I consider myself a Spiritual person, one who sees the truth in
all religions. Which are you? What is the difference?
The Religious person acknowledges only their own path;
the Spiritual person sees that there are many paths to
the Divine and theirs is but one. Religious people follow
the letter of religion, but often not the Spirit of it.
Spiritual people are more concerned with the Spirit of
religion than the letter of it. I suppose that is the
main difference between Religious and Spiritual.
Who is right? How can one Faith be more correct than another? The
truly Spiritual person can see that all are correct. All
are different paths to the same goal. The goal is reunion
with the Divine. The Divine is manifest in all things,
including us. The Religious person may have read or heard
about all things being Divine in nature; the Spiritual
person has experienced this for themselves and have seen
their own true nature. The Spiritual person recognizes
that they are a spirit being having a Human experience,
not a human being having a few Spiritual experiences.
Many Religious people have read about or been told about A Path,
but do not recognize any others. They have been told to
do things in a certain way and not question why. If they
do question, the answer is because; because the Bible
or the Koran or some other religious text says to do it
that way. They do not follow the Spirit but the letter.
That is okay for some, but just because it has been written
down does not make it good for all.
There have been many great religious and spiritual leaders. The
Religious leaders put forth the letter of their own faith,
but often repressed other faiths. The Spiritual leaders
spread the word as they saw it, but did not condemn other
paths. They often incorporated other faiths into their
own. Thus, instead of a new religion, they were spreading
an extension - a continuation of an established faith.
They offered a new philosophy based on old values. Old
values such as love.
From time to time, many Spiritual teachers have manifested to help
guide humanity. Jesus was such a spiritual leader. Jesus
said that he would return in different forms. He was asked,
how will we know it is you? His answer is in John 10:37-38.
'If I am not doing the works of my Father, do not believe
in me. If I am doing them, even though you do not believe
in me, believe in the works, so that you may know and
believe that my Father is with me and I am with my Father.'
Krishna also spoke of returning from age to age. 'For the protection
of the good, for the destruction of the wicked and for
the establishment of righteousness, I come forth into
being from age to age.' Since Krishna manifested on the
Earth thousands of years before Jesus, Jesus could have
been a manifestation of Krishna. All religions stem from
the same source.
The Spiritual person sees and can acknowledge this fact. The Religious
person is at times trapped within their own faith and
cannot see outside. They often can or will not acknowledge
the many paths to the Source. The Spiritual person can
recognize the many manifestations of the Divine as being
parts of the same Source. The Religious person recognizes
only the manifestation they have been taught. Too often,
the Religious person seeks to discredit other manifestations
of the Divine. This has been the cause of many wars and
countless deaths. This has caused people throughout history
to be persecuted because of their religion. The Christians
persecuted the Pagans. The Jews persecuted the Christians.
The Chinese government persecuted the Buddhists in Tibet.
Christians persecuted other Christians. This list could
go on and on and on. Once started, this cycle is hard
to stop.
Even within the same path, people interpret things in different
manners. The Spiritual person can see the Light in all.
The Religious only see their own narrow band of light.
The Divine Light is Broad and contains all the colors
of the Rainbow in a constant state of change. The Divine
includes all sects and paths. Spiritual people are more
open to other faiths and learn from each other. Religious
people tend to only want to learn about their own path.
If only there were more Spiritual people in this world
as opposed to Religious people!
There are many people who are Religiously Spiritual or Spiritually
Religious. All the Paths to the Divine are about connecting
with the Spirit/Soul/Divine Light that is within us all
and is also outside. The Source is in all things as The
Source IS all things. Spiritual followers of many Paths
might say, "The entirety of the Universe is contained
within a single flower. It takes all aspects of the Universe
to combine together and manifest in such a way as to create
the flower. The flower has always been there as the Source
has always been there."
I have tried not to use absolutes, as in 'ALL Religious/Spiritual
people Do This...' I myself do not like being labeled
and thus grouped in with others that have been labeled
the same thing, whatever that thing is. We are all different;
we may be very similar, but no two people truly think
in exactly the same way. That is a part of the gloriously
wonderful gift of Free Will. We All connect with the Divine
in a slightly different manner. As long as the Universal
truths come through and we can share our Light with all,
no matter what Path they may follow, we are doing great.
Finding the Spirit/Soul in Religion, any religion, is
a step along the Path.
There are truths in all Paths to the Divine. All have the same
goal. That goal is a reunion with the Divine. We must
not be bogged down in Dogma, no matter what the source.
We are All beings of Light. The light can and does shine
through in all of us. It may be stronger in some than
others, but it is there in all. We should learn to see
the Light in all things be they animal, vegetable, or
mineral. Everything in the known existence and the many
things we do not know about is composed of Energy. It
is all energy at different levels of vibration.
Universe: Uni = One, Verse = Song.
Universe = One Song.
One Song, heard by all throughout the entirety
of existence.
One Song. One Message to all.
I feel that message is Love.
Love is the Law.
Love knows no religion. Love knows no nationality
or country border.
Love is Love.
May we all grow into the Light bearing beings we truly
are. May the Divine Light shine upon us all. May it fill
our hearts with Love. May we all shine with Light and
illuminate the Divine in all that surrounds us. Even one
small candle of Light increases the total.
(Copyright 2004: © Bill Schell)
Reprinted with kind permission of the author: schell-1@billschell.com
