  Spiritual
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Hi, I'm Sophy ~ your editor for this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter. This week we'll talk about how compassion and social justice concerns are part of all relgious paths.
The Rev. Scotty McLennan, author of the book Finding Your Religion, compares humanity's innate need for spiritual searching to climbing a mountain. In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths. I honor whatever path or paths you have chosen to climb that mountain in your quest for the Sacred. 
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We Are More Alike Than We Are Different
Meister Eckhart spoke of God as “a great underground river that no one can dam up and no one can stop.” John Hale expounds on that image saying that “each faith tradition is like a house with a basement. Deep in the basement is a trap door. If you go deep enough, you fall through the trap door into the shared river that flows beneath all faiths, the source of them all.”
I believe that one aspect of “swimming” in that shared river includes a passion for social justice and outreach to those in need. Whether you use the name God, Allah, Brahma, or Lord – whatever your concept of the Sacred – at the core of each faith tradition is a foundation of compassion and caring for others. This is illustrated by two very different 20th Century men from two very different parts of the world – a Hindu and a Christian – whose passion for social justice and overcoming oppression were very similar.
Mohandas Gandhi studied a variety of religions including his own, Hinduism. As a young man he was given a copy of the New Testament and later wrote: “the Sermon on the Mount went straight to my heart… the verses, ‘But I say to you, resist not evil: but whosoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man take away your coat, let him have your cloak as well,’ delighted me beyond measure.” The Christian scripture of the Sermon on the Mount inspired Gandhi, and Jesus became a great spiritual teacher for him. Though Gandhi remained a Hindu and did not convert to Christianity, he did receive inspiration from the teachings of Jesus, and incorporated them into his own spiritual journey.
As Professor Terrence J. Rynne has said, Jesus’ message of “turn the other cheek” was the opposite of being passive for Gandhi; he saw it as a heroic and brave, perhaps the only way to break the cycle of violence that kept people oppressed. He saw it as not just a personal ethic, but as the best way for people to nonviolently respond to oppression. From that point Gandhi spent his life demonstrating that the Sermon on the Mount could be politically practical as he nonviolently opposed the British Empire and labored to improve the lives of his brothers and sisters in India. As he did so, he hoped that Christianity would be lived authentically as Christians grasped the true message of the Sermon on the Mount.
Gandhi’s hope achieved fruition when it seized the attention of a young, black, American Christian minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. Initially King believed that becoming a minister would be the best way to lead people of color to equality and freedom. But during a period of soul-searching he had, in his words, "despaired of the power of love in solving social problems." Serendipitously at this time he was introduced to the work of Gandhi, and was inspired by the life of one who successfully transformed the ethic of nonviolence into a political instrument against British colonial rule.
The impact Gandhi’s story made on Dr. King is best described in his own words: "As I read, I became deeply fascinated by his campaigns of nonviolent resistance. As I delved deeper into the philosophy of Gandhi, my skepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and I came to see for the first time its potency in the area of social reform. The 'turn-the-other-cheek' philosophy and the 'love-your-enemies' philosophy were only valid when individuals were in conflict with other individuals; when racial groups and nations were in conflict, a more realistic approach seemed necessary. But after reading Gandhi, I saw how utterly mistaken I was." From there it was a short journey to King’s own acceptance of Gandhi’s technique of nonviolence as the only viable means to overcome the problems faced by his people in the United States.
Gandhi and King were two men from different parts of the world who practiced different religions yet were able to find common ground in their fight for justice. If we could follow their example and concentrate on what we have in common rather than our differences, imagine how we could transform the world!
Sophy |
Below you'll find some offerings from other WDC members about compassion, justice, and caring for each other. Please let the folks know if you read their piece by leaving a thoughtful comment or review.
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Now for a few comments about my last newsletter on following your bliss:
From tonistar
Wonderful piece on Joseph Campbell! I especially enjoyed his words, " I even have a superstition that has grown on me as a result of invisible hands coming all the time - namely, that if you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living."
Good words and very inspiring!
Ann
Glad you liked it! I love Campbell. Thanks for writing in. 
    
From NOVAcatmando 
What a great story about the bus driver, I don't live in that area, so I hadn't heard it before. My grandma used to say 'bloom where you are planted' - a gardeners version of the grass isn't always greener...
Glad you enjoyed the story, and thanks for sharing your grandma's wisdom!
}
From fleckgirl
Sophy, I just recently signed up for the spiritual NL, [mostly out of curiosity & because I had thought someone specific would be the guest editor (mistaken)] but this was a very inspiring NL and I really connected with some of the theories you referred to, and found it interesting to ponder in comparison to the belief system I currently have, how it's the same & how it differs. Thanks for helping to make sure I keep spinning my mental wheels so they don't rust and stop!
Fleck
So glad you joined the Spiritual NL gang, and very glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
Please keep your comments and suggestions coming, they are greatly appreciated! And on behalf of myself and the other regular Spiritual Newsletter Editors larryp and kittiara -- thanks for reading!
Until next time! Sophy
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Spiritual: November 19, 2008 Issue [#2702]
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