Once upon a time, God was walking down a path midway between two groups of workers harvesting crops in a field. The group on the left side was so happy to see God and shouted, “There is the Lord showing off his most beautiful red hat.” The workers on the other side of the field were shocked and almost vehemently shouted out that, “Yes, God is most wonderful, but He is wearing a blue hat.” And so an argument began until God got to the end of the field. As he turned around, all the workers got to see that indeed God's hat was split down the middle and the one side was red and the other was blue. And so, they got to see the other person's perspective.
The Supreme Lord, The Divine is more than we can imagine. One philosopher compared our minute attempt to understand God to trying to fit an elephant on a tiny tea saucer (the limits of our own mind). In fact, even as we strive to get to the depth of our own spiritual path – our understanding of our own tradition's explanation of God, may inadvertently be covered by our own conditioning – through the perception of our own personal likes and dislikes. And so, in a sense, God is too big to fit into one religion.
The Supreme Lord is so multi-faceted, just like a beautiful gem. Depending on where we are standing – a different color may be visible to our eyes. Turn a diamond and see the various colors of yellow, blue, green, red, orange, etc being flashed and reflected. One gem – with a multitude of facets. Unity in diversity.
The beauty of Interfaith is that it allows us to examine God through other perspectives – through other cultures and traditions, as well as through the individual heart of a devotional practitioner of a faith different from our own. This can allow us to break out of the box of “I know” and swim in the nectarian ocean of the vast and awesome variegatedness of The Supreme.
While listening to the prayers from another faith, we may become moved by the expressions of the heart. While watching another's devotions, we may become inspired to take on new spiritual practices in our own life. Not only that – when we can deepen our appreciation of the Lord through connection with those from other faiths – we can learn the true meaning of many scriptural verses: “As you treat the lowest of your brethren – that is how you treat me.” Or “One who sees everyone in Me – truly sees.”
Faith is about trust – trusting the Lord – trusting there is a higher purpose, function and meaning to this otherwise confusing, sad, and oftentimes painful life. Thus Interfaith allows us the courage and fortitude to open our minds and our hearts and let go of our “rightness”, to encompass a deeper wisdom and love than any scripture or theoretical understanding could ever afford us.
To honor and to value the struggles of another human being connecting with the Divine is a most humbling and uplifting experience.
The Supreme Lord, The Divine is more than we can imagine. One philosopher compared our minute attempt to understand God to trying to fit an elephant on a tiny tea saucer (the limits of our own mind). In fact, even as we strive to get to the depth of our own spiritual path – our understanding of our own tradition's explanation of God, may inadvertently be covered by our own conditioning – through the perception of our own personal likes and dislikes. And so, in a sense, God is too big to fit into one religion.
The Supreme Lord is so multi-faceted, just like a beautiful gem. Depending on where we are standing – a different color may be visible to our eyes. Turn a diamond and see the various colors of yellow, blue, green, red, orange, etc being flashed and reflected. One gem – with a multitude of facets. Unity in diversity.
The beauty of Interfaith is that it allows us to examine God through other perspectives – through other cultures and traditions, as well as through the individual heart of a devotional practitioner of a faith different from our own. This can allow us to break out of the box of “I know” and swim in the nectarian ocean of the vast and awesome variegatedness of The Supreme.
While listening to the prayers from another faith, we may become moved by the expressions of the heart. While watching another's devotions, we may become inspired to take on new spiritual practices in our own life. Not only that – when we can deepen our appreciation of the Lord through connection with those from other faiths – we can learn the true meaning of many scriptural verses: “As you treat the lowest of your brethren – that is how you treat me.” Or “One who sees everyone in Me – truly sees.”
Faith is about trust – trusting the Lord – trusting there is a higher purpose, function and meaning to this otherwise confusing, sad, and oftentimes painful life. Thus Interfaith allows us the courage and fortitude to open our minds and our hearts and let go of our “rightness”, to encompass a deeper wisdom and love than any scripture or theoretical understanding could ever afford us.
To honor and to value the struggles of another human being connecting with the Divine is a most humbling and uplifting experience.
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