World Religions and their effects

Assuming a belief in reincarnation, it seems probable that we have incarnated into many ethnic groups besides our present one and have, therefore, been exposed to various religious beliefs other than those of our present family.

The basic tenets of all established religions are very similar. Each one teaches that love is a guiding force in the world and that it should be extended to others beyond the narrow circle of the immediate family. Another tenet common to all religions is that we should treat others as we would wish them to treat us. In very early times, God, or the source of all life, was thought to be a female, a Mother-Goddess. It is believed that the reason for this concept arose when primitive people observed that new life in the form of a baby issued from a woman and never from a man. Man’s role in the formation of a new being was probably not understood. It was therefore assumed that the Creator or Originator of the world must be feminine. Some of the earliest sculptures are of mother/fertility goddesses.

Gradually, the understanding of the man’s role dawned on some groups and the belief developed that the male role was the more important. Without impregnation by a man a woman could not bear children, so people began to project on to God, the Great Creator, a masculine image. This belief has continued in many parts of the world to this day. It is only slowly beginning to be replaced in more forward-thinking groups and individuals by the concept of a combined Mother-Father God. Actually, in India, the dual concept has been accepted for centuries. The clearest representation of it being Shiva-Shakti, where the assertive or active part of God is presented as Shiva and the feminine energy as Shakti.

In the West with the advent of psychology, and particularly with Carl Jung’s contributions to this field, the dual role within everyone is being accepted and understood by more and more people. The terms anima and animus, introduced by Carl Jung, have made it much easier to accept and discuss the dual role which is everyone’s birthright.

The Chinese have always referred to these two different energies as yin for feminine and yang for masculine. Their symbol representing the combination of the two acting together in all living things is a circle divided by a wavy line into two parts, in which a dark spot, or yin, is placed in the light, or yang, side and a light spot, or yang, in the dark, or yin, side. The dark signifies the feminine and the light the masculine energies, but each contains a part of the other. Apparently, the wise men in each main race of people received inspirationally or intuitively the original form of their belief and method of worship, which was designed to guide them in their daily life in the most practical manner. Each set of rules and customs was valid for a particular race or group. They were all slightly different from one another, but none can in any sense be thought better than others.

Over long periods of time, these original tenets gathered layers of beliefs and practices laid down by priests and/or shamans. They had their own reasons, a principal one being to gain control over the people. In this way, the differences between the world religions became more marked. But, unfortunately, the differences rather than the similarities of the original forms were emphasised, followers of each system averring that theirs was the only correct path to God. But all paths lead eventually to union with God. No one path is any better or more direct than any other, merely better suited to the temperament of a particular culture.

The pure core of teaching in each belief system should be retained. But it is necessary to detach oneself from erroneous practices, rules, teachings, superstitions, fears and taboos that have grown up around that central core, since it is these that bind people and render them incapable of pursuing their path back to the Godhead.