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Our Teachings Belief System: Oja International Temple recognizes the existence of a Supreme Being (God, Allah, Creator, Yahweh, Olodumare, Olorun, Cosmic, Cosmic Intelligence, Universal Mind, Universal Intelligence, One Thing or whatever name we assign to Him ) whose consciousness pervades all creation. It also recognizes man as a co-creator with Him. The temple believes that as a co-creator, man is empowered by God to make manifest all that will make him happy, loving, peaceful, and fulfilled once the effort is sincere. Universal Love: The pivot of the temple's teachings rests on the principle of universal love which encompasses forgiveness, tolerance, generosity and humility. Universal Love comes from the Universal Mind, and the Universal Mind is of God. We all need to learn how to draw from it. Meditations, Prayers, and Thanks Giving: The temple conducts regular meditation and prayer sessions to redirect the positive energies of the Cosmic to ourselves, the sick, the poor, the persecuted, the neglected, the rejected and the needy. The premise for this is the belief that we are all here on earth to correct our past mistakes and to avoid committing new ones through our earthly activities, problems and trials; and in the process clean our souls of their dirty spots. This has never been an easy task but all human beings are mandated to experience it while on earth. Since these corrective problems come in different forms, the temple encourages meditations, prayers and thanks giving at all times so as to be able to endure the pains involved while abhorring any forms of sorrow, self pity, self degradation or self condemnation. No Suffering but Soul Cleansing: Our teachings assert that the soul cleansing process comes in various forms, and it is the basis for the different life experiences we have in relation to health, finance, career, family, relationships and in other human endeavors. Some people want to clean their souls of all the dirty spots at once and have all the sufferings that go with them now, while others want to do it in bits and in many reincarnations. It is to be noted however, that an intentional act of injustice to self or others brings sufferings that are not soul cleansing. The temple teaches that we guide against this. We Made the Choice: According to the temple's teachings, all of us pass through the soul cleansing process in different forms and ways during our sojourn on earth, depending on the choices we made before coming in human form. Unknown to some people, the rich and the supposedly healthy individuals also have their own shares of the problems even though they might look alright in appearance. The difference is that they might be able to make decisions by themselves, and do their own meditations and prayers. The wise ones however, most often seek the positive collective energies of the Cosmic through their participation in meditation and prayer sessions in the mosques, temples, churches and centers so as not to incur further Cosmic debt. Do not take appearance for reality. The Love of God is Universal: The temple maintains that being poor, sick, rejected, neglected, or persecuted does not mean that an individual is a sinner, unholy, unloved by God or rejected by God; it is that he has chosen to clean his soul in a particular way that will enable him to further retain his oneness with his Creator. It is for this reason that the temple teaches us not to look down or laugh at the so called 'wretched of the earth' but instead, love and appreciate their struggles in their efforts at making their souls purified through their earthly problems. Simply put, we are not qualified to judge anybody through their appearances, religions, health conditions, or socio-economic status. Do Not Judge: Instead of passing judgment, the temple teaches that we should meditate, pray, encourage, advise, guide and counsel ourselves when we are passing through the rigors of the soul cleansing process which comes in various forms of human problems that we encounter in life. The temple stresses that there is always a lesson to be learned in any difficult or seemingly unfavorable situation that comes our way as nothing happens by accident. Light of God in Problems: Moreover, the temple teaches that it is always better to make a critical assessment of any problem in hand, meditate on it and be patient to see what the Creator is trying to say or teach us through it. It could even be that the Creator is trying to invite our attention to another better situation, job or relationship through a difficult experience. As a matter of fact, not all obstacles we encounter in life are bad since most trials contain the light of God that are necessary for our physical and spiritual advancements. All past spiritual masters had their own difficult periods of soul cleansing too. Do Consultation: If the problem on hand demands that we consult with others, the temple teaches that we should not hesitate to do so. But if we do not want to expose ourselves to friends and relatives or if their support is not enough, we might try to consult with genuine spiritual leaders in our communities, temples, churches or mosques for guidance and assistance. With a sincerity of purpose as our tool, the Cosmic will direct us to the appropriate medium. No Intentional Violation: The teachings of the temple warn that intentional violation of self, others or the natures's laws could add to our problems or even delay our soul cleansing process. In this vein, members of the temple are advised not to belong to any groups, societies, fraternities or organizations that encourage their members to inflict injuries on themselves or others in any forms, or for any reasons. Suffering comes when we intentionally create problems for ourselves or others. Present Day Love: In regard to love, the temple notes that although we all claim to be loving in our dealings with others, unconditional love has eluded humanity for long. What we practice nowadays is a love for a purpose. In a love for a purpose, we