One Path , Or Many ?

[opensoul7]

One path to God/Heaven/Enlightenment or many ? and Why.

 

[Hema]

Paths are many just like many rivers lead to the same ocean.

"Truth is one but is called by different names" - Rig Veda

Some of us call this truth Krishna, Christ, Allah, Buddha etc.

 

[Halcyon]

There are precisely seven paths to God, but only three are paved.

Seriously though, i figure there are as many paths to God as there are people, and that no one can walk a path that is someone else's - even if they're in the same religion.

 

[ayani]

God speaks to all of us in different way. i'm sure this has been expressed countless times! but this is a part of my faith- that His Word comes to us in many forms, which we may or may not be aware of. through faith, tradition, communion with others, reflection, etc. why should He not make Himself known through Krishna, Amida, or the Virgin Mary? i believe that His light can and does shine through anything in His mercy and love for us.

 

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings!

From the scriptures of the Baha'i Faith:

"There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God. The difference between the ordinances under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and exigencies of the age in which they were revealed. All of them, except a few which are the outcome of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose. Arise and, armed with the power of faith, shatter to pieces the gods of your vain imaginings, the sowers of dissension amongst you. Cleave unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you."

-- (The Proclamation of Baha'u'llah, page 114)

So I guess we'd say "many paths all leading to the same place."

Best,

Bruce

 

[opensoul7]

Hema , Halcyon , Gracie , Bruce,
There is Enlightenment in all your answers ! and I am also in agreeance , for I believe in many paths to the same source .Much like the answers all are worded differently but the essence is all the same ! Thank you

 

[Sunstone]

One path to God/Heaven/Enlightenment or many ? and Why.

Good thread!

Humans are a naturally diverse species. Just look at noses. There are all kinds of shapes and sizes to the human nose, but all human noses are recognizably human. So, too, there are all kinds of paths to Enlightenment.

But what's a path to Enlightenment? I don't buy the notion that there is any path that inevitably takes you all the way to Enlightenment. The best that paths do is remove any obstruction to Enlightenment. But they do not actually take you there. If they did, they would work 100% of the time. And no path works 100% of the time.

 

[autonomous1one1]

Greetings Opensoul. I agree with the wisdom already expressed; there is not just one path. I like to talk of three major paths: love & good works; knowledge & contemplation; and, silence/stillness of the mind & meditation. In practice, one often combines elements of these and there become many paths. I should add that some elements of these paths have been challenged in other threads.

 

[opensoul7]

excellent point Sunstone ! I had not looked at it that way , You have illuminated a new facet of thought for me .Thank you

 

[maro]

For me,
when it comes to beliefs , it's only one path , but when it comes to actions , there are many paths

 

[Zephyr]

Perhaps there are no paths to god. Just a thought.

 

[UnTheist]

There are no paths. Humans made them.

 

[XAAX]

One path to God/Heaven/Enlightenment or many ? and Why.

Each person has their own path. The limitations that they put on themselves with religious dogma determines how quickly they move upon that path...

 

[Bishka]

Each person has a different spiritual tempermant and will come unto God in their own way.

 

[standing_alone]

Perhaps there are no paths to god. Just a thought.

There are no paths. Humans made them.

I'm with these two. ^^

 

[maggie2]

As many paths as there are humans. We each must find our own path on this journey.

 

[baxter_crawford@bellsouth]

I believe in truth and simple logic dictates that someone must be nearer the truth than the other.

 

[Katzpur]

"How often do we hear it said, 'It doesn't matter what we believe. By different raods, we are all heading for the same goal.'? What assurance have we that all the different roads, mapped out by mere human beings, lead to the same goal?"

- John L. Wade -

 

[Quiddity]

If it's many, then my search doesn't matter. If it's one, then it does. The emperical plane doesn't normally function on "many answers are right", so why should the subjective plane be any different?

 

[opensoul7]

The emperical plane doesn't normally function on "many answers are right"

Doesn't normally is not a absolute
and in scientific method the end result is what your trying to prove .And different scientists try different theories to achieve a similiar outcome.Then there is also quantum wich can give different results depending on the observer, or lack thereof . And in life is it not the same , each observer is trying to find a similiar outcome , but recieves a slightly different response because of their uniqueness.And all the responses are true because they can neither be proven or disproven?