No 'original sin' to comment on today - will leave that for another. Instead, I was reminded of a problem I have with the Traditionalists while writing in the Book Review section of the Commentaries: and that is, the view this philosophy has of evolution. To the Traditionalists, all true religions (that is, religions that can lead to ultimate realization) are divine revelations perfect in themselves for the people and cultures they were fashioned for. Also for them, this ultimate realization trumps any advances we may perceive in human social organization, such as the development of liberal humanism and advanced technology. With this, as with most everything these proponents state, I agree. In fact, on first reading them, I was struck with the notion, "where have you been all my life? I have known these things since I turned 14!"
Now, if one has a logical turn of mind, one can take from the above notions that, if true religions bring us to the only thing that matters, God (or the Absolute), then there indeed cannot be any positive evolution of human kind beyond them. I will also add that the leading proponent, Fithjoff Schuon, also was certain that the age of revelation is past. He basis this on intuition and a reading of astrological cycles, which is beyond me - this intuition strengthening the case that our future can, at best, only try to match the past, when the religious life was in fuller bloom.
I cannot deny that spirituality is in decline. I have lived with traditional peoples, where everything is related to a spiritual source. That is not done with most of us these days. However, I have to disagree that societal evolution is beyond us. I take Teilhard de Chardin's position (although tentatively) that human spiritual evolution is possible - although I disagree with him that it is not only possible, but nearly inevitable. I see the possibility due to the expansion of many people's notion of the circle of those that are included in humanity that has occurred with the technologies of travel and communication. Here, one has to understand that most societies were relatively closed in the past, and in this, the other was relegated to subjective sub-human status. For instance, most tribals called themselves "The People" in one fashion or another, strongly suggesting that others were NOT fully people. We can see this in the incredible cruelty that some had towards others, not because the people were monsters themselves - most probably, most were honorable and caring people among themselves - but because those outside the circle were not deserving of the kind of humane treatment that "real" people should get. Our civilization, needless to say, has done the same.
With that understanding, we can see that it is possible, though not necessarily probable, that the goodness given to others within the circle could expand, keeping notions of the sacred intact. In fact, since all religions lead to The One, this seems to me logical. In the best-case scenario, we would respect others as we respect ourselves - as fellow travelers on the road back to God.
Will it happen? Will we recapture the sacred in our lives, while including others in our circle? I don't know. It is for this reason apart from making people aware of my writings, that I have made this website. For those who find this interesting, I invite you to share your views. FK
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