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Feature Article (Archived) |
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Christ's teachings in a different light In less tolerant times, Dr. Paul Hourihan's views on religion would probably have sent him to the stake as a heretic. A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Dr. Hourihan has a Ph.D. from Boston University. Dr. Hourihan expounds his premise that a universal, non-denominational religion has always existed. In its simplest terms, it is the mystic’s search for his essential self.... Defining mysticism as a spiritual experience beyond our familiar powers of reason and intellect, Dr. Hourihan believes the teachings of Christ are connected to the universal truths touched by the great prophets of all religions. “The teachings of Christ and Buddha are the same at bottom,” says Dr. Hourihan. “They have merely been given different shadings for different races and cultures at different times. No religion can be unique because of the universal nature of Truth. Truth can't be confined to a single channel. The same mystical strain, the same subterranean currents flow through the phenomena of all religions.” ... According to Dr. Hourihan, the “divine principle” of mysticism manifested itself in Christ through “spiritual meditation,” leading to “a greater unity of self.” “Spiritual meditation takes the mind, which is outward looking, and turns it inward,” says Dr. Hourihan. He says this is what Christ meant by the Kingdom of God lies within. Thus, “Christ’s deepest utterances cannot be understood without reference to mysticism.” Because of Christ's greater sense of awareness and self-realization leading to the discovery of universal truths, Dr. Hourihan says he was a “spiritual genius.” “Each person is a mystery, full of divine qualities,” says Dr. Hourihan. “All the powers, all the truths in the universe are in man. Christ and Buddha expressed that reality to a greater degree than other men.” Dr. Hourihan believes men such as St. Paul, Leo Tolstoy, William Blake, and Walt Whitman, by discovering their true selves also touched―to a lesser degree―a similar sense of universal truth. He says one of the keys to attaining this knowledge is selflessness. “We must kill, weaken or reduce the elements of selfishness within us. We are too attached to the world through our great cravings and ambitions. We must lose our sense of total self-involvement, be less at the mercy of our senses, rid ourselves of the notion that the only reality is in the outer world.” Dr. Hourihan believes anyone who has experienced the joy of genuine love has had a glimpse, a foretaste of the true self that lies beneath surface senses. He describes it as a “transcending experience” that must be worked at to be maintained. “There is an essential self amongst the rabble of our competing I's. Love gives us a hint of this; mysticism takes us deeper.” The question remains why some people are more receptive to discovering their essential being than others. “It often arises―as in the case of St. Paul―from a burning sense of dissatisfaction with life and with oneself. It comes from a feeling of general discontent with the world and oneself. You have to disintegrate before you can integrate. You must know great conflict before peace. You must know great passion before serenity. You must want it.” But wanting it is not enough. “You must look within, control your reactions to other people, cultivate unselfishness, meditate upon yourself.” By providing a deeper interpretation of religious experiences than organized churches, Dr. Hourihan believes mysticism shows “if the Divine is there, it is there in all people. The expert is not the priest, minister or rabbi. The only experts are those who experience mystical reality directly.” He describes the reaction of religious organizations to his lectures as “benign indifference.” - West Hamilton Journal, Sept. 29, 1982, Hamilton, Ontario
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