Prime examples of duality are the organized religions of the world. Controntation over their respective gods has led to unending bloodshed and suffering, which we need not to into deeply here. It is ironic that loving and merciful gods have been the source of so much violence and bloodshed. The fact that we do not share an awareness of this inherent contradiction is one of the bigger mysteries of the human condition. Until we address this contradiction, we cannot bring peace into this world. Without reconciliation among gods and religions, peace is impossible.
In order to overcome the problem of different gods, we need a higher divine entity. Who could bring all these omniscient and omnipotent gods together for a round of negotiation and reconciliation? Ultimately, the responsibility lies with human beings. It is up to us to require gods of love, to love, gods of peace to be peaceful, and gods of mercy to exercise mercy. When there is peace on Earth, our gods will become peaceful. When we exercise love in the world, our gods willl become gods of love.
Let us examine our relationship to our gods. First, lets look at the “god-centered” Age of Faith. In this age, god(s) became the center of our world, controlling everything from plants and animals to floods and lightning. We were at the constant mercy of this god. Gods that rose to prominence during this period shared several general characteristics. Chief among them, were selfishness, possessiveness, immature display of anger and sexual conquest, and often cruelty, administered by severe punishment.
All gods seem to have their favorite nations or peoples, toward whom they direct their favor. These nation or ethnic-centered gods represent the collective identity and ego of a particular group or organization. The fact that we are stil engaged in religious conflict speaks to the essentially prejudicial nature of our current gods. We do not have a god that can represent the whole Earth. The god-centered age is thereforea an era of immaturity of the human spirit. Academics generally agree that god-centered world gradually grave way to modern science and humanistic philosophy of the seventeenth century, though its influence is still pervasive.
Humanism began with the Renaissance and the Age of Science and Reason, opening our eyes to the power and potential of the human intellect. We can refer to this as a human centered time, which continues to this day, as the Rational Age. In this age, humanity has acquired technical skills, and information that we could not previously have imagined. Unfortunately, with advancement in technology, we have become a threatening entity to all life and to the Earth herself. Most of us are still drunk on the success of human civilization, wreckage strewn along the path of achievement. This is evidence that the Human-Centered Age, like the God-Centered Age before it, is still imperfect and immature.
-Peaceology by Ilchi Lee
“And once we have the condition of peace and joy in us, we can afford to be in any situation. Even in the situation of hell, we will be able to contribute our peace and serenity. The most important thing is for each of us to have some freedom in our heart, some stability in our heart, some peace in our heart. Only then will we be able to relieve the suffering around us.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh
