In order for us to come together as a world and as one people it is now necessary for us as individuals to recognize the limitations of our own particular religion, whatever that religion may be. Each faith has its own unique beauty but no longer can we be wallowed in the quagmire of ethnocentric elitism.  Rather then looking upon our own unique religion as the elite and essence of truth we should strive to see our particular faith for what it is, in its proper historical context.  We need not only make the jump and see the similarities in our religions but we must make the further leap of truth and realize that there is no one correct path.   

It is safe to say that most of the major religions of this world had their beginnings in the life of a particular prophet or holy man.  Over the centuries however we can rest assure that the original message was obscured by the veiled hypocrisy of the people who came later and the vast compilers of the different religions who wrote each according to his gifts and particular limitations.  The most important matter to look at is the fact that each holy man was at the mercy of his particular culture, time period, and upbringing.  You can not help but get wet if you are in the water and by this same token each man though he may have drank deeply from the fountain of truth could not help but slant the truth according to own his own unique history.  There is simply no getting around that.  Jesus, Mahaiver, Siddartha Guatama, Mohammed, etc., would all have presented a different version of the truth if they had been brought up in different times and culture and particular upbringing.

If you cling to the tenets of a particular religion and are under the delusion that you have the whole truth ask yourself why it is you believe as you believe.  In more cases then not it is because you have been raised that way.  And what does that say? Do you base your life path and your entire belief system on the word of your parents who most likely got it from there parents?  If this is so, then your entire way of looking at life and God is absolutely arbitrary.  If you are Jewish and believe Judaism is the one true religion why are you so sure? If I had stolen you from the crib at birth and switched you with a Moslem baby you would be a devout Moslem now, and what does that say?  What that says is there was absolutely no thought process that was involved in choosing the belief system you have, it was arbitrary, you simply absorbed what your parents told you and now you mistakenly identify yourself as Jewish, or Moslem, or any other established religion.  The key here is that you had no choice in the matter.  You did not choose, you simply accepted and this is a terrible mistake.

How many countless millions were killed because of this?  How many souls blinded by the mis-association of a particular religion lost their life or took up the sword in the name of that faith and why?... Because they did not think about what it was they were accepting.   The truth is you are not Jewish, or Catholic, or Protestant, or Jain, Buddhist, or Hindu. This is a creation of your mind and society, a fantasy, and a role you are playing.  You are in fact a free soul, not black or white, or even male or female, these are just roles you play on Earth.  Please do not confuse your role with who you are.  You are a spark of God, a creature of light, an immortal entity, why limit yourself with the shackles of earthly existence.  Demand more from your reality, peer into the veil and realize that the universe is love, and light and beauty. Hatred is not part of you but was only imparted to you by the misguided trapped souls of earth.  We are truly brothers.  There is but one race and that race is spirit.  There is but one religion and that religion is spirit. There is but one universe amid all the countless universes and that universe is spirit.  We are love and we must recognize ourselves as that.  The hatred and distrust we show is only a consequence of ignorance.  The Jew and the Arab are the same, the differences are only surface and much the same as the robes an actor wears during a play.  Do not confuse the actor with the part you play.  We all come from the same place. We all are children of the same God.   When we die God does not ask us what our religion was and treat us in some particular way.  We all go to the same place because we are all truly one family.

It is not necessary though, to completely obliterate the trappings of our born religion.  The beauty and tradition of each faith has much to offer the world in all its color and pageantry.  What we must do is open ourselves to all religions and philosophies.  We must turn our back on dogma and blind following of traditions and use our intelligence and divine heart in shaping our lives.  We do not have to take orders from some out-of-date, out-of-touch hierarchy; all we need to do is listen for ourselves to the bell of truth.  We must experience the veil for ourselves and are not in need of an intermediary.  Religion is not simply going to church on Sunday.  There are more then a few atheists who are saints because they act as such. They treat their fellow man as they would want to be treated, and this is what is paramount.  What you believe and what you profess are not the true test of a soul, it is in our actions where the essence of purity lies.  It is the way in which we treat others that is the true measure of our spirit.

It is so important to realize why we are momentarily trapped on this soft, small, beautiful blue bubble.  We are merely travelers on a journey, or more accurately, students at a school.  Our existence predates our birth.  We are souls with no beginning and no end, energy cannot be destroyed or created.  The reason we have agreed to operate out of this level of consciousness is for the sole purpose of growth and learning.  The reason we have forgotten our past existence is for reasons of learning.  The game would be too easy if you remembered who you are.  It only appears you have been stranded here, this is for the purpose of your test and education.

