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the spiritual treasures of your religion?
- Thread starter Eddi
- Start date
The interconnectedness of everything. The fact that plurality means accepting others viewpoints without necessarily having to change them.
I really appreciate a positive thread like this. Thanks very much.
That humanity is my family. To love and accept everyone.
That humanity is my family. To love and accept everyone.
Secret Chief
Veteran Member
It wouldn't be RF it you weren't asked - what do you mean by "spiritual" ?
Regiomontanus
Eastern Orthodox
We are all created in the image and likeness of God.
"The image of God' has been understood by some Fathers as our free will and self-determination. 'When God in His supernal goodness creates each soul in His own image, He brings it into being endowed with self-determination', says St Maximus the Confessor. God created the person absolutely free: in His love He wishes to force him neither into good nor evil. In return, He does not expect from us blind obedience but love. It is only in our being free that we can be assimilated to God through love for Him.
Other Fathers identified as 'the image of God' the human person's immortality, his dominant position in the world and his striving towards good.
Our ability to create, as the reflection of the creative ability of the Maker Himself, is also regarded as being 'in God's image'. God is the 'worker': 'My Father is working still, and I am working', says Christ (John 5:17). The human person was also commanded to 'till' the garden of Eden (Gen.2:15), that is, to labour in it and to work the land. While the human person is unable to create ex nihilo ('out of nothing'), he can create from material given to him by God, and this material is the entire earth, over which he is lord and master. The world has no need to be improved by people; rather, humans themselves need to apply their creative abilities in order to be assimilated to God."
IMAGE AND LIKENESS - Orthodox Faith texts - Diocese of Sourozh
'So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He creat...
To do with religion as it is experienced and lived?
To do with a certain set of concerns, such as what exists and what is the best way to live and to treat others?
Something roughly like that anyway
For me, "people" doesn't just mean humans as an animist, but this is something that is true (as best we know) for all of the people whether they come on two legs, four legs, no legs, fins, feathers, roots, rhizomes, flagella, or whatever else I've missed.
We all come from Gaea, and to Gaea we all return.
Circle turn, turn, turn; what comes to be shall pass away; what pass away will come to be.
We all come from Gaea, and to Gaea we all return.
Circle turn, turn, turn; what comes to be shall pass away; what pass away will come to be.
This is also a treasure of Hinduism.
‘The world is but one family’ (vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam), which is a teaching in the Mahopaniṣad.
But, how hard it can be to genuinely see all peoples this way! Prejudice and ethnocentrism beget prejudice and ethnocentrism.
I was thinking most of Islam is controversial. If most of what it taught would be agreed upon, it would render almost the need of Messengers invalid. However, what it teaches about learning and seeking knowledge can be appreciated by almost all humans.
From Misbahal Shariah:
Ignorance:
Ignorance is a form whose composition is of this world. When it advances, there is darkness; when it retreats, there is light. The bondsman vacillates with it as shadows vacillate with the sun. Have you not looked at man? Sometimes you find that he is ignorant of his own qualities and praises them, while he recognizes their faults in others and criticizes them. At other times you find that a person knows his own nature and criticizes it, while praising the same in others. He vacillates between protection and disappointment. If he encounters integrity and protection, he is correct. If he encounters lack of assistance and desertion, he errs.
The key to ignorance is being satisfied with the knowledge one possesses, and placing all one's trust in it. The key to knowledge is the desire to exchange one level of knowledge for a higher level, together with divine grace and guidance. The lowest quality of an ignorant man is that he lays claim to knowledge which he does not deserve; his most common characteristic is ignorance of his own ignorance, and the most extreme aspect of his ignorance is to reject knowledge. There is nothing whose affirmation is the reality of its negation other that worldly ignorance and greed. All ignorant people are alike.
Knowledge and need to act on it:
knowledge is the basis of every sublime state and the culmination of every high station. That is why the Holy Prophet said, 'It is the duty of every Muslim, man and woman, to seek knowledge,' that is, the knowledge of precaution (taqwa) and certainty. Imam 'Ali (‘a) said, “Seek knowledge, though it be in China,” meaning the knowledge of gnosis of the self, in it is contained knowledge of the Lord.
