SPIRITUALITY AS A BASIS FOR HARMONY AMONG RELIGIONSBy Swami VaradanandaOne of the main reasons for this situation has been a confusion of the means and the end. The purpose of religion is to bring man into contact with God or with that ultimate spiritual reality which forms the basis of this universe. Religion reaches its pinnacle in the inner mystical experiences of the saints of various religions, who directly experience this reality. The various doctrines, creeds and observances are only a means to this end. There is only one ultimate reality behind this universe. Whether you call this reality God or Allah or Brahman does not affect the nature of that reality. Each religion, with its various names and intellectual concepts about that reality, is seeking the same thing. God does not change from religion to religion. It is only the human conception of God's nature that changes. When the saint or mystic of any religion comes into contact with the God of his religion, he is experiencing the same reality which has been experienced by the saints of all religions. His interpretation of the experience and the theology which he uses to explain it may vary, but the reality is one. So, there are two levels to religion. There is the central core experience in which man meets his Maker face to face, as it were, and then there are the various means by which this experience is brought about. The social structure of the churches, their mythology, rituals, and theological doctrines are the various supports which help the individual on his way to God. These form the secondary level of religion. You can call the central core experience samadhi, nirvana, or union with God, but the experience, itself, is to be found in all religions. It bridges the gap between cultures and centuries. It is not the exclusive property of any one religion or sect but is the common property of any man who has undergone the necessary purification to prepare himself for the experience. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8) This seeing is not theology. It is not armchair philosophy but the direct experience of God, an experience which completely changes aperson and his view of the world. It is a transcendental experience, which goes beyond the material world we see through the senses and the thought world we see in the mind. It is not the result of logical arguments or intellectual concepts. It is the direct experience of a living reality. Just as a man equipped with a microscope is given a new vision of the world, the mystic has a new vision of reality which goes far beyond the experiences and even concepts of the ordinary man. This experience, then, is the goal of religion. The role of religion is to prepare man for this direct contact with God. Through this experience a man's religious life reaches its culmination, and he finds that for which he has been seeking. The purpose of religion is not to make a man good but to bring him to God. Morality is only a means to that end. The other elements of religion‹its social organization, rituals and dogmas‹are all means to that end. The experience of God is something which transcends the intellect. When the mystic returns from his experience, his attempt to describe the indescribable will usually borrow the terminology of his own religion, and the descriptions may vary. This does not necessarily mean that the experience has varied, only the attempt to communicate that experience at the intellectual level. The important thing to note is that the core of religion, the direct experience of God, is one. "Truth is one; sages call it by various names." (Rig Veda, 1.164.46) Whether or not you agree with any particular description of God, you will agree that God, Himself, and not theology is the center of religion, and the direct experience of God is the highest level that religion can reach. At the secondary level, you have the various elements which help man on his journey. You have religion, not as divine communion, but as an organization with doctrines, rituals, and creeds. Whereas the core experience is essentially one, regardless of time or place, the secondary elements have a great deal of variety. Each religion and each sect of a religion has its own unique teachings and observances, and they may vary quite a bit. These secondary elements are a necessary part of religion. It is impossible to have a purely mystical religion, because the highest levels of spirituality are so far beyond the experience and understanding of the ordinary man that they would be meaningless to him. You can't teach calculus to first graders. You have to start with the fundamentals of 1 + 1 = 2, and then slowly increase the children's knowledge until they are ready for the realms of higher mathematics. In the same way, religion has to start with the basics of "Do good and be good" and slowly build up to higher things. People need a religion which will give them guidance in their daily lives, help them to develop their good tendencies and teach them about God and a higher life. People need a religion which will speak to them in a language which they can understand. The role of religion is to nurture, protect, and guide the soul on its journey to God. For this you need a structure of doctrines and observances. You need a social organization, where people can come together and worship as part of a community. You need teachers to guide the individual on the path. The secondary elements of religion are absolutely necessary for the majority of people. Unfortunately, many people think that these secondary elements form the whole of religion. They confuse the road for the destination, and this has resulted in most of the harm which has been done in the name of religion. We look at other religions and see that they are different from our own. They have different teachings and methods of worship. They call God by a different name and follow different scriptures. And we assume that they are inferior to our religion. If I am right then you have to be wrong. It is natural to think that the path we are on is the best one. Obviously, if I thought that another path was better, I would switch to that one. And so each person tends to think that his religion is the only true religion, and that other religions are false or at least second-best. This, in turn, leads to an "us" and "them" mentality. We identify with our own church and its members and look upon other churches as outside our community. It is an unfortunate aspect of human nature that, when we consider ourselves to be part of one group, we are rarely able to look upon those outside the group with the same understanding and empathy that we have for those within the group. The divisions may be based upon nationality, race, or religion; but the result is the same. We look upon our group as "us" and identify ourselves with its interests, and we look upon other groups as "them" and feel they are outside our area of concern. As history has shown time and time again, this attitude tends to bring a spirit of competition and conflict. But, if we understand that the various religions are only different roads to the same destination, then we may understand that each religion is valid in its own way. Each religion is a path to God. The paths may approach from different directions, and there may be different scenery along the way, but the final destination is the same. They are all bringing the individual to the same God. When we look at religion from this standpoint, we can see a basis for harmony among the religions. Our paths may be different, but their goal is the same. We are all fellow travelers. This does not mean that one religion is the same as another. One path may be an expressway, and another may be a winding dirt road. One religion may contain a high level of truth; another may be full of superstition. But, no road is useless. Each one serves a purpose. Each of us has his own unique nature. We come from various cultures and have different personalities. Even though my religion is "higher" than yours, it may not be suited to you. You can put a small child in college, but you can't make him learn. Just as children are taught by different means in different grades, in the same way, the religions of the world offer a number of different levels of teaching, suitable for souls at different levels of growth. It is important for each of us to find our own path and stick to that path until we reach the end of the journey. If we arbitrarily skip from path to path, we will never reach the destination. It is like the man who wanted to dig a well. After going down 10 feet, he began to think that he might be digging in the wrong place, so he tried another spot. Again, after digging a few feet, he began to think that another spot might be better and moved there. In this way, he went on searching for the right spot, whereas, if he had stayed in one place and dug deeply he would have found water. We have to follow one path long enough to reach the goal. But, although we need to follow our own path, we can still appreciate all the paths. Each religion, in its own way, is worshipping the same God. Each individual, knowingly or unknowingly, is seeking the same salvation. When we understand that the essence of religion is to be found in the inner communion of the soul with the divine and not in the outward forms, we have the basis for harmony among all the religions. We can follow our separate paths and still be at peace with one another. |