Monotheism is quite literally the doctrine or belief that there is only one supreme God alone. Such a concept is far from a radical ideology to mankind and is a familiar concept to 15 million Jews, 2.6 billion Christians, and 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide who are all adherents to the Abrahamic faiths. However, the concept is less commonly associated with Eastern religions such as Hinduism or Buddhism but when we research into their origins and scriptures what we find is rooted at the core of these faiths? In Hinduism the supreme deity is represented as ‘Brahma’ which derives from the Sanskrit word for growth of the pure omniscient consciousness 'Shakti’ or universal spirit existing beyond form, time and space. ‘Brahma’ was not created and is beyond comparison as there is no one like unto Him. There is no likeness of him whose name is great glory.—Sevetasvatara Upanishad,Chapter -4, verses-19. Hence this supreme being is unknowable or fathomable to our limited perspective as we humans are created beings. It is from this ‘ Immensity’ or 'vital force’, Brahma, that all existence arises, in which the spiritual force resides and ultimately dissolves. God is just like in the Abrahamic faiths referred to as being endowed with omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience. The sacred texts of the Hindustan nation confirm this viewpoint as they declare God is one alone. Rig Veda 8:1:1 "O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone.” Whilst in Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1 we discover "He is One only without a second.” That Lord is only one, the only omnipresent. It is one and the only one. —Atharva 13.4[2]19-20. For those who are familiar with Krishna pbuh he speaks eloquently about a supreme divine entity beyond our comprehension and comparison. “I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My devotional service and worship Me with all their hearts.” (BG 10.8) We recognise another commonality with the Abrhamaic religions. Due to the unknowable aspect, God sends messengers with his Divine command to guide the people to truth. In Islam or Judaism they are know as prophets and messengers, in Greece as Philospher kings and Hinduism as ‘englightened ones’ such as Rama, Shiva or Krishna who manifest on earth to help guide people back to righteousness. The real God is one, the enlightened ones, speak of Him in several ways, God is divine, the supreme protector and graceful sentient, the Universal soul. Rig Veda 1.64.46 The goal of the wise is to seek, recognise and follow these divine conduits to the truth and try to reflect their purity as much as feasible. This is possible as the human being is the container of the soul or seed of light. Through certain acts of renunciation and selflessness we aspire to dissolve our existence into this one truth. This liberation or ‘Moksha’ from the oppression of the ignorant self, is rooted at the heart of monotheism. With mental fortitude we can hope to realise the ‘Atman’ or life energy which emanates from within ourselves. This is beyond form, eternal, unchanging, unmovable, tranquil, pure, simply great. In such a sublime state of ‘Nirvana’ tranquillity or ‘Sakinah’ in Judaism, harmony and love we recognise the divine soul force within and without. One is that which has become this all.”—Rig Veda 8.58.2 Buddhism is a religion that takes its name from the manifestation of God in creation, the Buddha, or enlightened one. He was born Siddhartha Gautama into a monarchy, accordingly an avatar of Vishnu and therefore actually an adherent of the same Hindu faith we mention
above. He was a man who renounced his royal privilege and ostentatious lifestyle in order to try and draw closer to the absolute God and realise the essence of monotheism. It is through hardship and suffering he was able to increase his awareness and gratitude towards God whilst helping others achieve emancipation from the illusory nature of this material world. He realised there could be no lasting peace in the soul or world as long as there is discrimination or vtkalpa, corruption and wealth disparity. Therefore God’s truth was exemplified through ‘Dharma.’ Succinctly put this is the universal way or righteousness that provides the force of creation and growth in the material and spiritual plane. The enlightened one aligns himself with this Dharma in order to adjust his conduct to reach serenity within and without a seeker on the path to awakening who exudes kindness ( metta ), compassion ( karuṇā ), empathetic joy ( mudita) and equanimity ( upekkha ) a ‘Bodhisattva’. Obviously by exemplifying the traits of selflessness like Bodhua they could also become an example people could not only look upto but realise a way to correct themselves by. The remarkable skill is to approach each sentient being in a different way as everybody represents a multiplicity of forms and has his own unique character traits, propensity and disposition. Like an expert physician he realises each spiritual