Aldous Huxley: The Perennial Philosophy

For myself as a Christian, Jesus Christ is my only way to the Father. He is the only way by which I may be saved. My profession of the Apostles’ Creed is an expression of my faith and belief in my own redemption through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ,

A Muslim’s profession of faith is: “There is no God but God; and Mohammad is his Prophet.”

A Hindu’s way may be the practice of complete devotion and worship of Krishna as an incarnation of God, among other possible paths.

A Taoist might say that the Tao is the way of God’s working in the universe that existed before God had a name and before there was any religion.

An adherent to the Jewish faith believes in Jehovah as the Creator and Lord of all things, and who revealed his Law through Moses.

A Buddhist takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma (the spiritual law of the universe), and the Sangha (the spiritual community).

As Aldous Huxley stated in his famous introduction to Swami Prabhavananda’s and Christopher Isherwood’s translation of the Bhagavad-Gita that was first published in 1944:

But happily there is the Highest Common Factor of all religions, the Perennial Philosophy which has always and everywhere been the metaphysical system of the prophets, saints, and sages. It is perfectly possible for people to remain good Christians, Hindus, Buddhists or Muslims and yet to be united in full agreement on the basic doctrines of the Perennial Philosophy.

In Huxley’s opinion, “The Bhagavad-Gita is perhaps the most systematic scriptural statement of the Perennial Philosophy.” Father Bede Griffiths noted in his book, River of Compassion: A Christian Commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita:

A Christian who is open to the message of the Gita will find that it throws new light on many aspects of the Gospel.

Aldous Huxley identified four main characteristics, and later added a fifth, of the Perennial Philosophy that he sees as not only the common ground, but the highest common ground, of all religions:

First: the phenomenal world of matter and individualized consciousness…is the manifestation of a Divine Ground within which all partial realities have their being, and apart from which they would be nonexistent.

Second: human beings are capable of not only knowing about the Divine Ground by inference; they can also realize its existence by a direct intuition, superior to discursive reasoning. This immediate knowledge unites the knower with that which is known.

Third: man possesses a double nature, a phenomenal ego and an eternal Self, which is the inner man, the spirit, the spark of divinity within the soul. It is possible for a man, if he so desires, to identify himself with the spirit and therefore with the Divine Ground, which is of the same or like nature with the spirit.

Fourth: man’s life on earth has only one end and purpose: to identify himself with his eternal Self and so to come to unitive knowledge of the Divine Ground.

The above principles of the Perennial Philosophy are stated in philosophical rather than doctrinal terms so that they may be compatible with the various religions.

An example of its application is that, just as Eckhart and Ruysbroeck describe a Christian Godhead underlying the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Bhagavad-Gita states that Brahman is the Godhead which underlies the Hindu trinity of Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), and Shiva (dissolver).

Another parallel can be found in that the Atman, the spark of divinity residing in the heart and which is directly related to Brahman (uncreated God in his unmanifest state) can be compared, not doctrinally but philosophically, to the indwelling Christ (“I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Galations 2:20).

Yet the language about the Divine Ground, and indeed all four characteristics of the Perennial Philosophy, are of a decidedly impersonal nature. It is indeed a valid spiritual practice to meditate on the impersonal aspect of the divinity; that is, divinity without what might be called anthropomorphic attributes such as love, goodness, compassion, and mercy.

But rare is the individual who can continuously maintain an impersonal approach to the divine. Even Buddhism developed bodhisattvas, beings who have achieved nirvana but have voluntarily postponed their entry into it until all beings are saved, and so are at the service of humanity.

And so Aldous Huxley identifies a fifth characteristic of the Perennial Philosophy, which is the belief in, and worship of, the divine incarnation. The Bhagavad-Gita describes the sacrificial worship of the divine incarnation–God taking birth as a human being for the sake of humanity–in great detail, and is known in Hinduism as bhakti yoga. The concept of sacrificial worship is mentioned by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers (and sisters), in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1, NIV)

In “Appendix 1″ of Prabhavananda’s and Isherwood’s translation of the Bhagavad-Gita, it says, “Hinduism accepts the belief in many divine incarnations, including Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus, and foresees that there will be many more:”

In every age I come back

To deliver the holy,

To destroy the sin of the sinner,

To establish righteousness.

This is problematic for Christians, who believe that Jesus is God’s only begotten son, and also for Muslim’s, who do not accept the concept of incarnation. It might even seem problematic for Hindu’s as well in terms of the number of gurus in the modern age who have claimed to be divine incarnations.

