Indic and Semitic Wisdom: Interfaith Dialogue

Revelation

"God Is the Author of Every Sacred Book—And His Final Are Easier for a Tired, Weakened and Senile Humanity."

The last of the Divine Revelations adapt to a diminished human capacity. As Dr. Martin Lings writes:

“In the later religions, it is as if Providence had shepherded mankind into a narrower and narrower valley: the opening is still the same to heaven but the horizontal outlook is narrower and narrower because man is no longer capable of taking in more than a certain amount."

Source: The Essential Rene Guenon, Introduction

In the Golden Age, man was like a youth with all his faculties at the peak of their powers. By the end of time—the Iron Age—he is like a frail old man: bedridden and disabled. Such was the traditional view of human history: not a tale of progress but decline.

Notes 

* The Vedic scriptures are one of the oldest sacred texts and it expresses the supreme truths of non-duality openly and explicitly without fear of being misunderstood. Many ancient sages across the world consider non-duality to be the ultimate Truth and the highest understanding of Divine Oneness but to express it openly was only possible in the Golden Age (Satya-Yuga). In later religions, such as Christianity and Islam, these non-dual teachings are present within the text but are more hidden and implicit. The highest Truth is known in Sufism as The Secret (As-Sirr) which cannot be divulged openly to others without preparation because it can lead to confusion and heresy in this dark age.

* All sacred texts are profound in its depth because they all emanate from the single Divine Author. 

The Difference Between Salvation and Spiritual Awakening?

Question:

What is the difference between Salvation and Spiritual Awakening?

Answer

Salvation is spiritual bliss and ecstasy in the afterlife whereas spiritual awakening is a foretaste of that bliss in this very life.  The latter is more difficult to attain. 

Question:

Why does Islam emphasise salvation over spiritual Awakening, as found in Hinduism and Buddhism? 

Answer:

It is true that the average Muslim is more concerned with salvation and accumulating spiritual merit for his afterlife rather than spiritual awakening in this life, which often seems unattainable to ordinary individuals. However, it would be wrong to say there is no concept of spiritual awakening in Islam, just as it would be wrong to say there is no concept of salvation in Hinduism and Buddhism. 

In the Indic traditions, salvation is determined by the principle of karma where puṇya (merit) and pāpa (demerit) affect one's karmic balance and destiny hereafter. Similarly, within Islamic mysticism (ʿirfān, Sufism), there is a rich tradition of seeking mystical knowledge (maʿrifah) and spiritual unveilings (kashf) in this life, paralleling the Buddhist and Hindu ideals of spiritual awakening or Enlightenment.

As a general truth:

"Spiritual awakening is salvation here-below.

Salvation is spiritual awakening Hereafter."

All sacred traditions acknowledge that humanity in the latter days becomes spiritually weaker. Islam, as the final revelation, emphasises salvation in the afterlife because spiritual awakening here-below is less attainable for the masses in the latter days. This is a form of divine expediency — akin to the Buddhist notion of upāya (“skilful means”) — in which teachings are adapted to the diminished spiritual capacity of the age.

A similar shift is seen in Hinduism: in the latter days, the direct path of self-inquiry (jñāna yoga) is deemed less accessible, and bhakti yoga (devotion to the Lord) has risen to prominence, ensuring the path to God remains open to the masses.

Notes:

1. According to a Hadith, there are seventy thousand veils between the Creator and creation (the Absolute and the relative), symbolising different degrees of spiritual unveiling that are possible. While absolute unveiling may seem unattainable in this life, partial unveilings (kashf) are possible and are not strictly reserved for saints and sages (awliya).

Difference Between Semitic and Indic Wisdom

Frithjof Schuon observes that the Semitic revelations—Islam, Christianity, and Judaism—emphasise obedience, action, and moral law which means God is primarily addressing human will nor human intellect. In contrast, the Indic traditions - Hinduism and Buddhism -speak chiefly to the intellect. This is not a matter of superiority, and neither has a monopoly on will or intellect—each addresses both, but with a different centre of gravity.

A good way of illustrating this difference is the question: Are there multiple worlds? Semitic religions choose not to answer because it does not concern us directly and can even lead to distraction. Indic religions, by contrast, affirm the existence of multiple worlds because it would not satisfy the intelligence to think that the Infinite would only create one world; such limitation would contradict the very nature of Infinity. The Vedānta includes such teachings because of its deeply contemplative and elaborate style. Broadly speaking, the Semitic religions do not go into great detail about the structure of the universe and the origin of life, so their creationist doctrines can, for some, feel limited—particularly for those whose minds seek a fuller cosmological vision.

Creationist doctrines are true in its own right, but when interpreted too narrowly or literally, it can appear naïve and overly anthropomorphic, leaving the contemplative intellect unsatisfied. In such cases—especially where there is a risk of atheism—it may be worth exploring other sacred cosmologies that can help restore faith. This is especially true for modern scientists as Schuon writes:

“We do not ask physicists to be content with an anthropomorphic and naive creationism; but at least it would be logical on their part—since they aim at a total and flawless science—to try to understand the traditional ontocosmological doctrines, especially the Hindu doctrine of the ‘envelopes (kosha) of the Self (Atma),’ a doctrine that, precisely, presents the Universe as a system of circles proceeding from the Center-Principle to that extreme limit which for us is matter.”

 

In an age where atheism is the common adversary, the faithful of different traditions should recognise one another as allies. Just as various small families within a larger household put aside their disputes when a foreign invader threatens them, so too should believers rally together, drawing on the strengths of each other’s faith to defend the transcendent order against a world increasingly hostile to it.

Difference between Metaphysics and Theology 

Metaphysical truth is pure and unfiltered truth. Theology is a way of explaining metaphysical truths to the masses, using accessible symbols and imagery. For some, this theological imagery can feel childish, sentimental, simplistic and overly anthropomorphic. Many who lost faith for this reason have found it rekindled through metaphysical teachings—whether in Vedānta within Hinduism, Sufism within Islam, Kabbalah within Judaism, Taoism within Confucianist China, or the mystical currents of Christianity. It is like a lover searching for his beloved, yet failing to recognise her when she appears veiled in a mask—these veils being theology. At first, he find her less beautiful than he imagined her to be. Only when he learns that the face he has been looking at is actually a mask—worn because the beauty of her countenance is too blinding—does he realise who she truly is.