Human Diversity in the Mirror of Religious Pluralism

Samuel Bendeck Sotillos

“It is the one truth, which jnānins call by return all together, and He will inform different names.” you of that wherein you differ…

Rigveda 1:164:46 Qur'ān 5:481

For each among you We have appointed The many faces of xenophobia a [different] law and a way. And had God threaten not only the national secu- willed, He would have made you one community, but [He willed otherwise], 1 See Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Caner K. Dagli, Ma- that He might try you in that which He ria Massi Dakake, Joseph E.B. Lumbard and Mohammed Rustom (eds.), The Study Quran: has given you. So vie with one another A New Translation and Commentary (New in good deeds. Unto God shall be your York, NY: HarperCollins, 2015). 121 rity of a particular country, state or “Who am I?”—like religion itself, is region, but the stability of the entire reduced to socially constructed phe- world and fundamentally undermine nomena devoid of any transcend- the possibility of enduring peace for ent criteria. For some the mention all people. The rise of xenophobia, of religion itself provokes a nega- analogous to the violence and chaos that have become normalized today present-day and how estranged we are a symptom or a projection of the havetive reaction, become whichfrom religionis a reflection and the of imbalance and lack of peace found transcendent norms that were as- within the contemporary psyche. sociated with it that inform what it Given that very little positive news is means to be integrally human. covered in the mainstream media on How can religion contribute religion, it will appear to be counter- to peace when it appears to be the intuitive and even paradoxical to as- leading culprit of a world in crisis? sert the need to return to religion for This question can be answered di- an answer to the numerous persis- rectly and has been answered by tent and escalating problems of the day, as religion “Truth does not deny forms from is all-too-often assumed the outside, but transcends them to be the primary cause from within.” though it goes against theof thesecurrent conflicts. mindset, Evenreligion could saints and sages across the cultures be the only way out of this predica- who have repeatedly instructed this: ment. Yet what is radically needed is It is through returning to the origi- to re-envision what religion is and to nal meaning of religion, especially clarify what it is not because misin- its spiritual or inner dimension formation dominates the mass me- and living in accordance with these dia which does little to present the teachings, that right relationship merits of religion. can be established throughout the Because of the interconnected web of life. What is urgently needed nature of the human and the Divine, is to increase spiritual literacy on a there is a sacred origin of human di- mass scale in order to foster genuine versity which is seldom recognized interfaith dialogue which can estab- or understood in today’s secular lish peace. Yet how can this be ac- world. The assertion that there is an complished given the myriad issues essential connection between them and magnitude of today’s problems? could be viewed with trepidation One way to do this would be given the prevalence of secularism to return to the perennial philoso- and its desacralized outlook. In this phy, the essential truths found at the context, the perennial question of— heart of all of the world’s religions, 122 including the First Peo- ples and their Shamanic traditions. The timeless and universal message which captures the essence of how peace can be established in these topsy-turvy times is expressed here: “[P]eace… comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its pow- ers, and when they real- itualis. “The man of the traditional ize that at the center of the universe societies [and civilizations] is ad- dwells Wakan-Tanka [the Great Mys- mittedly a homo religiosus”. 4 The tery or Great Spirit], and that this connection between the human and center is really everywhere, it is the transpersonal was known since within each of us.”2 earliest times, “In one manner or an- differently, “[P]eace…is ultimately other all life is seen to participate in nothing else but order, Defined equilibrium, slightly the sacred, all cultural forms express - the sacred, so that inevitably within tion of unity in multiplicity.”3 this context the lives of those peo- or harmony…denoting…theIt is imperative to recall reflec that ples who live close to their sacred the etymological root of the English traditions may be called religious, word “religion” is from the Latin re- and they are thus beings who are ligare, meaning to “to re-bind” or religiously human.”5 Yet deprived of “to bind back” by implication to the the transcendent, true human iden- Divine or a transcendent Reality. Across the traditional civilizations, It is