The Heart of Our Common Spiritual Heritage

Last updated on: July 27, 2016 at 10:00 am by Robert Atkinson

The Heart of Our Common Spiritual Heritage 2016-07-23T10:34:45-04:00 Robert Atkinson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The whole reflects the part, and the part influences the whole. The collective reflects the individual, and the individual contributes to the collective. The journey of the whole mirrors the journey of the hero. Whatever we call it, the Force, Supernatural Aid, the Creator, its design is the same for the whole as it is for the part, for the collective as it is for the personal.

Reality is an indivisible oneness. When it comes to the evolution of consciousness, the world’s sacred traditions, as well as the world’s civilizations, follow the same pattern as the individual life cycle. At its core, timeless, universal archetypes guide the unfolding of progress in all realms.

The archetype of transformation – at its essence, muddle followed by resolution – functions in the same way on both the personal and collective level. The life story of every world religion, however disillusioning it may be to recall what their followers have done in the name of religion, is the same.

In the worst of conditions, one lone individual emerges, often reluctantly, and speaks with a voice beyond others, inspired by God, calling for reform, and setting forth a renewal of principles and laws exemplifying the highest standard of moral and spiritual excellence. Religion, that is, the original truth revealed by its founders, is a transformative force.

The story of religion makes it clear that this timeless pattern has been here forever, and will continue to be forever. There are always opposing forces at work in the world: forces that would keep things the same and forces that would change things and move things along toward progress. Such is the nature of evolution. From a distance, evolution may appear as an arrow shot across the continuum of time. And even though the prophets of God have been the catalyst for the transformation of societies and of the world, and their creative energies have been picked up and passed on by many others in society, this advancement has never been without a struggle.

Everything in this world is patterned; nothing escapes its order and purpose. Rather than being sporadic, accidental, or haphazard, might the unfolding of the world’s religions be linked as well to a teleological pattern shaping our evolution?

The story each individual religion tells is one story, that of the gradual but progressive unfolding of consciousness toward a greater and greater recognition and understanding of oneness. The earliest shamans and spiritual leaders, fascinated by the mysteries of life, developed sacred ways of being, as have all the messengers of God, that provided divinely inspired guidance. As the strength and cohesiveness of one spiritual heritage began to wane, another arose and this birth, death, and renewal cycle was repeated across many millennia around the world.

This is the heart of the Great Mystery that still intrigues us more than anything else. Whether we call the designer of this pattern “the One Spirit,” “the Infinite Essence,” or “the Hidden Secret,” there is perhaps no subject more compelling than sacredness and how our consciousness relates to it.

The most important change in our time, and by far the most vital, is a change in consciousness. Our evolving consciousness is leading us nowhere if not to a consciousness of oneness. A new civilization, built upon a consciousness of oneness, is arising in our midst.

The realm of Divinity is an indivisible oneness…

The organization of God is one; the evolution of existence is one;

The divine system is one…

~ Abdul-Baha

the story of religion

world's sacred traditions

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