No end in sight

No end in sight

I like being catholic, it is a rich faith with a lot of tradition and wisdom to it, with many writers of spirituality that are varied and deep, some who appeal to me, and others who of course don’t.  I have found that Carmelite authors, especially of course St. John of the Cross, have helped me greatly with my own unique path towards union with the Will and Love of God.  There is richness to the Catholic tradition that is there for any to find, who would take the time to study and ponder what is there.

I would imagine that the Muslim faith as well as that of Hinduism also has a richness of tradition and experience that is there for any who would wish to take the time and effort to study them.   I have studied Hinduism some, and have also visited some of the Temples here in the Atlanta area.  There is one near the airport that I enjoy visiting once in awhile and always enjoy the experience.  I think the book “Autobiography of Yogi” by Yognananda is a great spiritual classic that I would recommend to anyone.  It is one of the best books for someone outside that tradition, to get some insight into this faith that can be so alien to those from western countries.  Many Christians fear these religions and some believe that all of the Hindu deities are demons, false gods, and should be avoided.  When in actual fact the Hindus worship one God, and the gods are simply emanations from the One God.  Of course Hinduism is not just one religion but a sort of umbrella for many different schools of thought and practice.  Ones faith is not threatened by the study of  the beliefs of others, but a great deal of fear and stereotypical thinking is avoided, which is in fact a form of suffering, but not understood as that, by many who are victims of this all true human trait.  I am still working on it, and am not yet out of the woods.

I have not yet spent much time looking into the beliefs of the Muslims.  True I know what their central beliefs are but have not pondered them yet.  This year I am going to start reading the Koran, probably the best way to understand this faith, though I think commentaries will be needed.  The devout Muslims that I have met have impressed me, and the ones that I have met are very kind and loving towards all.  I have not yet met any strong fundamentalist, but they probably avoid contact with people like me; being of another faith.

Religion, all religion just like politics can be manipulated by those who seek power and control over others, this is unfortunately inevitable, and like politics is both a curse and a blessing for mankind.  My own faith for instances has a checkered past but any institution that is around long enough will have that.  Whatever vehicle is used, be it politics, religion, or even the small family, or tribal unit, can only be as good or as evil as those who lead it, and the people who allow them selves to be led without thinking for themselves.

So the tares and the wheat will always exist together, sometimes so close that to tear out the tares will only do harm to the wheat.  Such is our dilemma, in a world of opposites, which in many instances are just different sides of the same coin, and both sides are needed for the coin to exist.  This tension is painful, and in today’s world where so much is known by the miracle of our instant communication in the news, this tension and suffering is greater than perhaps in the past.  We grow as individuals, but also as a species, and at this time, because of the communal experience of the pain in the world, perhaps we are being called to learn that the old ways of doing things simply don’t work, have never really worked, but now we have the chance to see things on a broader scale.  Perhaps we need to at last really try what our holy men have been teaching us; to simply love our neighbor as ourselves that the Divine dwells within all.   Jesus for a Christian is experienced in others, “whatever you do to the least you do unto me”.  Perhaps we Christians should take that more seriously, and also those of other faiths, who use their faith as a barrier, need to look into their own faiths, to find other ways of dealing with how they relate to the world.  It is time to stop pointing fingers, for all to expect the fact the ‘we’ are the problem, ‘we’ not ‘them’&hellip ;.there is no ‘them’; ‘we’ are ‘them ’.

Of course all this we-ing I am doing is really all about my own struggle, it is just hard to keep saying ‘I’ all the time.  It is so easy to write about love, tolerance, and understanding, but actually very hard for me to actually live it, at least on an interior level.  One reason I believe in God, and the grace that is given, is that I often feel a gentle encouraging Presence, that brings me to sanity when I feel that I am about to be devoured by the inner chaos, and irrational insanity, that is my lot, and from the state of the world it is the same at least for some others. 

Neither the state nor religion can save us from ourselves, but only the gentle grace, healing, and forgiveness of God.  The state, and religion, can really get into the role being the sole judge of what is right, and what is good for everyone. Forgetting in the process, the dignity, and uniqueness, of those who have the gall to disagree with what either the state, or any religion, wants to impose on everyone.  It is one thing for me as a Catholic to freely give the church certain rights over me, so that I can be led deeper into my faith, it is another thing for my church, or any church, or institutions, to think that they can force beliefs or certain behaviors onto others.  Also nothing wrong on being focused on one path to the exclusion of others, as long as I understand that others have the same rights as I do in this regard and that the actions of God cannot be limited or even understood.  God is not a tribal deity for anyone, God is other, infinite, unknowable accept thru love.  Our theology and philosophy while needed will always be lacking, no matter how helpful it is for us all on our paths.