The Holy Prophet said, 'Whoever knows his own self knows his Lord; moreover, you should acquire that knowledge without which no action is correct, and that is sincerity ... We seek refuge with Allah from knowledge which has no benefit', that is, from knowledge which is contrary to actions performed with sincerity.
Know that a small amount of knowledge requires a great deal of action, because knowledge of the Hour requires the person who has such knowledge to act accordingly during his entire life. ‘Isa (‘a) said, 'I saw a stone on which was written, "Turn me over", so I turned it over. Written on the other side was "Whoever does not act by what he knows will be doomed by seeking what he does not know, and his own knowledge will be turned against him." '
Allah revealed to David, 'The least that I shall do to someone with knowledge who does not act by his knowledge is worse than the seventy inner punishments which result in My removing from his heart the sweetness of My remembrance.' There is no way to Allah except via knowledge. And knowledge is the adornment of man in this world and the next, his driver to Paradise, and by means of it he attains Allah's contentment with him.
He who truly knows is the one in whom sound actions, pure supplications, truthfulness and precaution speak out; not his tongue, his debates, his comparisons, assertions or claims. In times other than these, those who sought knowledge were those who had intellect, piety, wisdom, modesty and caution; but nowadays we see that those who seek it do not have any of these qualities. The man of knowledge needs intellect, kindness, compassion, good counsel, forbearance, patience, contentment and generosity; while anyone wishing to learn needs a desire for knowledge, will, devotion (of his time and energy), piety, caution, memory and resolution.
Also the following describes ethics in summary (the intro of Imam Jaffar (a) to the book misbahal Shariah):
The roots of conduct have four aspects: conduct with Allah, conduct with the self, conduct with creation (i.e. people), and conduct with this world. Each of these aspects is based upon seven principles, just as there are seven principles of conduct with Allah: giving Him His due, keeping His limits, being thankful for His gift, being content with His decree, being patient with His trials, glorifying His sanctity, and yearning for Him.
The seven principles of conduct with the self are fear, striving, enduring harm, spiritual discipline, seeking truthfulness and sincerity, withdrawing the self from what it loves, and binding it in poverty (faqr).
The seven principles of conduct with creation are forbearance, forgiveness, humility, generosity, compassion, good counsel, justice and fairness.
The seven principles of conduct with this world are being content with what is at hand, preferring what is available to what is not, abandoning the quest for the elusive, hating overabundance, choosing abstinence (zuhd), knowing the evils of this world and abandoning any desire for it, and negating its dominance.
When all these qualities are found in one person, he is then one of Allah's elite, one of His close bondsman and friends (awliya')
The need to act on what you preach:
Whoever has not thrown off his anxieties, been purified of the evils of his self and its appetites, defeated Satan, and entered under the guardianship of Allah and the security of His protection, cannot properly enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil; and since he has not attained these aforementioned qualities, whatever affair he tackles in attempting to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil will be a proof against him, and people will not benefit from it.
Allah said, What! Do you enjoin men to be good and neglect your own souls? (2:44)
Anyone who does that is called upon thus: Oh- traitor! Do you demand from My creation that which you have rejected for yourself and have slackened the reins [in this regard] upon yourself?
It is related that Tha'labah al-Asadi asked the Messenger of Allah about this verse:
O you who believe! Take care of your souls; he who errs cannot hurt you when you are on the right way. (5:105)
The Messenger of Allah said, 'Enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, and be forbearing in whatever afflicts you, until such time when you see meanness obeyed and passions followed, and when everyone will have conceit about their own opinion, then you should concern yourself only with yourself, and ignore the affairs of the common people.'
A person who enjoins what is good needs to be knowledgeable about what is permissible and what is forbidden; he must be free from his personal inclinations regarding what he enjoins and forbids, give good counsel to people, be merciful and compassionate to them, and call them with gentleness in a very clear manner, while recognizing their different characters so that he can put each in his proper place.
He must see the intrigues of the self and the machinations of Satan. He must be patient in whatever befalls him, and must not seek compensation from people for that which he instructs them in, nor complain about them. He should not make use of vehemence or passion. He should not become angry for his own sake. He should make his intention purely for Allah, and seek His help and desire Him. But if people oppose him and are harsh to him, he must be patient; and if they agree with him and accept his verdict, he must be thankful, entrusting his affair to Allah and looking to his own faults.
