Michael Beckwith at the Parliament of the World's Religions

so what brought what brings you to the parliament God that was simple oh basically um couple of reasons uh I believe in um strategic alliances basically uh the world I think will change as alliances of the heart are created as individuals meet each other from the center beyond their um social structure beyond their religious structure Beyond who they say they they they're representing and I think since since the last Parliament I discovered I made some really good friendships there that have lasted over the last four or five years and we've done some some good things together so I think number one is to come and meet people and uh and allow for those relationships then become um a way to further the the peace and the compassion on the planet here we are at the we sort of meeting place of all the great ancient traditions and a lot of new ones too and we're kind of looking at well how how are the Traditions uh meeting the challenges that we're facing in the world today cuz you know in many ways we're in a completely different world than the world out of which most of these great Traditions emerge so you're asking me first of all are they meeting the challenge at all yeah you know and and and then how they need to change and with within the Traditions I think there's there's always the the radical fundamentalists those who are really sticking to uh um you know their their ancient um uh ways of being and a lot of it has become dogmatic I don't know if in fact they are meeting the challenge of of the world that's changing very very very fast but there are progressive elements within every tradition and I think those Progressive elements are individuals who are tied into to probably more of the mystical tenets of their teaching and they're allowing those the practice of those mystical tenants to transform their life so that their life is actually meeting the challenge of today not necessarily their religion but they as individuals who have embodied um um the core of their teaching than they're then than they're meeting the challenge and I think those people have a tendency to recognize each other across religious boundaries whereas those who are stuck just in being however they identify themselves they probably can't recognize anybody but somebody who's wearing their same robe has the same dot on their forehead or is the same religion and and they're stuck in a way that's passing Us by very fast and it's probably adding to the dissension in the crisis of our day so I think if one really practices their religion and I don't mean having an abstract set of beliefs but discovers a way of anchoring uh the religion with with in and Clear Choice and clear action that's tied into the mysticism then they they will probably meet the challenge of today they will be there will be a um in the Vanguard of something tremendously beneficial for the planet how do you think the Traditions by and large need to change to I think meet the demands of our time there has to be a radical appreciation of each other's tradition so we begin to discover that at the core it's pretty much the same thing that when you strip away the culture and some of the things that were developed based on what was happening at that time in history you'll discover some some basic truths that can be practiced and they may be practiced differently different forms of meditation different forms of service Etc but if one is willing to let go of their biases and their prejudices and appreciate someone else's stand and then begin to see that uh at at at at essence it's about the same there'll be a tremendous it it'll be a revolution in in in the evolution of religion period And I think you'll um start to break down the shell of religion and this Essence will be more available to everyone which is the the fundamental practice of the presence of Life the presence of God the presence of love being everywhere in and as everyone how do you think that will change the face of religion on the the planet what he described uh people won't be as territorial as my God is better than your God my God my religion is better than your religion my way is better than your religion I think there will be a um an embracing and a an acceptance of what works for an individual whatever name you call it you see um I think that just brings about a tremendous of assist and bringing about the peace that we're all striving for do you think the religions will become more alike they'll start to move towards some kind of universal human religion in some sense in a sense I think uh people will always uh because they're humans you know have a tendency to want to hold on to the Shell a little bit um that doesn't bother me but and we everybody can celebrate their shell you know just like people can celebrate their gender they can celebrate their sexual orientation they can celebrate their race but if you don't allow the celebration of those shells to get in the way of the essence then it's okay MH but if you want to just celebrate those particular shells and it gets in the way of the essence then there's a problem would it be possible for an ancient tradition to move forward while uh while having to at least to a certain degree relinquish this deep attachment to some of the fundamental myths you know and still maintain their fundamental identity but I think that um even even if they don't let the myths go they may have to reinterpret them to a degree to make them fit modern times so I think a lot of the young folks that have a kind of a an existential angst because they don't relate to a lot of the old myths it doesn't make sense to them uh it's either Airy fery or uh and so there's a there's a there's a there's a void that they're filling so there needs to be um kind of a re-enchantment that happens now exact in the modern world I mean these young kids coming up can jump on a computer and and in seconds download just about anything and um they're not going to be captured by an old story necessarily exactly and so there has to be a way that we enchant them and we either reinterpret the old myths or we have to really bring about um some strong uh ethics some strong ways of being in the world some strong um making that stuff real in our life that's transformational we have to create not not new myths necessarily but a new a new context that's going to serve the same purpose the same function for for us without that they're just they're just dead shells you know and people people that are practicing uh their religion over and over and over without the heart that's just tradition that's not necessarily religion right I think there's a difference between tradition and having a real religious experience or real Awakening and there are many people who hold fast for tradition even though it doesn't have any trans AAL value in their life um but they'll fight for it and they'll die for it and they'll make their kids be a part of it even though they're sad and they're upset and they're fearful which if you have a transformational uh if something has a transformational impact on you then there's joy and there's happiness and there's a degree of fearlessness and a degree of creativity in your life and a lot of the old shells they're going to have to be transformed from within out or it may be blasphemist to or in some cases discarded all the [Laughter] way to awake to a whole new paradigm you see