One God, The Trinity, and Divine Incarnations.
How many conflicts have been, and continue to be fought in the name of religion ? I do not know the answer. But the loss of life, suffering, persecution, and misery that remains due to religious conflict saddens my heart.
Nearly all the world religions are guilty of causing sorrow, or more accurately the people following the world religions are guilty. It is not my purpose to point a finger of condemnation, the atrocities that have been committed are often by people who believed they were doing the right thing. They have been manipulated to act in a destructive way due to the misinterpretation of the world religions. The words spoken in ancient times have been changed by the rulers of the time, or interpretations are given which are not in line with the original spirit of the teachings.
What are the apparent contradicting beliefs that have led to these conflicts between the world religions? The first point seems to be the belief by one creed that "their God" is the "only true" God. Secondly, confusion arises in people’s minds as to existence of more than one God, such as the Christian Trinity, or the multitude of Hindu gods. Thirdly, the importance of one prophet or divine incarnation is felt to be greater than another.
In this essay I wish to examine these three points to show that there is unity of religious beliefs, and that the above conflicts stem from a lack of understanding the bigger picture.
One God.
Over the world there are many different names for water: aqua, eau, wasser, but the substance is the same. Similarly, over the world many names have been given to the Supreme Intelligence existing beyond and within creation: God, Allah, Brahman, but the substance is the same. Why have there been so many conflicts over this ? Creeds and religions have discovered some attributes of God and believed this to be all there is, arguing with anyone who has a different opinion. There is a story of four blind men who came across an elephant. When they tried to describe what it was like the first man felt one of its tusks and declared it was like a club, the second felt one of its ears and disagreed saying it was like a fan. The third grabbed its tail and said it was like a piece of rope, whilst the fourth felt its side and declared it to be a wall. In our discovery of the Supreme, we have been grasping through our limited consciousness like these blind men.
People have discoved a part of the Infinite and declare they know the Absolute Truth ? This is like the behaviour of the blind men. All rivers, whether their paths are straight or crooked, will one day reach the ocean. The Supreme is like an infinite ocean of consciousness, we are the droplets of water that make up the rivers flowing towards the ocean. Even people with no religious beliefs or irreligious beliefs are so travelling towards the Infinite, for all water comes from the ocean, and will one day return back to it. So is the way of religion ( the word stems from the Latin "religare" - to rejoin), we as droplets of consciousness, are the ocean and the ocean is us. Some rivers are called Buddhism, some Taoism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity, some are of selfless work, devotion, celebration, ritual. One thing is clear, no matter how large the river, its form or direction, all will merge as one and become formless, attributeless, when they unite with the ocean. All religions lead to the same truth of unity, argument and conflict between them causes disharmony and prevents union occuring. When looked at from the perspective of the ocean, all droplets of water are part of it and are returning to it. This is the wider, universal picture. It is unfortunate that some droplets have become obsessed with the view that their river is the only river to follow, that their ocean is the only true ocean. The perspective of many of the world religions is like a lot of blind people thinking that their part of the elephant is all that exists.
Some of the rivers have lost their original path to the ocean, they have forgotten that we are all part of the same consciousness, all made in the image of the Supreme. The conflicts that have existed between people in the name of religion, has taken people away from reaching the Source. Many meandering, and crooked paths now exist. Some lead to stagnant pools, and damns of disharmony and ignorance prevent people from reclaiming their rightful place of rejoining all droplets in the ocean as one united consciousness.
To unite with the Supreme begins in discovering our own divinity. Psychologically, we see things are we are. The world is a projection of our level of consciousness. If we have manifested divinity within, we will see it without. Thus spiritual practise is necessary to behold the Supreme. It is no good to speculate or intellectualise, divinity must be sought and experienced. Only then will the damns of disharmony and ignorance be broken down, allowing us to return home.
The Trinity.
One area that has provided a lot of confusion and misunderstanding within religions and between them is the concept of the Holy Trinity. This is mentioned in the Bible and earlier in Hindu scriptures as the Supreme manifest as the Father ( Sat ), the Son ( Tat ), and the Holy Ghost ( Aum ). If the Supreme is one and infinite, why is there this separation ? There is a conflicting opinion whether the Supreme is omnipresent, or resides in one place, such as "Heaven" or "Soul World." Further disagreements appear as to whether the Supreme has form or is formless, is personal or impersonal in nature. The creation of our world and how it is controlled or sustained is a point of confusion for many. An understanding of the Trinity will help to answer all of these questions.
The Supreme exists as one and always will exist in this way. The Trinity is an explanation of what occurred when creation was formed. In the beginning there was just Spirit, but Spirit wished to create and projected a great sphere of light or cosmic energy. This energy is the Holy Ghost, the spiritual vibration or energy of creation in which the intelligence of the Supreme manifests as the Christ Consciousness in every atom of the universe. The Holy Ghost is the "Word" of the Bible, or Aum in the Hindu scriptures. The Atomic Age of science has discovered what the ancient sages have known for millennia, that everything in creation is a manifestation of vibrating energy. All vibrations, and thus energy and matter in creation, have their source in the vibration Aum. It is the creative vibration from which the sacred words have come from many paths: Hum of the Tibetans; Amin of the Moslems; Amen of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians. This voice of creation testifies to the Divine Presence in every atom, displaying the omnipresent, omnipotent nature of the Supreme. It is written:
" These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God" ( Revelation 3:14).
