I have come to realise that the need to identify with only one religion is a concept developed by abrahamic monotheists in the levant. This rejection and intolerance of syncretic approach to spirituality is actually at odds with most traditional south, east & south east asian societies approach to spirituality- Hinduism is a highly syncretic religion by itself needless to explain. But there are many other examples as well- The Chinese synthesised taoism, buddhism, animistic ancestral worship into a cohesive gradient of religions. The Indochinese and the western Melayo polynesian syncretised hinduism, buddhism and shamanism into every aspect of their life. The Japanese synthesised their indigenous shintoism with a form of buddhism & taoism hybrid. The examples goes on. The point here is that a monist approach to spirituality is not the only way to live spiritually, in fact, theopanism and the identification with multiple religious tradition, is not only deeply ingrained in our psyche, it also reflects a more mature and holistic approach to spirituality characteristic of south, east, and south east asian civilisations. Similarly, this theopanism approach can be utilised by spiritual atheists as well. Many atheists are atheistic in the sense that they are against the levantine monotheistic theologies and are not ready to presume to know god through neolithic lenses, but are nonetheless spiritual beings that accepts the reality of human spirituality and the subjectivity of human reality. Just like the ten incarnations of vishnu, spirituality reveals itself through many facets and not one is complete! To take a personal example - Hinduism provides the lore and the metaphor from which i draw inspiration and understanding of my reality, my cosmos, and to give them meanings. Buddhism and the achievements of the buddhas, represents the ultimate (non)-self realisation a human can achieve, and serves as an aspirational yardstick for which I attempt to comprehend. Confusionism provides the backdrop for an ethnically and culturally chinese person, to connect with my past, to honour in our way, our ancestors that came before. Taoism, for me to have learnt it from western and indian sources instead of from within my own culture, represents the universality of the spirituality & the science of being at ease with human reality. Christianity represents the paradox of human reality, whereby the ideal of maha karuna in buddhism, manifests itself completely in a very real jesus christ of nazareth, instead of relying on a fictional avalokitesvara. To modify slightly what Sam Harris conclude in the video - we [can] avoid pseudo science & we [can] avoid pseudo spirituality, [by being spiritual atheists, we are embracing] the full spectrum of human experience and talk about it rationally.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 08:27:34 +0000
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