a precondition that being hu- the human state was considered to mantity isrequires disfigured what and is beyond unintelligible. the hu- be inherently connected with the man state, what is transpersonal, in transpersonal and could be said to 4 Mircea Eliade, “Introduction,” to The Sacred be Homo religiosus or Homo spir- and the Profane: The Nature of Religion, trans. Willard R. Trask (New York, NY: Harcourt 2 Black Elk, quoted in Joseph Epes Brown, The Brace Jovanovich, 1987), p. 15. Sacred Pipe: Black Elk’s Account of the Seven 5 Joseph Epes Brown, “On Being Human,” in The Rites of the Oglala Sioux (Norman, OK: Univer- Spiritual Legacy of the American Indian: Com- sity of Oklahoma Press, 1989), p. 115. memorative Edition with Letters While Living 3 René Guénon, “War and Peace,” in The Symbol- with Black Elk, eds. Marina Brown Weatherly, ism of the Cross, trans. Angus Macnab (Ghent, Elenita Brown and Michael Oren Fitzgerald NY: Sophia Perennis et Universalis, 1996), p. (Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom, 2007), p. 43. 93. 123 order to make it human. sincerely believe themselves to be In the same way that human religious have for the most part a diversity requires a metaphysical greatly diminished idea of religion: framework to accurately situate the dialectic between differences and on their thoughts or actions and is asit hasif separated hardly any from effective the rest influence of their at their innermost core, the same life. Practically, believers and unbe- issimilarities, true for religious and what pluralism. unifies themThis lievers alike act in almost the same is made evident in the following: way”.8 “Truth does not deny forms from the An essential stumbling block outside, but transcends them from in comprehending human diversity, within.”6 What is critically needed not unlike religious pluralism, is due is not a shallow or docile tolerance to the prevailing weltanschauung of toward understanding the diverse modernism and postmodernism and human collectivities and religions, its entrenched assumptions about rather a quality of receptivity and the nature of reality. “[M]odern man way of seeing that recognizes the has desacralized his world and as- necessity of these differences and sumed a profane existence.”9 So dia- what is beyond them. “That which metrically opposed is the worldview is lacking in the present world is a of secularism with that of the sapi- profound knowledge of the nature ential traditions that the following of things; the fundamental truths needs to be kept in mind: “[N]onre- are always there, but they do not ligious man has been formed by op- impose themselves because they posing his predecessor, by attempt- cannot impose themselves on those ing to ‘empty’ himself of all religion unwilling to listen.”7 Due to the im- and all transhuman meaning.”10 It is balance that dominates this era, the in this context that we can better un- religions themselves are not imper- derstand the psychological mecha- nisms underlying the attack waged are facing myriad challenges from on religion: “‘Religion has failed’ say within.meable Withto these this conflicts said, there as theyis a cer too- its critics. They do not understand tain shortsightedness or spiritual illiteracy with regards to those who 8 René Guénon, “The Reform of the Modern Mentality,” in Symbols of Sacred Science, trans. identify themselves as being reli- Henry D. Fohr, ed. Samuel D. Fohr (Hillsdale, gious, while well intended, they of- NY: Sophia Perennis, 2004), p. 2. ten do not adequately understand 9 Mircea Eliade, “Introduction,” to The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion, trans. what this means: “[E]ven those who Willard R. Trask (New York, NY: Harcourt 6 Frithjof Schuon, “The Vedanta,” in Language Brace Jovanovich, 1987), p. 13. of the Self (Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom 10 Mircea Eliade, “Human Existence and Sancti- Books, 1999), p. 40. The Sacred and the Profane: The 7 Frithjof Schuon, “No Activity Without Truth,” Nature of Religion, trans. Willard R. Trask Studies in Comparative Religion, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Newfied Life,” York, in NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, (Autumn 1969), p. 195. 1987), p. 204. 