The role of religion and spirituality

“The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself.”
Richard Francis Burton

“Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to comprehend it better every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I am not concerned here with the veracity of any of the assertions made by particular religions or spiritual philosophies but with the influence religion and spirituality has and can wield. The major religions of this world directly impact the beliefs and behaviours of billions of people, I wonder what their original founders might have to say about the way we are behaving relative to the world at large today. I am also fascinated by the apparent growth in alternative spiritual practices which seem to me to be symptomatic of a sense of dissatisfaction with the experience of everyday living. I wonder if we don’t have an innate need to connect with a higher sense of purpose and meaning, as a context in which to set the experience of our individual lives. If this is true then perhaps much of that context could be provided through our relationship with the planet we call home..

It seems to me that all the different religions and spiritual paths extol the virtues of respect for all living things and the divine creation. For various reasons surrounding power and influence these seem to be subservient to the proliferation of each particular doctrine and the mandate it offers their leaders.

I choose to think of 'creation' instead of God thereby removing the tendency to anthropromorphise, I am then better able to treat everything that occurs in the universe as part of an emergent process. As I am part of this 'creation' my role is to participate in a way that is respectful of and sympathetic with, everything else.

When I consider the way that different human societies and cultures have behaved to date, I am left in no doubt that we are far from being contributory to the 'whole'. I am changing my perspective and am beginning to experience a little of the immense beauty that is undoubtedly enfolded in the gift of creation.

The more one cares for, the more one is cared for...... Enjoy!