I see a crisis facing the world today. It is fundamentally one of identification. People identify themselves with limited characteristics such as gender, race, religion and nationality, forgetting their basic identity as part of the universal spirit. These limited identifications lead to conflict both globally and on a personal level.

 

Every individual is much more than the sum of these limited identifications. The highest identification we can make is that we are part of Divinity, and only second are we human beings and members of the human family. In divine creation, the whole of the human race is united.

 

Along with the proper identification of our true nature, we need to return to the values that are the essence of all major traditions. Religion has three aspects: values, rituals and symbols. Moral and spiritual values are common to all traditions, and the symbols and practices — those rituals and customs that form a way of life within a religion are what distinguish one tradition from another and give each of them their charm! The symbols and practices are like a banana skin, and the spiritual values — the quest for truth and awareness of our divinity — are the banana. However, people in every tradition have thrown away the banana and are holding onto the skin.

 

This distinction, between value, ritual and symbol, was made in ancient times. The Sanskrit term smriti refers to those practices that are appropriate to time and place, those things that are time-bound. Shruti refers to those values that are timeless.

 

In the right order of things, what is time-bound is secondary to what is timeless or eternal. However, in all the traditions, we find the order inverted. People tend to honour what is time-bound — symbols and practices, give them an individual identity- more than the values, which are timeless. Then fanaticism flourishes and the differences have to be defended. We can see this today in the wars taking place around the world in the name of religion. If we could focus on values, the larger truth that the symbol represents, then most of the conflict in the world would be resolved.

 

Symbols vary between religions because they relate to the relative factors of location, environment and time. The crescent moon and star on the flag of Islam were chosen by people living in a desert region, where evening is a pleasant relief from the scorching heat of the day. The sun was chosen as a religious symbol in Japan and in Tibet, where it gives welcome warmth and a feeling of elevation. Symbols are relative, but they are intended to lead us to something beyond the symbol — to the essence of religion. We need to reach for the deeper values and not be distracted by the apparent differences.

 

Practices are also time-bound, dictating how you should dress, what name you are to take, what you can eat, how many wives you may have and how a person should be punished if they make some mistake. In all traditions you find practices like these that were necessary at the time they were instituted, but may no longer serve a good purpose today. In the Koran, it is prescribed that if someone steals, their hand must be cut off and at one time a Christian who wanted to be religious had to take a vow of poverty. Jains were not allowed to touch money (this dilemma was solved by having someone accompany them to carry their money for them) and Jews could do no work on the Sabbath. Those who follow this rule today cannot turn on a light switch.

 

Human values are social and ethical norms common to all cultures and societies as well as religions. They represent a melding of social progress, justice and spiritual growth.

 

The timeless values are:

 

A deep caring for all life; l A responsible attitude toward the planet; l Non-violence; Compassion and love; l Friendliness and compassion; l Generosity and sharing; Integrity, honesty and sincerity; l Moderation in one’s activity; l Service; l Commitment and responsibility; l Peace, contentment, enthusiasm

 

Much of the misery that has come into the world in the name of religion can be avoided by reintroducing these shared values. And it is not necessary to use guilt and fear to promote these values. You will find in the history of all religious systems in the world, that guilt and fear were used to control people, but such discipline is not needed today. At this time we need only to cultivate love and understanding.

Objects will gain value and lose value, but space will never lose value. When you buy a cup, what do you give the value for? Do you give money for the space inside, or for the outer material? Have you ever thought about it? If you have a lump of clay in your hand, is there any value for it? But when the lump of clay is made into a cup, you give value for the space. And that value will never diminish. The purpose of the space is always served. Whether it is a stainless steel glass, stainless steel cup, or glass, or china clay, or silver cup, the space inside the cup is what really serves, isn’t it? That is what really matters. Space can never lose its value.

