Caught Between Heaven and Hell

THE LONG SEARCH

Truths are truths, and facts are facts; however, both truths and facts are mere extrapolations. We still look for facts to back up our truths. This is not a wise thing to do because truths are philosophies, and facts are based on the interpretations of people who like to interpretate. This is a culturally oriented thing. In short, both truths and facts are cultural extrapolations! Let’s look at history. History is based on truths and facts, but whose truths and whose facts? And, what about Christianity? There are literally thousands of different denominations, each believing they are correct. That’s fine, because this allows "different strokes for different folks" as to how they choose to worship God. I don’t believe there is a right or wrong way to worship God, as long as it is done with reverence and respect for God and His house. Confusion of what’s right or wrong hinders many people from challenging who they are and what they believe, and sometimes even challenges their search for God, because they don’t know how or where to start looking.

To further confuse you, history has a way of reversing itself. For instance, we now have a "new" ancient Egypt. Traditionally, people believed that the pyramids, and other huge statues and monuments, were built by slaves. Due to present-day extrapolations, it is now the popular belief that these so-called "slaves" were in actuality well-paid craftsmen who lived in dormitories, and that Egypt had no slaves. It was a country similar to the mythical Shangri-La. (Of course, this is contrary to the Old Testament account, but it is the "scholarly" account. This may be similar to the idea of the descent of man from monkeys.)

The search for God is a long and arduous task for many people. About the only place, apart from nature’s sanctuaries, people feel God’s presence is when they are in a church, temple, synagogue, mosque, or other place of worship. Indeed, God is definitely very present in our worship services. However, after the service, we tend to leave God in the place where we worship, and forget that He is omnipresent and continually with us.

In searching for spirituality, we are searching for something that we already have, but don’t realize. Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami said that when we recognize God within us, we can begin spiritual growth. It is when we leave God outside of us and confine Him to "Mount Olympus" or some other place that we become trapped in a spiritual stalemate. In searching for God, some people might leave their present place of worship, but then end up feeling guilty for doing so. Others might attend a particular worship service, but feel guilty because they can’t reconcile their beliefs with those of that particular group.

Many people are tired of the mundane, luke-warmness of so-called religion. They know that there is more to God than mere religiosity, and they want to discover just what that "more" is, and enjoy using it to improve their lives. In short, there are many people searching desperately for something that is better and more satisfying than what they presently have. It’s like adding more sugar to a glass of tea instead of stirring that which is on the bottom of the glass. Instead of looking for God on "Mount Olympus," look within yourself.

Many problems stem from the fact that people are not well acquainted with the scriptures of their chosen religion. Without a knowledge of the Bible (Old and New Testaments), the Qur’an, the Vedas and Agamas, or whatever books a particular religion uses as Scripture, there cannot be a true understanding of what that scripture teaches.

Another thing, many people in our high-tech society cannot reconcile a concept such as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit with what they know about subatomic particles or alien life forms. Actually, the Christians worked this out over 1500 years ago at a council in Nicea. Their answer was that there is a primary substance, and that the trinity is a part of this primary substance. This is called homoousianism. Many people have never heard of this word, and that is a pity, because homoousianism is the doctrine upon which many Christian faiths are built. The same thing applies to Brahma, Shabda Brahma, and Shakti in the Hindu faith. This is the theory on which many articles of the Hindu religious beliefs are based. If you are Jewish, how about the Shakina? And did Balaam’s ass really talk to him? If you are Muslim, what does the Qur’an say about Abraham and the use of force to initiate conversion?

Studying the different beliefs, customs, rituals and when and how they were established might answer some of the questions we have about God, and make a big difference in our spirituality.

One thing detrimental to our spirituality is disregarding and omitting religious rituals in our worship services. This is sad because they are very significant and meaningful. Rituals carry a lot of power, and can touch a person’s heart just as much as the music, prayers, and sermon. In short, they are just as important in a worship service as anything else. A friend of ours, a PhD who worked as a biochemist at Saint Jude Research Hospital, claimed that rituals and symbols are important because they go into the limbic system of our brain – the part dealing with security. Naturally, this produces a feeling of security within us. On the other hand, words alone have very little impact on our limbic system.

I have attended many different churches, synagogues, and temples. The religious ceremonies and rituals were performed differently in each group; however, there was a single thread that connected them together – they all put God in the center of their worship. Each religious group was unique and wonderful in its own way, and each one had something very special to offer. However, I felt like I didn’t quite fit into any of the groups because some of their beliefs were contrary to mine. I felt very lonely, and wondered if this was how the man without a country felt. My feelings of detachment, or loneliness, weren’t the fault of any place of worship or the people attending. It was just me. I was desperately searching for something that I could not quite identify, and I felt at a loss as how or where to find it. I knew God was within reach, but I felt unable to reach Him. The best way I know of to describe my feelings is by comparing them to the feeling of homesickness. I guess I was actually homesick for God. Many times it is easier to rectify the feeling of loneliness for a person or place than it is the feeling of loneliness for God, because we have seen the person, or thing, and know generally where to look. God, however, is considered as unseen and sometimes unidentifiable. This is why it is good to learn everything we can about God – so that we will know how to turn to Him.