In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

12 T I K K U N W W W. T I K K U N . O R G S P R I N G 2 0 1 1 JonathanGranoffisanattorney,author,andinternationaladvocatewhoemphasizesthelegal,ethical, andspiritualdimensionsofhumandevelopment,nucleardisarmament,peace,andsecurity.Heserves as president of the Global Security Institute and is on the advisory board of Tikkun. This article is an adaptationofhisspeechattheJune2010NetworkofSpiritualProgressivesconference. Rethinking Religion Truth,Illumination, andNuclearWeapons by Jonathan Granoff R abbiLerneraskedmetosharemyhighestspiritualtruths,butIhad intendedtotalkaboutthemoralimperativetoabolishnuclearweapons.Iwill try and put these two themes together. The highest spiritual truth that I know is contained in Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad—there is only One, the Lord is One and only That One is worthy of worship. La ilaha illa Allah—there is no God but the One God; there is no reality but God. God is a mystery and His wondrous creation is filled with the mystery of life—unified and harmonious. Each of us is one within the One. Hindus describe Indra’s web as an infinite net that stretches out in all directions. Each nodeofthewebhasajewel,andeachjewelreflectstheentiretyoftheweb.Ifanypartofthe web is touched, the entire web responds. Each heart is that jewel, and each heart reflects the entirety of all life. One who knows himself or herself will know that jewel and see that all lives are interconnected and are a manifestation of that one mysterious being and power, beyond name, beyond gender, beyondform,beyonddescription,thatpermitsustoknowItandtoknowoursoul—ourreal selves—as infinite light and infinite love. The great majesty of the human experience is that this capacity of knowing oneself is directly related to the capacity of knowing one another. Each of us only gets one heart, and that heart has to open in all directions. If you try to only open the heart to the divine—to HaShem, to God, to YHVH, to Allah—and neglect love of other lives, that insight into the mystery of life, the secret of the One, will not be realized. Jesus summed it up very nicely (quoting the Torah), when he said the method of obtainingfulfillmentistolovethatpowerofinfinitelightandlovewithallyoursoul,allyour heart, and all your might, and like unto that, love your neighbor as yourself. Itisanopendoorthatgoestwoways,insideandoutside.Peaceisaninsidejob,yoursoul is an inside job, your consciousness is an inside job—and these gifts cannot be measured. That which is most important cannot be measured. Through that which is limited and measurable,thesetreasurescanonlybepointedat.Butthereareuniversalprinciplesofthe way in which this pointing is done, and there are universal principles of how we are to behave if we are to honor these treasures. Theilluminatingradianceofthesoulbecomesmanifestincreationwhenahumanbeing lives in accordance with the nature of God’s presence. That presence is without differences CREATIVE COMMONS/ERIN MARIE PAGE S P R I N G 2 0 1 1 W W W. T I K K U N . O R G T I K K U N 13 ofrace,religion,gender,“I”and“you,”highorlow,ordogmaofanykind.Itis the full embodiment of love and compassion, and it includes complete freedom from fear and, the deeply realized even say, death itself. It is the nurturing ground for individual and social health. Society needs individuals living this radiance. One of the greatest problems the world faces today is the franchising of thewayinwhichthisrealizationispursued.Franchising,likeMcDonaldsor BurgerKing,canbefoundintherealmofreligions.Significantmovements in Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and Hinduism are attempting to franchise love and meaning, each claiming a unique exclusive ownership. Imagine believing that my Jewish love is better than your Hindu love, or my Christian liberation is better than your Jewish liberation. If these metaphors for that which is beyond description, beyond any form of idolatry are to have any meaning in this age, they are a call for us to express authentic love and living virtue in a manner that is free and open. Arelevantanalogyisthatofwellsbeingdugtogettothewatertable.The water table is one, and the wells are each unique and separate. The value of each tradition is to dig to get to that one water table. We are people who honor life, desire to seek and serve peace, and work as a network. Also, we are people digging to get to that water table. We are people who recognize that network of life itself, and who are willing to say shame on you for saying that you own God’s love, and shame on you for creating violent...

pdf

Share