Letter: Gods on the Mountain
To the editor,
–As I trudged up the mountain trail, I spied an encampment on a high plateau just off the path. Upon reaching it, I decided to rest and visit. Warmly received by the campers, I accepted their offer to stay for the night and join their evening campfire.
Seated within the inner ring around the fire were God, Allah, Yahweh and other monotheistic deities, avatars of Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism, and gods and goddesses of aboriginal, indigenous and ancient religions. Squatting in an outer ring, I could hear their every word.
At first, they spoke of the pain and death humans are suffering due to religious tribalism, orthodoxy, doctrinal exclusivity, bigotry, fear, hatred and ignorance permeating the world. They were distressed that these fractures among their adherents and advocates were tearing the human community apart, threatening its ability to adapt and survive. As the fire turned to embers, a period of silence and contemplation ensued.
Then, in unison, they said, “We All are One and the Same – as is the Sunlight Reflected by many Moons. I am not my various temporal manifestations.”
In the morning, I headed off for the summit knowing my path wasn’t the only way to get there.
David Broadwater
Atascadero
