QUOTATIONS FROM OTHER RELIGIONS
"One nature, perfect and pervading, circulates in all natures; one reality, all-comprehensive, contains within itself all realities."
Islam and Judaism
I have the impression that these two religions are much more concerned with righteous conduct on earth than with metaphysical teachings. In both religions, the basis of such righteous behaviour is submission to the will of omnipotent and omniscient God by the daily practice of prayer to Him and of love, justice and kindness to all one's fellow men.
Hinduism
"This is the truth: as thousands of sparks emerge from a flaming fire, even so do an infinity of beings have life from the Creator...He is the Spirit that is in all things...and thus an infinity of beings come from the supreme Spirit"
Mundaka Upanishad
"This is the Spirit that is in my heart, smaller than a grain of rice...this is the Spirit that is in my heart, greater than the earth, greater than the sky, greater than heaven itself, greater than all these worlds"
Chandogya Upanishad
"By deep meditation let me recognise the subtle nature of the supreme soul, and its presence in all organisms, both the highest and the lowest"
Laws of Manu VI
"The Lord abides in the heart of all beings"
Bhagavadgita XVIII
"Worn out garments are shed by the body: worn out bodies are shed by the dweller"
Buddhism
The Buddha had almost nothing to say about metaphysics. However:-
"The Buddhas in innumerable Buddha-lands are but the cosmic Buddha in our hearts"
Kukal
Sikhism
"The all-pervading Deity"
Guru Arjun
"The Light which is in everything is Thine, O Lord of Light"
Guru Nanak
"Thou art in the tree, Thou art in its leaves, Thou art in the earth, Thou art in the sky"
Guru Gobind Singh
"He himself is blended with everything, the one God is in every place...He is in the soul, and the soul is in Him"
Guru Arjun
Shinto
"Understand how God loves his children by remembering the love which you bear your own offspring"
Konko Kyo
"The Spiritual Existence, the Non-Physical Unity, revealing Himself in thousands of forms...This is the conscious essence of every type of object in the material world"
Shinto-Gobusho
"Even in the single leaf of a tree, or a tender blade of grass, the awe-inspiring Deity manifests Himself"
Urabe-no-Kanekune
"Where then shall God be found? Do not search in distant skies, for He is in the heart of man"
Shao Yung
Taoism
"The ultimate end is God. He is manifested in the laws of nature. He is the hidden spring. In the beginning, He was"
"Knowing what God is, he knows that he himself proceeds therefrom"
Chuang Tzu
"The Universe and I came into being together; and I and everything therein are One. We are embraced in the ... Unity of God"
Chuang Tzu
"In the beginning there was something undifferentiated and yet complete. Before Heaven and Earth were produced"
" 'Where is this so-called Tao?' Chuang Tzu answered, 'Everywhere.' 'Then specify an instance of it.' Chuang Tzu said, 'Here it is in these ants.' 'That must surely be its lowest manifestation.' 'No, it is in these weeds.' 'What about a lower example still?' 'It is in this shard of earthenware.' 'Surely brick and tile must be its lowest place?' Chuang Tzu answered, 'No, no. no. It is here in this dung also.' "
Zen Buddhism
"One nature, perfect and pervading, circulates in all natures; one reality, all-comprehensive, contains within itself all realities"
Yoka Daishi
Druzism
"God is existence as such... nothing outside Him exists. He is the Whole ..."
(Hamza ibn Ali)
"God is the originator of His own will"
(Hamza ibn Ali)
"God is the All-hearing, the All-knowing"
(Ismail ibn Muhammad)
"In the Druze understanding of things, Love is seen as a feeling for union with the Whole... Man's ultimate happiness is therefore actualised in his willingness to feel in union with God, who comprises all being"
(Hamza ibn Ali)
"God is immanent in everything, so if we are to love God, how can we not love everything? ... When you love a person because he is an expression of The One, just as you yourself are, then you do not need to follow any ritual which limits your relations with him"
(Hamza ibn Ali)
"Simultaneous with the evolution of man is the evolution of his end point, so man never reaches a dead end. Man's soul is incessantly traveling from one stage of knowledge to another. The progression of the stages of knowledge is endless. In this progression, man is approaching The One without ever completely realising Him."
(Hamza ibn Ali)
Zoroastrianism
"Thy Good Mind within us"
(Avesta: Yasna)
"And may the Maker of the world give help through His implanted Good Mind in my fellow-servants"
(Avesta: Yasna)
Islamic Sufism
"Unto eternity is Thy being... Now I am made one with Thee... I have been merged in the Unity... I am Thou and Thou art I - nay, not I, all is together Thou... Know then that painting and Painter are one"
(Ibrahim Attar)
Bahaism
"I have breathed within thee a breath of My own Spirit"
(Baha-ullah)
"With the hands of power I made thee and with the fingers of strength I created thee; and within thee have I placed the essence of My Light... Turn thy sight upon thyself, that thou mayest find ME standing within thee: mighty, powerful and self-subsisting"
(Baha-ullah)
AMEN
"We thank Thee that darkness
Reminds us of light.
O Light Invisible,
We give Thee thanks
For Thy Great Glory ! "
T S Eliot
AMEN