"So, what's your religion now?" A question I barely understood because of all the noise around us. We were in an Irish pub in Brussels, right after Spain won from France in the Eurocup. Red and yellow flags everywhere, excited Spanish girls and boys and the occasional vuvuzela interrupting the music. Yup, they won alright.
Marco, the person who asked the question, invited me to this pub to have a drink and catch up. It's been a long time since I've seen him. More than a year and a half since we last met, I think. He's an old friend of mine. We met each other more than 10 years ago. Still can't believe how quick time passes. I was 15 then and started to explore the pubs in Leuven. He became one of my drinking buddies. Every weekend we went to the Irish pub: Thomas Stapletons, where I drank my first Guinness. The pubs dark woodwork carved itself pleasantly into my memory over the years, varnished with lots of nice stories. It's still my place to go when I happen to be in Leuven. I'm pretty sure I'm one of there oldest and youngest regulars at the same time. I guess it even influenced me in my decisions while travelling. I think my interest for the Celtic culture originated here.
Anyhow, back to the question. He knew I was into spirituality and that my opinion on this tends to change over time. Well, very good question and difficult to answer because I don't 'follow' a certain religion anymore. I've called myself a Taoist and a Buddhist in the past, but doesn't apply anymore. I think I answered something like this "I follow the essence that you can find in all religions. I follow that which promotes inclusiveness, not exclusiveness, and lets you love your fellow men unconditionally." After that I gave my opinion about how religions actually have a lot in common and don't have to counteract each other. After that explanation it occurred to me that this was perfect stuff for the start of a 'spirituality' page on my blog, so here it is.
"Then what is this essence that you can find in all religions you're talking about?" you might ask. Well, there is a point where all religions meet I have noticed. All believe in something that is everywhere all the time. It has been given many different names, be it Jahweh, Jehovah, God, Tao, Allah, Brahman, etc. It is that which is all. Everything that exists and non-exists, everything that is and isn't. I prefer to call it Oneness. I do believe this exists. As a matter of fact you can even scientifically say that it exists. If you would add everything up that exists plus the non-existence surrounding it, then you would have exactly that what I'm talking about. If you call that God or Tao or Brahman I agree with you and can say that I do believe in that which you give that name. I believe in God, Tao and Brahman. Important to note here is that we can't grasp this Oneness with our mind, though. The Oneness is way too complex to be grasped by an analytical instrument like the mind, so it is only a mere simplified concept we have in our heads when we think about this Oneness. The same applies when we think about God, Tao or Allah. It cannot be grasped and thus cannot be put into rules.
Yet this is what happened over the thousands of years with most religions. The mind took over, started analyzing everything and tried to put everything into boundaries. Some religions personified the Oneness. In most cases it became a man. Sometimes even an old man with a grey beard on a cloud. Do I believe in this? Simple answer: No. I do not believe in personification for the simple reason that this is the mind at work, trying to bind the Oneness to a graspable concept.
I find it even ironic, because in most of these religions it is called blasphemy to make an image of the one they worship. Well, I don't see the difference between painting an image and making a mental image. An image is an image. As long as you try to grasp it with your mind, it's an image.
It can never be grasped. It can only be experienced. Here we enter Buddhism and Taoism, which leans more towards the action of 'non-grasping', 'non-thinking'. For them it is more important to experience the Oneness by conscious observation. Being conscious is that which precedes thinking. By not thinking you'll stop analyzing everything, so you'll stop to give everything characteristics. When this happens, everything becomes one and you can experience the Oneness.
To summarize the above in short: I believe there is a Oneness, but it can only be experienced. It can not be grasped by the mind. This is where all religions come together in my opinion. They may all have other ideals, opinions, images and rules, but to me these are only the mind at work that tries to put boundaries on that which can not be put into boundaries and I do not agree with it because you exclude by doing this.
"Then what is this essence that you can find in all religions you're talking about?" you might ask. Well, there is a point where all religions meet I have noticed. All believe in something that is everywhere all the time. It has been given many different names, be it Jahweh, Jehovah, God, Tao, Allah, Brahman, etc. It is that which is all. Everything that exists and non-exists, everything that is and isn't. I prefer to call it Oneness. I do believe this exists. As a matter of fact you can even scientifically say that it exists. If you would add everything up that exists plus the non-existence surrounding it, then you would have exactly that what I'm talking about. If you call that God or Tao or Brahman I agree with you and can say that I do believe in that which you give that name. I believe in God, Tao and Brahman. Important to note here is that we can't grasp this Oneness with our mind, though. The Oneness is way too complex to be grasped by an analytical instrument like the mind, so it is only a mere simplified concept we have in our heads when we think about this Oneness. The same applies when we think about God, Tao or Allah. It cannot be grasped and thus cannot be put into rules.
Yet this is what happened over the thousands of years with most religions. The mind took over, started analyzing everything and tried to put everything into boundaries. Some religions personified the Oneness. In most cases it became a man. Sometimes even an old man with a grey beard on a cloud. Do I believe in this? Simple answer: No. I do not believe in personification for the simple reason that this is the mind at work, trying to bind the Oneness to a graspable concept.
I find it even ironic, because in most of these religions it is called blasphemy to make an image of the one they worship. Well, I don't see the difference between painting an image and making a mental image. An image is an image. As long as you try to grasp it with your mind, it's an image.
It can never be grasped. It can only be experienced. Here we enter Buddhism and Taoism, which leans more towards the action of 'non-grasping', 'non-thinking'. For them it is more important to experience the Oneness by conscious observation. Being conscious is that which precedes thinking. By not thinking you'll stop analyzing everything, so you'll stop to give everything characteristics. When this happens, everything becomes one and you can experience the Oneness.
To summarize the above in short: I believe there is a Oneness, but it can only be experienced. It can not be grasped by the mind. This is where all religions come together in my opinion. They may all have other ideals, opinions, images and rules, but to me these are only the mind at work that tries to put boundaries on that which can not be put into boundaries and I do not agree with it because you exclude by doing this.
When believing and experiencing this Oneness inclusiveness arises. Something that is unlimited can not exclude anything. It includes everything and everyone, no matter who they are or what they have done. This calls forth a pleasant 'side-effect' of being conscious: unconditional love. To love others no matter what because you see them for who they really are: a dynamic space in which emotions, thoughts, opinions, an ego, and many other things occur just like you.
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