My Religious Enlightenment took 40 years. It was an interesting journey with a predictable end. That end was the realisation that what I had expected all along was true: there are no gods and religions were devised by men to serve their human insecurities and interests.
As I get older, that truth becomes as obvious as the nose on my face; no gods and man-made religion.
When I was about 13 or 15 I found a copy of Lobsang Rampa’s “Doctor from Lhasa” which was then an enthralling read about Buddhism and it’s practice in Tibet. By then I had had a dose of protestant Christianity and had heard and read about the miracles said to have been performed by Jesus and all the other trials and tribulations outlined in the Holy Bible, said to be the divine word of God. The birth of Jesus, the son of God, his death by resurrection and rising from the dead. I could never accept that I was a sinner and that Jesus had died for my sins. My view was that I was a good person. How could I be a sinner? It was this concept of rewards and punishments that first helped me decide against Christianity as having anything to do with a loving God.
Within a year or two I had read all of the Lobsang Rampa books that were available and was greatly impressed with the mysterious nature of Buddhism as practised in Tibet. After a few more years I began reading everything and anything I could find about mysticism and religion. I read about most of the main religions and found that while there were some considerable differences, there were also a lot of similarities. One that stood out was the importance of men at the expense of women who seemed to be simply an add-on for the convenience of men. “Would a loving and just God treat men differently from women?” I thought. “Definitely not.”
While greatly impressed with Buddhism, because it is more a philosophy of life than a religion and doesn’t believe that Buddha was anything more than a human being, I also found the Hare Krishna religion interesting. At least the followers of Hare Krishna had the fortitude to state that Krishna was God incarnate who returned every so many thousands of years to help us on our way. Their key text, the Baghavad Gita is both ancient and interesting.
The prolific writer on mythology, the late Joseph Campbell took my interest when I read first his title, “Hero with a thousand faces”. It’s a title that shows how the Christian myth is identical to dozens of similar myths that extend throughout the history of mankind; the fall of humankind, the arrival of a saviour, the saving and return to God.
After years of searching for the truth I found that I had had the same experience that Donald Broadribb described as follows:
Only through years of attempting to find a solution to the meaning and purpose of life can you truly experience the fact that no solution exists. And only when you truly experience the fact that no solution exists can you find the solution.
Donald Broadribb (1995), The Mystical Chorus: Jung and the Religious Dimensions
If you are a person who has been inculcated with religious dogma by your parents or others, I encourage you to read widely about all of the religions and critically analyze what you believe, usually without any supporting evidence. You owe it to yourself to either prove that your beliefs are well founded or that you have been misled be people who are simply following what has been followed by their forebears for hundreds of years.
Remember that because a large number of people believe something doesn’t make it true. At one time most people believed the world was flat.
Stay well and good searching.
Dark Horse
PS: Your task is so much easier now because you have the Internet. I didn’t.
