Resolving
Religious Conflicts Through a Universal Approach
Our universal approach to religion, and the conclusion that religion
is a form of communication between material and spiritual realms, opens
up vast opportunities for resolving the factors that we earlier defined
as the causes of religious conflict. Let us look at each of these factors
and how we might resolve them in light of our new perspective on religion.
By Kim Michaels
Only
one true religion
Problem: Many religious people believe there is only
one God. Therefore, they reason that one God would not give us many
different religions and consequently there can be only one true religion—their
own. This exclusivist approach to religion will inevitably encourage
extremism because you automatically come to see all other religions
as false. If a religion is false, it must be of the Devil, so it is
your duty to fight that religion. This must be God’s will, and
it is only for the salvation of non-believers.
Solution: We can now see that the fact that there are
many religions does not exclude the concept that here is only one God.
The one God might have created a hierarchy of spiritual beings of whom
some are assigned to serve as spiritual teachers for humankind.
All true religions originate from the same source, and this source is
a group of spiritual beings in a higher realm. The reason religions
differ is that they are given to people from different cultural backgrounds
and with different levels of consciousness.
The consequence is that there can be more than one true religion. In
fact, there could be a large number of true religions and spiritual
teachings. The concept that there can be only one true religion becomes
meaningless. A true religion is the religion that is best suited to
helping a particular group of people attain a higher state of consciousness.
The fact that a religion is different from your‘s does not mean
that it must be false. It is simply adapted to a different group of
people.
This conclusion does not exclude the idea that there can be false religions
that do not originate from our spiritual teachers. However, this is
a separate topic that will be covered elsewhere.
Religion gives absolute truth
Problem: Many religious people believe that if a religion
is given by God, its teachings and doctrines must be absolute and infallible.
After all, how could an almighty God give forth a religious doctrine
that was anything less than the absolute truth. Again, it follows that
all different beliefs must be partly or wholly erroneous. The inevitable
result is that you see yourself in opposition to people who belong to
other religions.
Solution: Religion is a form of communication, and
it is adapted to the level of consciousness of the human beings to which
the communication is given.
We might consider that we humans could have descended into a state of
consciousness in which it is impossible for us to grasp the reality
of God. Most religions portray God as a spiritual being who is above
and beyond the material universe. We humans tend to think in terms of
limitations and divisions. We think in linear terms and love to label
everything so that it can be classified into a mental box.
We might consider that this finite state of consciousness makes it impossible
for us to grasp the infinite reality of God. Consequently, it might
be impossible to describe the infinite nature of God by using finite
words and concepts. Or it might be impossible to describe God in a way
that we can grasp and accept with our present level of consciousness.
Either way, we see that a religion might not be given for the purpose
of defining and absolute or infallible truth.
If religion is adapted to the state of consciousness of us humans, it
follows that the limitations of our consciousness will limit the teachings
of a particular religion. What can be given is not absolute truth, but
what we can grasp and accept with our limited state of consciousness.
This opens the possibility that any religion is meant to grow and evolve.
When we use a particular religion to raise our consciousness, we can
grasp and accept a more advanced spiritual teaching. Our spiritual teachers
can then give us such a teaching—unless we cling to the old doctrines
and see them as infallible!
Religion gives complete truth
Problem: Many religious people believe their religion provides
not only an infallible description of God, but that it is complete.
They believe that God is perfect and thus a doctrine given by God must
be perfect. They also believe that something which is perfect could
not possibly change. Therefore, their religion could never evolve or
change over time. There is no need to adapt a religion to changing times—instead
the times should adapt to the complete and infallible doctrine. In other
words, they believe they must resist all changes in their religion.
Again this creates tension and conflict.
Solution: It is very difficult for a rational person
to deny that we humans are engaged in a process of growth. We obviously
know much more about the material world today than we did 500 years
ago. We might say that humankind as a whole is slowly growing towards
a higher level of awareness, a higher level of consciousness.
When we combine this with the idea that religion is a form of communication
adapted to people’s state of consciousness, we gain a new perspective
on religion. We human beings have a need for security and comfortability
which often causes us to cling to a religious doctrine. We become attached
to such doctrines and we don’t want them to change.
However, from the perspective of our spiritual teachers, it may well
be that religion was never meant to be static. If the purpose of religion
is to help us raise our consciousness, it follows that if a religion
is successful, it should naturally grow along with our raising consciousness.
If our spiritual teachers are limited by our ability and willingness
to accept new ideas, it follows that a particular religion is not the
complete truth about the spiritual side of life. It is limited by the
consciousness of the target audience. So as the followers of a religion
raise their consciousness, our spiritual teachers can give them a more
advanced teaching.
