Excerpt from Return to Meaning by Dr. Andrew Cort All religions have two aspects -- an external exoteric teaching for the masses, and an internal esoteric teaching (also known as the Mysteries) for an inner circle of disciples. One of the achievements of Jesus of Nazareth was to bring the hidden Mysteries out into the open, into the flow of history, where any of us can find them. Of course, this does not guarantee that we will understand them. The external teaching describes historical events, and asks people to (1) believe that the history is accurate, (2) have faith in various claims that are made in the narrative, and (3) learn certain lessons about social morality and ethics that the stories exemplify. So the exoteric side of religion protects people by teaching us a moral way to live our lives, and it gives us Faith and Hope.The stories and claims of the different traditions, of course, are very different. The internal teaching has a very different purpose. When western myths and scriptures are interpreted in a symbolic, allegorical way – rather than merely as literal history – they are all found to have the same underlying meaning and purpose: they present a uniform psychological method for the enlightenment of the human soul. In other words, the esoteric teaching always presents the method for spiritual initiation. The necessary inner steps do not vary (whether we call it “Baptism”, “Crossing the Red Sea”, or “Traversing the River Styx”, for example), and neither does the goal: As the Muslims say, “There is no God but God.” When this stunning underlying unity is recognized, the justification for religious bigotry disappears, the atheist observation that “these stories are irrational” becomes irrelevant (even if true), and the enmity between science and religion is defused. Externally, the wonderful diversity of stories that we find in different cultures is a tribute to the magnificence of the human imagination. The Greeks presented their wisdom teaching in stories about fanciful gods and goddesses; the Jews presented their wisdom teaching in stories that chronicle the adventures of their ancestors; the Christians presented their wisdom teaching by telling the life-story of one amazing figure, Jesus; the Muslims also presented their wisdom teaching through the life-story of another amazing figure, Muhammad. All of these stories seem different on the outside. But on the inside they all tell the same story. Through allegories and symbols, the stories consistently weave the tale of a soul – your soul – that has descended into material life and must now do the work to find its way home again. This inner journey, the basis for all 'Sacred Quest' legends, has been called "The Return to the Promised Land", "Persephone's Ascent to Olympus", "The Resurrection of the Soul", "The Quest for the Holy Grail", and many other names. Everything that happens along the way – the wars, the joys, the obstacles that are overcome - must all occur deep within oneself.
endless reasons for beating each other over the head, why not appreciate all the magnificent ways in which these stories have been told. |
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