124 that it is not religion but those who analyzing these underlying assump- analyze, criticize, and neglect it who tions or rather fundamental biases, - we are limited to a surface level of manity which is precisely to be re- understanding of human diversity ligioushave failed (since in no the other first creature duty of can hu and religious pluralism. “When we be) and that humanity has through use the term “modern” we mean nei- its fault lost its sense of direction.”11 ther contemporary nor up-to-date…. In order to understand the more Rather, for us “modern” means that nuanced aspects of diversity, it is which is cut off from the transcend- required an understanding of the ent, from the immutable principles theoretical underpinnings of the which in reality govern all things”.13 contemporary West and its devel- Approaches such as multicul- opment, “The truth is that there are turalism, cultural diversity, cultural many civilizations, developing along awareness, cultural competence, very different lines, and that, among race relations and so on attempt to these, that of the modern West is guide contemporaries through the strangely exceptional, as some of murky waters of this pluralistic age, its characteristics show.”12 Without where one encounters the “other” or individuals from different cultures, 11 Lord Nothbourne, “The Ineluctable Alterna- tive: A Letter to My Descendants” in Of the races, ethnicities and religions dis- Land and the Spirit: The Essential Lord North- trans. Martin Lings (Hillsdale, NY: Sophia Per- bourne on Ecology and Religion, eds. Christo- ennis, 2004), p. 2. pher James, the 5th Lord Northbourne and 13 Joseph A. Fitzgerald (Bloomington, IN: World and Modern Thought,” Studies in Comparative Wisdom, 2008), p. 220. Religion,Seyyed Hossein Vol. 15, Nos. Nasr, 3 “Reflections& 4 (Summer-Autumn on Islam 12 René Guénon, “Preface,” to East and West, 1983), p. 164. 125 tinct from one’s own on a regular human differences or ignores the basis. Even though these approach- relevance of race and ethnicity. In es deem to rectify the apparatuses emphasizing the uniqueness of each of oppression that began with colo- distinct human group, multicultur- nialism and the horrors of slavery, alism tends to lose sight of what is they do not contain the substance beyond human differences. In the to address the complexity of human same way, the color-blind approach diversity including its connection to emphasizes similarity overlooking religious pluralism. Addressing hu- what is beyond human similarities. man diversity and its relationship To solely emphasize one of these po- with religious pluralism is one of sitions leads to a polarized portrayal the most vital responsibilities of our of what is truly human and misses times, one that cannot be postponed the mark in comprehending the nec- or ignored as human existence on essary facets of human uniqueness earth is in increasingly in jeopardy. and similarity. Contemporary approaches generally Before the popularization of tend to assert a polarized portrayal the term multiculturalism, we recall of human diversity, one that either the well-known verse by Rudyard Kipling published in 1889 that il- into account the deeper dimensions. lustrates a widely held belief in a Multiculturalismaffirms or denies is it,a rarelygeneric taking term polarized vision of human identity, “East is East, and West is West, and has different meanings in different never the twain shall meet”.14 This contexts.that is not In easily general, defined terms because such asit outlook culminates in the now fa- multiculturalism assert the co-ex- mous phrase, yet a false thesis of istence of diverse populations and the so-called “Clash of Civilizations”15 challenge the “melting pot” theory which appropriately has been de- that ultimately assimilates individu- bunked as the “Clash of Ignorance”. als into the dominant culture. The 16The “clash” is in many ways po- “melting pot” or “salad bowl” theory larized by the extremism of anti- does not foster human diversity, but religious secularism and religious will inevitably destroy all diversity. 14 Rudyard Kipling, “The Ballad of East and Multiculturalism, on the other hand, West,” in Barrack-Room Ballads and Other Verses (Leipzig, Germany: Heinemann and emphasizes equality of each distinct Balestier, 1892), p. 85. group within society and celebrates 15 Bernard Lewis coined the term “clash of civi- these differences. lizations” before Samuel P. Huntington, see Bernard Lewis, “The Roots of Muslim Rage,” While multiculturalism at- The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 266, No. 3 (Septem- tempts to honor human differenc- ber 1990), pp. 47-60; Samuel P. Huntington, es in a way that is true to all races “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 72, No. 3 (Summer 1993), pp. 22-49. and ethnicities, the phenomenon of 16 See Edward W. Said, “The Clash of Ignorance,” color-blindness allegedly overlooks The Nation, Vol. 273, No. 12 (October 22, 2001), pp. 11-14. 