We now see that religion might never have been meant to be static. Progressive
revelation might be a natural part of true religion. We might then conclude
that we need to develop a dynamic view of perfection.
We might consider than when a religion is given, it is perfect in the
sense that it came from a valid source, namely our spiritual teachers.
Therefore, its teachings are valid. However, this does not mean that
the teachings can never change. On the contrary, as people raise their
consciousness, our teachers will naturally release more advanced teachings
that might make some of the old teachings obsolete. The old teachings
were perfect for a certain level of consciousness, but as people’s
consciousness grows, so does the concept of what is perfect for that
level.
We might compare this to teaching children about math. In Kindergarten,
you teach only simple math, such as addition. The teaching on addition
is perfectly valid; it is simply not the complete truth about math.
So it would be silly if kindergarten students developed the idea that
addition was all they ever needed to know about math and refused to
learn anything more.
Black-and-white thinking
Problem: Many religious people believe that religion must be
defined in terms of black and white. Their religion is completely right,
while all conflicting religions are completely wrong. They believe there
is no possibility of a compromise, because if you give the Devil one
finger, he will take the whole hand. They are not open to the idea that
there could be an approach to religion which was not based on this black-and-white
thinking.
Solution: When we realize that different religions
are adapted to different levels of consciousness, we see the futility
of black-and-white thinking. It is like a kindergarten student saying
that all the other grades are just plain wrong and that everyone should
stay at kindergarten level forever.
By acknowledging that all true religions come from the same source,
we see that there is no need for a compromise with the Devil. In fact,
one might consider that black-and-white thinking originates with the
Devil, or at least from a force that seeks to divide spiritual people
and create conflict between them.
We can then develop a new approach to religion based on mutual respect
for differences of beliefs. Instead of seeing different beliefs as being
in conflict with your own beliefs, you can begin to see them as simply
different ways to help particular people raise their consciousness.
One might consider that different religions are simply different roads
that lead towards the same goal, namely a higher state of consciousness.
Only one possible interpretation
Problem: Many religious people believe there is only one way
to interpret their religious scriptures. Obviously, it is the interpretation
chosen by their current church leaders. They believe all other interpretations
are wrong and come from the Devil. Therefore, it is their duty to eradicate
such false interpretations and possibly even the people who promote
them.
Solution: When we realize that religion is given to
people in a certain state of consciousness and for the purpose of raising
their consciousness, we realize that there can be more than one valid
interpretation of a religious doctrine. In fact, there might be many
valid interpretations that correspond to various levels of consciousness.
When you realize that the purpose of religion is to attain a higher
state of consciousness, you realize that life can be seen as a process
of spiritual growth. This growth leads from lower to higher levels of
consciousness. As you progress to higher levels on this spiritual path,
you will naturally gain a deeper understanding of spiritual concepts.
This will lead to different, or rather more profound and advanced, interpretations
of religious doctrines.
Obviously, not all interpretations are correct. However, as you ascend
on the path and begin to attain contact with your higher self, you will
be able to discern between valid and invalid interpretations.
You will also see that any interpretation is a reflection of people’s
current level of consciousness. So even if people believe in a false
interpretation, you do not have to engage in a battle against other
people or their interpretation. Instead, you can engage in an effort
to help these people raise their consciousness so that they too can
discern what is valid and what is invalid. In other words, you no longer
fight against people or doctrines. You fight for a higher state of consciousness
for everyone.
Church leaders represent God
Problem: Many religious people believe the leaders of their
religion are God’s representatives on Earth. The leaders speak
for God and therefore they should never be questioned or gain said.
Such people demand blind obedience and thus anyone who does not respect
this absolute authority is seen as an enemy.
Solution: If there are many valid religions, it follows
that no religion or person has a patent on spiritual truth. Therefore,
there could be several people who are valid representatives of our spiritual
teachers. In other words, God has more than one true representative
on Earth.
In fact, one might consider that if the purpose of religion is to help
people attain a higher state of consciousness, every human being has
the potential to become a representative of God on Earth. When you attain
a higher state of consciousness, you can be an open door for bringing
spiritual truth into this world.
When you realize that there are many valid interpretations of a religious
doctrine, you see that it is not wrong to have more than one interpretation.
A particular leader might give an interpretation for a particular level
of consciousness but it might not be the only possible interpretation.
This does not mean that you have to invalidate the leader. You simply
strive to attain your own, internalized, understanding of spiritual
concepts.
It now becomes meaningless to fight over which spiritual leader is the
best or only true representative of God. Each leader has a valid function
and addresses people from a certain background and with a certain level
of consciousness.