 

So what is precious? Whatever you think is very precious is very costly, very expensive. The most expensive things are least used! They’re least useful. How do you put value on something – by its utility, or by its rareness of availability? If something is available in plenty, you don’t value it more. Why do you value gold so much, or diamonds so much, or any precious stones so much? It is because they are not easily available. If diamond is just found on all over the street or if the mountains are just diamonds, everywhere, who would value diamonds, right? So what is more valuable? It is that which is useful.

 

Take, for example, iron and gold. Gold is more expensive and iron is basically essential and useful. Without iron, you will collapse. Your body needs iron every second to survive. Iron is valuable, because it is the most useful thing. And whatever is most useful, what is most valuable for your life is available in plenty. Water is most essential in life. You value water, air etc which are so essential in life, and they’re available in plenty. Isn’t it? Now which is precious – iron or gold? You can live without gold, but you cannot live without iron.

 

We have a whole wrong system of evaluation in the world! We value useless things a lot. A piece of stone, red, or yellow, or pink, or whatever, is very rarely available and so we want it even if it is so expensive! We put all our earnings, all our money into it. But that is not essential to life at all! To have that diamond, emerald or jade etc, people breathe in all the polluted air all the time, work day and night, earn a lot of money, and put them in the jewellery. Is this not utter foolishness? What is most precious, your health, you are destroying. You’re not breathing in good air, but you are buying diamond and whatnot… those precious stones! This is lack of education!

 

There are two types of sadhaks or seekers. The first type of seekers is those having the capability and capacity to digest knowledge, and act according to knowledge. The other type of seekers are those who make mistakes, knowingly make mistakes and feel sorry for them later on. To repeat, the second type of sadhaks is those who make mistakes but who are pained by their own mistakes. Even then, you are on the path of devotion, because the pain of not having done something that you should be doing or should have done will make you deep. If you cover your mistake, you will not even feel bad about it deeply. If you feel deeply bad about it, you feel your helplessness, your weakness, that weakness itself can make you a prayerful seeker. And then you will see whatever that was bothering you will fall away from you. Whatever habit you don’t want to have, you’ll feel that it has fallen off from you when you cry for help.

 

It is said, the Divine dawns in you when you cry for it, when you sing for it. When you sing, very quickly the Divine love comes back to you, dawns on you again; it comes to one’s experiences. This is for sure!

 

The Divine is only waiting for you to dig a little deeper into yourself; that is all. Because it can then fill you with much more nectar! The deeper you are, you’ll be filled with more nectar. Divine is waiting to give you more. It wants you to create more space in you.

 

Cry from your soul for help. This is for those seekers who are weak. Those seekers who are strong, for them, with the power of knowledge they can sing with that joy of what they have achieved! Sing with the gratitude in your heart. Sing the glory of the Divine. The moment you sing in gratitude, in glory of the Divine, it immediately dawns in you, and fills you up again.

 

There are two aspects. One is a seeker who is grateful for all his growth and all that he has received, so grateful with the knowledge. The other is so helpless and weak due to own weakness. And both will be helped. And both can grow when they both sing. Because in that singing, either with pain or with joy and gratitude, the Divine dawns and the experience happens, for sure!

 

Of all the truths in the world, Divine love alone is the supreme. Because anything else you do, be it a righteous action, if it has no love behind it, that action is worthless. Suppose you have knowledge and the knowledge does not create love and totality of awareness in you, that knowledge is useless! How can you even have the knowledge if there is no love? If you love astronomy then you will go more deep into it. Of the eternal truth, only love stands, and it is the most important. And what is Love? Love is not just an emotion – “Oh, I love you so much.” That’s not love. Love is seeing that there is no difference. “I am you, you are me. You are part of me, I am part of you.” Feeling that oneness is love. And it’s not just an intellectual understanding, but coming in the level of experience and living that.

 

Living life as joy and ease is spirituality. Spirituality is not some ritual, or doing something. It’s a very pleasant, uplifted state of your being and seeing that the whole world is all spirit or consciousness. Seeing that there is one Big Mind among all the human beings, animals and all the life in the world is spirituality, and that Love is the essence of Life.