Religions — their meaning and purpose
The word religion comes from the Latin “rilegare” which means “to link”.
Religion is therefore what links man to his Creator, and it is “revealed” to mankind by God Himself, since a religion is also a “Revelation”.
In today’s world, there are three orthodox religions: Judaism, Christianity (which comprises the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox Church) and Islam, and three oriental doctrines: Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. These doctrines cannot be called religions because they are metaphysical in nature and their goal is “metaphysical liberation”, whereas the goal of religions is “salvation”. We will explain later what this implies.
Religions are destined to the mass and, for this reason, are presented as “dogmas” not to be discussed but accepted in “faith”, because the common human does not have the intellectual qualifications to grasp metaphysical concepts. Therefore, the “form”, or the exterior of a tradition will be emphasized in a religion.
This also explains why these forms are different from one another, each form being “adapted” to the mentality of the people to whom it is addressed.
A new “revelation” does not imply that the old one was wrong, but rather that is has lost its spiritual power on the people to whom the new revelation is destined.
For instance, Christianity was directed to the Roman world whose religious
practices had become mere superstitions at the end of their civilization. It was not destined to the Jewish people whose tradition was alive and well, or to other parts of the world which were unknown to the people of those days.
Because of these geographical, historical and human requirements, a religion has limitations and its exterior cannot be “universal”. It appeals to the emotional side of human beings, faith, love, passion, which can easily become “fanaticism”. The reason is that religions are only concerned with the individual, and their goal is “salvation”.
The human who obtains “salvation” through observance of his religious faith during his lifetime, is “saved” from returning to another life in a form lower than human (an animal, for instance), thus guaranteeing the possibility to reach higher states of consciousness.
Therefore, a religion is necessary to give the common man a spiritual
vehicle to ascertain his progression on the vertical plane of the cross, or, in
other words, to be able to continue climbing the ladder of universal existence as a “central being”, i.e., the equivalent of human being with free will. This is why the Tantra says that “the one who has obtained the human state and does not try to transcend it is like one who commits suicide”.
Because “death” is really “stagnation, i.e., the impossibility of reaching the higher states of the being.
Exoterism and Esoterism
Exoterism is what deals with the “exterior” of a tradition, what is addressed to everybody. Religions for the mass are “exoteric”. Esoterism is the “core” of a tradition, or the “essence”.
While exoterism goes from the inside to the outside, esoterism goes from the outside to the inside. It is not concerned with the form but rather with the metaphysical aspect of the tradition. As such, it is “Universal” and its objective is “metaphysical liberation”.
Judaism and Islam consist of an exoteric doctrine and an esoteric doctrine,
the first addressed to the mass and the latter addressed to an “elite” possessing the necessary qualifications to receive “initiation” to higher mysteries.
The case of Christianity is different, as the Christian doctrine was in
existence prior to the coming of Jesus Christ as an esoteric doctrine. Its
“descent” as a religion had become necessary because of historical
requirements. For more information on this subject, I urge you to read
“Transcendental Unity of Religions” by Frithjof Schuon, which has
been translated into English.
The Oriental doctrines, Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism are metaphysical in essence and therefore, the words esoterism and extorerism do not apply to them.
To summarize, at this time, there are six “orthodox” doctrines.
This means that they are of Divine origin, transmitted to mankind directly from God. They all derive from the Primordial Tradition of the Golden Age. Tradition means “transmission”, and anything “traditional”, in the real meaning of the word, is “sacred”. A doctrine is “orthodox” only when the “transmission” has never been broken since its origin. This is why any other “interpretation” of a doctrine cannot be called a religion, as it is “heterodox”, i.e., holding unorthodox opinions. Heterodoxies are widespread at the end of the Kali Yuga and are mistaken with true religions.
Spiritual practice
All traditions provide rituals, prayers, incantations, meditations, as
well as techniques which vehicle spiritual influence.
Among the techniques leading to spiritual enlightenment, the practice of Yoga is part of the Hindu tradition. There are many forms of Yoga and they all lead to higher states of consciousness. As explained earlier, “yoga” means “union”, union to the Principle, or “metaphysical liberation”.
In the Western world, there is not much left for one who wishes to go
higher. There is a Jewish esoteric doctrine (Kabbalah) with its particular
techniques, but it is reserved to a very small elite, chosen practically at
birth. There is also a Christian esoterism with its techniques, but it is not
available to most Christians as it is hidden in the most remote regions
of Eastern Europe; it is called “Hesychasm” (on this subject, see the book
of F. Schuon mentioned earlier).
Islam is the only one of the three Western traditions which offers an initiation to esoteric teachings (Sufism) but, here again, it implies a conversion to Islam since one cannot embrace an esoteric doctrine without, first, conforming to its exoteric form.
However, we can “borrow” from other traditions such practices as
yoga or meditation techniques, as long as they are taught by a Master, and as long as we keep these practices in the perspective of our own tradition, as a vehicle to better understand it and to better use it for our spiritual growth.
However, there is one “technique” that we can all practice, it is the “Karma Yoga”. It consists of using our own personal life as an “initiatic journey”. Our “guru” is our destiny which provides us with countless “ordeals”. So, each ordeal (or test) must become an “exercise” to learn how to control our usual reactions.
Also, we must give a spiritual meaning to all of our “actions” and
eliminate, as much as possible, mere agitation and useless pursuits. If we
practice Karma Yoga every day of our life, we will attain “detachment”,
which is not indifference as one might think, but rather a perfect control of
our emotions. This will allow us to be available to all around us without any
interference of “I like or I dislike”, thus reaching the state of pure, unselfish love.
A unified personality is only made of love, which is nota “feeling” but a state of being, the original state of man before his fall, as God created man in an act of love.