Rev. Ann C. Fox
(508) 992-7081
minister@uufairhaven.org
Unitarian
Universalist
Society of Fairhaven
From India, with Love and Blessing
a sermon by Rev. Ann C. Fox
February 22, 2009
Note: A reading is attached, which you might like to read first
Clergy colleagues sometimes ask me what scripture or sacred teachings Unitarian Universalists accept as truth. If this were 1776, I would have responded, “The Bible is our scripture.” In 1876, I would hesitate then respond, “While the Bible is the accepted scripture amongst most of us, some Unitarians have been considering world religions, taking their inspiration from many of the New England Transcendentalists, like Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 1840s.” In 2009, I would respond that the sources from which we draw our inspiration are many, including the world’s religions, but the Bible is still our foundational text. The roots of world religions in Unitarianism, spring from the 1800’s.
This church building was completed in 1904. Have you noticed that the inscriptions around the windows in the Parish House are inspired by philosophy, poetry, and literature, as well as scripture? In the dining room, over the oak room dividers, there is an inscription that says: “Christian church, pagoda, mosque, and dome, God has in each and all a home.” Even in 1904, the notion of world religion amongst us was there.
Mr. Henry Rogers, the man who built this building, asked his minister in New York City, Reverend Robert Collyer, to suggest inscriptions for this building. I’m sure Rev. Collyer was quite familiar with world religions by this time. The reading this morning told us about the World’s Parliament of Religions that took place in September 1893, as part of the Chicago World Fair. Reverend Collyer very likely took part in that Parliament. He had actually served Unity Church in Chicago for 20 years, leaving in 1879 to take up the ministry in Mr. Rogers' church in New York City, which was then called The Church of the Messiah (and now called Community Church). There was quite an intertwining of circumstances that brought World Religions into the fold of Unitarian Universalism. The World Parliament of Religions was part of that intertwining.
Let us look at the sources that inspire Unitarian Universalists today in the 21st century. They are printed before Hymn #1 in your hymnal:
“The Living Tradition we share draws from many sources:
1. Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces that create and uphold life;
2. Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
3. Wisdom from the world’s religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
4. Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God’s love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
5. Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
6. (Note that you might not have this last one because it was added almost a decade after the hymnal was first printed.) Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.”
Notice that #3 identifies world religions as a source of inspiration for us. The responsive reading this morning (611 “Brahman”) is in the “Wisdom from the World’s Religions” section of the hymnal. You can tell a great deal about a religion by looking at the contents of its hymnal. Ours is a rich collection.
As we said, the interest in world religions has been growing since the time of Emerson. The inspiration behind the concept of combining the World Fair with the Parliament of Religions was by liberal clergy and many, if not most, were Unitarian and Universalist. Not all religions were happy with this endeavor. The Church of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury refused to attend saying that a “Parliament” implied equality of religions and he thought that ridiculous. (Eck, p.25)
One attendee of the Parliament who became a very popular speaker at Unitarian churches around Chicago and around the nation was the Hindu monk, Swami Vivekananda. You heard in the reading that he was “One of the most vibrant and dramatic of the Parliament participants…” (Eck, p.23) It would have been most unusual at that time in history to hear someone say, “Sisters and brothers of America…” He received a standing ovation just for these words. Many participants would have been puzzled and annoyed to hear him describe Hinduism as the mother of all religions. But, Vivekananda was not preaching superiority but indicating that Hinduism was accepting of all religions, each one being a path to the same source. Swami’s intent was to explain the essence of Hinduism, the philosophical part that he says is in all religions and which is taught at the end of the Hindu scripture called the Vedas. Swami teaches “Vedanta”—the end of the Vedas. Veda means Knowledge, with a capital K.
When Swami traveled across America, he perceived a spiritual vacuum and he felt that his disciples should come here as missionaries to bring the word of Vedanta. He was very familiar with the Bible and, inspired by St. Paul’s missionary activities, he established Vedanta Centers in many cities in the world, including Providence, Rhode Island. Swami Yogatmananda is the current teacher in Providence. Swami means teacher. Swami Vivekananda was the founding teacher in the late 1890’s, Swami Yogatmananda is the current teacher locally in our time.
Since we’re speaking about two swamis, have you heard the story about the two swamis who were in conversation? One said to the other, “How did you like my latest book, The Art of Levitation?” The other swami replied, “It kept me up all night!”
Today I offer you a shortened version of some of what Vivekananda taught and what the Vedanta Centers teach today for you to ponder. First, it is interesting to read that Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “I am God.” He was well aware that the Vedas taught that every person is an incarnation of God on earth. The greeting “Namaste” means “the divine in me greets the divine in you.” Vivekananda taught that the ideas of both the personal and the impersonal God are equally valid. While the “Ground of Being” is the all pervading divine, the “Christs, Buddhas, and Krishnas, prophets, saints, and sages of all religions are also religious responses to the divine.” (Vivekananda) You might guess that Vedanta teaches the concept of reincarnation and the law of Karma: this is the belief that we live many lifetimes in order for the soul to evolve through our good works or “devolve” through our bad works or actions. So there is certainly a concept of a “soul” that evolves. If you truly believe that you are an incarnation of God, it will give you confidence and also lead you never to harm another person because he or she is also an incarnation of God; harming another is harming the divine.
