RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY AND THE MODERN WORLD

There is only One Divine Reality or Supreme Being, which is both beyond all names and forms and has an unlimited number of names and forms. One can call it Shiva, Vishnu, Divine Mother, the Creator, Buddha, Allah or whatever one likes. All the names and forms of the Divine which human beings have developed through time have their validity. But we must transcend names and form, even the name of God, to find That Reality which is beyond all material and mental limitation.

We don't think that the English word for grapes is the only legitimate word for grapes and those who call grapes by any other name know nothing about this particular fruit. Yet in religion some groups may insist that the name for God belonging to their particular community is the only true name and should other people call upon that spiritual reality by another name, they must be calling upon something else or even worshipping something undivine.

The name is not the thing. Even a person cannot be reduced to a single name. How much less so the Infinite Being? God has all names and transcends all names. What is important is to know that Reality not to try to impose one name or one idea about it on all humanity. A name for God enables us to establish a relationship with that transcendent Reality. Generally the name reflects various Divine qualities - like love, peace, or truth - which allow us a means of access to that higher Truth.

Repetition of Divine names is perhaps the easiest method of directing the mind to Truth. But when we limit that transcendent Reality to a mere name, which is a collection of letters, then the name itself becomes the factor of illusion and separation. We must use the name as a messenger to contact the Being, not merely worship the name itself. Ultimately we are that Being and his name is our name, which our every breath and heartbeat proclaims.

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