" I am the Aum in all the Vedas ( ancient Indian Scriptures ), the sound in the ether…." ( Bhagavad Gita VII:8 )
The Holy Ghost or Aum is the "Comforter" mentioned by Jesus that returns us to the intelligent projection of the Supreme in creation, the Christ Consciousness or "only begotten son" as it is referred to in Christian scripture. Within every atom of creation is the divine intelligence of the Supreme. The order of the universe, the reason why nature exists, why planets remain in orbit, how we learn, think, love, all is due to the presence of the Supreme in everything, the Christ Consciousness. It is the One Life that is behind all life, the only true reflection of the Father in creation. Some people throughout history have enlarged their consciousness to manifest the Christ Consciousness: Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Babaji are all son’s of God. The way to unite with the Father is through the Son, or the Christ Consciousness. When Jesus proclaimed "none come to the Father but by Me" he spoke of the need to manifest the Christ Consciousness.
The aim of Yoga is to manifest this consciousness in a state known as Samadhi, where there is awareness that we are part of all existence and all existence is in us. The scriptures of the world declare our true nature to be soul, within which the Christ Consciousness is fully manifest. Body and ego identification and attachment causes restlessness of the mind preventing us realising our true nature. The system of Yoga seeks to still the mind, allowing us to view our real nature, like when the sun is seen for the first time when the clouds have passed. This Self-realisation leads one to perceive the Christ Consciousness within, and to the discovery that this is manifest throughout all creation. This deep metaphysical truth has been proved by saints from all denominations who have entered the highest state of Samadhi, Nirvana, union with God. From such a state one can progress to unity with the Father, which is the Supreme existing beyond creation. Jesus, manifesting the Christ Consciousness stated "I and my Father are one."
Therefore, God the Supreme exists beyond creation as the Father, exists within creation as the guiding intelligence as the Son, and manifests creation as the Holy Ghost or word. Thus the Supreme is still one yet has differing aspects in and beyond creation. This is why some people believe the Supreme is the Father beyond creation, others believe she is the Divine Mother sustaining creation, or a specific personality that has incarnated, or an impersonal aspect like light or vibration. The Supreme is all of these and much more.
Divine Incarnations.
Those who have fully realised their nature as soul, transcending ego and attachment to the body, and who manifest the Christ Consciousness are divine incarnations. The light of the Supreme shines equally on a lump of charcoal and a diamond but it is the diamond that reflects the light. Similarly, the Christ Consciousness exists in all beings but it is only the divine incarnations who fully reflect this through their lives. Their mind is like a clear, still lake that perfectly reflects the image of the moon. The waves caused by the winds of desire for personal gain have long expired. Their mission on earth is to show all humanity of the potential that lies within each of us.
A point of concern for some people is how the Supreme could take on a human form. The Supreme is like the ocean, over most of its area it is formless but in certain places it takes a solid form of ice, and can be used for special purposes because of this. The Supreme exists as unmanifested and formless, but in certain places it takes a form to accomplish a special purpose. The well known Incarnations have had a special mission for humanity, with spectacular results. Krishna and Rama were early descendants in ancient India and are devoutly worshipped to this day. Lord Buddha came 2500 years ago to teach non-violence and the end of suffering at a time many barbaric sacrifices were taking place. Jesus’ presence on the earth nearly 2000 years ago was to teach humanity to be compassionate, and to love God as the Father aspect. Shankaracharya came 1200 years ago to teach the importance of renunciating material desires and that God must be realised within. Other Incarnations such as Lord Pacal in Central America, and Babaji and Sri Ramakrishna have all played an important role in the development of humanity’s spiritual renaissance. We must salute all divine seers for helping us on the path towards the Supreme, not be so limiting to believe there has only been one Son of God, or to argue over the merits of each one.
The Supreme can be seen as being the unmanifested Absolute, the impersonal God beyond creation. It is also correct to believe in the personal God with attributes. They are two sides of the same coin. The point is to strive towards the Supreme in whichever method suits your temperament. Some people are disposed towards the path of devotion in which a personal aspect of divinity is realised, others follow the path of wisdom of an impersonal ideal, yet although they appear different like the sides of a coin, they are the same. Some are active and will be able to reach the Supreme through selfless work, others will prefer the scientific approach of meditation. All are valid and each religion includes some of these methods. People have realised the Christ Consciousness, the unity of the soul and the Supreme, through each one.
We are all children of God, and being made in the image of God we are all divine, if only we could realise this. Take the divine incarnations as examples of what we can be, and realise we are all part of the same, one, Infinite.