Interfaith is common beliefs. It transcends all differences. It asks that we examine our similar thinking. To do so means to understand what it is to be human and what it is to desire more. To love, respect, obey, trust, forgive, appreciate, allow, are our lessons in humanity.
Religion is a way of life. To do a thing religiously is to be committed to seeing it through, to do so with conviction, without fail. The world’s religions came after the appearance of a Master. For the Christian this was Jesus of Nazareth. For the Buddhist, Siddhartha Gautama. For the Jew, Moses. For the Zoroastrian, Zarathustra. For the Islamic, Mohammed. For the Taoist, Lao Tsu. For the Confucian, Confucius.
Those who were disciples of these wisest of men carried on their teachings, often writing scriptures which became the holy books for the major religions. Each of these texts are teachings of timeless, universal truth. Each speak to the heart and the head. Each tell us something about where we have come from, why we are here, and where we are going. Alone they help us fulfill every human need. Together they open our consciousness to what exists beyond the physical, the meta-physical.
we must understand the structure that defines the existence of who we are,
the laws that govern the movement to enlightenment —
for indeed we are all moving and we all are striving each at our own pace.
Everyone has a divine birthright for greatness,
a principle of wholeness and beauty that exists within them.
As I see the beauty of nature and Creation I see the face of God.
Perhaps the world will yet see other new religions. Most certainly it will witness a deeper understanding of living the Truths professed by those already existing.
Helen Keller, a student of Emmanuel Swedenborg, wrote, “I cannot imagine myself without religion. I could as easily fancy a living body without a heart. To one who is deaf and blind, the spiritual world offers no difficulty. Nearly everything in the natural world is as vague, as remote from my senses, as spiritual things seem to the minds of most people. But the inner or mystic sense, if you like, gives me vision of the unseen.”
Someone once said religion was the opiate for the masses. Our study and practice has led us to a very different conclusion. We have found religion is more than a system of beliefs to control the minds of the masses. Rather it is a means to teach the memory of where we came from, the heights from which we have sprung, and through that realization to open the possibilities of who we can become.
Featured stories and articles: