=kit020.txt

KIT 20 - Towards a New Approach

Unless one is prepared to reconsider, restructure, innovate, one
is not part of the evolutionary process. In fact, the outdated
religious beliefs and practices of those who have not made the
contemporary leap in thinking are largely instrumental in
fostering the intolerance which inevitably triggers off the
violence and wars that afflict our times.

We know that, having made the step required to be in sync with
present thinking, there is no turning back; the paradigm shift is
irreversible. But is it not foolhardy to devalidate or dismiss
hackneyed attitudes and purport to start from scratch, when in
fact, our present is an organic sequence to the achievements of
our predecessors? Martin Buber relates the metaphor of the Golem;
each man stands on the shoulders of another so that one of them
may see beyond. I consider it my duty to explore with you the
features of the spirituality in keeping with our time. Pir-o-
Murshid Inayat Khan was a great precursor and trailblazer, and I
feel the call to pursue the tidal wave that he set into motion.

What then would be the features of an updated spirituality? Purely
off the cuff, I venture: a spirituality without a belief system,
without a set of prescriptions, and without authority figures
(that is, gurus or established ranks).

It is wise, however. to avoid throwing the baby out with the bath
water. One overlooks easily what was the wisdom in time-
consecrated procedures which one wishes to discard. On one hand,
the remarkable progress of science, technology and social
organization was only possible by questioning and updating
previous thinking or methods or procedures. On the other hand, we
are beginning to discover the drawbacks: pollution, acid rain, the
depletion of planetary resources. cancer, the population
explosion, violence, decadence.

Re: "belief" As one evolves, one questions belief founded upon
authority and seeks direct experience. Yet one needs to take into
account that experience is interpreted and our assessment is
questionable. Moreover, we preclude and prefigure experience by
our assumptions. Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan calls upon a totally
different dimension which is faith rather than belief, based upon
a kind of precognitive, proto-critic knowledge beyond the mind
which he calls the knowledge of the soul. Imagine - this basic
human intuition gets blurred and devalidated by mind-games that
prove totally inadequate and misleading, so that people replace
faith by belief or skepticism.

Yet, while opinions are relative, enlightened insight can reveal
new vistas. Hence, people need guidelines, landmarks, bearings,
azimuths rather than goals.

Re: "do's" and "do not's". One will never lime to take
responsibility for one's actions if one bases them on the opinion
of a person. however enlightened, or upon public opinion. Non
conformism to these prescriptions most often instills guilt
complexes which obstruct genuine soul searching. When freed from
this moral imposition. people are able to discover their
conscience as their ultimate criterion.

Re: "counselling" Guides will have to make a policy of abstaining
from advising, at the same time, acting as facilitators in order
to help people untangle the incongruities in their own assessments
and discover their real motivations. Undoubtedly. even as there
are people who are more skilled than others in violin making or
piano playing, or cabinet making or in physics, there will always
be a need for teachers in every field including that of meditation
or in that most lofty of all skills, helping people to get in
touch with the sublime dimension of their being.

           

Re: "gurus" Leadership, guidance, pioneering are essential to
human evolution, but our human expertise is not up to evaluating a
person's degree of spirituality. Admittedly, there are certain
norms. A person with a doctor's degree in medicine is allowed to
practice medicine, but there are enormous differences in the skill
of doctors. The world is graced with beautiful people without any
pretense to spirituality, often more inspiring than those
purporting to hold a spiritual rank.

While I recognize the need for organization, institutions.
schools, we will need to be wary in the future, of claims to any
established rank. Spiritual guides will have to prove themselves
by the inspiration they communicate and by their radiance. This is
the meaning of the Islamic formula; Khatum Rasul il'llah. Claims
to being 'divinely special' may have had their place in credulous
societies to establish credibility. Such claims are no more
acceptable in our time. Islam announced a landmark, which, in
fact, defines democracy. The prophet marked the transition by
disclaiming any divinity, announcing himself as the servant of
God. But the followers carried this teaching beyond its purpose,
denying the divinity in all beings which is the very implication
of La ilaha illa 'lla!   

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