19. The Failings of Organized Religion © 2017 – Matt Sharpe

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   There are many elements that have gone into the human development of religions and a number of these are also exhibited by other primates which serves to solidify the idea of it having evolved from a time before we became so called “modern humans.” Anthropology has discovered some of the factors involved. A very recent study found that a chimpanzee is able to form a complex circular relationship by learning to play rock, paper, scissors with a four year old human child. That study can be read about here: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/08/170810104846.htm

 

   

   While obviously certain things we were already capable of long before becoming modern humans, the quality that is used to distinguish a modern human from any earlier predecessors was the dramatic increase in brain size. As the brain grew in size it became more capable of an ever-greater awareness and ability to learn new things. An awareness of the self and its relation to, or interaction with others was another necessary development although it began far earlier. Tool development and use demonstrates the development of an awareness of causality which further developed into an understanding of both cause and effect and the individual’s participation in them. From there the development of a language was another necessity from which would develop the ability to tell stories and create myths. The first known outward sign of religious thought is considered to be the burial of the dead, and the idea that certain requirements could affect the situation the individual faced in the afterlife. From these eventually a morality developed and became a part of the group social structure.

 

 

   These factors and developments are a part of the behavior of hominids and the increase in brain size is generally what created the separation of modern man from his predecessors. It is extremely hard to determine exactly when humans developed spirituality. Early in our existence we formed groups or tribes that were partially the source and place of use of our developing social structures. I consider it safe to say that some of the earliest forms of religion on earth were what would now be called shamanistic belief systems practiced within indigenous tribes (although the word’s origins are from the speakers of Proto-Tungusic languages of North Asia). The word shaman came into a much more widespread usage referring to indigenous tribal spiritual systems after anthropologists noticed a great many similarities between the practices of many unrelated cultures across the globe. Many of these systems are still in practice today, and one very important thing consistent with those that use them is that they are aware of the existence of an inner path that relates directly to outer life. The inner reality has always been the lifeblood of the spiritual systems that have developed into religions, and it is that ability to go within and interact with finer aspects of life that make a path a living one.

 

 

   The relationship between that inner pathway, and its outer symbolism, rules, and mechanics and the way they are viewed and practiced in the outer world went through several stages of development before becoming what would today be called organized religion. There are any number of degrees of a relative balance between the two, and potentially, the possibility of an imbalance. Maintaining a balance between the two is extremely important to the life of the religion as it determines how long it will continue to be useful and prosper while providing a service and a function to those who are involved in it. A religion must provide a means of inner communication with the Divine for the people, and a way for them to make spiritual progress inwardly, while also providing an outer support structure and community for individuals to share lessons together in a beneficial way. Many religions began in a way that promoted these things, but over time they generally devolved into something else that could no longer give the inner experience and the outer balance. Each devolving step draws the entire path further away from the connection with the ECK and thereby from a place where individuals can gain understanding of the principles involved to be able to continually grow and change for the better.

 

 

   While a religion had an inner connection, the path worked, and Divine Will worked through it to enable those Souls that were ready to take it as far as they could. The very nature of the Absolute places IT far beyond any religion which tends to exist on the emotional and mental levels, and ITS Voice, that Word of God, can work within any religious structure to reach Souls that are members. A religion losing its connection with the Divine does not necessarily kill that religion and many have been known to continue for several centuries or even eons clinging to their outer rituals and structures, though they be nothing more than a ghost of what they once were and could accomplish. And while that might be the case for any religion, that in no way limits it from enabling one who follows it and is more perceptive and creative from actually gaining an inner awareness with which they can communicate and interact with the Holy Spirit.

 

 

   There have been individuals showing up amid organized religion since the first appeared on earth. Saint Francis of Assisi is one example of one that came along centuries after the religion was formed, and who attained sainthood regardless of the limits that existed in the religion as it was in his time. Such individuals tend to have a great degree of spiritual insight and can get more from the writings and teachings, and apply them in life in a way that brings actual results and experience. Regardless of a religion’s spiritual connections, to truly be effective for its students it needs to have a living Master at its helm. One who is able to visit them both inwardly and outwardly to teach.

 

 

   The only case where a deceased Master can teach living humans is if that Master was the one who initiated its chelas, or students, which establishes a link and a bond that transcends the physical. This one point is what makes it easier to discern which are dead religions. The mystic that first made the spiritual attainment of the inner realms is typically gone before much time has passed, and not all train an individual who is fit to carry on after they leave. This is the reason that Christ cannot teach living humans today, nor can Muhammad, nor Buddha. A living human must be taught the principles of a path by a living human, and he must be a Master if he is to have any success in guiding students along the way of his path.

