The Best of All

BEST OF ALL

The purpose of Temple of Unity is to recognize that if people have based their moral systems on a set of religious beliefs, and this system has survived time, then there might just be something worth adopting there. When people have deep beliefs there always seems to be truth at the core. I started a journey 35 years ago, to see if I could discover the core of truth in each area of the occult and religion. Sometimes the journey to the center of a system of belief was long and arduous. Sometimes, I found little truth; at other times I was deeply surprised at what I found lurking behind all the stereotypes. I am excruciatingly aware that in spite of all I think I have learned, the less I seem to be sure of.

There is one concept that has survived in my heart in spite of this bombardment with information. I have become convinced that Spirit is infinite, and that we are holographic images of Spirit, having all the characteristics and ultimately, all the capabilities of Spirit. Mystics since the beginning of time have believed it is our combined consciousness that created and sustains the universe. At this juncture, it is only our spirits united in love that can save our civilization. I firmly believe this myself.

I also believe, with Peter Russell, (Waking up in Time) that the religion of the future will be a Meta religion, embracing the truths of all faiths, with inclusion and acceptance of diverse opinion. I see a trend toward unification of faith, not forced by rule or custom, but developing as people learn, study, and think. So, faced with a desire to further such a joyfully anticipated state of affiars, perhaps we can investigate some of the more prevalent tenets of faith to determine what value we can draw from each.

ISLAM

Islam believes in one god: genderless and formless. Ill buy that. There is also the idea that God reveals himself through the prophets. This is the point at which I begin to want to remove some of the Islamic restrictions. I would want to add many more prophets, seers, mages, and saints to the Islamic list of prophets. Can we add Mahatma Gandhi, Meister Eckhart, Desmond Tutu, Deepak Chopra, Sybil Leek, Khalil Gibran, and many such others to our list?

Since we all have access to the Universal Consciousness, and because we are all part of Spirit, any one of us may be a prophet. How many times have we wondered at the words of a child? How did that little one get so wise? We think he is in tune with the consciousness of Spirit, just as much as any wise man or saint.

JUDAISM

Judaism is very much like Islam. Both groups claim origins with the patriarch Abraham. Jews consider Isaac Abrahams preferred son, while Muslims see the older son, Ishmael as being the proper heir to Abraham. There is one big difference, that sets Judaism apart and gives it great worth in my estimation. It is an idea originally developed by Jews, that religion is personal. Humankind does not need priests acting as intermediary between God and people. The God of the Jews speaks directly to people.

Each of us has the ability to speak directly to our inner selves, or God. God is both inside us and outside. He is immanent and eminent. We are responsible for our own actions. We should not rely on a priest to keep our moral slates clean. This abrogates our own liability. We have the choice of actions. We can choose our own way, and listen to our God to determine what it is.

CHRISTIANITY

Christianity becomes, at first, an offshoot of Judaism following the death of Jesus. Jesus added some very important aspects to religion. The most important aspect of Christianity, I think, is its emphasis on loving ones neighbor. The Golden Rule by itself could change the world if it were followed. This was not a new idea . Eastern groups had been advocating this precept for hundreds of years. It is believed by many that Jesus spent a number of years in India studying Buddhism.

We are just now getting reacquainted with the Golden Rule. Michael Berg has written a wonderful little book, Becoming Like God that explains that if we really want to raise our consciousness, we must learn to give until it hurts. This is the epitome of the Golden Rule. We are beginning to realize that Love really is the answer to our world problems. When I was 16 I gave an oration called, Love is the Answer. Over the years as I learned and matured, and thought I knew all the answers, I began to think the oration was terribly naive. Strange as it is, here, 55 years later, I find that I was right then. Love is the answer. Let us learn to love our neighbors as ourselves.

