Heads Up: The Clock Is Ticking, America…

Katha UpanishadOC

Baha’U’llah’s Four birds of prey and the Seven deadly sins are the City of 11 gates described in the Katha Upanishad. They don’t directly explain this in the Upanishad, however they indicate it has to do with the soul after death. The 11 gates I’ve assumed then act as our automated judgement process for our souls after death.

As I was listening to an audiobook version of the Upanishads is clicked, it seemed to be describing gates (kind of like logic gates in a computer) in which the soul has to travel through upon death. Each of these gates are within the body, and are a part of our “judgement”.

This is perhaps why the sins are considered ‘deadly’, and Baha’U’llah’s birds of prey, are those that prey on the soul (The Soul being a Bird in a Cage).

Every thought we think, every word we speak, every action we enact, every moment of our existence, every second, all go through these gates. The gates ensure purity of the soul in the divine realm, such that we don’t bring any sinful behaviour, any corruption, or selfish desire into Heaven. The more virtue we employ, and subsequently the less attachment and sin we habitually practice, the more of our experiences, knowledge, friendships and existence we can bring into the divine realm.

When we die, our soul and all our experiences will go through these gates.

The Seven Deadly Sins

Any experience of wrath, will not get through the Gate of Wrath.

Any experiences of pride will not get through the Gate of Pride.

Any experience of gluttony will not get through the Gate of Gluttony.

Any experience of envy will not get through the Gate of Envy.

Any experience of sloth will not get through the Gate of Sloth.

Any experience of greed will not get through the Gate of Greed.

Any experience of lust will not get through the Gate or Lust.

Four Birds of Prey

Any fear will not get through the Gate of Fear.

Any attachment will not get through the Gate of Attachment.

Any desire will not get through the Gate of Desire.

Only the knowledge we have obtained will pass through the Gate of Ignorance.

Everything else will remain a mystery.

What is left of our soul, is what we bring to the divine realm. The rest of our life experiences are purged, or erased, unable to pass through the gates.

What this means, is that if we want more of our life’s experience to come with us into the divine realm, we must focus on the 700 virtues (Kindness, Patience, Justice, Mercy, Love, Wisdom, Knowledge, Charity, Chastity, Steadfastness etc) and practice them daily as Jesus exemplified having being created to be in the perfect image of God, and have been exemply practiced by the other manifestations of God; The Bab, Baha’U’llah, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, and Muhammad (to the degree he could given the culture he was born into).

If we practice these 700 virtues daily, we need not worry as much about the 11 city gates, however we should always practice the virtues of being watchful and vigalent of the Birds of Prey (Attachment, Fear, Inattention, Ignorance), and the Deadly sins (Pride, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Envy, Sloth).

As each of our experience that are embodied by a virtue will pass through the gates, to the degree they aren’t tainted by the deadly sins or the birds of prey.

So when we pass on from this realm, and are reborn in the Divine Realm. If we have worked hard, and brought many lessons, we can bring forward many attributes, qualities, and be more human.

If we have lived a life of sin, selfishness, attachment, then we with so much of our experiences stuck at the gates, we might go back a stage or two, becoming a divine animal, a divine tree, or a divine rock.

As the Ruhi Book 1 mentions, in the world of the womb, we develop our limbs and senses, but we don’t need those limbs and senses in the world of the womb. We need them for the Earthly World.

So too in the Earlth World, we develop our virtues and understanding, such that we can increase our capacity to know and serve God. We don’t ‘need’ them in this realm, but in the Divine Realm, if we haven’t developed them. It would be akin to not having developed eyes, ears, nose, or limbs. Or worse, we might regress in our development and become a divine animal, divine plant, or divine rock/mineral.

It’s up to you where you direct your souls infinite energy in this life, toward selfish pleasures and sin, or toward the development of character, understanding, capacity to serve and the subsequent joy that follows.

The 7 deadly sins and 4 birds of prey beget a life of pleasure.

Practicing virtue, developing knowledge and wisdom, and serving others, will bring a life of joy.

This can all be summarized by a quote by Jesus that took me a long while to understand what it meant.

Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

The Narrow Gate is that of selfless service to humanity, to all of God’s children, and to become a truth seeker, to seek to understand God.

The Wide Gate is that of Desire, Attachment to this Physical Realm, Pursuit of Passion, Greed, Lust, Excessive Pride, Willful ignorance. That’s why Jesus said the gate that leads to destruction is wide and the road broad, as many will unconsciously follow it. Now given our obsession with our phones, we are losing our capacity to pay attention, and without attention, we cannot focus on what will benefit us in the divine realm.