Symbols of Unity

The symbols of unity are models of the four most common types of sacred buildings: a Sikh temple, a Hindu temple, a mosque and a church. These typical forms are known in all religious traditions. Less known is that they refer to the human body.

Gurdawaras, the temples of the Sikhs, are dome-shaped, similar to the form of the head. The shape of the mosque reminds one of the fore-head. The nose-shaped towers of the churches often stand on a ground plan resembling a cross which corresponds to a person with outstretched arms.

Their message is: God is in us – the true temple is man himself.

The history of mystics and saints of different epochs and cultures shows us that they came to their statements about God by way of contemplation and meditation. All the Holy Scriptures contain hints and reports about the inner experiences of these saints.

When comparing the scriptures, one encounters comparable statements about experiences of light and inner sounds. It is the great possibility of man to come into contact with both. While the Absolute God is indescribable and incomprehensible, light and sound are the two aspects through which He (God) expresses Himself.

Everything originated through this God-power; the life principle or life impulse, without which nothing can exist. Man as the ‘crown of creation’ has the ability to perceive It by turning inwardly and coming into contact with It.

Becoming one with this power is the original goal of meditation, and this is also the spiritual core of religion, which is completely independent of the external forms and rituals of the various religions.

In the scriptures, the working God-power is described by various names, among others as Sruti in the Vedas, Naad or Udgit in the Upanishads, as Sarosha in Zend-Avesta, as the Word in the Bible, as Kalima with the Prophet Mohammed, as Saut with the Sufis, Shabd or Naam in the Sikh scriptures, as Music of the Spheres and all Harmonies with Plato and Pythagoras and as the Voice of Silence with the Theosophists.

Light, life and love are regarded as the essential attributes of the divine and are innate in every sentient being. If man forgets his true nature and experiences himself as separated from that Power it will result in otherness, which may lead to hatred and suffering.

The relationship between man and God is based on unity of man – the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God.