Humanity – Our Place in The Universe

The Central Beliefs of the World’ Religions

Copyright © 2011 by Colin Drake

First Edition

All rights reserved.  No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted, for commercial purposes, without written permission from the author.

Published by Beyond Awakening Publications, Tomewin

Cover design and other titles by the author:

Beyond the Separate Self

The End of Anxiety and Mental Suffering

A Light Unto The Self

Self Discovery Through Investigation of Experience

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Awakening and Beyond

Self-Recognition and its Consequences

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Awareness of Awareness

The Open Way

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The Happiness That Needs Nothing

Pointers to That Which is Always Here

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Poetry From Beyond The Separate Self

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Poetry From Being A Light Unto The Self

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Poetry From Awakening and Beyond

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Poetry From Awareness of Awareness

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All of these titles are available as: e-books and in hard copy at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/ColinDrake

Contents

Humanity – Our Place in The Universe

Introduction

Chapter One

Judaism

Chapter Two

Christianity

Chapter Three

Islam

Chapter Four

Hinduism

Chapter Five

Buddhism

Chapter Six

Ramakrishna – A Living Example

Chapter Seven

Comparison and Conclusion

Glossary

Bibliography by Chapters

About The Author

Introduction

This book considers the place of humanity in the universe according to the world’s major religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. This is accomplished by exploring the correlation between self-identity and world-view in each of these in turn; that is to say, the interaction between the way in which adherents of a particular religious viewpoint see, or define, themselves and the way in which they see and relate to the world. This exploration requires examining the central beliefs of these religions, for it is within the framework of these beliefs that the concepts of self-identity and world-view become apparent. There are many different forms of self-identity, examples being materialist, dualist, monist, universal and even that of no-self (anatta) in Buddhism. These inform and are informed by one’s view of the world and one’s place in it, and a change in either, by religious conversion for example, may radically change the other.

This analysis highlights the similarities and differences of the place and function of the individual in the world‘s five major religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. It also shows why some religions stress participation in the world and human affairs, whereas others are more focussed on the personal journey towards enlightenment and considers the relationship between self-identity and the belief, or lack of belief, in the afterlife. The world-view of each religion helps explain the different lifestyles adopted by its adherents, some seemingly centred on material acquisition and enjoyment, others on being ‘good’ so as to gain entry to heaven, others on devoting oneself or submitting to a chosen deity and finally the path of detachment and spiritual practices to attain enlightenment.

The world-view to be considered is the purely religious view of an adherent to a particular religious system and not the political, legalistic, or cultural view which may be imposed by the authorities of this system in different parts of the world. This religious view should be common to adherents of each system worldwide and is primary to the shaping of a sincere follower’s world-view, whereas the local political, legalistic and cultural mores of that system are variable and should be of secondary importance in the formation of a devotee’s view of the world. The laws, rules, rituals and practices specified in the system’s scriptures are part of the framework in which an adherent can achieve life’s purpose, as specified by that system, but are not to be considered here, as this part of the framework lies outside the scope of this book.

In order to study this religious view, I will consider five elements, that is to say, the way that religious systems answer the five big existential questions:

1. God: Is there a God, or an Absolute and if so what is its nature?

2. Creation: How was the universe created and what is the nature and purpose of this creation?

3. The Nature of Man: What is the essential nature of a human being – are we ephemeral material beings or do we possess some kind of indestructible essence?

4. The Purpose of Life: What is the purpose of life?

5. The Afterlife: What happens upon the death of the human body? Does this entail annihilation or is there some kind of afterlife and, if so, what is its nature?

As can be clearly seen, the world-view based on the answers to these questions contain the notion of self-identity such that a sudden change of one’s conception of self-identity by a religious experience or sudden conversion will lead to a significant change of one’s world-view.

In each religion is presented the orthodox or fundamental view, based entirely on that religion’s scriptures, and at least one other view that has developed since these scriptures were written down. However, this book does not consider how or when these developments came about, for it is the present day view of the world and self-identity within these religious systems that is being studied. For instance, if you are a Catholic and thus believe that you possess (are in fact) an immortal soul, this is what is important to you, and not how this idea developed from the interaction between early Christianity and Hellenistic philosophy. This brings up an important point: what is being studied is the interaction between world-view and self-identity in the religious system itself, and therefore only applies to someone who accepts and believes what that system says. A once a week ‘Sunday’ Catholic, or a sceptic born into Catholicism who uses it as an ‘insurance policy’, may find that her life is only marginally influenced by the Catholic world-view.

It is already becoming clear that discovering the answers to these five questions and thus the religious world-view within any religious system can only be done by studying that system from the inside out. That is to say, finding out what that system itself says and believes, either by studying the scriptures themselves with informed comment from those within that system, or by studying the writings and teachings of prominent leaders and commentators within the system. External commentators can be useful only where they are entirely sympathetic to the system in question and are thus unlikely to distort the views of that system based on their own views and prejudices. To ameliorate the effects of my personal bias, I have attempted to adopt an empathetic approach to each system studied.

The book is divided into five chapters, one on each of the religions being studied. In the Western tradition, Judaism is considered first, then Christianity and finally Islam, as they developed in that order, the latter two with the preceding religion(s) and their scripture(s) as a base. With regard to the Eastern religions, Hinduism is considered first, as the older Upanishads predate the birth of Buddha.[1]

The following scriptures are the primary sources used extensively in the sections on Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism: The Bible, The Qur’an, The Upanishads and The Bhagavad Gita. When the first three are quoted, two translations were checked against each other, and where there were substantial differences the alternate translation is provided in brackets. In the section on Gaudiya Vaishnavism, all quotes from the Bhagavad Gita are from the translation by A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who is the foremost authority of this sect of Vaishnavism. In this case no other source was used as it is the world-view of this stream of Vaishnavism which is being studied. In all of the above cases each quote is not individually footnoted, but the chapter and verse numbers are provided and the translations of the scriptures used are given in the bibliography. In the section on Buddhism all quotes are individually referenced as there is no single major scriptural source.

With regard to secondary sources, I relied on experts from within each system being studied, for these are the ones that enunciate the world-view of that system without any external interpretation. This means that books by, and websites of, such people as rabbis, theologians, priests, imams, Sufi masters, Swamis, gurus, Buddhist monks and Tibetan lamas, were all useful. External commentators were only accessed where they either quote such sources or where the writer is either a follower of, or obviously sympathetic to, the system in question.

Each chapter considers the five elements, that is, answers the big questions of world-view, from the scriptural and a later viewpoint. Within this enunciation of the world-view the concept of self-identity of the religious adherent becomes clear. These elements are studied in the same order within each religion: God, creation, man’s nature, the purpose of life and the afterlife. There is then an analysis of the correlation between this view of self-identity and each of the elements within the world-view to show how they interact with and help form each other.

Next there is a chapter on Sri Ramakrishna as an example of the themes discussed.  He was chosen as he followed many of these different paths, achieving the final goal of each one.  He is the only person I am aware of who accomplished this and his views can be considered with reference to both Hindu paths considered, plus those  of Christianity and Islam.  Finally there is a chapter which sums up and shows the similarities and differences between the religions discussed.

[1] P. Williams, Buddhist Thought, 2000, London, p.12

Chapter One

Judaism

In Judaism consideration is given to the orthodox scriptural view and that of Kabbalah, literally