© 2015 Urantia Association of Spain
| Convergences and divergences also of values | Luz y Vida — No. 42 — December 2015 — Index | News from Urantia Association of Spain |
Santiago Rodríguez is from Salamanca but lives in Reus (Tarragona). A chemist by profession, he is married and the father of two daughters. He was secretary of the Urantia Association of Spain from 2004 to 2012. He has been a member of the Barcelona study group since its creation in 2004.
¶ 1. How did you get to “The Urantia Book” and why do you think you found it?
I have always liked fantasy and science fiction literature. In 1989 I read “The Testament of Saint John” by J.J. Benítez, and on page 5 he spoke of a revelation given to the “Urantia Foundation”; then my interest was fueled by the “Trojan Horse” saga, and when I had access to the Internet (at the end of 1999) I searched for the sources Benítez was talking about; I came across The Urantia Book. I needed it to explain things (that was at the beginning), which is why I found it.
¶ 2. What was your first impression when reading it?
I don’t think you can talk about first impression. The first reading took me more than a year, and the impressions were numerous, I suppose that the “fascination” was one of the impressions that prevailed over others.
¶ 3. At what point in the reading (document, sentence, etc.) did you accept that “The Urantia Book” is really what it claims to be?
It is curious, but the process of accepting The Urantia Book, as well as reading it and how the experience of living has been and is an evolutionary process, I do not remember any special moment in this regard. It is each phrase that for one reason or another touches your heart in such a respectful way that you cannot help but feel that it has not been said by just anyone. Sometimes I think what would happen if The Urantia Book disappeared from my life, for example because it was shown that it is not what it claims to be.
A lot of very interesting information would go away, but the compass, the north, is already marked. I would continue the search with other tools but, unlike the previous search, which was completely blind, now there is a direction, a sense, based on a certainty, read in The Urantia Book, assimilated in my mind and rooted in my heart. , this search would be different. Now I know what to look for.
¶ 4. How has “The Urantia Book” changed your life?
I don’t know what my life would have been like without stumbling across The Urantia Book, but what I think is fair is to thank and acknowledge that it has taught me that there is a purpose, a destiny, but not as an end or an achievement in itself, but giving all possible value to the path, a very interesting journey. Recognizing that you do not travel alone and that you are always accompanied is tremendously comforting and stimulating.
¶ 5. Has the faith you had before reading it changed? In what way?
I have changed the concept of “faith” that I had; I now realize that what I used to call “faith” were beliefs. Now that I know the difference between “faith” and “belief” I look for how to transmute those beliefs into “faith”.
¶ 6. Is there a point (or points) of the revelation that you find difficult to accept?
I find it hard to accept that today, after the behavior that we humans display, we are inhabited by an Adjuster. I like to think that “normal mind” is a concept that we have yet to discover and redefine, that it doesn’t mean what first comes to mind. And for the same reason, I find it difficult to accept that many living beings that do not have the possibility of contact with the circuits of the spirit-mind helpers of adoration and wisdom, this will prevent them from continuing their existence after terrestrial life.
¶ 7. What is the part that has impressed you most deeply?
Each of its parts is special. In each document there is content of enormous depth. In general, I could say that what has impressed me the most is the enormous complexity of places, beings, entities and relationships that have been generated around three apparently simple ideas: that God is absolute, that at the dawn of eternity he had a desire ( “let us make mortal man in our own image”) and that he gave a simple and concise instruction: “be perfect as I am perfect”.
¶ 8. How do you understand that of doing “the will of the Father”?
After reading The Urantia Book, it seems very easy to me conceptually: although you can do what you want and nobody stops you, stop for a moment and feel and think if what you do (or don’t do) is what He would do. The really difficult thing is to consciously maintain that alert and not abandon yourself to the inertia of life.
¶ 9. Have you become aware of the presence of your Adjuster?
I have never recognized her as such, although I do try to provide her (the Adjuster) with spaces of mental calm in order to facilitate her task, since I am aware of her presence only because she has revealed herself to me that way. But I try to count on him. I try to do my part… and I know he does his.
¶ 10. Have you tried to put the Master’s teaching into practice? What was the result?
I have tried to spread my enthusiasm to other people, but it has been a complete mistake. Each person has their way. Now I try to shape my character in the way I think is appropriate, and that leads me to be very considerate of my relationship with people, with other living beings, and with my physical place on Urantia.
¶ 11. Do you think that “The Urantia Book” has something “mysterious” that makes not everyone decide to read it?
I don’t see anything mysterious about it, but I recognize that not everyone has the will to read 2,097 pages, not even after trying to understand something of what they have read, and even less after one more effort to grasp and integrate the meaning contained in the understanding of your reading. Laziness? Comfort?
¶ 12. Is there anything else you would like to say regarding “The Urantia Book”?
The Urantia Book says so many things that I dare not say anything more, just show a deep public gratitude to the beings who have made it possible.
¶ References
- Light and Life Magazine (all old issues): https://aue.urantia-association.org/numeros-antiguos-del-lyv/
| Convergences and divergences also of values | Luz y Vida — No. 42 — December 2015 — Index | News from Urantia Association of Spain |