ailment requires different treatments and one man’s medicine is another’s poison. The Buddha speaks one truth which reverberates in all possible sounds to different members of the flock. If people tune into these frequencies harmony prevails within individuals and then a divine community can be established and prevail on earth as it is in heaven. He realised true consciousness in monotheism is not to renounce pleasures that God has granted us but to ensure we work sincerely to obtain the fruits of our labour and only take as much as we need and that there is an equitable distribution. Human beings reincarnate in this relative world through a series of cycles called ‘Samsara’ until they reach full enlightenment. Therefore in each incarnation we may face a new set of challenges or repeat others that we had failed to overcome, so truly we can obtain ease through hardships. Sadly many followers and deviants saw Bouddha’s immense wisdom and patience as a manifestation of God in creation, as an absolute divinity and defied Bouddha. He sought to correct them and denied his Godhood. Many manovelently misinterpreted his sayings and this led some to even deny God’s existence, but this is clearly a misconception, as Boudhha followed the same vedic principles espoused in the sacred texts and believed in the one true God. This can be illustrated through the teachings of Bouddha who spoke about one absolute God or highest value we aim to resonate with in the most complete way possible. Some of the doors to this recognition were known as Citta the Permanent (nitya), the One (advaya), Cessation (nirodha), the Formless (animitta), Emptiness (sunyata). All these names are not the one true God but names we use to try to comprehend and get closer to God and realise our purpose in life. Being absolute God is beyond the duality of contrasts but through this world a window to truth is open. "Beyond which is also Within" we understand from the reflection of a full moon in a lake, not only the illusory nature of this world but also that as above and below there must be a divine spark within us. Jesus the eternal sage resonates with this pure doctrine of oneness and that the divine force resides within us. "There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism; One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all of us." - Ephesians 4:5-6 And even more clearly in this verse "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" - 1 Corinthians 3:16 Therefore the values we uphold and practise should underwrite this one truthfulness. These principles known as Yamas provide a set of disciplines to maintain God consciousness and a
type of antennae to reach closer to the Divine. Through Niyama, mindfulness and personal observation we adjust our behaviour and try to maintain Dharana or concentration. Meditation is one practice that helps us in our ultimate goal to synchronise on the path of ‘Dharma’ and achieve Samadhi or bliss and union with the divine force. Taoism is another eastern religion with its doctrine espoused by the great oriental sage Lao Tzu with its core resonating in monotheism. If God is one then the ‘Tao’ is similar to Dharma the natural order and universal way which resonates with the divine force. The absolute is beyond form, existing before heaven and earth often called ‘ming’ we do not know, so ‘Dao’ is the by name that we give it, as ultimately it is nameless. One of the key names for the divine force given is Immense. This truth is also eternal and once we condition and discipline ourselves we can realise more about monotheism. The unnamable is eternally real. Naming is the origin of all particular things. Free from desire, you realise the mystery. The Dao remains “imperceptible, indiscernible,” to us from which nothing came before but latently contains the forms, entities, and forces of all phenomena: “It was from the Nameless that heaven and earth sprang; the Named is the mother that rears the Ten Thousand Things, each after its kind.” Such entities or creations as ourselves are truly interdependent in a relative field and “grow out of one another.” God is the supreme governor of all creation and those who work through the Dao work through God “The ways of heaven are conditioned by those of the Dao, and the ways of Dao by the Self-so.” Therefore it is said that with God and God in creation or the divine messenger who guides us, the work is performed in accordance with the universal truth, “A leader is best when people barely know he exists...when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will all say: We did it ourselves.” Therefore this sacred book of maxims the ‘Tao Te Ching’ represents a codice to find and resonate with the divine essence and path of God. So just as Bouddha or Jesus pbuh, Lao Tzu represented the enlightened one in his generation and to his nation a critical role as imbued with spirit he can help us comprehend an aspect of the nameless and is therefore a great mercy upon us. Jesus did just the same as both are