by Charles (Prana) Feldman
For a while now, I have categorized political tendencies as
those that seek predominantly either liberty, equality, or solidarity. I have
come to believe that we need a balance between the three for the best kind of
society.
As I have gotten older, I have turned more to religion for
meaning in life, and being a philosopher by nature, I have tried unsuccessfully
to categorize religions in a similar manner . . . until the other day. Now I
think I have come up with a way to think about different religious tendencies
that has made things easier for me to understand.
While all political tendencies seek some form of justice, I
think all religions seek some form of unity, usually with God. There are three
ways that religions go about seeking unity: through diversity, through
hierarchy, and through mutuality.
Hinduism is the main religion that seeks unity through
diversity. For most Hindus, it is okay to worship God (or not worship God) in
whatever way brings you closer to God (or to your ideal). So Hindus, who mostly
believe in an ultimate unity beyond the material world, seek this through a
celebration of diversity.
I am generalizing here, but the trend of the Abrahamic
religions is to seek unity with God through hierarchy. There is a hierarchy
with a separate God at the top, the prophet(s), messiah, or other religious
leader(s) at the next rung, then I believe comes humanity, then angels, then
other sentient life forms. In this view, and again, this is a generalization,
God is the source of all good, so any diversion from the scripture that
represents God, is a rebellion or innovation, and thus bad. There are many in
the Abrahamic religions who are not “fundamentalists” and who may not follow
this view, but the highest ideal of the Abrahamic religions is the all good
scripture, which comes from an all good God.
Finally, there is an attempt to bring about unity through
mutuality, which represents many Buddhists (especially Mahayana), and many
secular “religions” such as Marxism or humanism. In this tendency, people are
all viewed as essentially equal and will in some way all support each other,
either through leading each other to spiritual liberation or through having the
same vested interests in a just society.
Keep in mind that all of these portrayals are
generalizations. Hindus may believe in hierarchy (follow the personal God and
the guru) and equality (we will all eventually reach the same goal). Liberals
in the Abrahamic religions may accept other religions as paths to God and may
seek some form of social justice where we are all equal. And Buddhists may look
at people as having different karma (making them unequal at the moment) while
communists may support a temporary hierarchy with the goal of eliminating all
hierarchy.
As in my political view, I think a balance of the religious
ideals is best. Diversity is good to allow people to follow whatever path
brings each person closer to God or to their ideal. It is best to have a vision
of God and to have spiritual teachers who may be higher up in the hierarchy,
from whom we can eventually reach their state or reach union with them. And
mutuality is important so we will not count anyone out as being important in
the scheme of things.
I have always wanted an ideal ever since I have begun to
philosophize. It is important to remember that all spiritual or religious
paths, whatever their tendencies, seek some form of unity. When we see that, we can accept the goal of
all paths as valid. May we each find that unity in our own way.
