From many years of studies of world history, experience and observation I have come to the conclusion that religions have failed in bringing persons closer to God and to one another. Instead of their becoming signs of realities beyond this world that made life livable, fulfilling, and blessed, they have become anti-signs fostering self-righteous attitudes, intolerance, crass discrimination, gross persecution, and even cruel and incredible murders. They are capable of arousing passions of people to the point that people have been and still are killing one another in the name of the same one God. They neglect realities of this world for matters of faith and dogmas. They define matters of faith that in reality cannot be defined. They threaten with anathemas those who honestly and in good conscience disagree with them. They sincerely in their blindness believe that every good and intelligent person should believe what they believe. They feel they are the administrators of truth. They believe that those who do not see things the way they see are in reality misguided and are to be pitied.

             Let us, for instance, take the four major world religions. The Christians believe that they alone possess the truth revealed through Jesus Christ, and that there is no salvation without belief in Saviour Jesus Christ. Muslims believe that the Christians have corrupted scriptures handed down to them and gone astray and the Jews deserve Allah's wrath, and Quran corrects the Christian Scriptures as the final word of Allah given to Mohammed, the greatest and the final prophet. The Hindus believe one's actions determine the kind and number of incarnations until one attains liberation through dissolution into the Supreme Being. The Buddhists believe that one can attain nirvana (final bliss) through one's own effort by following Buddha's prescription. Such mutually exclusive, differing, and even contradictory view-points of religions saw seeds for strife, dissension, and quarrels. Where is then the place for love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and justice? We have known, for instance, nations believing in the same religion fighting each other and praying to God for victory of their side. Depending on needs some people have prayed for rain while others have prayed that there may be no rain. What can God do?

             Herein comes the need for spirituality beyond religions or for higher consciousness. At the outset I need to mention that I am not against religions, and I respect all religions whether I agree with them or not. Respect for others is imperative in any society. Religions need to purify themselves and find their original vision and mission. They need to work together so people can increase their ability to love all human beings who are made in the image of God, or who all are sparks of divine consciousness. Religions need to stop infantilizing human beings. They need to stop advocating for their vested interests. Instead of shrinking the inner freedom through their diktats, they need to help all enjoy the glorious freedom of God's children. God gave human beings freedom even to reject Him. Just to take a few examples, Christ allowed Judas, one of his close disciples, to take part in his Last Supper considered to be the first Eucharistic celebration (Mass) knowing Judas would betray him. Will a catholic priest give Holy Communion to a person knowing that he would betray Christ? Can a Muslim change his religion without any fear of being harmed? Can a Hindu change his religion without being harassed? There are many other questions that deal with a person's fundamental rights. The need for spirituality beyond religions or higher consciousness in a pluralistic society is essential and is really the need of the hour.
         
Jeevanmukta – Free From Ties

             The goal of holistic living is to arrive at the stage of Jeevanmukta (liberated from life's or worldly ties – samsara-bandhana). One can be Jeevanmukta or free already in this world. Jeevanmukta in this world might be equivalent to Avadhoota (the pure one, most free) in Hinduism or Bodhisatva (the enlightened being) in Buddhism. Both Avadhoota and Bodhisatwa are freed from worldly ties but decide in their compassion to continue in this world to help others become free. When one takes care of this world, the other world or life hereafter will be taken care of automatically. What needs to be done is for this life that we know we have. We need to fully focus on this life. When that is done a good after-life is guaranteed. It is like financial investment for life after gainful employment. If one does that, one will have financial resources for one's final, and to me the most important, stage in life. In the final stage the gathering of fruits, a good sense of self, and the final sorting or integration of self-take place. Many, if not most, people are disillusioned, disappointed, depressed, and fragmented in this stage. They have not seen this stage coming; did not want to think about it or have not prepared for it. They see death as an evil that needs to be avoided. In reality they have not accepted death as part of the human condition. Because of this their life ends in despair. Despair is due to the failure of not achieving integrity in the final stage of life according to the eight stages of psycho-social development of a person described by Erick Erickson, a well-known psychologist.

             Life, as it is, is very difficult. The overwhelming percentage of one's energy, time, and resources is spent on one's physical well-being. One's long education generally is a preparation for the physical life, more specifically, a career. One gets a job and spends not only most of one's life but also the most important years of one's life to take care of the physical needs of oneself and one's family. The obvious conclusion from all this is that spirit life has very little importance until, perhaps, the final years of one's life. What is to be done? The answer is clear. We need to give spirit life the paramount importance. Our spirit life needs to guide and direct all other aspects of our life. All are called to be holy. All can become holy. One becomes free and holy by living the way one should live in a genuine, authentic fashion according to a well-formed conscience. One also becomes a saint by living the way one should live. Ordinary life is not glamorous. One needs not do extraordinary things to be a saint. One does not need canonization to become a saint. Becoming a saint needs to be an ordinary affair as all are called to be saints.

             Going through various stages of life guided by parents, teachers, and great models of humanity, one negotiates difficult terrain, goes through pains and joys, dispenses one's obligations, and eventually one becomes a guide oneself for others. One blooms wherever one happens to be. One lives life to the full and celebrates life through vicissitudes of life. One's self fragmented into so many desires, demands, needs, wants, expectations, and hopes are finally put together and integrated as one realizes one's purpose in life. As one moves through life, the greatest university on earth, one grows in fairness, justice, compassion, freedom, equality, truth, love, unity of humanity, the cultivation of loving kindness (mettabhavana), and, above all, detachment. One becomes aware of the fragility, impermanence, and brevity of human existence. With involved detachment a person becomes free – jeevanmukta – to be a person for others. The more a person is for others the more that person can be for himself/herself.