Oneness
Within Christianity and Eastern Religion.
(We are One. Speaking the Truth. Fostering Love.)
Spiritual
realities are eternal,
beyond time, wherever they are found. The Judeo-Christian Bible is
firmly
grounded within history, and the characters within scripture are
generation
upon generation moving toward a fuller understanding of these eternal
realities. Grounded as they are in history, the eternal perspective is
not
often out in the open, and is usually only hinted at. Each generation
seems
caught in its own present truth and human experience, holding onto a
surface
level of spiritual understanding, often rejecting the new insights of
those who
would take them one step deeper.
One such truth
is Oneness in the
Universal Body of Christ.
Jesus says, "I
and my Father
are one", (John 10:30). He prays for believers, and also foreshadows
the
oneness and interconnectedness between God and enlightened humankind.
He says,
"This is eternal life... That they all may be one: as thou, Father, art
in
me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us... that they may be
one,
even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in
one... that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I
in them,
(John 17:3, 21, 23,26).
The answer to
this prayer for
oneness and interconnectedness is later portrayed within the Pauline
letters as
fulfilled in the universal and cosmic body of Christ. The church,
humankind,
and all creation are reconciled together into the one spiritual body of
Christ.
"Christ is all,
and in
all", (Colossian 3:11). There is only one universal and cosmic body:
The
body of Christ (Ephesians 1:10, 4:4). This is a philosophy of oneness.
The dualism
of previous generations begins to fade.
God is in
Christ & Christ is in
God. Christ is in us & We are in Christ. We are in all things
& all
things are in us. Through Jesus and His oneness with the Father we see
in part
the oneness and the interconnected universal harmony of all creation,
which is
from Him, through Him, and to Him. Everything is made perfect,
completed, and
complemented by everything else, members one of another, in the one
body.
This is the
heart of the prayer of
Christ. "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in
one... that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I
in
them", (John 17: 23,26).
In the early
church, this is a
present reality. The Pauline desire is that people might be able to
perceive
the fulfillment of this prayer, and comprehend with all saints and
"know
the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye might be filled
with all
the fullness of God," (Ephesians 3:19). You are completed in Christ as
a
bride with a husband. Through Christ you are filled with all the
fullness of
the godhead bodily. Christ is all and in all, that God may be all in
all,
(Colossians 3:11, 1 Corinthians 15:28)
God is all.
Christ is all. We are
all... One.
He that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit, (1 Corinthians
6:17).
The Christ is
the light that
lightens every man, (John 1:9).
However, perhaps because of limited insight, self-centeredness or a
cultural
emphasis on individuality, the universal scope of this oneness is often
overlooked. The harmony of God with Jesus, and then the disciples was
intended
to point us to the greater realization of the oneness of all. This is
hinted at
in later writings.
God is in
Christ and Christ is in
everyone and everything, for Christ fills all things, (Ephesians 4:10).
In this
way it is realized that there is "One God and Father of all who is
above
all, and through all", (4:6). Not only is God and Christ in everything,
but all things are gathered together in one in the Christ, (1:10,
4:10).
The mutual
interconnectedness this
implies is staggering. We are not independent. There is one spiritual
body that
includes all humanity, (Ephesians 2:15). For as "we have many members
in
one body... so we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one
members one
of another", (Romans 12:4-5). We are members one of another: I am in
you,
and you are in me, and we are one in Christ. What we do to another, we
do to
Christ, and to ourselves.
Everything is
in Christ. This Christ
is in everything. Everything and everyone is in everything and everyone
else.
Put simply, since everything is in Christ, and we have Christ in us,
then we
also have everything in us. Again, put in Pauline language, we are
members one
of another, and we have all things (1 Corinthians
3:21).
This is the
mature "body, the
fullness of Him Who fills all in all - for in that body lives the full
measure
of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything
everywhere [with
Himself]", (Ephesians 1:23 Amplified). The lines and distinctions
between
God, Christ, the Church, and All Things blur and fade away. God is all,
in all.