126 fundamentalism. When considered mindset has discarded in cutting it- in a larger context, the rise of mod- self off from the sacred. It is in redis- ernism that gave birth to secular- covering the perennial psychology ism has created a void in the human found within the world’s religions collectivity heavily impacting the that we can understand both diver- religions themselves. This vacuum sity and similarity and what bridges has created an imbalance which reli- them. Apart from this approach we gious fundamentalism, and New Age are left in a precarious and very lim- spirituality for that matter, attempt ited, if not dehumanizing portrayal - of what it means to be human. It is talism emerged to defend itself from essential to recall anew, especially in theto fill. threats Although of anti-religious religious fundamen secular- a globalizing world, “So long as West- ism, it has totally lost sight of what erners imagine that there only exists religion is and has become in fact a a single type of humanity, that there betrayal to religion.17 is only one ‘civilization,’ at different Nonetheless, beyond these stages of development, no mutual divergent portrayals is an entire understanding will be possible.”18 It way of seeing and perceiving human was not that the existence of diverse identity, which the modern secular peoples or other religions was un- 17 See Joseph E.B. Lumbard (ed.), Islam, Funda- mentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition: Es- 18 Réné Guénon, “Preface,” to East and West, says by Western Muslim Scholars (Blooming- trans. Martin Lings (Hillsdale, NY: Sophia Per- ton, IN: World Wisdom, 2009). ennis, 2004), p. 2. 127 known in earlier times, but it was sively from wholeness to greater not existentially threatening to the degrees of fragmentation. This pro- practitioners of other faiths as it has become today. on how human beings understand An unprecedented phenom- themselvescess has a and tremendous their relationship influence enon has emerged today where di- to the whole of life. “Originally man saw the diverse in the One, then the living beside one another, unlike any One in the diverse. Man must infer otherverse time beliefs before, now which find themselves is indica- the One from the diverse, and to tive of the urgent need for a deeper the extent that he grasps the One, religious pluralism with better de- know the diverse through the One lineated bridges between faiths. This and dissolve the diverse in Unity.”21 is epitomized by the ensuing: “[T]he outward and readily exaggerated the Primordial Tradition that mani- incompatibility of the different reli- festedThere areat the two inception identifiable of this poles tem of- gious forms greatly discredits, in the poral cycle, one is the First Peoples minds of most of our contemporar- and the Shamanic traditions and the ies, all religion”.19 A natural outcome other is Hinduism, also known as the sanātana dharma or “the eternal and in the similarities and differences universal code of conduct” which is withof religious regard to pluralism their faith is traditions. reflected said to have existed everywhere. Ac- “The multiplicity of races, nations, cording to the Hindu dharma, the and tribes necessitates the diversi- initial temporal cycle known as the ty of revelations.”20 Krita-Yuga or Satya-Yuga (Golden to know that people have different Age) was described in the following faiths and differ among It is themselves;insufficient manner: “O child, that Yuga is called one must know why they differ and Krita when the one eternal religion was extant. And in that best of Yugas, their metaphysical roots. every one had religious perfection, simultaneouslyIn surveying what traditional unifies them cos at- and, therefore, there was no need of mology and psychology we can religious acts.”22 In the descriptions glean many insights about the way provided by the Primordial Tradi- time impacts the human psyche and tion we have examples of the earliest its relationship to Spirit. The nature human collectivities living in peace, of time across the cultures is under- harmony and in remembrance of stood to be cyclical moving progres- 21 Frithjof Schuon, “Fourth Collection,” in Pri- 19 Frithjof Schuon, “Preface,” to The Transcend- mordial Meditation: Contemplating the Real, ent Unity of Religions (Wheaton, IL: Quest trans. Gillian Harris and Angela Schwartz Books, 1993), pp. xxxiii-xxxiv. (London, UK: Matheson Trust, 2015), p. 143. 20 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “One God, Many Proph- 22 “Tirtha-yātrā Parva,” in The Mahabharata of ets,” in The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Translated Into for Humanity (New York, NY: HarperCollins, English Prose, trans. Kisari Mohan Ganguli 2004), p. 16. (Calcutta: Bharata Press, 1884), p. 446. 