 

 

   Once that original teacher has left the physical, that is when others try to maintain whatever is left of that path by collecting any existing writings or writing things down and codifying them into a system. These rules determine the right and wrong actions and ways one can follow, or not, enabling people the ability to follow what is considered truth within that path. The problem is that these rules have no living being that is available to explain them in detail nor that can interpret them for the individuals on the path. This interpretation takes shape through inner experiences with a Master, and in outer realizations that occur under his guidance. When these do not occur, that path’s inner connection to the Audible Life Stream is lost and the path experiences a type of “death.” Often a shadow of what once was forms, and it is one that has no ability to teach the individual in real time in both the outer and the inner.

 

 

   It is that spiritual connection and interaction that humans need to advance spiritually, and that can only be found in a living path. Even after a split off or a reformation takes place within a religion, there is no guarantee that that alone is enough to bring it back into active contact with Spirit, though some might believe that it does. The inner spiritual connection with Divine Will is the necessity, and whether one even exists. As a spiritual path goes through the various stages, it loses that connection and its ability to help individuals climb the ladder of spiritual experience. Outer rituals and habits can in no way replace that living connection. That is the state many religions find themselves in today.

 

 

  A friend said to me recently, “Religions are useless and it is what each man has inside that counts. It is where the flame of the Great Spirit is and it is up to each man to keep the Light bright and not let darkness dim it.” That man was Pedro Montegro, a shaman in the Aztec tradition. What he says is true because once again now, much as in the mid-sixties, the populace has become rather fed up with organized religion and people’s spiritual needs are not being met. Because of this many will leave behind their normal religions and go in search of a new way that can possibly offer them direct experience with the inner path which is the thing that all Souls require.

 

 

   Christianity has always had many splinter groups that leave one branch over a reinterpretation of a segment of the doctrine that they prefer as opposed to what it had been before, but that coupled with the rampant pedophilia that is found in many of the groupings within Christianity has caused people to lose faith and trust, no small thing. Radical Islam has taken its place as the new boogeyman in the Western news, and much of that religion is seen as being a party to that sentiment, although it arguably is but a small percentage of the entirety of Muslims. This is a continuation of a thing that has been seen throughout recent decades. An exodus from organized religion by many while searching for a way that can instruct in ways to make the inner path come to life for each individual. I have named two religions to show current examples, but they are hardly the only ones going through a similar status.

 

 

   By and large the religions of man have lost contact with the inner principles that were at one time their largest part, and because of this the attention of the members has been put into the writings and the rules that govern them. Fundamentalism is bred in this way, although that is not the only point of view concerning tenets of a religion and their interpretations. When any group breaks free from the one it had once been a part of, there will be animosity, and in most cases each group’s leadership will change the writings to be used to demonize that other group, the perceived “enemy.” While some will cling tenaciously to either group, others will notice it and decide that they expect more spirituality than that and those that do might leave entirely and go looking in another direction. On and on this goes throughout the ages and in all cultures.

 

 

   This is how the individual, whether as a part of a group or individually, gains experience that can be used to judge whether they are going the way they want to, and from these experiences of life, spiritual evolution happens. Although that can often take many lifetimes before it becomes so noticeable that the individual can see it. While much of this comes from the karmic states of the individuals concerned, it also comes from the mental and emotional states and experiences as one goes through life, adding each new positive or negative experience to the overall totality that they must work from. Each religion goes through each of the stages, and none are exempt from having to deal with them, and each will eventually lose direct inner contact with Spirit and will die out. Eckankar is no different. While it maintains a connection and is still to this day one of the fastest ways of climbing the spiritual ladder, that will at one point unavoidably be changed.

 

 

   Each religion still serves a purpose for the group that uses them, even if there is no perceptible connection to the Godhead. Those that follow them may only believe there to be a connection, but this still serves a purpose for them and gives its members the ability to feel that they are in control of their own spiritual welfare, even if in reality they are not. That function may only be one of the pride, but even so it allows the individual to continue moving in a way that they can stand. When a religious path that had at one time been connected to the Shabd, loses that ability, before long another will spring forth. One that has the means for connecting the physical entity with their own spirituality, and one that has a living leader that can personally address each individual’s inner needs. This has been the way of things since humanity’s beginnings, and it will not end anytime soon.

 

   This is the way of things on these lower planes as people contend with and work through the dualism. Never will there be a single path that is able to have a true connection to the Spirit and still be followed by most of the living population of the earth. The Sugmad is not so impatient as to require such a thing. And for that reason, it would be unfitting for one to occur. As things are today, the various religions suit groups of people that are at various levels of spiritual understanding of the whole, many of whom have not even begun the journey into a perfect understanding of the Self. So, while humanity goes through various stages of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the available religions, the overall progress is indeed known and monitored. Each thing is in its rightful place although that does not necessarily mean that it will remain there. All things are in development and turning into that which their choices create. Each religion serves a purpose for those who follow it, however that purpose is in flux, and changes constantly over time.

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