The request elicited quite a response from some who were scandalized at the thought that someone would consider a prayer valid unless it was to a specific God—and it was spelled out clearly who that God is. This person more than implied that "in Jesus' name" was the only acceptable prayer, and to even request a prayer from another tradition not inclined to invoke the name of Jesus was blasphemous. As it happens, the person who sent out the prayer request was quite drawn to Christianity, and surprised at the offended reaction from a Christian.
What seems to bring out these strong reactions about the only 'true' God is fear of the 'other' God, and subsequently fear of those who pray to the 'other' God. Is it too frightening for some to think that Love (and I'm going on the premise, here, that God is Love) has no room for anyone who seeks the truth, regardless of what the truth of that understanding is at the time? Is it too hard to think that "the children of the Source of All shall one day reach the feet of Love, no matter how far they stray"?2 What, exactly, is frightening about that? I can't—in all my wanderings into Sufism, Judaism, Hare Krishna, Buddhism, and Christianity—figure out what so many people are so afraid of. It's as if everyone touts a God who loves, who provides, who protects, and is the supreme Creator, but acts as if this God is just looking for the chance to smite.
So many of us are obsessed with where everyone else is going. We can't keep our eyes on the path ahead and enjoy the place where we find ourselves because we're trying to figure out if we're ahead of the pack or lagging behind or exactly where the pack is going or whether we're even running with the right pack. The next thing you know, we've run right off the road!
I know many sincere spiritual seekers from all walks of life, every faith, nationality, and gender. I've met genuine and faithful followers of Christ, Muhammad, and Buddha, for example, and every person I know who has set out purposefully on a path to the Divine prays, hopes, loves, and follows commandments with the same fervor and zeal. Every one of them wrestles with the issues of faith—the questions, the doubts, the beliefs, and the doctrines. Some find their way in adhering resolutely to the teachings of their tradition and some find their way in tossing out dogma and striding forward on an unmarked road.
Sadly, too many want to be 'right' more than they want to remain open to Truth, open to discovering who God is and how God interacts with Creation. In fact, some teach that opening ourselves to what we don't know about God is dangerous. But what facts do we really have about God? I cringe when I hear someone say, "I know God", or "This is what God is saying." Really? The Creator of the Cosmos is a little over my head most of the time, and the only religious statement that's been straightforward and simple and infinitely difficult for me is, "Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and Love your neighbor as yourself."
It's our human nature to fear what we don't know and doubt what we can't control. But it's freeing to face those fears and let go of the control. The first tenet of a recovery program is to acknowledge that one isn't at all in control and, eventually, to accept that there's a Being higher than oneself. Perhaps we should all join a recovery group to get over the need to be 'right'.
So, what if all religious and spiritual people looked at another person of differing faith and chose to not be afraid of their differences? What if we told ourselves we don't know God, and most likely, on this earth, won't ever know God fully and, therefore, accept the possibility that we all hold a piece of the truth? Could it be that we're meant to come together and fit our little pieces of truth conjointly, like a puzzle, in order to get the real picture? What would communities in the world look like if each person were known to be loved and created by God and thus worthy of our acceptance as people just as good—or better than—ourselves?
What if we lived in awe and wonder of an Absolute One greater than our thoughts are capable of comprehending? An Absolute One who is entirely about Love—infinitely so? What if there is One God? There's freedom that comes with having the courage to say, "I don't know!" The pursuit of knowledge is exciting and fulfilling, and one does evolve spiritually along the way, but I also believe that one will continue to learn from the other who may appear to be straggling behind because none of us walk the same path. The pursuit of knowledge, the hunt for the God of Love, never ends yet never stays the same. We're talking about eternity, here, and there's never, ever room for complacency for, indeed, it will take an eternity to know God. Put your mind around that.
In the meantime, that sort of erases the superiority complex—the need to have the 'right' religion and all the 'right' answers—while allowing us to be unabashedly who we are: Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and even undecided. I'll accept the sincere prayers of a Muslim as reaching the ears of the Divine as easily as I'll accept the more familiar prayers at a Christian Mass. I'm free to be loved and accepted by my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters as I'm free to love my heterosexual family. I can accept that many people have to make very difficult decisions in their lives and may make a choice I wouldn't have made, but I'll respect one's struggle as not my own and its owner still deserving of my friendship. I may find myself in circumstances beyond my control that leave me dependent on the generosity of others, but I never have to let go of my dignity or deny the dignity of another human being. I may not ever know what causes the world to heat up and cool down, but the reason should never deter me from caring for all of creation and tending to my plot of the earth responsibly.
It's fear that keeps us apart and causes monks of different faiths to brawl in the street over who owns a piece of God. If there's any evil, it's fear. It horribly manipulates us in all aspects of our lives, politics, advertising, religion, etc.. I, for one, have a found such joy in the freedom to explore God and pursue the infinite depths of Love and get myself out of the prison I find myself in when I'm afraid to let go. If, indeed, the God of Love is the Creator of the Universe—Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniprescient, and Omni-benevolent—then why in the world would I be afraid to not understand? There's just not enough time left of eternity for me to think about being afraid of God and my neighbor. I think I'll stick to trying to figure out that loving-God-with-all-that-I-am and loving-my-neighbor-as-myself bit first.
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