Father Bede Griffiths, in his book, Return to the Center, does not oppose the possibility of more than one divine incarnation. But he does argue that, among the major claimants–he names three: Krishna, Buddha, and Jesus–Jesus Christ, through his life, death, and resurrection, represents the most perfect incarnation of God. His view is that Christ expresses what is most perfect in every religion.

All things considered, Aldous Huxley, in discussing the Perennial Philosophy–in his book by that name and in his wartime introduction to one of the best ever translations of the Bhagavad-Gita–makes an important contribution to interspirituality and to the peaceful coexistence of religions by seeking to define the Highest Common Factor that represents a metaphysical basis by which all religions can enter into the conversation.

God bless.

About Interspiritual and Ecumenical Religion

One of the main premises of this blog is that religions must show the nations how to live in peace by their own peaceful coexistence with each other. Every religion needs to re-examine itself in this light. Also, as part of a global community, members and especially leaders of every religion need to become conversant in multiple religions. As a Christian, learning about world religions has contributed a great deal to my relationship with Jesus Christ.

For those who are traveling along the path of interspirituality, I believe it is important to remain grounded in one religion. Although, in this interspiritual age, it is not uncommon for some people to observe a “second religion” in addition to the one that they are grounded to. Examples of this are Ruben Habito, a Catholic Christian who is also a Zen master, and Bede Griffiths, the Catholic priest and monk who also lived the life of a Hindu sanyassin in India. Unless a person feels especially called to a second religion, I believe it is best to have one religion to be grounded in.

My calling is to be a follower of Jesus Christ, but in the same sense that Gandhi intended, I am also a Sufi, a Jew, a Hindu, a Buddhist, and a Muslim. This is to say that I recognize one common humanity which has one God, by whatever name he or she may be called.

Even in confirming that I am a Christian, it could be asked what kind of Christian am I, as there is a wide variety of Christian traditions. Again, my answer would have to be that I am both a Catholic and a Protestant; and within Protestantism, I am an Episcopalian, Evangelical, Baptist, Charismatic, and etc. The best term to use, perhaps, is ecumenical. The term interspiritual was coined by Bede Griffiths to apply to the crossing of religious boundaries. The term ecumenical is commonly applied to the crossing of denominational boundaries within one religion.

I used to believe that I had to make a distinct choice to the exclusion of all the other choices. This is the main reason why I ended up studying so many different creeds and traditions. After many years, I finally discovered Bede Griffiths, the great interspiritual pioneer after Gandhi, and Brian McLaren, the Christian elder and pioneer in the emerging church movement. One of my intentions for this blog is to offer ideas and information that took me so many years to discover, in the hopes of saving a lot of time for younger people.

God bless.

How Hinduism Can Benefit A Christian

In order to discover how Hinduism can complement and deepen the Christian experience, Christians first need to break free from the bonds of adversarial and exclusive thinking. In order to do so, we need to be secure enough in our own faith in Jesus Christ. Then we are free to learn from Hinduism’s profound religious philosophy and apply it to our spiritual lives in Christian terms.

The closest counterpart to Hinduism is Catholic spirituality and mysticism. Some of what Hinduism teaches, for example, has been discovered by Christian mystics such as Meister Eckhart. Eckhart’s Godhead is virtually identical to Hinduism’s Brahman. Brahman is the source and ground of all things, yet is beyond even the attributes of a personal God, because it is beyond human description. Ultimate union with Brahman is the goal of the spiritual life for the Hindu.

As Eckhart’s Godhead manifests itself through the Christian Trinity, Brahman becomes manifested in the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, representing those aspects of God which create, preserve, and dissolve (respectively). These aspects of God can come to earth as divine incarnations, such as Krishna, whose dialog with the warrior and seeker Arjuna is recorded in the pages of the Bhagavad Gita.

The Bhagavad Gita describes three spiritual paths–called yoga–by which we can serve and become closer to God, the ultimate goal being to become united with him. Jnana yoga is the path of knowledge, of understanding the nature of the Atman–the divine spark within us–and its relationship with Brahman. Karma yoga is the path of selfless service and of offering as a sacrifice all the fruits of our work. Bakti yoga is the life of complete devotion to God.

These paths are not exclusive, but allow a person to worship God in the manner that fits his or her aptitudes and temperament. The thoughtful Christian can see how these spiritual paths can be of benefit in our walk with Christ. While we keep in mind that the path of salvation for us Christians is that of faith through Jesus Christ, we can learn from Hinduism ways through which we can better serve him.

God Bless.