128 the Divine. “And during that [Krita-] we see clear examples of the rela- Yuga, there was neither disease, nor tionship of unity in diversity and di- decay of the senses. And there was versity in unity. Human diversity has neither malice, nor pride, nor hy- pocrisy, nor discord, nor ill-will, nor in distinct ways since time immemo- cunning, nor fear, nor misery, nor rial.been It reflected was also in known religious that pluralism through envy, nor covetousness. And for this, the dissociation from the sacred hu- that prime refuge of Yogis, even the man beings become estranged from Supreme Brahma, was attainable to their own nature as beings created all.”23 Another account reads, “I have “in God’s image,” and from their created these First People… …gave common spiritual heritage. This is them speech, a different language illustrated here: to each color, with respect for each [H]uman unity, initially traditional, by other’s difference.”24 We can also raising such a revolt against the divine Unity, compelled the latter to break it Abrahamic monotheisms, such as into ethnic fragments, dispersed over Judaism:find insinuations “And the of whole this unity earth in was the the entire earth and henceforth op- of one language, and of one speech.” posed one to another; and this through ( 11:1) Genesis a lack of understanding caused by the The early peoples that inhab- confusion, or more precisely by the dif- ited the earth were given clear in- ferentiation of their ‘language’ or single structions about how to live in right tradition into several ‘languages’ or di- relationship with the whole of crea- vergent traditions, but with a founda- tion, which continues to this day: tion that remains unanimous thanks to “There is only one thing I ask you. its divine essence.26 To respect the Creator at all times.”25 The consequences of not adhering It is in returning to what is to this Divine injunction ruptured unanimous across the faiths of all the Unity among the human collec- times and places that we can proper- tivity and the repercussions were as ly situate the theme of religious plu- follows: “[T]he Lord did there con- ralism and human diversity. Prior to found the language of all the earth: the modern and postmodern world and from thence did the Lord scat- and the emergence of secularism, ter them abroad upon the face of all the linkage between religion and the the earth.” (Genesis 11:9) From the human collectivities was more ex- beginning of the temporal cycle until plicit due to their isolation from one its close with the revelation of Islam, another, which sharply contrasts 23 Ibid. p. 446. 24 Hopi Elders, quoted in Frank Waters, Book of the Hopi: The First Revelation of the Hopi’s His- 26 Leo Schaya, “Some Universal Aspects of Juda- torical and Religious Worldview of Life (New withism,” the in Universal scenario Aspects that of we the findKabbalah today. and York, NY: Penguin Books, 1977), p. 7. Judaism, ed. Roger Gaetani (Bloomington, IN: 25 Ibid. p. 7. World Wisdom, 2014), p. 10. 129 A common misnomer is that race cultural or ethnic group. Neverthe- less,suggests race uniformity itself does within not automati a specific- cally imply psychological homoge- neity within a human collectivity, for race allows for certain psychological dissimilarities to also exist. To indis- criminately lump different races and ethnicities together assuming that they are all the same is to do them a grave injustice. For thousands of years already, humanity has been divided into several fundamentally different branches, which con- stitute so many complete humanities, more or less closed in on themselves ... [T]his is not always a question of race, but more often of human groups, very diverse perhaps, but none the less sub- ject to mental conditions which, taken

homogeneous spiritual recipients.27 as a whole, make of them sufficiently At its core we must realize that the “other” or “otherness” is an encounter with both the mystery of human existence and the Divine. “‘Otherness’ is a veil over our eyes woven by our own imagination. Nei- ther we ourselves nor the things we scured, yet through the Intellect or perceive outside of ourselves are the Eye of the Heart, both the hori- 28 truly other than God.” In solely zontal and vertical dimensions of identifying with our horizontal or human identity in divinis, the “oth- relative identity, this mystery is ob- er” or “otherness” can be under- 27 Frithjof Schuon, “Diversity of Revelation,” in stood. “[T]he mystery is a mystery Gnosis: Divine Wisdom, trans. G.E.H. Palmer (Bedfont, Middlesex, UK: Perennial Books, solely for the reason that there is 1990), p. 25. ‘otherness’; it is this, the creature, 28 The Sufi which hides the divine unity and Path of Love: The Spiritual Teachings of Rumi (Albany,Rūmī�, quoted NY: Statein William University C. Chittick, of New York asks the question: ‘who’ and ‘what’ Press, 1983), p. 304. am I? Without this ‘otherness’ there 130 is neither ‘who’ nor ‘what’, neither in nature.”32 While human individu- search nor mystery: there is nothing als have a common origin, this does but the only reality in its non-dual not undermine their uniqueness in and absolute selfness.”29 By taking an the Divine: “No two individuals are integral approach informed by the identical.”33 —analogously no two spiritual hermeneutics of the per- individuals occupy the “same stage ennial philosophy we can view the of development”.34 The many ways interrelatedness of all sentient be- to the Divine belong to the diversi- ings past, present and future: “There is not a single being in samsara, this sādhanās….”. 