When this is realized the lines blur, dualities fade, and all becomes
One.
Though I have a
Christian
background, and have made most of my spiritual discovery through the
Bible, the
study of world religions is a personal interest of mine. Insights
perceived by
those outside our own traditions are very often valid. Christ is the
light that
enlightens every person everywhere. Many spiritual realities hidden
deep and
often unseen within the Christian scriptures are often discussed
openly, plain
for all to see within other religions, and other cultures. For this
reason,
rather than restricting study only to the Bible, it is often easier to
present
and then apprehend some insights using the language of other
traditions.
Truth is truth whatever the language.
The idea of
oneness found within the
Christian Scripture is also expressed within Hinduism, Buddhism, and
other
faiths, but often much more succinctly. Within the Hindu and
Buddhist
traditions much thought has been given to the concepts of oneness,
interconnectedness, and the various means that people become aware of
these
realities.
In the Hindu
faith two vital ideas
are Atman and Brahman.
Brahman is the
universal cosmic
mystical force. It is the divine everything, the spiritual essence of
the
universe. Atman is the divine spark in everyone. It is the spiritual
essence in
all human beings.
Enlightenment
is the realization
that the Atman is the Brahman, and the Brahman is the Atman. They are
one and
the same. Understanding this oneness brings liberation (or Moksha).
Coming from a
Christ centered
perspective I see Christ in all things. When I read about the Hindu
concept of
the Atman I think about the Christ who lightens every person, (John
1:1,9). I
can see the eternal Christ as the divine spark in everyone. When I read
of the
Hindu understanding of the Brahman I am reminded of the universal,
cosmic and
spiritual body of Christ, (Colossians 3:11, Ephesians 1:10). The Christ
within,
the eternal divine spark within all people, is one and the same Spirit
as the
cosmic universal Christ. As it is written, Christ is all, and in all.
Christ is
all there is. Realizing this is the essence of "enlightenment ”.
The Ephesian
prayer was that the
eyes of our understanding might be enlightened so that you might know,
perceive
and experientially understand that we are completed in Christ,
(Colossians
2:10). This was a present reality. Enlightenment
perceives the
universal body that we were called into. We then recognize everything
as the
riches that are present in, and that we have in this corporate body.
Then we
come to know the exceeding greatness of the power of this reality,
(Ephesians
1:17-19). The result of understanding the height, depth, breadth, and
length of
the love of God is that we realize that we are filled with all the
absolute
fullness of God, and that we are one spirit, one mind, one body,
together able
to do abundantly above all that we even dare ask, think, or imagine.
In Ephesians,
we are already blessed
with all spiritual blessings, (1:3). We are already one. What prevents
people
from seeing this present reality is "the vanity of the mind, having the
understanding darkened, being alienated... through ignorance... because
of
blindness,” (4:17-18).
In a similar
way within Hinduism,
what prevents the realization that the Atman (the divine spark within)
is the
Brahman (the everything of the universe) is illusion (or Maya). The
goal is to
see through this illusion. When we realize that all is one and
everything is
the same we start breaking down the illusion (the Maya). Until then
everything
we see, hear, and touch can contribute to this illusion of separateness
and
individuality.
In Ephesians,
the way out of this
darkness and sense of alienation and separation comes through Christ in
a
variety of ways. Enlightenment is a divine gift that comes by
revelation
(1:9,17), through proclamation (3:8-9, 4:11-13,15, 6:19-20), and
through prayer
(1:17-19, 3:14-20, 6:18). Sometimes, understanding comes while reading,
listening, studying and meditating on the message, (3:3-4).
In Hinduism
this realization of
oneness and interconnectedness is often discovered during the various
practices
of yoga. Various types of yoga provide various paths to perfect union
with the
divine. There are 4 common styles of yoga: meditation, study, work and
love.
