On the threshold of a new world religion

2. The truth of Man's kinship with God

This truth emphasises the immanent nature of God. In every atom as well as in every human being there is a living fire that drives us on in our evolution to become in the last end "perfect, as the Father in heaven is perfect". It is this divine spark, of the same nature as the Creator, that ensures every pilgrims homecoming to his father's mansion. This immanent divinity is known in the east as the eternal Atman. Saint Paul accentuated this truth with the words: "He be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17,27), and "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1,27).

Dalai Lama said about this at an interreligious meeting: "Just before our morning's session, I had a brief discussion with Father Laurence. He made the point that in Christian theology there is the belief that all human beings are created in the image of God - we all share a common divine nature. I find this quite similar to the idea of buddha-nature i Buddhism." (The Good Hearth - A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus . Wisdom Publications, website: www.wisdompubs.org)

Humanistic psychology refers to the divine spark with the concepts: Self or transcendent Self, and Superconsciousness.

3. The truth of immortality and eternity

All of the great World Religions have teachings of eternal life. Many Christians and Muslims believe in the Resurrection and eternal life. Buddhists and Hindus also believe in eternal life, but for them it is attained through liberation by way of yoga and complete illumination .

In the traditional Eastern religions, liberation is the result of the struggles of many lives. Reincarnation is therefore central to these religions. What is less known is that the other great religions also have reincarnation centrally placed in their esoteric teachings. This can be found in Christian Gnosticism, the cabbala of the Jews, and the Sufism of the Muslims.

There are clear indications that reincarnation was part of the teaching of Christ, the best-known example being His declaration that John the Baptist was a reappearance of Elijah.

The teaching of karma , that we reap what we harvest, is linked up with reincarnation. Karma is often regarded as an Eastern teaching, but we can find many examples of it in the Gospels.