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Yogic Spirituality And Islam > Page1
A number of those who proclaim that all religions are one like to carry this principle further and
make the founders of all religions into Divine incarnations (avatars). They would equate
such figures as Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Mohammed, and Moses as if there were no
fundamental difference between them and their teachings. Such people are generally influenced by yogic spirituality that perceives a unity
of Truth behind all religions and regards religion as a means to Self-realization or union
with God. They would see a common yogic spiritual
experience behind all religions and proclaim that the founders of all important religious
movements were great yogis and Self-realized sages as if that were the only model of
religion possible.
They may lump together
belief-oriented religions-like Christianity and Islam-along with meditation
traditions-like Hinduism and Buddhism-which can be very different, and leave out religious
traditions that have no organized approach like Native American and African traditions. To
explain the evident differences between yogic spirituality and other religions, they
propose that the teachings of the founders of the religions-like Christ or Mohammed-were
misinterpreted and that what was originally a path to God-realization based on a yogic
model in time became reduced to a dogma, church or ritual by followers who lost track of
the internal dimension of the teaching.
They would claim the same for Hinduism to explain the
difference between its yogic and ritualistic approaches. There are clearly common
factors between all religions, particularly ethical principles of leading a good life,
though there are differences on this level as well. The religious or mystical experience
has yet more similarities, though it is not all of the same type either, as the different
levels and stages of spiritual growth reveal.
Author : David Frawley
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