CONFUCIANISM

Confucianism might not be properly called a religion. It is, however, a set of rules governing the appropriate behavior of a good man. From Confucius we will take the idea that it is our behavior that is of more importance than our belief. A man is only as good as he does. Unfortunately, Confucius left the behavior of women to be controlled by the men; but if we can get around the sexist attitude of the day, we have to admire the idea that it is works, not faith that is the issue. Christianity seems to have followed the same idea, for Jesus said that faith without works is useless.

I think it behooves us to watch what we do and what we say. Are we hurting others? I do it all the time, in spite of my preaching here. It is so easy to tell a little joke or post a little cartoon that seems all right, but really may hurt someone. We need, myself included in that we, to be vigilant about all words and actions to be kind to others.

HINDUISM

For what it is worth, my opinion is that the Hindus got it pretty close. They seem to believe that there is only one God and this Spirit is genderless and boundless. Hindus appear to worship several deities, but they are representations of the One. They recognize the divine in themselves and everything else. Hindus are vegetarians because they renounce the killing of any species. It is the Hindu belief that we are all part of Brahman, the one god, and Brahman is part of us. The Hindu phrase namaste :means The God in me greets the God in you.

When we realize we are really ONE then I cannot kill another without murdering myself. I cannot insult another person without insulting myself. I must love my neighbor to love myself. I must do good to myself and all others to better this world.

BUDDHISM

Siddhartha Gautama, the first teacher of Buddhism, seems to me to have come the closest yet to the full story. Buddhists maintain that the personality that we know as our self is only an illusion, and that the real Self is much more. The goal of enlightenment is to awaken to the reality of the larger Self. The real Self is of God and is God. Buddhists believe that detachment of the emotions from the things of this world can make an end of suffering. Realizing that we are all part of God means we must be good to each other. A Buddhist master has been quoted as saying, The lesser man looks at a tree and sees a tree. The wise man looks at a tree and sees himself.

PAGANISM

It is difficult to describe pagans. They have diverse beliefs from monotheism to pantheism. However, there is one theme that all pagans seem to hold in common, and that is that the earth is to be respected, loved and cared for. The earth, Gaia, sustains us and we owe her our existence. I think this is an admirable attitude that if adopted by us all will lead us to better, more ecological behavior. How can we love our neighbors and ourselves and ignore the well-being of the earth we all live on?

MYSTICISM

Mysticism crosses all religion boundaries. It is the belief of those that have had direct experience of the infinite Consciousness that created the universe. The first epiphany of Spirit may be as dramatic as St. Pauls conversion to Christianity on the road to Damascus or it might come as a gentle realization of the true nature of the soul. It may take a lifetime or a moment to achieve, but when it happens the individual is steeped in pure, boundless joy.

Mystics look with wonder at the glory of their being. We ponder the incredible Consciousness, which has created the earth and our own bodies. What a wondrous mind that has enabled us to see and hear, speak and comprehend, love and give birth. The slightest act of a human being the raising of a hand, or the turning toward a sound is a declaration that a higher consciousness (far beyond our normal intellect) is in operation. The greater acts of humanity such as poetry and art only further our joy.

Call this creating, sustaining power of the universe and of your own self what you like: God, Lord, Yahweh, Brahman, Allah, and the Unnamable. When mystics from the different paths and faiths of the world come together, they revere one anothers paths and , in fellowship join in calling the creating, sustaining consciousness the Infinite Spirit or, simply, the Infinite.

We conclude that since we are created beings we can trace our way back from the material world, and this body we inhabit to the source of our miraculous existence. Those of us who have successfully made the connection to Spirit and share their experiences say the quest reveals the Infinite Spirit, and that all matter and living beings are manifestations of an experienceable, partially knowable, deeply lovable consciousness. They report their lives, hearts, and their meetings and subsequent relationships transform minds with the Infinite Spirit.

It is our mission at Temple of Unity to experience more and more of the wonder of the Infinite. We are sincerely glad you have joined us. Let us know your opinions. Post in the forum or write us an email at donna@templeofunity.com

Donna Joseph

May 6, 2006