Religions meet where they take their source in God’, wrote Pope John Paul II. The truth of his statement was seen at a retreat earlier this month in the UK for religious and spiritual leaders. Thirty participants, including representatives of the Hindu, Islamic, Sikh, Christian, Jewish and Buddhist faiths, came together in meditative silence at the Brahma Kumaris Global Retreat Centre, Oxford.
Deep inner silence connects us to a mystical power that strengthens our ability to live with truth, and to develop virtues such as contentment, compassion, humility, and love. Beliefs differ about the nature of this power, and the practices that help us draw on it. The core experience is the same, however, and when we find our inner peace, we are always in a better place to bring about peace in the world around us.
It was a power known to the founders of the great faiths like Abraham, Mohammed, Jesus Christ, and the Buddha, and to sages and great leaders such as Ramakrishna, Mahatma Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela. It is an energy of truth, which has always run through human affairs.
And yet… it seems to be in very short supply today. So often, religions fight rather than bring light. Many people have put their faith in science instead, but this has little to tell us about consciousness and the inner being. The materialism driving modern economies has brought us to the brink of financial and environmental disaster.
As a way out of this crisis, leaders of the World Economic Forum are working towards a technocratic solution they call ‘The Great Reset’. But might a ‘Great Login’ be the better way forward?
This would be a spiritual reset, in which we stop trying to fix the fragmented system, and reconnect instead to the ultimate, non-physical Source of the greatness of the human spirit.
I used to be sceptical of all such ambitions, but have learned that experience of the divine, linked to clear understanding, really can uplift our character. Understanding is vital. We need to know that we are eternal souls, and that our true nature is of love, peace and happiness. Yes, all sorts of other stuff is there, but we have a parent – God, the Supreme Soul – waiting to welcome us with open arms when we are ready to let go even briefly of our identification with the physical body and its relationships. Once our minds have tasted the sweetness of this reunion with the unchanging One, we learn how to come back to that experience again and again.
Even while continuing to play our roles on the stage of the world, we build a different awareness inside. It is called a pilgrimage of remembrance. As in the video games that bind the attention of many young people, there are distractions, and pitfalls. This is because previously, like orphans struggling to survive in a harsh world, many of us developed ways of coping that limited our humanity. These included egotistical fancies as well as falsely critical attitudes towards ourselves and others.
Such negativity binds us in a limited consciousness, not aligned with our true self. So, for the Great Login to be successful, it has to be renounced. We have to hold in mind instead the goodness within the self, and see it in others. This opens up a channel of delightful communication between the soul and the Supreme. With practice, we can have that One as our Companion in all that we do.
The login only takes a second. The challenge lies in staying logged in. The reward is a heart filled with happiness, a mind like a diamond, and a life filled with the joy of selfless service.
Neville Hodgkinson
Neville Hodgkinson is a UK-based author and journalist, and a long-time student of Rajyoga.