We all have many lessons to learn on the path to wholeness and we will all get there.  There is no everlasting lake of fire to drown out the evil ones because there simply are no evil souls, only temporally misguided entities and poor decision makers.  No soul is evil because we are all part of God, all part of the light, all part of the love, there is nothing else.  We are all one.  There will be no eternal damnation, only eternal light and love.  But of course it can be a long road through many hellish regions here on Earth and elsewhere if you allow the snare of selfishness and callousness to trap you.  Kindness is what is needed to grow and something we need on earth more then anything.  We are all the same, one family, one soul, we must show love and concern for all creatures as we are all spirit. Look into the depths of your heart and in every face see your self staring back. Look into the eyes of every child and see your own dear ones looking upon you. Approach the world with gentleness and kindness and you will surely speed the evolution of us all.

The world cries out for kindness as we have wounded her deeply, she is submerged amid the negativity we have surrounded her in.  All things have spirit. The earth is alive and she is crying at the self-mutilation of her ignorant children.  We have polluted her rivers and skies, we have drawn the blood of children into her valleys in the base selfishness of our people.  Within her sad sight we have starved and murdered her babies because of the greed and suspicion of their stewards.  The earth has provided more than an abundance to feed us all, yet because of greed and waste many a soul cringes in hunger in the glow of the frozen moon.

How many people die every day because of ignorance?  That is the question I put to you. Did you know ignorance was a deadly disease? Every throat that was cut in the name of religion was a death by ignorance. Every heart that was pulled out over some dispute over whose land it was is a death by ignorance.  Every war was a blood sport of  ignorance, every fist thrown is thrown in ignorance.  The path to wisdom does not lie through the head and through accumulating data, it lies through the heart.  The wise child is the kind child. Be a genius of the heart.  We test kids every year for their SAT scores but we never have a kindness quotient, something much more important in the grand scheme of things.  The simple truth is you can change your path of suffering by refusing to let others suffer, this is Karma.  By not causing the suffering of others you are insuring a better future for yourself, so be good to others if only to save yourself.  Sooner or  later it will become a habit you will enjoy.  What the world needs is for all of us to realize we are just children in the same playroom, we control our destinies and can make this earthly struggle so much easier and more beautiful if only we pull together

The influx of modern technology is increasing the awareness of what a small and interconnected world we live in.  The Human species has advanced to such a level where now our capacity for change, whether negatively or positively, is worldwide and almost instantaneous.  Now is the time we are able to come together as a world because of communication advancements that have been made.  Jesus' message of peace could only be spoken to a few hundred at a time, maybe thousands, but now an important idea can reach billions of minds at an instant.  This influx of communications technology should not be underestimated in its capabilities for making the world a better place.  We have seen what Adolf Hitler and the Nazis where able to achieve in horror with the limited technology of the thirties and forties, imagine what we could do now in a positive vein with our space age science.  The message of unity must be spread at the speed of light from one pole to the other.  The words of truth and togetherness can be a spring that the entire world can drink from and be nourished.  It is up to us to see violence and negative energies for what they are and not become transfixed by them.  Religious differences must be overcome and the cycle of revenge halted if ever the world should rest in a peaceful state.

There is much religious animosity and hatred in this small world.  The blood feuds go back centuries in many cases.  The only way we came overcome this hatred is through enlightenment and forgiveness.  We must know that the differences are but earthly shadows, not real things.  We must learn that we have lived many incarnations in different bodies and races so the identification with one particular sect is misleading. It is ignorant to assume that what you are now is what you are.  You are not anything earthly, you are merely playing a role in the grand cosmic drama. Learn this and embrace all people for what they truly are...your family.  We are in truth all one family, one soul and part of the same dance of God.  To hate one another makes no sense if you can realize this.

©2002David Weisner

David Weisner is a writer, poet, and musician living and writing in the Northeastern United States. A student of metaphysics for thirteen years, he has studied extensively Eastern Mysticism as well as Judeo-Christian thought.

A graduate of the City University of New York with a degree in Sociology he later worked with the elderly. After school he studied with a Shaman and Reiki master in New Jersey. He completed his first book last year and is the author of many poems and essays.

He may be contacted at dweisnerinfo@aol.com

 

 

 

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