just possible* for a camel to enter through that arch, but it
>would have been on its knees.
>
>So the point of the parable becomes, it IS possible for a rich man to join
>the brethren of the Kingdom of God, but the process isn't an easy one and it
>likely doesn't happen very often.    :)
>
>Jim

There is another story I have heard. Back in those days there were
lots of baddies so all cities had walls round them with a small door
that was usable by any citizen caught outside the walls after the main
gates were locked. To get themselves and their camels in they had to
unload them and then reload them on the other side. This seemed
symbolic for unloading our unspiritual, material things before gaining
entry to the safety of the spiritual planes or what ever one may call
heaven. If one comes to the point where one can unload all
responsibility for 'things' and 'objects' one can pass through the eye
of the needle otherwise thought of as the antakarana.
Bee
>
>

Member Theosophy NZ, T.I.
Life is not a problem to be solved;
it is a mystery to be lived.