The epic battle
Problem: Many religious people believe that the world is a
battleground between good (God) and evil forces. Obviously, it would
be naive to ignore that there seems to be evil forces working in the
world. Yet many religious people define good and evil by saying that
their religion represents good while all others or certain others represent
evil. Such a definition of good and evil can only promote conflict and
extremism.
Solution: We now see the possibility for a new interpretation
of good and evil. The forces of good are working to raise the consciousness
of humankind so that we can all achieve the same state of consciousness
as our spiritual teachers. The forces of evil are working against this
goal and seek to trap us in a lower state of consciousness. The forces
of good want us to grow, whereas the forces of evil want to prevent
our growth and keep us trapped at our present level (or go even lower).
The goal of all true religion is to raise people’s consciousness.
Any religion which achieves this goal is therefore good, in the sense
that it is supporting the work of our spiritual teachers.
However, any religion which seeks to close people’s minds and
bind them to a particular level of consciousness, a particular organization
or a particular interpretation of doctrine is working against the purpose
of our spiritual teachers.
So the real question is whether a religion is raising people’s
consciousness or serving to trap people in a limited state of consciousness.
Scapegoating
Problem: Human beings have always had a tendency to avoid taking
personal responsibility for their situation. One example is the belief
that your problems are caused by other people. In the religious field,
this leads to the belief that all of the problems in the world are caused
by people who belong to false religions. Non-believers then become the
scapegoats. In other words, anyone who disagrees with or opposes your
beliefs is deceived by the Devil or working for the Devil.
Solution: When you accept that true spirituality is
a path that leads to a higher state of consciousness, you see that your
personal growth is up to you. You cannot blame anyone else for your
state of consciousness. It is up to you to open your mind to a higher
understanding so you can ascend to a higher state of consciousness.
As the next step, you realize that the problems in the world are not
caused by other religions. They are caused by the lower state of consciousness,
which causes people to adopt the outer, dogmatic or fanatical approach
to religion. Therefore, the way to improve the situation is NOT to fight
other religions but to fight the lower state of consciousness.
To do this effectively, you must begin by personally attaining this
higher state of consciousness, and then you will no longer see other
people as enemies or other religions as a threat. You will realize that
the Devil works by trapping people in a certain state of consciousness.
Therefore, you will work to get yourself and others out of that state
of mind.
The ultimate cause
Problem: Many religious people believe their religion represents
the ultimate cause. They are fighting for a just cause, backed by the
ultimate authority, namely God. Therefore, everything they believe or
do is right in an ultimate sense. This then makes it possible for these
people to justify almost anything as being necessary in order to win
the ultimate victory.
Solution: We now see that the ultimate cause cannot
be defined by human beings. It must be defined by our spiritual teachers.
Therefore, religion should never be used as a means to justify the self-centered
desires of human beings.
The ultimate cause is not to make one religion dominant by eradicating
all other religions. The ultimate cause is to set all people free from
the limitations of the lower state of consciousness. It is this state
of consciousness that is the root of selfishness and conflict. The only
truly just cause is to eradicate the lower state of consciousness. Obviously,
this cause cannot justify violating the rights of other people.
Virtually every religion denounces killing. So when people feel their
religion has justified the killing of nonbelievers, the only possible
cause is that these people are trapped in the lower state of consciousness.
The end justifies
the means
Problem: The sense of ultimate justification easily leads to
the sense that the ends can justify the means—any means. Some
people believe that because they are working for God’s purposes,
it is acceptable to violate the laws of God defined by their religion.
In other words, it becomes acceptable to kill other people in the name
of God even though virtually every religion defines killing as wrong.
Solution: When you see that the ultimate cause is to
help people attain a higher state of consciousness, you realize that
the ends can never justify the means. This attitude springs from the
lower state of consciousness. In this state of consciousness people
feel that the only road to salvation is through their religion. Therefore,
souls must either be converted or go to Hell. This then can justify
any means in order to prevent people from going to Hell.
When you realize that the ultimate goal is a higher state of consciousness,
you realize that this cannot be forced. You can force a person to become
a member of a certain church or to pay (at least outer) allegiance to
a doctrine. But you can never force a person to attain the higher state
of consciousness. This is an inner process that must be internalized,
and therefore cannot happen against the person’s free will.
You now see that it is futile to use force in the world of religion.
Instead, you might begin to work to inspire people to attain a higher
state of consciousness. The important thing is that they attain this
state of consciousness, not how they attain it. In other words, you
begin to see that almost any religion can be used as a platform for
the universal, spiritual path that leads to a higher state of consciousness.
See how attaining
personal communion
with the spiritual realm can help resolve religious conflicts.
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Copyright
© 2005 by Kim Michaels |
