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ARTICLE : What Religion is About
This is an excerpt from an interview with Brother Wayne Teasdale, a
Roman Catholic monk. This interview was part of a series of interviews
with spiritual leaders of the world. The series is called "A Parliament
of Souls". More information about this series can be found at
http://www.dnai.com/~gray/Pos.html
WHAT RELIGION IS ABOUT
I think in the long run it isn't about being right. It is about being.
Being kind, being patient, being loving, not judging, drawing out the
best in the other, seeing the presence of Christ or the divine in the
other, not pigeonholing, being totally open.
Something really struck me a few years ago when a reporter for TIME
magazine asked the Dalai Lama, who was badgering him, to give him the
secret of what he believed. His Holiness looked at him and smiled and
started to laugh. He simply said, "My religion is kindness, my religion
is kindness."
As a Christian I have to say my religion is love, my religion is
compassion, my religion is kindness too. That is the essence. Kindness,
love, compassion, patience, gentleness, nonviolence, inclusivity,
including more, not being an elitist circle. This is the fruit of
spirituality in action. So it doesn't matter what you believe. It is
important but it doesn't matter in the long run. It matters what you
are. And that is seen in how you treat people, how you can be to them,
and how you can look beyond simply your own needs.
I would like to hear the fundamentalists talk more about love and less
about being right or who is right. Only God can judge who is right and
who is wrong. He knows the heart, and goes by the heart, not by the
appearances or the words. What they do in their actions ? Whatever you
do to the least of my brethren - and that is universal in every
tradition.
In other words, in every tradition how you treat other people is
indicative of the degree of spiritual enlightenment you have. It is the
measure. A person can claim to have that consciousness of knowing the
ultimate mysteries of the universe, knowing God directly, being united
with God, but if that person is unloving or unkind in his or her
behavior, then I would be a little on the skeptical side. I don't think
you get there unless you pay the price of transformation.
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"In each religion it is necessary to go back beyond its formulations,
whether in scripture or tradition, to the original inspiration. All
scriptures and traditions are historically conditioned; they belong to a
particular age and culture and are expressed in a particular language
and mode of thought. But behind this historic form of expression lies
the original Mystery, the revealed Truth." - Dom Bede Griffiths,
Benedictine Monk
"The function of comparative religion is to discern this essential
Truth, this Divine Mystery beyond speech and thought-forms of each
religious tradition, from the most primitive tribal traditions to the
most advanced world religions. In each tradition the one divine Reality,
the one eternal Truth, is present, but it is hidden under symbols,
symbols of words and gesture, of ritual and dance and song, of poetry
and music, art and architecture, of custom and convention, of law and
morality, of philosophy and theology. - Dom Bede Griffiths
"The mystics words appear in a hundred different forms, but if God is
one and the Way is one, how can their words be other than one? They do
appear in different guises, but in substance they are one. Variety
occurs in form; in substance all is unified." - Jalaluddin Rumi, Islamic
mystic
"A proper understanding of the essential unity of religions is the most
effective and powerful factor in bringing about peace in this world. It
will remove all superficial differences and conflicts, which create
restlessness, discord and quarrels." - Swami Sivananda, Hindu saint
"We have to learn yet that all religions, under whatever name they may
be called, either Hindu, Buddhist, Islam, or Christian, have the same
God, and he who derides any one of these derides his own God".
- Swami Vivekananda, Hindu Saint
"Let us speak in harmony;
Let our minds apprehend alike.
Common be our prayer;
Common be the end of our assembly;
Common be our resolution;
Common be our deliberations.
Alike be our feelings;
Unified be our hearts;
Common be our intentions;
Perfect be our unity." - Rig Veda, Hindu scripture
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* Pannirselvam Kanagaratnam, Research Assistant *
* Radar Systems & Remote Sensing Laboratory *
* The University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc. * * Lawrence,
Kansas 66045. *
* E-mail: pkanagar@rsl.ukans.edu *
* Homepage: http://www.rsl.ukans.edu/~pkanagar/divine/ *
* Quote: "Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science
becomes *
* convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe-a
spirit *
* vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with
our *
* modest powers must feel humble."- Albert Einstein *
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