[HPforGrownups] Re: Harry's special power

[Hans Andréa]

No: HPFGUIDX 106080

Hans in response to Jen Reese's post:
I do take issue with one point Jen makes: "Many times in interviews, 
JKR or others talk about how Harry is every-boy, and that is why he's so 
appealing. He's smart but not brilliant, makes many mistakes, and seems
special only in his ability to fly and aptitude for DADA. ***In spite of
this,*** I tend toward the first explanation, that Harry was indeed born
with an innate power to vanquish the Dark Lord, whether he chooses to
manifest it or not." "IN SPITE OF THIS"? But Jen, the whole point of the
books is that everyone, yes EVERYONE has the "innate power to vanquish the
dark lord". Harry is our example, our inspiration, the one we need to
follow. All of us have Voldemort within us. And all of us have the power to
vanquish him. 

Jen's reaction:
I don't understand your point here, even though I read your article in the
files section. If you believe Harry was born special, and was the one and
only one who could defeat Voldemort from birth, then why do you say here
anyone could defeat Voldemort?

Geoff Bannister added:
There is surely a distinct opposition of ideas here. Harry cannot have a
special power and be Everyman at the same time.

Hans' explanation of how Harry is both everyman and have a special power at
the same time:

If I understand you correctly, you're asking, "If you believe Harry was born
special, and was the one and only one who could defeat Voldemort from birth,
then why do you say here anyone could defeat Voldemort?"

The Harry Potter septology is introducing an extremely radical concept into
the world. If Humanity actually accepted this concept and started to put it
into practice, it would change the very fabric of society. All the commonly
held ideas and beliefs of the masses and the mass religions are being turned
upside down by Harry Potter. 

This concept is that every human being is on a journey towards the causeless
cause, the original creative spirit, God, call it what you like, and that
the journey ends up with a complete (re-)union of man and It/Him.
Furthermore this journey has to be taken by each human being by using his
own inner resources. 

I think some people in the publishing and film industry have perceived this.
For example Arthur A. Levine, the Scholastic editorial director who paid
$105,000 for U.S. rights to the still obscure first book in 1997, thinks the
magic of the books is "the idea that a great power lives in each of us."
Alfonso Cuaron has also grasped this concept to some degree and this shows
in his new film. He says he understands that all our weaknesses and fears
are within ourselves, but that the power to overcome them is also within
ourselves. 

However these statements dont go far enough. The inspiration behind Harry
Potter asserts that the power for complete liberation from all the
limitations of our time-spatial universe is within us. How radical can you
get? This means that if we expect our salvation from authorities outside of
ourselves we'll never get anywhere. If we expect the Buddha or Mohamed or
Jesus to save us we'll be waiting a long time. The great Masters of the past
are people who have travelled further on the road than we have, and their
job is to tell us what it's like, and how to get there, but we still have to
take every step ourselves. The essential principle on our spiritual journey
is that we accept no authority but our own spiritual power, not even the
Bible, the Tao Teh Ching the Koran or anything else. The sacred scriptures
as well as the great legends and fairy tales are simply road maps made by
more advanced travellers to show us how and where to go. And so is Harry
Potter.

The septology clearly demonstrates this principle in Harrys disregard to
rules.  Usually Harry follows his inner voice and does what he thinks is
right, even when this means disregarding the rules. And at the end of every
part of the series he is triumphant against Voldemort, his own inner evil,
because he obeys the voice of his inner goodness, even when it goes against
all the rules and the advice of the people around him.

This explains why certain fundamentalist churches reject Harry Potter. They
dont want people to start thinking for themselves and using their own
potential spiritual resources. Their point of view is that the Bible is
literally Gods word and should be obeyed to the letter. I want to thank
Geoff Bannister for pointing out that it was never the Creators intention
to populate the universe with robots. I believe that when the Old Testament
says God created man in His own image, it is not referring to the physical
body but the creative power which is hidden in the heart, in the Room of
Love.

And so here is something that will probably upset a lot of people: the Harry
Potter septology is saying it is irrelevant to us on our spiritual journey
whether somebody like Jesus was born 2000 years ago. Or to put it a
different way, in the words of Angelus Silesius: "Though Christ a thousand
times in Bethlehem be born, but not in thee, thou shalt be yet forlorn."
That is the kernel of the message in the septology! Christ, the Buddha,
Christian Rosycross, or Harry Potter must be born IN OUR HEART! Every human
being has the POTENTIAL to go the road to liberation. How? Because everyone
has a spark of the original creative spirit in the heart. This spark is like
a seed in that it contains the entire plan of human development as always
intended by the original Creative Spirit. This spark could be called, in
mystical terms, Gods only begotten son. We could call it the Inner Christ,
the inner Tao, the inner Harry Potter. This power has the ability to
vanquish the Dark Lord within us. Every one of us has Harry Potter in his
heart, but in many people he is unborn, in some people he is a small
helpless baby, and in some people he is a mature person, able to take the
lead. In my essay Harry Potter  Christian Rosycross in Jeans and in posts
to this group I have described how Harry can be brought to birth. Once he is
born and has reached a certain maturity it is essential that we put the
government upon his shoulder. A person in whose heart Jesus Christ or Harry
Potter lives is very much aware of this, and it is then a question of
completely surrendering the old, earthly self to the new self, the Self
which has broken out of the eternal seed in the heart. When the new self has
reached maturity it can defeat the dark lord within us. That is what Alchemy
is all about. That is what all the worlds great scriptures are about.

Is it not logical then that if a spark of the Creator, Who Himself is above
all laws and limitations, grows to maturity, he also will be liberated from
all the laws and limitations of our time-spatial universe? Does this not
mean that each one of us has the potential to become a god in the creators
image? Does the New Testament not say The Kingdom of Heaven is inside you,
and You shall do greater things than these?
However it is clear from all the worlds sacred scriptures, the great
legends and the fairy tales, that before the Inner Christ or the inner Harry
Potter can rise beyond the limitations of our time-spatial universe he has
to defeat once and for all the great, original adversary. When he has done
that he will be our wonderful counsellor, our mighty god, our everlasting
father, our Prince of Peace.

So to summarise this, may I put it this way: Harry Potter is everyman in the
sense that he is POTENTIALLY present in the heart every human being, and he
is the one and only one able to defeat the Dark Lord within.

Hans in Holland



	
	
		
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