Vedanta recognizes that people are different and so has four yogas or paths from which to lead a spiritual life. “Yoga” means “unity.” We’re used to thinking of yoga as being a stretching type of exercise, which is “hatha yoga.” Here are the yogas:
1. Religious Knowledge through study—Jnana Yoga: The practice of studying and pondering scripture and religious ideas for intellectual insight is jnana yoga. This path is for people who like to live in their heads a lot. (This describes many of us.)
2. The path of love – Bhakti Yoga: This is the practice of devotion or prayer. (Our weekly worship services certainly give us some this practice.)
3. The path of good works – Karma Yoga. This is the practice of serving others. (We certainly aspire to this through our social justice work.)
4. The path of exercise and meditation – Raja Yoga – These people are the yogis who seek mystical experience through controlling the body and mind. These are the people who scientists study. Their goal is samadhi, the experience of God. (Christian mystics of old would be in this category.)
People in this church practice primarily a combination of Jnana Yoga and Karma yoga in that we ponder religious ideas (jnana yoga) and seek to do good works (karma yoga). Some of us might consider our worship life to be Bhakti yoga—devotional yoga. Regarding their view of God in all beings: It reminds me of our First Principle: the inherent worth and dignity of all people, which is our way of saying ‘God in all beings.’
I notice that the Vedanta Center holds services at 5 pm on Sundays and I believe that most of them practice jnana (study) and bhakti (devotional) yogas. They also sing hymns and there is a sermon. Prayers (or “bajans”) are sung for an extended period so that they become a meditation. But it is also a very practical religion that encourages personal development and the experience of beloved religious community for those who gather regularly. They are both Indian and American at the Providence center.
What distinguishes the Vedanta practices from other religions is that it offers a Universal approach to religion in that particular beliefs are not required, which is also like Unitarian Universalism. However, like UUism that assumes a liberal approach to life and religion is a given, Vedanta accepts that reincarnation and the law of karma are assumed truths.
At the end of April, Swami Vivekananda has agreed to come here to give us a sermon. I hope you will come and hear him. As part of their Neighboring Religions course, our youth visit the Vedanta Center, which they did a few months ago. The Vedanta Center were gracious hosts. It will be good to be a host to Swami Yogatmananda on our premises.
Our denomination maintains relationship with the Vedanta Centers through the International Association for Religious Freedom, the IARF, which meets annually. May we form relationships with other world religions so that our own faith will continue to expand and blossom.
References
Eck, Diana L. Encountering God: A Spiritual Journey from Bozeman to Banares, Boston: Beacon Press, 1993.
Robinson, David. The Unitarians and the Universalists, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1985.
Ghosh, Gautam. A Biography of Swami Vivekananda: The Prophet of Modern India, New Delhi, India: Rupa Co, 2003.
Vivekananda, Swami. The Way Home, Temple Universal Publishing, 2003.
Reading: from Chapter 2, “Frontiers of Encounter”
Encountering God by Diana L. Eck
In 1893, the World’s Parliament of Religions convened in Chicago in connection with the World’s Fair which celebrated the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. For most Americans this two-week assembly was their first encounter on this continent with people of the great religious traditions of Asia. One hundred years ago most of the 150,000 American visitors who attended one or more sessions of the Parliament had never before heard the voice of a Buddhist, a Hindu, or a Muslim; one could probably count the number of Hindus in North America on the fingers of one hand….
What was a fair and a somewhat artificial Parliament in 1893 is today the reality of Chicago…The [Parliament] convened for more than two weeks in September of 1893. It was not really a world event except in intention and vision. It was planned by American Christians, mostly Protestants [and especially Unitarians (Rev. Fox’s addition)] and it could as easily be seen as one of the opening events of the modern Christian ecumenical movement….
One of the most vibrant and
dramatic of the Parliament participants was Swami Vivekananda, who was among
those who spoke for the Hindu tradition. His challenge was that of a widely
pluralistic worldview. In addressing his “sisters and brothers of America,”
he declared that he was proud “to belong to a religion that has taught the
world both tolerance and universal acceptance…. It is the same light coming
through different colors….But in the heart of everything the same truth
reigns; the Lord has declared to the Hindu in his incarnation as Krishna, ‘I
am in every religion as the thread through a string of pearls. And wherever
thou seest extraordinary holiness and extraordinary power raising and
purifying humanity, know ye that I am there.’ ”
(from pages 23-26)
© The Rev. Ann C. Fox