God’s in creation representing their era. Lao Tzu in his age, a transformer for his community, spoke about ‘the way’ Jesus also said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life..." The names are doors to God and not the complete manifestation in complete synchronisation with the teachings of Mohammed pbuh and Krishna pbuh. "The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name." This is simply profound, the truth that monotheism represents a wisdom beyond categorising, form and place and needs a divine messenger to act as a lighthouse in the dark undulating ocean of life to save us from wreckage. One man Mahatma Gandhi who studied the eastern sages and reached a deep understanding of monotheism, came to realise all religions from east to west spoke of the same one Supreme God. It is no wonder when we know he spoke of the same truth emanating from all divine scriptures "I believe the Bible, the Koran, and the Zend Avesta to be as much divinely inspired as the Vedas." In such a position he recognised the futility of man fighting each other over religion and truth when at the heart all of these religions represented the same monotheism. "Why should we blaspheme God by fighting one another because we see him through different media--the Koran, the Bible, the Talmud, the Avesta, or the Gita? The same sun beams on the Himalayas as on the plains." He was a truth seeker who recognised the spirit of truth that resides within is beyond this changing order of our worldly life. An indefinable mysterious power that pervades everything; a living power that is underlying all change in an ever-changing, ever-dying world, is itself changeless, that holds all together, creates, dissolves, and recreates. That power or spirit is God."
With such a firm belief in truth it is no wonder this veritable man was willing to stand up against the oppressive tyranny of the British Raj who sought only to subgate his people for colonial material gains. He was thus willing to die alone for truth if necessary and the harmony of future generations. He put it succinctly when he declared "The soul of religions is one, but it is encased in a multitude of forms." Just like the Boudhha He recognised that through suffering one was able to reach a deeper understanding of truth "I have come to this fundamental conclusion that if you want something really important to be done, you must not merely satisfy reason, you must move the heart also. The appeal of reason is more to the head but the penetration of the heart comes from suffering. It opens up the inner understanding in man." His faith was clearly in line with the previous eastern sages mentioned and his recognition of the doors to reach God was in unison with their descriptions. He is formless and indivisible. He is uncreated, has no father, mother and child, he allows himself even to be worshipped as stock and stone, although he is in one of these things. He is the most elusive. He is the nearest to us if we could but know the fact. But he is farthest from us when we do not want to realise His omnipresence." Gandhi penetrated to the heart of the true nature of monotheism and recognised a unifying force for people of all religions where by fully integrated it goes beyond mere scripture to an awakened living force where all action and non action is in unison with God a feeling that resonates from within, "Faith is nothing but a living, wide, awake consciousness of God within." In such a state of divine consciousness he was able to realise that every interaction or moment resonated with divine energy. The critical point is that true monotheism engages the human being at every level of community life. God is thus not a Sunday school teacher, and religion not a purely theoretical or monastic stance as here it tends to create division, ironically a subtle egotism and arrogance creeps up on the human being and leads him to disassociate from his community. Without political, and economic frameworks being imbued with divine spirit, disharmony evolves like a rotten apple slowly infecting all other apples in the basket. "Man's ultimate aim is the realisation of God and all his activities, social, political and religious, have been guided by the ultimate aim of the vision of God. To realise God is to see Him in all that lives, that is, to realise our oneness with all creation. 