Religious and Spiritual Practices, an Overview

In today’s world we encounter people with many diverse ethnic backgrounds that come with different religious or spiritual practices.

For people who are steeped in their practices, there is only one suggestion and that is, don’t be satisfied with surface information, go as deep into the teachings as possible.

We begin with a look at religion.

Religion is entirely faith based. It relies on scripture and creed of the various denominations. It teaches about the existence of God.

Arguments for and against the existence of God

The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and popular culture.

In philosophical terms, the question of the existence of God involves the disciplines of epistemology (epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion) and ontology (the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being and the theory of value, since some definitions of God include "perfection").

Arguments for the existence of God have been proposed by St. Thomas Aquinas’, in the five logical arguments regarding the existence of God:

    The Argument from Motion;

    The Argument from Causation;

    The argument from contingency;

    The argument from degree,

    The teleological argument, ("argument from design").                         

René Descartes, said that the existence of a benevolent God is logically necessary for the evidence of the senses to be meaningful; and Immanuel Kant, who argued that the existence of God can be deduced from the existence of good.

John Calvin argued for a sensus divinitatis (sense deity), which gives each human a knowledge of God's existence.

Philosophers who have provided arguments against the existence of God include the aforementioned Kant, David Hume, Friedrich Nietzsche, Bertrand Russell and others.

Scientists follow the scientific method, within which theories must be verifiable by physical experiment. The majority of prominent conceptions of God explicitly or effectively posit a being which is not testable either by proof or disproof. On these bases, the question regarding the existence of God, one for which evidence cannot be tested, may lie outside the purview of modern science by definition.

The Catholic Church maintains that knowledge of the existence of God is the "natural light of human reason". Fideism acknowledges that belief in the existence of God may not be amenable to demonstration or refutation, but rests on faith alone.

Atheism views arguments for the existence of God as insufficient, mistaken or weighing less in comparison to arguments against.

Other religions, such as Buddhism, do not concern themselves with the existence of Gods at all, while religions such as Jainism reject the possibility of a creator deity.

As one can see, that there are many who argue for or against the existence of God.

Now let us take a look at our own existence. We do know that we exist. There is no doubt. What we may doubt is the nature of our existence. Are we limited beings, do we have a momentary existence, are we eternal and if so what does it mean? But we do know that we exist.

The inquiry into our own nature, of who and what we are ultimately gives rise to Spirituality. We may begin by asking, am I the body, am I the mind, and am I a combination of body and mind. Am I something more than a body mind being? Every step in this inquiry can be verified until we derive at the insight, that in our innermost being we are ever existent, ever conscious, and ever new joy (bliss).

We may now say, this is all fine and good, but where can people who are seriously interested in Spirituality go to find meaningful teachings?

There are the teachings of Yoga (union). An all inclusive yoga is known as Kriya Yoga, introduced to the West by Parmahansa Yogananda. The teachings include a path for people of every temperament.

Kriya yoga is a concentrated approach to Self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment: complete awakening to full knowledge of the Infinite and of cosmic processes. It includes the most effective processes of all systems of yoga, with emphasis on wholesome, constructive living and superconscious meditation practice. The purpose of Kriya yoga practice is to restore the practitioner's awareness to wholeness. This is accomplished by acquiring knowledge of one's true nature as a spiritual being; cultivating rational thinking, emotional balance, and physical health; purposeful living; and meditation.

Additional approaches being taught are:

Karma Yoga is the Path of Spiritual Action. The path of Karma Yoga is the path of uniting the soul with God through selfless activity.

Bhakti Yoga is the yoga of devotion. It is the spiritual approach to God that stresses all-surrendering love as the principal means for communion and union with God.

Rajas yoga is the path of prayer and meditation, for the inner directed person. Raja Yoga translates from Sanskrit to mean Royal Yoga. It is the eight-limbed path outlined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras as well as a tradition of Samkhya philosophy. When these methods are conscientiously practiced, they will lead one to experience Self or God Realization.

Jnana yoga is for the intellectual minded person. Jnana means wisdom or knowledge. It is considered the most difficult of the four main paths of Yoga, requiring great strength of will and intellect. In Jnana yoga, the mind is used to inquire into its own nature and to transcend the mind's identification with its thoughts and ego.

At this stage there are people reading this that do not believe in God, and may choose not to read any further. But for people who want to investigate the nature of God and their own existence, they are encouraged to read on.

The catch with the suggested methods is that they take effort and discipline, but even some practice will calm the mind of the practitioner. However, none of these methods are based on belief.

Then there is the non dual way, or Advaita Vedanta.

This is another powerful Spiritual teaching. Advaita says (all is one), not-two. It is a school of philosophy and practice, a path to spiritual realization. The term Advaita refers to its idea that the soul (true Self, Atman) is the same as the highest metaphysical Reality (Brahman, God). The followers of Advaita seek spiritual liberation through acquiring vidya (knowledge) of their true identity as Atman, Self, Soul and the identity of Atman, Self, Soul and Brahman, God.                     

