Why should you think God is only one? Why can God also not be many? If God made man in his own image, what image is he? African, Mongolian, Caucasian, Japanese, Filipino? Why are there so many types of human beings and so many varieties of objects in nature?
There isn’t just one type of tree, fruit, vegetable or animal. When there is so much variety in the universe, why should God be only one? How could this consciousness that manifested this whole creation and that loves variety be monotonous? God loves variety, so He must be infinite variety Himself. God manifests in many names, forms and identities.
Some schools of thought do not give God the freedom to appear in His many forms. They want Him in one uniform!
You change your appearance to suit the occasion. When such is the case, how could you think there is no variety in the Spirit? Ancient people knew this, and that is why they cognised the divinity in infinite qualities and forms. The Spirit is not dull and boring.
The Spirit that is the basis of creation is dynamic and ever-changing. God is not only one, but many! When you accept the diversity in the Spirit, you cease to be a fanatic or a fundamentalist.
We have been using the term ‘religious tolerance’ too often. I think that these words are obsolete today. You tolerate only that which you don’t love. The time has come to love each other’s religions and faiths as one’s own. A religion is great not just because it is mine; it is great because of what it is. This understanding, when imbued in all the priests, clergymen and others who lead people in spiritual and religious light, would put an end to the fanaticism and fundamentalism going on in our beautiful world.
It would be nice if, together, we all could adopt a resolution that we would educate our children to understand a little bit about every religion in order to encompass a broader vision about life. No doubt, one must go deep in one’s own faith; at the same time, having an understanding about every other religion is essential today. Without meditation and universal brotherhood, which form the very essence of spirituality, religion remains just an outer shell.