'It is in the critical moments of one's life, we have a glimpse of God, a vision of Him who is guiding everyone of our steps in life. He himself testifies to the fact that as days pass I feel this living presence in every fibre of my veins. Without that feeling I should be demented.., so many events happen that would, without the realisation of that presence, shake me to the very foundation. Gandhi also realised that in hardships he saw opportunities to overcome his dark self and observe God’s guiding light that otherwise would have left him downtrodden and dejected. Such a lack of awareness as well he knew led to the danger of complacency and comfort. By realising our lack of ability to perceive the ultimate nature of truth, he was able to let go of his own fears and see only goodness in all situations seemingly outwardly positive and negative. Gandhi saw the truth of God in all his dealings with people and day to day activities irrespective of their nature. "I can see that in the midst of death life persists; in the midst of untruth, truth persists; in the midst of darkness, light persists. Hence I gather that God is life, truth, and light. He is in love. He is the supreme God." Therefore with pure intent he realised no challenge was insurmountable to him and his brethren. He recognised external success and pleasures however ubiquitous and specialised could not lead to ultimate harmony in the soul unless they were only achieved for the sake of God. As such ambitions if self seeking were diametrically opposed to true
monotheism and would only feed the egoistic nature. His teachings were in harmony with the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle who would remind their communities to know thyself and know thy God, "Soul is utterly restless until it has found itself, knows it Maker and appreciates the true correspondence between the Maker and itself." He knew all too well from all the temples, synagogues, churches and masjids he visited throughout his travel in Africa and India that God cannot be found here neither by the idols made by man's hands. Just as with Bouddha self renunciation and abstinence would not lead to complete fulfilment inward or outward. God can be found only through love, to drink the cup of divine love which is selfless and unconditional. He discovered that if he was to realise and imbue God’s spirit within, he had to obey fully the law of love through the heart and not merely by reading a catalogue of books. The bible teachings of Jesus pbuh exclaimed this truth in accordance with this divine truth of monotheism. We should ultimately not require prophetic wisdom or deep knowledge to recognise and work and live by the truth of God which is open to all seekers irrespective of wealth, status or material intelligence. So the receiving of these additional gifts as such is only another advocacy to the outpouring of divine mercy. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away- Corinthians 1-13:4-8. The spirit of monotheism resounds through his thinking. To me God is Truth and love; God is ethics and morality; God is fearlessness. God is the source of light and yet He is above and beyond all these. God is conscious. He is even an atheist. For, in His boundless love God permits the atheist to live. He is the searcher of hearts. He transcends speech and reason.' Quite simply God does not deny human beings the freedom to choose a religion or way of life. He has given equally from his bounty to all comers. He has shown us the right way from wrong. We are free to move either towards true monotheism and light or away to darkness and polytheism by picking and choosing the elements of the religion that suit our ego and self worship. God is also revealed through truth, and wisdom could not be complete without following the truth, as ignorance only leads to fear, disunity and false theism. ‘Truth alone triumphs, not falsehood. The divine path to liberation has been laid with Truth, which the seers who have overcome desire tread, and wherein also is the supreme treasure to be gained by truth.' He believed just like we do today that through sincerity and conscientiousness we can reach the highest aspect of truth that humans can aspire to, and the recognition of the Godhood in creation for our age, which thereafter is our path to salvation if we act in patience and submission to his command. In order to realise ‘Moksha’ or the escape from the cycle of birth and death, Gandhi espoused self restraint and the tripartite law of Self-purification, obedience to the universal law, and mediation. He realised God is concerned with the root of our actions not with the outcome, so it is ultimately our intention that matters not whether or not we gain the fruits of our labour. Even if we do not reach our goals, if we have good intentions then goodness remains, and we believe with sincerity eventually if our aims are in accordance with God’s will we shall be successful as the goal of the wise is the goal of God himself. As a caveat we must say God’s laws and religion may