pretend to love a person as long as he is in a position to satisfy our needs now. Once that individual is unable to meet our needs, we abandon him and forget all that he has been able to do for us in the past. It is what he can do for us now that matters to us. We are taught that this type of attitude only delays our abundance but enriches the giver the more. When we receive and don't share or give unto others, we might be surrounding ourselves with what the spiritualists call the "bread of shame." Giving From the Heart: According to the temple, when we don't give from our hearts or for the sake of helping, but give just to boost our egos, we receive no blessings from the Cosmic. Giving to boost the egos occurs when the giving is done ostentatiously, to receive the praise of others, to suppress their opinions, to lure them into doing us a favor or draw attention to ourselves. This approach to giving depletes our abundance. It is fine when people appreciate our generosity without our wanting them to do so. Avoid Anger: Anger is a phenomenon that we all experience in our earthly activities. It results from our resentment of a situation, action, or treatment we receive from others. We get angry because we forget that such a disliked situation, action, or treatment will soon pass away, and as a defense mechanism we show our anger. It is okay to be angry if we can manage such anger positively to improve our condition. But if we allow our anger to go toxic, explosive or unmanaged, it can be very detrimental to our health and relationships. The temple therefore, teaches that we avoid anger by all means because it is a weapon that destroys ourselves and not our opponents. Anger unsettles the spirit and makes the body prone to diseases. On the other hand, patience and silence at the sight of provocation weakens the opponent and burns him like fire. Our peace of mind is precious; our silence is golden; be it so till eternity. Envy and Jealousy: Members of the temple are taught not to harbor envy or jealousy. Envy prevents us from moving forward in our spiritual journey; jealousy prevents the light of the Cosmic from reaching us. For those of us on the spiritual path,our hearts are not made to grief since whatever is ours, no other person can take from us. Hence, we are taught to be contended, happy, and thankful for whatever blessings the Cosmic bestows on us and our fellow men believing that the Cosmic is ever perfect in its judgment. Do We Have Enemies? The Cosmic operates with the law of duality. Consequently, we have the perception of good and bad; night and day; wet and dry; male and female; positive and negative; light and darkness; in our minds and thoughts. This perception makes us to think that when people go to either of the two extreme poles on the equilibrium scale of our judgment, they are either friend or enemy, good or bad, positive or negative and so forth. However, the people we call enemies are those being used by the Cosmic to put us on the proper tracts. We think they talk to us harshly, rudely, and treat us with little or no respect. We erroneously believe that some can even harm or take our lives. The temple maintains that since we are part of the consciousness of God, we are sources of light and love; and eternal selves that can not be harmed unless we allow harm through our thoughts and beliefs. Whenever we have this feeling of threat, the temple teahes that we go into meditation to energize ourselves and to listen to the Cosmic voice within us for messages. After the messages are given, most often, we have the course to thank our perceived enemies overtly or covertly for helping us to improve our lives. At this point, we realize they are not our enemies but our props. This is the reason the scriptures say we should help and pray for our enemies; because they are not our enemies. Abundance and Riches: The temple teaches that since we are part of the consciousness of God, we live in abundance and riches of the Cosmic. Consequently, our households, families, businesses, and whatever we lay our hands upon shall prosper. It is our duty however, to ensure that such abundance and riches are used to help the needy, humanity, and to glorify the name of God. Abundance and riches without the light of the Cosmic come as a punishment with a lot of suffering. Relationship with other Religions: The temple partakes of the religious practices of other religions as may be in conformity with the general principles and philosophy of the temple; noting that most of the differences are culturally oriented while the God we all worship remains the same. We are taught to respect the opinions, creeds, rituals and practices of other religions, so as not to be guilty of war. Association with other People: God created man as a social being so that he can interact with his fellow men. Accordingly, the temple encourages us to interact with our family members, relatives, friends, and people of other cultures so that we can directly and indirectly see the beauty of the mystery of the Cosmic in ourselves. Such interactions also help us to put resources together and make it possible for us to co-create with God. Moreover, when we are weak physically and spiritually, the collective energy of the Cosmic comes to us through our interactions with our loved ones; and God often speaks to us through them in many ways. Power of the Mind: The power of the mind sets our heaven and hell. Try to be positive in all you think for your thoughts create your heaven and your hell; they create your enemies and your friends; they create your fear and your courage. It is you and not any other person that creates the type of the world that you want for yourself. Be at peace with your environment and yourself and you will have that peaceful world that is yours. To enroll in our Correspondence School, please contact: THE SECRETARY, OJA SCHOOL OF METAPHYSICAL SCIENCES, OJA INTERNATIONAL TEMPLE, P. O. BOX 1786, ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA. Phone: 0703-083-4282 |
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