This new mode of being and consciousness is the 'nirvana' of the Buddha, the 'brahman-atman' of the Upanishads, the 'al haqq' of the Muslim mystics and the kingdom of heaven of the Christian Gospel.

Bede Griffiths, <i>A New Vision of Reality (Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and Christian Faith)</i>

Bede Griffths

Christianity in the course of time has built up its own structure of law and religion, of ritual and dogma and organisation, which have now become a barrier, separating the Christian churches from the rest of humanity. So also Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism have developed their own structures of law and ritual and are divided from one another. We have to learn to go beyond all these differences in the external forms of religion and discover the hidden mystery which lies at the heart of all religion. In Christianity it was the mystery of the resurrection which gave this insight into the ultimate meaning of religion. The resurrection of Jesus was seen as the passage beyond time and space to the eternal transcendent Reality. This was accomplished, not merely for Jesus himself, but for all humanity. The resurrection marks the beginning of a new humanity and, as St. Paul says, a "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). (P.106) Just as Israel closed in on itself and saw salvation in terms of its own limited existence, so the Christian churches have closed in on themselves and separated themselves from humanity as a whole. But in the wider perspective which we can discern today, Jesus died for all humanity and the salvation which he achieved was won for all humanity. We must never forget that in its deepest reality all humanity is one being, just as the whole creation is one being. As St. Gregory of Nyassa, one of the greatest of the Greek Fathers, proclaimed, "All men from the first man to the last are one image of Him Who Is". Adam in the book of Genesis represents humanity as a whole, and when this Adam falls all humanity falls with him. So also Christ is the new Adam, the new representative of redeemed humanity, and with his resurrection humanity as a whole is redeemed from sin and death.

It is of great significance that Jesus left his disciples with the understanding that he would return again at any time and bring the world to an end. In a real sense it can be said that the resurrection itself brings the world to an end. It is the passage of human nature beyond time and space, and reveals the whole of this spatial temporal world as a passing phenomenon. We see the one Reality reflected through the changing forms of space and time, but we know that these forms are conditioned by our present mode of consciousness. When we pass beyond this limited mode of time-space consciousness, we shall see the eternal Reality as it is. As St. Paul says, "now we see in a glass darkly but then face to face" (1 Corinthians 13:12). The whole of human history is a passage from our present mode of existence and consciousness into the eternal world where all the diversities of this world are seen in their essential unity. Our present mode of consciousness is dualistic, but as the mystics of all religions have discerned, the ultimate reality is non-dual. This new mode of being and consciousness is the 'nirvana' of the Buddha, the 'brahman-atman' of the Upanishads, the 'al haqq' of the Muslim mystics and the kingdom of heaven of the Christian Gospel. It is here and here alone that we can find the meeting place of all religion.

Bede Griffiths, A New Vision of Reality (Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and Christian Faith)
Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois
ISBN 0-87243-180-0
Pgs. 106-107

NOTE: If this page was accessed during a web search you may wish to browse the sites listed below where this topic or related issues are discussed in detail to promote global peace, religious harmony, and spiritual development of humanity:

www.adishakti.org/
www.al-qiyamah.org/
www.adi-shakti.org/  — Divine Feminine (Hinduism)
www.holyspirit-shekinah.org/  — Divine Feminine (Christianity)
www.ruach-elohim.org/  — Divine Feminine (Judaism)
www.ruh-allah.org/  — Divine Feminine (Islam)
www.tao-mother.org/  — Divine Feminine (Taoism)
www.prajnaaparamita.org/  — Divine Feminine (Buddhism)
www.aykaa-mayee.org/  — Divine Feminine (Sikhism)
www.great-spirit-mother.org/  — Divine Feminine (Native Traditions)