35 - immense ocean of suffering, who in tyage of points human out, types, “[T]here “Infinite are as are many the the course of time without begin- paths to God Likewise,as there theare Sufihuman ad ning has never been our father or souls”.36 According to a well-known mother.”30 Thus, the “other” or “oth- ḥadīth erness” is our disowned integral na- “People are as equal as the teeth ture that cannot be reclaimed devoid of a comb.” human And similarity yet according is affirmed: to a of a transpersonal dimension, “[A] man of another race…is like a forgot- also emphasized: “And among His ten aspect of ourselves and thus also signsQur'ānic is the verse, creation human of the diversity heavens is like a rediscovered mirror of God.”31 and the earth and the [diversity] The completion of the human variation in your tongues and colors. identity as viewed unanimously, in Truly in that are signs for those who all times and places, is its reintegra- know.” (30:22) Additionally, impor- tion with the Supreme Identity and tant is the role of knowledge and this is the human birthright acces- its connection to different human sible to all regardless of sex, race, types, “[T]here are as many ways of ethnicity or religion. The Qur'ān in- 32 Luther Standing Bear, “Hunter, Scout, Warri- forms us that, “He created you [hu- or,” in Land of the Spotted Eagle (Lincoln, NE: manity] from a single soul” (39:6), University of Nebraska Press, 2006), p. 45. 33 Alain Daniélou, “Hinduism and Human Be- havior,” in India, A Civilization of Differences: of the First Peoples, “We are all one The Ancient Tradition of Universal Tolerance, which reflects the spiritual message trans. Kenneth Hurry, ed. Jean-Louis Gabin 29 Leo Schaya, “Contemplation of the Divine As- (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2005), p. 9. pects,” in The Universal Meaning of the Kab- 34 Alain Daniélou, “Introduction,” to Yoga: Mas- balah, trans. Nancy Pearson (Secaucus, NJ: tering the Secrets of Matter and the Universe University Books, 1971), p. 57. (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 1991), p. 6. 30 35 The Essential Śrī freedoms and advantages,” in The Words of My Ānandamayī Mā: Life and Teachings of a 20th PerfectPatrul Rinpoche, Teacher, trans. “The Padmakaradifficulty of Translation finding the ĀCentury� nandamayī� Indian Mā, Saint, quoted in Group (New York, NY: HarperCollins Publish- Joseph A. Fitzgerald (Bloomington, IN: World ers, 1994), p. 7. Wisdom, 2007), p. 62. trans. Ā� tmānanda, ed. 31 Frithjof Schuon, “The Meaning of Race,” in 36 Quoted in Frithjof Schuon, The Eye of the Castes and Races, trans. Marco Pallis and D.M. Heart: Metaphysics, Cosmology, Spiritual Life Matheson (Bedfont, Middlesex, UK: Perennial (Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom Books, Books, 1982), p. 60. 1997), p. 121. 131 understanding as there are human pure Unity and the rainbow repre- knowers.”37 sents manifestation in the phenom- Integral metaphysics pro- enal world. To solely acknowledge vides a way of conceptualizing the the rainbow of human diversity is divine Unity underlying the human to lose sight of the singular source condition which is at the same time of the uncolored light, which gives the origin of human diversity. “The birth to the rainbow itself: single origin of humanity implies the Whatever a man’s race might be, when profound unity within diversity of the Spirit crystallizes in him due to the human nature”.38 This becomes ap- effect of his worshiping God, his soul parent in the relationship between becomes like a mystical diamond. The the uncolored light and the spectrum skin color or the circumstances of the of colors comprising of the rainbow. “The rainbow owes its beauty to the on the quality of his spiritual illumina- variety of its shades and colors. In birth of such a man have no influence tion. Whatever his social standing or the same way, we consider the voic- the disadvantages of his birth might be, es of various believers that rise up if he has reached this state, no outer ele- from all parts of the earth as a sym- ment will be powerful enough to make phony of praises addressing God, this state slip away from him.42 Who alone can be Unique.”39 And expressed similarly in: “All light is This integral perspective on 40 one but colors a thousandfold.” The human diversity as it is found across source of each distinct color belongs the cultures is regrettably absent to what is beyond all color: “If my from contemporary multicultural eye is to see color, it must be free of discourse and interfaith dialogue. 