If you delve into the spiritual or mystical traditions of the world, you will likely find some remarkable similarities. After all, humans everywhere, in every time, are trying to answer some of the same big questions – why are we here? Who am I? Is there anyone out there, and do they care about me? How should I lead a good life? What happens after we die? 

I don’t pretend to have the answers, even for myself, let alone for anyone else. I have, however, been struck by the way that sources as diverse as the Christian metaphysical text A Course in Miracles, the Talmud (Sanhedrin 4:5), and the Buddhist classic Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, all come up with similar ideas about whether we are special. Not surprisingly, the answer is both yes and no. Are you excited yet? 

Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, the Hasidic master also known as the Sefat Emet, teaches that every human being has what he calls an inner point – that point of connection with the Divine, the place where we feel amazement at a wonder of nature, love and joy and grief, and the source of that still small voice when we pause and seek for help in making a decision. Is it our intuition? Is it a connection to something outside of us, or is it an illusion? Who knows, but it seems like everyone has it, if they will stop and listen. It certainly implies that we are all connected in some way, doesn’t it?

The Talmud says that when an earthly sovereign mints coins with their image on it, they all look the same, but when humans come into being, they are all in the image of the Divine, just like the first humans Adam and Eve, but every one of them is different. Our earthly manifestations are as special and different as snowflakes. Rabbi Arthur Green, a leading voice among the neo-Hasidic movement, imagines the Divine as manifesting itself in endless variations, while remaining One. 

In this vein, Jewish tradition does not disagree with the image described by Shunryū Suzuki in his classic book about Zen – he visited Yosemite and saw a huge waterfall, where the drops all appeared separate, going their own ways, forming what appeared to be a curtain coming down the rock as they found their way down its face. In the river, he says, the drops have no separate identity, but when they go over the waterfall, it appears that they do. The Course in Miracles invokes similar images – usings its patriarchal language, the Son of G-d is always one with his brother and with G-d. We are all One, and we are all unique. 

The Course in Miracles goes further and denounces the idea of special relationships between humans – we are all whole and complete in and of ourselves, because we are created in the image of the Divine. When we try to use another human to make up for our own deficiencies, we are likely to cause harm. When people come together with love and respect, knowing that we are ourselves complete and Divine, then we can have a holy relationship. More on this in another post.

I’d love to know what you think of this. Drop me a reply and let me know!