alter as for every age there is a guide or warner and in this age the requirements will not be the same. From the west we find similar parallels, Thomas Aquinas the Christian scholar noted that ‘Man's pursuit is to aim chiefly at union with and enjoyment of God, and this pertains to the perfect who “desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ’. He is clearly emphasising the aspect of being one with God and that this is facilitated by adhering to the teachings of God in creation for his time, Jesus Christ. Aquinas in his corpus maximus spoke of the ‘Quinque Viae’ or 5 ways to reach a deep connection with monotheism. He realised that we could not know God through our finite mind and therefore he used Aristotilian logic and effective practical evidence to claim through reason that faith and knowing God sufficiently could be reconciled. That God is the Prime Mover and the First Cause of life it is therefore that God is the Necessary Being for life to prevail and He is absolute and the source of the Grand Design of creation which clearly shows design and purpose. God to Aquinas fills all of creation with perfection, eternal, unchangeable, all-powerful, and the source of all goodness. St Augustine the christian reformist, spoke at length about his conversion from sin to faithful submission to the one true God. Augustine recognised the light growing inside as he sought to align his will with truth and that his goal was to dissolve into the divine oneness. He reflected how God had always been with Him but he had failed to realise his true power until he entered into deep reflection. Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. O eternal Truth, true Love, and beloved Eternity, you are my God, and for you I sigh day and night. Eventually he realised that the flesh is weak but the soul animates the body and brings life to us so we can discern the truth from the falsehood and seek to dissolve into the one divine truth. As I first began to know you, you lifted me up and showed me that, while that which I might see exists indeed, I was not yet capable of seeing it. Your rays beamed intensely on me, beating back my feeble gaze, and I trembled with love and dread. I knew myself to be far away from you in a region of unlikeness, and I seemed to hear your voice from on high: “I am the food of the mature: grow, then, and you shall eat me. You will not change me into yourself like bodily food; but you will be changed into me”. He realised that the truth of monotheism is only realised through recognising God’s chosen representative in creation. I sought a way to gain the strength which I needed to enjoy you. But I did not find it until I embraced the mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who is above all, God blessed for ever.... For the Word became flesh, that your wisdom, by which you created all things, might provide milk for us children. If we turn to the Greek philosophers, more astute study reveals more remarkable commonality with these monotheistic teachings. Plato spoke Of God as the ‘form of good’ or the ideal, the fundamental principle from which all copies and imperfect creation manifested from, therefore the source from all that is good. In the Republic as an ultimately transcendental or mystical conception “far beyond Being in dignity and power,” therefore beyond our rational comprehension. In concurrence Plotinus, the neo-platonist, comes to a similar conclusion as he defines the first principle of reality as "the One", an utterly simple, ineffable, unknowable subsistence which is both the creative source and the end of all existing things. He clarifies there is no name appropriate for the first principle, but alludes to "the One" or "the Good". The One is so simple that it cannot be said to exist or be a being.
The One is the cause of the rest of reality, which manifests in the form of two "hypostases", ‘Nous’ or intuitive thought and Soul.” It becomes apparent to the student of truth that whether we turn the compass East or West there is a messenger or guide exuding the same truth about monotheism. The likes of St Francis of Assisi and Socrates, Hermes all talk about the same monotheism as Lao Tzu, Gandhi and Bouddha. We did not even touch on the religions of ancient Egypt, Sumer and Akkad, Chaldea and Babylon, Mayans but when we do we are sure to reveal similar remarkable commonalities. So to conclude, clearly we see from the opening chapter monotheism is a concept that is all encompassing at the core of the key religions and philosophical teachings of the ages. In the second chapter we will discuss aspects of the concept of monotheism at the heart of the Abrahamic faiths to reveal their concurrence with those of chapter one and then reveal how the 7th Covenant from Ahmed al Hassan pbuh and Aba Sadiq pbuh today brings all of these religions together under the rainbow banner of truth in the peace and light of true monotheism. Ultimately though for God’s kingdom to prevail on earth as it is in heaven humanity must move towards the heart of monotheism in this generation, otherwise suffering and hardship will not dissolve and so in our era the awaited reformer or riser form God in creation who represents the true monotheism has arrived to facilitate this reawakening. In the eastern religion he is represented by the divine avatar known as 'Kalki' or the one to remove the rust from our hearts and like the promised return of Jesus he comes as a rider on a horse in the age of the ‘apocalypse’ comic revelations to cut to shreds the false dogma and reveal the pure diamonds embedded in the rocks.
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