by The Rev. Laura Craig
This column will be authored by representatives of different faith traditions, members of the Princeton Clergy Association (PCA). The Association provides two annual opportunities for the community to join in prayer; Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith Service, and the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. It also responds publicly to local and national crises affecting the Princeton community at large. Membership includes clergy working within congregational settings, as well as in various specialized ministries such as hospice care, chaplaincies, peace activism, interfaith work, and mental health. The PCA’s efforts are achieved through mutual respect, friendship and collegiality of its membership.
Some of us may have a faith tradition into which we were born. Others may have found and converted to a tradition or spiritual practice we felt more meaningful to our everyday lives. And still others may feel that it is enough to live a life where one respects and honors all living things.
Whatever the path, we are all spiritual beings; it is as much a part of our makeup as our emotional, mental and physical selves, but because our diversity — cultures, languages, music, rituals, dress — we seem different.
Can this difference be real? Or is it just our perception, bias or attitude that tells us we are not the same? Hunger and pain is felt equally all over the world; a smile brightens faces on every continent; we all wish to live with autonomy (watch any 1-year-old wanting to feed themselves); every person longs to be seen, heard, loved and appreciated for who they are. We intuitively grasp there is something or someone greater than us that cannot be fully described, but is sensed within the cosmos, nature, ourselves, others, dreams and relationships.
Yes, it is time we recognize the universality of being human, with each person having similar yearnings and desires wherever they live and whatever their culture. Currently, music and art are generally accepted as universal languages, connecting people of all races regardless of age, religious, social, economic, mental or cultural status. But there is a more primal one. Our first universal language is that of love, because love expresses itself through relationship and it is a love relationship which is at the epicenter of the universe.
What is one of the smallest units on earth we can possibly think of? Could it be the connection between subatomic particles? Life would have never evolved unless hydrogen bonded with oxygen; unless electrons were willing to be in relationship with each other, sharing the same ring while circling around their protons.
If we have the eyes to see, all through the cosmos there is evidence of love relationships. Think of the pull and attraction of gravity; the perfect and courteous dance pattern of the planets; how the sun promotes growth in plants and animals; the effect of the moon on tides and ocean waters; the list goes on and on!
We as human beings also exist through relationship, both between ourselves and toward our world. It cannot be any other way! Consider everything we do and all our interactions. They are either an expression of love or a cry for love within the context of some type of relationship. And just as we absorb the sun’s rays to grow physically, we incorporate the love we have received from our parents and others, to grow emotionally. If these have been positive experiences, we learn how to love ourselves well and how to treat others with respect, concern and honest curiosity. If our experiences have not been so positive, our diminished self-love inhibits us from treating others as kindly as they’d like us to.
So the concept of the “Golden Rule” is quite basic to who we are as human beings; and as the picture shows, has become part of every faith tradition around the globe, written into their sacred texts. Sacred words and thoughts, however, carry little weight if not accompanied by actions. In his poem, “Becoming Human,” Hafiz, a 14th century Persian Sufi master and mystic, brilliantly portrays this:
Once a man came to me and spoke for hours about
“His great visions of God” he felt he was having.
He asked me for confirmation, saying,
“Are these wondrous dreams true?”
I replied, “How many goats do you have?
”He looked surprised and said,
“I am speaking of sublime visions
And you ask about goats!”
And I spoke again saying,
“Yes, brother — how many do you have?”
“Well, Hafiz, I have sixty-two.”
“And how many wives?”
Again he looked surprised, then said,
“Four.”
“How many rose bushes in your garden,
How many children,
Are your parents still alive,
Do you feed the birds in winter?”
And to all he answered.
Then I said,
“You asked me if I thought your visions were true,
I would say that they were if they make you become
More human.
More kind to every creature and plant
That you know.”
(From the Penguin publication “The Gift, Poems by Hafiz,” copyright 1999 Daniel Ladinsky and used with permission.)
In subsequent months, this column will explore the “Golden Rule” showing how this deep truth is manifested within various faith traditions and practiced by congregations in and around Princeton. No matter who we are, or what type of spirituality we happen to be currently practicing, the “Golden Rule” is relevant to all of us. May humankind reap the benefits from everyone remembering and acting upon this one simple but powerful axiom.
The Rev. Laura Craig is Interspiritual/Interfaith Minister, Fellowship In Prayer, Princeton.
