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* * *
The Sage, noticing that some among his followers were disdaining of all religion, seeing themselves on a journey to find the way for themselves, spoke:
a spiritual pilgrim goes
many places
never leaving Home
ships voyage on the Sea
to gather treasure
treasure and ship
to return
to port
from which they had voyaged away
but never had from it gone
The Sage continued, "To travel anywhere, you must have somewhere to travel from."
* * *
A man, thinking himself spiritual, visited the Sage.
"Sir, do you think religion is still important, or have we evolved beyond it?"
"Why did you ask the question?" replied the Sage.
"Deeply spiritual persons as you and I do not need religion."
The Sage asked, "And what are the persons who need it?"
"They're immature, sir. They're weak and superstitious."
The Master spoke, "I'm thirsty. Are you?"
"I would enjoy some water," replied the man.
"Then, go get us some water."
The man went and came back with two glasses of water.
The Sage said, "Let's drink."
They began drinking.
"Why are you using the glass for drinking the water?" asked the Sage.
"How else could I drink it?"
"Well," laughed the Sage, "seems you're immature, weak, and superstitious. After all, water being water, why would you, so proficient at drinking water, need a glass."
* * *
Being religious does not mean we have to be in a religion, but we need religion. Why? What is this religion that may not take an institutional form, but a form nevertheless?
This religion is a system of form through which Spirit expresses Itself, the "higher" reaching into the "lower," or the "Subtle" into "matter." Form is a bridge between the Unseen and seen. These forms are widely diverse. They are means of Grace when encountered with a heart receptive to the Divine. Otherwise, they are merely things.
Some forms are more likely to inspire religiousness, or a response of spirit to Spirit. Religiousness is this response, a reply to the Sacred initiating within us the will to respond to the Whole in which we are part with all parts.
* * *
As to religion as superstitious . . . The use of form becomes superstition, when one sees it as efficient, regardless of the intent and consent of one utilizing it. Religion is not superstitious in itself, but persons can act superstitiously.
As to ritual becoming what has been called dead ritual . . . Not rightly engaging the form, this creates distance from its potential to facilitate connection with Spirit.
If we abdicate reliance on Spirit, we become enmeshed in form, the surfaces become a denuded flatland. The form that is present to unveil the Formless becomes an end in itself. If we withdraw form, we have nothing from which to experience Spirit, a place for Spirit to find grounding. As the spirit, or soul, grounds itself in contact with the body, Spirit grounds itself in matter, including forms that facilitate the remembrance of and a reply to the Sacred.
Indeed, all spirituality is a response to Spirit, or we lose the spirit of spirit-uality. Yet, how can we respond, unless Spirit is allowed a means, or place, to manifest? The Placeless reveals Itself in place, the Timeless in time. Even if we transcend a sense of place and time, this is grounded in place and time. We cannot lose grounding in home, if we do, we call that insanity. And to use any means to elevate the self apart from the body is to risk this insanity. All spirituality is embodied, the rest are child games; we are not meant to be flying spirits, not in the human domain.
* * *
We are wise to respect those of the past who engaged in religion and left its wisdom for us. We ignore them to our peril, listen to them to our blessing. Religion is the only system, past and present, that has provided, despite all its failures, a venue to relate with the Sacred, an entire system to realize the heart-longing for communion, even union, with Life.
As long as we are humans and long for this contact with the Sacred, we can anticipate religion will remain. While the shape of spirituality might change, the wisdom of the past remains. And the main question is not concerning being in a religion, instead, "How shall I respond to the Sacred?" And religiousness is the expression of that "Yes" to "Life." We much need that Yes, as much as ever before.
I leave you with two questions. Can we honestly look at those parts of the world in recent history that have suppressed religion and say that is the kind of world in which we wish to live? Can we truthfully look at the moral condition of the West and believe we do not need the wisdom of religion to inspire us to create a much better world?
* * *
©️ Brian Wilcox, 2020
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