(From same book)
Whoever has not thrown off his anxieties, been purified of the evils of his self and its appetites, defeated Satan, and entered under the guardianship of Allah and the security of His protection, cannot properly enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil; and since he has not attained these aforementioned qualities, whatever affair he tackles in attempting to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil will be a proof against him, and people will not benefit from it.
Allah said, What! Do you enjoin men to be good and neglect your own souls? (2:44)
Anyone who does that is called upon thus: Oh- traitor! Do you demand from My creation that which you have rejected for yourself and have slackened the reins [in this regard] upon yourself?
It is related that Tha'labah al-Asadi asked the Messenger of Allah about this verse:
O you who believe! Take care of your souls; he who errs cannot hurt you when you are on the right way. (5:105)
The Messenger of Allah said, 'Enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, and be forbearing in whatever afflicts you, until such time when you see meanness obeyed and passions followed, and when everyone will have conceit about their own opinion, then you should concern yourself only with yourself, and ignore the affairs of the common people.'
A person who enjoins what is good needs to be knowledgeable about what is permissible and what is forbidden; he must be free from his personal inclinations regarding what he enjoins and forbids, give good counsel to people, be merciful and compassionate to them, and call them with gentleness in a very clear manner, while recognizing their different characters so that he can put each in his proper place.
He must see the intrigues of the self and the machinations of Satan. He must be patient in whatever befalls him, and must not seek compensation from people for that which he instructs them in, nor complain about them. He should not make use of vehemence or passion. He should not become angry for his own sake. He should make his intention purely for Allah, and seek His help and desire Him. But if people oppose him and are harsh to him, he must be patient; and if they agree with him and accept his verdict, he must be thankful, entrusting his affair to Allah and looking to his own faults.
(From same book)
mikkel_the_dane
My own religion
"Man is the measure of all things: of the things that are, that they are, of the things that are not, that they are not." Protagoras.
As others have noted: love.
Meher Baba stated that as his mission: I have come to sow the seed of love in your hearts, so that in spite of all superficial diversity which your life in illusion must experience and endure, the feeling of oneness through love is brought about amongst all the nations, creeds, sects and castes of the world.
He also asserted that real love is much more than a simple feeling True love is no game of the faint-hearted and the weak; it is born of strength and understanding.
The problem with the current belief systems in the world today is that most people are led to think believing is sufficient but beliefs not carried into action are useless and that is why we have 5 billion religious people yet a world at war with itself.
Action and deeds must be an integral part of belief or that belief is useless.
In my religion belief is redifined as believing and obeying and it’s put very nice as a ‘twin duty’. So we are not true believers unless we practise our teachings.
“The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this duty hath attained unto all good; and whoso is deprived thereof hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed. It behoveth every one who reacheth this most sublime station, this summit of transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other. ”
Bahá’u’lláh
Spice
StewardshipPeaceIntergityCommunityEquality
There are so many "treasures" that it's difficult to condense down to an umbrella "gift" and then equally difficult to express it.
I see my greatest spiritual treasure as understanding FAITH. I've learned to appreciate the ability to be okay in whatever the world throws my way. This expresses it pretty well:
●Anything that annoys you is teaching you patience.
●Anyone who abandons you is teaching you how to stand up on your own two feet.
●Anything that angers you is teaching you
forgiveness and compassion.
●Anything that has power over you is teaching you how to take your power back.
●Anything you hate is teaching you unconditional love.
●Anything you fear is teaching you courage to overcome your fear.
●Anything you can't control is teaching
you how to let go and trust the Universe [God].
@cosmicenlightenment
I see my greatest spiritual treasure as understanding FAITH. I've learned to appreciate the ability to be okay in whatever the world throws my way. This expresses it pretty well:
●Anything that annoys you is teaching you patience.
●Anyone who abandons you is teaching you how to stand up on your own two feet.
●Anything that angers you is teaching you
forgiveness and compassion.
●Anything that has power over you is teaching you how to take your power back.
●Anything you hate is teaching you unconditional love.
●Anything you fear is teaching you courage to overcome your fear.
●Anything you can't control is teaching
you how to let go and trust the Universe [God].
@cosmicenlightenment
Elliott
Member
I find that throughout most of my life, the teachings of immortality, both spiritual and physical, have been of great interest to me. We are all immortal beings by virtue of our souls, and the story of Luz demonstrates the possibility of physical immortality.