Adi Shankara, an early 8th century Indian philosopher and theologian who consolidated the doctrine of Advaita Vedanta, knew that people would wonder how he could say such an odd thing as, that the Soul (true Self, Atman) is the same as the highest metaphysical Reality (Brahman, God). He realized that many people would ask: "if a person's Soul is really one with God all along, then what makes a person feel so separate from God?" His answer to this was that man is ignorant of his real Self being God, because he sees through a kind of filter, like looking through a dirty piece of glass and he called it maya, which means "illusion"(nothing is as it appears) in Sanskrit. Shankara said that our ignorance makes us feel very separate from God, and even from everything around us. He suggested that the best way people can find the truth is for them to try to clear their thinking of all ignorant thoughts and think very hard about who they really are. He said that if a person did all that,  he would realize that God was himself.

This is a very different idea from some other religions where we are told we are separate from God and need to go to Him. In Advaita, the idea is that people never really were separate from God, but their ignorance made them see it that way.

All the religions of the world and all Spiritual aspirations fall into two main groups. One group is searching for God, the other pursues self inquiry, asking who am I, what is the purpose and meaning of life?

Searching for the reality of God and searching for the Self that we are, are two realities, two inquiries.

Let’s look at the religions of the world. (The root of the word ‘religion’ lies in the Latin word ligare, to bind).

Some are God oriented and others are not God oriented.

Christianity, Islam, Judaism and some forms of Hinduism are God oriented,

Buddhism, Jainism (Jainism is an ancient religion from India that teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live a life of harmlessness and renunciation),

Sankhya philosophy and yoga, all are about Self Realization and mediation. Buddhism is not concerned about God; some parts of Buddhism actually deny the existence of God. Sankhya does not talk about God. Yoga investigates the nature of God.

Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages.

With the God Centered approach, one has to start with believing in God. For people who do not question, and who go to the church or temple only to worship, there is no issue. The problem starts when one asks question that do not specifically pertain to scriptural or dogmatic texts. One is constantly reminded of what the scriptures say and that it is all about faith.

The self inquiry method in this respect has an advantage over the belief system, since it is not based on faith. It starts with saying that man exists and that his existence is self evident; but what about disadvantages? One could say, what is the use of knowing that I exist? My existence is surrounded by all kinds of difficulties; it is threatened by disease and death, by frustration and failure. It is also troubled by desire and ambition.

On the God centered approach these problems do not exist. God is perfect, omniscient, omnipresent, all loving and good. If He exists, my existence is not at doubt, but since I have a lot of problems, I may doubt whether God really cares it.

What then is a solution for those who doubt the existence and benevolence of God and those who are not concerned about Self Inquiry?

Advaita, the Non Dual Vedanta brings both approaches together. Leaving out both of the problems and combining the advantages. It combines the certainty of individual existence with the Infinitude of God.

The doubt about the existence of God is done away with (since all is God). We are not the mind/body complex; we are the Self, one with God. The infinitude of God removes the finiteness of the personal self.

Our existence and God’s existence are secure. What has to be eliminated is the thought of our finite existence. This is the meaning of Tat Tvam ASI That thou art. The individual thou or Tat, the Self in its original, pure, primordial state is wholly or partially identifiable or identical with the Ultimate Reality God that is the ground and origin of all phenomena.

The primary objective of spiritual practices is the liberation in consciousness, in the attainment of inner freedom. However, as long as one identifies himself with the material body, rather than with one’s intrinsic spiritual nature, the Self, he fills his wants according to his heart’s desires and as a result remains in bondage, since the desires of the flesh can never be satisfied.

Why do we suffer? We suffer because of ignorance (erroneous conceptions). When believing, that this material creation is all that exists and that there is no beyond. When we don’t recognize that this material plane is nothing but a mere play of ideas of the eternal spirit of God, being the only Real Substance, then we live in ignorance.

Ignorance manifests in man as egoism, attachment, aversion and blind tenacity. Egoism results in a lack of discrimination between the physical body and the real Self, between Spirit and Nature. Tenacity is a result of natural conditioning (belief in nature and her laws as final, instead of belief in the all causative power of Spirit) Attachment means thirst for the objects of happiness. Aversion means desire for the removal of the objects of unhappiness.

So why does man suffer? He suffers as a result of the influence of ignorance, egoism, aversion, and tenacity to the material creation. He involves himself in egoistic works and in consequence he suffers. How does he remove the ignorance? Through knowledge.

It is hoped, that the insight into these various religious and spiritual practices can serve as a guide for people who sincerely look for an expansion of their inner lives. After all, we become what we think, but ultimately we need to go past the mind in order to realize who we really are.

What man really wants is contentment of the heart, inner joy. Being content, he can fix his attention on anything he chooses and can comprehend all its aspects.

Through the realization, that we are ever existing, ever conscious, ever new joy, bliss, the heart becomes purified and one is not only a reflecting of the light, but become the light. This is known as being anointed with the Holy Spirit.

Ponder this, when we realize who we really are, by seeing ourselves as one with God we are free while still in this physical body.