We have another review of Makara’s Mission to share, this one by Kristy Harrison and her daughter Elise Harrison, from the Huon News who came to the launch at Fuller’s Bookstore on 15th June. Thank you both for sharing and taking the time to write your articles.
"Makara’s Mission explores the idea of a man who believes he is the reincarnation of Jesus living in the modern world. It is an excuse to step out of the real world to commune with the nature spirits. The book jumps from the political turmoil in Canberra to the chaotic life of a politician’s family back in Queensland. It expertly documents the battle for the health reform in the 21st century.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in natural healing and complicated family dramas."
As the author, while grateful for the review, I feel Elise missed something of the essence of Pop Sharman and will let the following exert of the book explain why...
Two steps in the direction of the house, Peter, the young reporter from the newspaper spun around as if he’d stepped on a snake. “You didn’t tell me of your personal beliefs or your religion.”
Pop was slow to reply. “We spoke of symbols and signs—well, to a lot of people, religion is simply a collection of symbols and signs used by the established hierarchy to control mankind.”
“Do you preach hellfire and damnation?”
“No, son, I prefer to speak of love and healing and of our connection with the divine source of all life. A healer must never forget he must first be a man of God. It is the priests who have forgotten how to be healers.”
“Where is the god you worship?”
“In the tree.” He waved his arm up to the tree, then extended his arm to include the gardens. “He / she is in the tiniest bird, the largest animals and even in humans. The energy of the god and goddess is too vast to be seen by the physical limited vision. We only see the small part we can comprehend. The creator is not one thing or a personage. He / she is all and in all animate and inanimate particles of the universe.”
“Before I go, may I ask just one more thing?”
“You wish to know of heaven and hell?”
“How did you know I would ask that?”
“Simple. It is the only question you have not asked!” Pop laughed heartily, embarrassing their guest.
“Sorry, I hope I haven’t outstayed my welcome?”
“No, my boy, you must do your work, but remember to choose an occupation that makes you truly happy. Because being happy makes you beautiful, and being beautiful makes the heart beat strong. It clears the toxins from the glands and brings joy to the soul. To study something is in itself a simple act of gratitude to the god who created it in the first place for you to enjoy.”
Peter stood, notepaper and pencil in hand, still waiting for the answer to his question. He was afraid to push his luck and was beginning to wonder if he would get an answer. The old man was looking out towards the garden, to all intents and purposes oblivious to his presence.
“One more question, you say. Yes, of course you wish to know my thoughts on heaven and hell. They have been an integral part of man’s psyche for a very long time, probably since prehistoric times. So it is not surprising to see the concept resurface into the consciousness now and again, especially during times of stress. It would be presumptuous to say man comes into the world with an empty psyche … or should I say soul. No, he or, of course, she …” He smiled at his daughter waiting patiently to escort their visitor to his car. “No, mankind comes into the world with his instinctive, inherent, and collective psyche, which is which is added to by evolution and the experiences of the current lifetime.”
“What would you say to those who would brand you as a silly old man suffering from delusions of godliness?”
Maree gasped at his rudeness, but her father laughed, delighted by his frankness and honesty.
“I would say the whole world is an illusion. Each and every one of us created it in our imagination, purely and simply to experience the conditions we need for fun and learning. Your truth is a manifestation of the god within. It was once audible to all mankind, but most stopped listening, preferring instead to let someone else do their thinking for them.”
Maree and Peter were hearing the same words, but in time, they would remember them differently.
Pop added, “One more thing.”
“Yes?”
The old man lowered his voice. “Know you are beautiful, because he is in you.”
This does not mean that Pop thinks he is God, but rather that he believes we all have part of God within us.
My hope is that Makara’s Mission will encourage creative thought on all levels of life – spiritually, emotionally, environmentally, politically, in health and in the unseen world around us.