There is a tolerant recognition in Hinduism that different sorts of
people need
and are most comfortable with different spiritual paths toward
enlightenment.
Individual circumstances and personality type will often determine the
most
suitable yoga to practice.
Yoga is a means
within Hinduism to
see through the alienation and illusion of separation. Yoga means
"union" and is related to the English words to join and to yoke. The
4 most common types of yoga are listed below.
1. Royal (or
Raja) Yoga
Within Royal
Yoga perfection is
discovered while meditating on the supreme personality of the Godhead
within
one's heart. The ultimate goal of Royal Yoga is the super ultra
conscious state
of understanding that knows that Atman is the Brahman. This
consciousness is
called Samadi.
2. Knowledge
(or Jnana) Yoga
In Knowledge
Yoga, study is for the
pursuit of spiritual wisdom, not academic knowledge. When enough
theoretical
and experiential knowledge is combined with an intense longing for
liberation
then oneness is realized and the scriptural freedom is lived.
The ultimate
goal of Knowledge Yoga
is spiritual insight. Spiritual insight eliminates ignorance. Ignorance
is the
cause of Maya (or the illusion of being separate).
3. Action (or
Karma) Yoga.
Karma Yoga is
serving without
expecting a return. This is selfless work and action. This is divine
work. It
is not the self doing the actions. It is the Atman (or the divine spark
within), which is the Brahman (or the universal cosmic divine), which
does the
work.
Often those who
practice Action Yoga
or selfless action become completely absorbed in their work. They may
lose
track of all time and become released from self.
4. Devotional
(or Bhakti) Yoga
Devotional Yoga
is the most common
type of yoga, practiced by lower classes and the common people, and is
characterized by love, devotion and relationship with the divine. This
relationship is often expressed through prayer and giving.
Amongst
Christians, and others
enlightenment and flashes of insight often come during similar
practices. I
have been awakened and transformed by new insights while walking on a
treadmill
meditating on the nature of God (Royal Union), while studying the
scriptures
(Knowledge Union), in service to others while preparing for a
presentation
(Action Union), in private and group prayer and meditation, and while
in the
midst of community with outward expressions of love in worship
(Devotional
Union). Often these insights come with visions and mystical experience,
but
they are always life altering. When the insight comes, whether it is
during
meditation, or prayer, or study, or expressions of love... when the
revelation
of the Christ comes … we are changed.
In a similar
way, the Buddhist
notion of skillful means is the idea that enlightenment can come in a
variety
of ways. Mahayana Buddhism, for example, invites many
philosophical and
practical approaches toward enlightenment and the discovery of cosmic
unity.
Some people need to hear a message, others need the connection of a
community,
and others still need only silence and emptiness, while some focus on
the
divine nature to see the deeper reality. For Zen Buddhists
enlightenment comes
as a flash of insight and the sudden realization that nothing is
separate from
oneself. There is the Buddha (or Christ) nature within and also the
Cosmic
Buddha. Everything is a part of everything else, and all people and
things
exist together. I have even heard of some coming to this
realization from
the study of physics, chemistry, and science.
For me, I look
to the Christ, but
since Christ is all there is, there is truth everywhere I look. I am
glad to
see the graciousness of God in revealing these realities to people
everywhere.
Indeed, we all
are able to see
beyond a limited human cultural viewpoint, the eyes of our
understanding being
enlightened to the eternal or divine perspective. We all have the mind
of
Christ.
Whatever the
language, Christ is all
and in all. The cosmic Christ is the Christ within. Whether Christian,
Buddhist, Hindu or not each moment is and can be an experience of
completeness.
With enlightened eyes we behold with wisdom and compassion, the
completed and
ultimate unity. We are all interconnected and one.
God is all,
Christ is all, and We
are all… One.
Celebrating our
Oneness,
In Christ, URfriend,
Dean Johnson
Christ is all,
and in all, that God
may be all in all.
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