The World should not be divided into the Sacred and the Secular. This is a grave mistake. By creating such separation, we cheapen much of life. If you do not see the Sacred in everyday life, you will not take care and will not cherish the World.
Frank Herbert, in his great book Dune, makes the point that all religions are, to varying degrees, anti-life, and, with the possible exception of the animistic religions, this is true. Christianity and Islam, with their belief that the afterlife is what matters are surely guilty of this and the Eastern religions, with their belief in Nirvana, the goal beyond life and beyond all, are equally guilty.
I am not sure that the founders of these belief systems meant for their teachings to be taken that way. Actually, I am fairly sure they did not, but they lost control over those teachings and, for what ever reason, those religions do have a kind of distaste, if not a downright disgust, with life.
This should not be. Ask yourself this. Can you explain why anything exists? Why is that ant crawling over your kitchen table? Why is it raining? Why are you breathing? Ultimately, why is their something rather that nothing? No one, not even the great priests or scientists can answer that. It is a Sacred Mystery, beyond our understanding, likely beyond our capacity to understand. Thus, if you look at things the right way, everything is Sacred.
No comments:
Post a Comment