Death on Earth: How The World's Wildlife Vanished

harry haller · #10 (**permalink**) 16-May-2012, 22:20 PM

Vouthonji

I am sure there are many aspects of Catholicism that do not mesh with Sikhism so perfectly and completely as the quotes you bring to this forum, how refreshing that you, as a Catholic bring to the table what we have in common, rather than what divides us, if only others of different religions were as enlightened as yourself, maybe their standing on this forum would be as great as your own
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/nature/38499-death-earth-how-worlds-wildlife-vanished.html
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=38499

icecreamkaur
*

Archived_member15 · #11 (**permalink**) 16-May-2012, 23:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harry haller

Vouthonji

I am sure there are many aspects of Catholicism that do not mesh with Sikhism so perfectly and completely as the quotes you bring to this forum, how refreshing that you, as a Catholic bring to the table what we have in common, rather than what divides us, if only others of different religions were as enlightened as yourself, maybe their standing on this forum would be as great as your own

icecreamkaur

My dear brother Harry Haller ji mundahug

Much love and joy to you my friend! I am very humbled by your kind words.

I bring no dogma, no doctrines, no creeds of my religious tradition to any of the forums that I am on, you are spot on. That would be plain offensive, not to mention out of keeping with a spirit of true tolerance and compassion for our brothers and sisters of different faiths.

Doctrine divides, separates, whereas the virtues, mysticism, love for creation, immanence and transcedence of God and everything else we hold in common highlights the underlying unity of all religions, bare of doctrinal differences and diversity of rites and customs. In truth I believe that there is only one religion in a diversity of religious faiths if we get to the very heart.

You will never see me mention dogmas such as the Trinity, or Incarnation, or whatever else, only the bonds that unite us in common around the One Truth. And believe me, when you dig that deep, it is amazing how much great spiritual hearts from the world religions have in common, despite doctrinal differences. After all, each one of us - no matter what our faith tradition - is engaging with and experiencing one, single, supreme, divine mystery.

Truth is One! But its forms an manifestations are many, as the Hindu adage goes.

What I so admire most about Sikhism, amidst many things, is the lack of doctrine. This makes Sikhi one of the most, if not thee most, universal of religions, the most open, most all-embracing.

I believe only in touching the soul - the outer aspects of religion, the pomp and doctrine and what-not, can look elsewhere. gingerteakaur

"...The way of truth is one. But into it, as into a perennial river, streams flow from all sides..."

- Saint Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 - c. 220), Church father

All the great mystics, from Guru Nanak to Jalaluddin Rumi to Blessed Jacopone da Todi, have reached a stage where - having let go of all egoistic attachments - they come to feel as if they possess all, transcending doctrinal, religious, ethnic, racial distinctions and indeed time and place itself and nationality, country of origin. Everthing in creation, everybody, every religion now belongs to them.

Thus the great Sufi mystics Rumi and Ibn Arabi wrote:

I profess the religion of love,
Love is my religion and my faith.
My mother is love
My father is love
My prophet is love
My God is love
I am a child of love
I have come only to speak of love

- Jalaluddin Rumi (1207 – 1273), Sufi mystic

My heart has become capable of all forms:
A pasture for gazelles, a monastery for monks,
A temple for idols, the Kabah of the pilgrims,
The tablets of Torah, the Book of Quran.
I profess the religion of Love.
Whatever direction love’s camels take,
That is my religion and my faith.

- Ibn Arabi (1165 – 1240), Sufi mystic

And the Catholic mystic Blessed Jacopone da Todi writes:

"...France and England are mine, from sea to sea;
So firm is my grip,
No one takes up arms against me.
Mine is Saxony, mine is Guascogne,
Mine are Burgundy and all of Normandy.

Mine the kingdom of Prussia and that of Bohemia,
Hibernia and Roumania, Scotland and Frisia.
Mine is Tuscany and the valley of Spoleto

...

Mine is Campagna, the Roman hills, and the plains of Lombardy;
Mine are Sardinia, Cyprus, Corsica, and Crete,
And unknown kingdoms and numberless subjects beyond the seas -
Medes, Persians, Elamites, Syrians and Mongols,
Georgians, Ethiopians, Indians and Muslims

...

Land, fields full of flowers, trees,
Succulent fruits, livestock - all at my command, all mine.

Lakes, rivers, and oceans teeming with fish,
Air, winds, birds - all pay me joyful homage.
Moon and sun, sky and stars, are but minor treasures:
The treasures that make me burst into song
Lie beyond the sky that you can see.

Since my will is centered in God, who possesses all,
I wing with ease from earth to heaven.
Since I gave my will to God
All things are mine and I am one with them
In love, in ardent charity

...

Spiritual poverty, deepest wisdom, you are slave to nothing,
And in your detachment you possess all things.

God does not dwell in a heart that's confined,
And a heart is only as big as the love it holds.

Where God enters in, the old world is swept away,
Lover and Beloved are fused in wondrous union.
Love no longer needs the heart,
Nor knowledge the intelligence - our will is His.

To live as myself and yet not I,
My being no longer my being,
This is a paradox
We cannot pretend to understand!

Spiritual poverty is being attached to nothing, wanting nothing,
And possessing all things in the spirit of freedom..."

- Blessed Jacopone Da Todi (c.1230-1306), Italian Catholic mystic