41 all color.” Metaphysically speaking, Without turning to this transper- the uncolored light represents the sonal dimension of human iden- 37 Meister Eckhart, quoted in C.F. Kelley, Meister Eckhart on Divine Knowledge (Cobb, CA: Dhar- tity we cannot understand the deep maCafé Books, 2009), p. 190. roots of diversity. “[We take our] 38 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, “One God, Many Proph- color from God; and who is better ets,” in The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values than God at coloring? And we wor- for Humanity (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2004), p. 16. ship Him.” (Qur'ān 2:138) Similarly 39 Tierno Bokar, quoted in Amadou Hampâté without this metaphysical perspec- Bâ, A Spirit of Tolerance: The Inspiring Life of tive we cannot understand religious Tierno Bokar, trans. Jane Casewit, ed. Roger Gaetani (Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom, pluralism: “Religions are like lamps 2008), p. 126. of colored glass.... [I]f it is true that 40 Fakhruddin without a given colored lamp one 'Iraqi: Divine Flashes, trans. William C. Chit- Fakhrtick and al-Dī�n Peter ʻIrāqī�, Lamborn ‎“Flash Wilson XI,” in (New York, 42 Tierno Bokar, quoted in Amadou Hampâté NY: Paulist Press, 1982), p. 94. Bâ, A Spirit of Tolerance: The Inspiring Life of 41 Meister Eckhart, “Sermon 12,” in Teacher and Tierno Bokar, trans. Jane Casewit, ed. Roger Preacher, ed. Bernard McGinn (Mahwah, NJ: Gaetani (Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom, Paulist Press, 1986), 270. 2008), p. 131. 132 would see nothing, it is quite as true lectivities. The gift of all of the rich diversity that exits in the human and with any one color.”43 The correla- transpersonal domain can be un- tionthat between visibility human cannot diversity he identified and derstood and embraced through the religious pluralism is made evi- divine Unity found in all times and dent in the perennial psychology: places. “[W]hat determines the difference The attempt to forge a viable among forms of Truth is the differ- model of human diversity on the ence among human receptacles.”44 principle of diversity as do contem- And correspondingly the necessity porary multicultural discourse or of diverse revelations: “For every interfaith dialogue for that matter is community there is a messenger”. not only questionable, but improb- (Qur'ān 10:48) able for multiplicity cannot establish What is evident is that we a true unity without an agency high- can no longer turn our backs to the er than itself. “[I]t must be authenti- urgent need for more integral and cally a unity, not merely something deeper forms of religious pluralism. elaborated into unity and so in reali- The consequences of not doing so ty no more than unity’s counterfeit”.45 are made apparent by the incessant The very existence of the diversity of media soundbites broadcasting hor- human individuals and the religions does not contradict or negate Unity. the globe in the name of religion. At the same time, Unity does not con- Furthermore,rific events transpiring religious throughoutpluralism tradict or negate diversity and this is also requires that we not gloss over an essential point that secular ap- its connection to human diversity, proaches to human diversity and the as they are at their metaphysical religions do not appear to grasp. The root derivatives of the same divine principle of diversity is contingent Unity. Although there are no ready- on what is higher than itself, a vertical dimension, to fuse and balance to the challenges of our day requires the domain of manifestation. Even increasingmade panaceas, spiritual a definitive literacy to remedy go be- though contemporary multicultural yond the surface level understand- approaches to human diversity rec- ing of the world’s religions and their ognize the uniqueness and impor- relation to the diverse human col- tance of the many colors of the rainbow, they overlook the most vital 43 Frithjof Schuon, “The Idea of ‘The Best’ in facet, the uncolored light prior to its Religions,” in Christianity/Islam: Essays on Esoteric Ecumenicism, trans. Gustavo Polit refraction which is the source of the (Bloomington, IN: World Wisdom Books, distinctive varieties of human beings 1985), p. 152. 44 Frithjof Schuon, “Diversity of Revelation,” in 45 Plotinus, “How the Secondaries rise from The Gnosis: Divine Wisdom, trans. G.E.H. Palmer First; and on The One,” in The Enneads, trans. (Bedfont, Middlesex, UK: Perennial Books, Stephen MacKenna (New York, NY: Penguin 1990), p. 25. Books, 1991), p. 387. 133 and their faith traditions. By restor- ing human diversity to its sacred ori- gins we can authentically recognize and celebrate the indwelling Spirit found in all of the unique human beings and their corresponding religions. The timeless wisdom reminds us that if the human microcosm is at peace, it will reverberate into the macrocosm. We conclude with a traditional Hindu mantra for invoking peace throughout all levels of Reality since the beginning of this temporal cycle: Om, Shānti, Shānti, Shānti and correspondingly a verse from the Islamic revelation at the end of the calycle, “O you who believe! Invoke blessings upon him, and greetings of peace!” (Qur'ān 33:56)

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