Monotheism is not only a Theology; it is also a Psychology (2021-09-25) #

0:00:00 when a man turns to religion
0:00:03 it can turn him into either a creature
0:00:06 of hell or a creature of heaven
0:00:09 let me explain what i mean
0:00:23 every man and woman is inwardly a city
0:00:26 in which there are many factions one
0:00:28 gaining the upper hand today another
0:00:30 tomorrow
0:00:32 the only people in whom this warfare of
0:00:35 the factions is appeased are on the one
0:00:38 hand the saints whose those holy
0:00:41 integrated beings who have brought all
0:00:43 such contrary forces under the control
0:00:46 of the highest principle
0:00:48 and on the other those who have
0:00:50 surrendered entirely to the most
0:00:53 powerful and brutal faction in their
0:00:55 makeup and so enjoy an illusion of peace
0:00:59 worse than any warfare
0:01:02 between these two extremes lies a
0:01:05 battlefield
0:01:06 the fact that there are many people who
0:01:08 live quiet lives of routine looking
0:01:11 neither to the right nor to the left
0:01:13 neither upwards towards the heavens or
0:01:15 downwards into the abyss is misleading
0:01:19 for there are forces lurking within
0:01:21 everyone which may remain dormant so
0:01:24 long as no great prize is within reach
0:01:28 or so long as no great danger threatens
0:01:31 when a man turns to religion these
0:01:34 forces are awakened for either good or
0:01:37 ill
0:01:38 and if for ill may try to seize hold of
0:01:42 it and use it for its own purposes
0:01:46 no ego is more inflated than the one
0:01:49 which feeds upon religion and justifies
0:01:52 its greed and its fury in religious
0:01:55 terms
0:01:56 it can even happen that the inhibitions
0:01:59 which restrain murderous impulses in
0:02:02 those who live only for this world are
0:02:05 released when the opportunity arises to
0:02:08 murder in the name of god
0:02:11 those who seek paradise walk a tightrope
0:02:14 over hell
0:02:16 the greater the prize the greater the
0:02:18 risk
0:02:20 but light is light
0:02:23 by its very nature it shows up things we
0:02:26 might prefer to keep hidden
0:02:28 it reveals and exposes as does that
0:02:32 judgment to which we must all finally
0:02:35 submit
0:02:38 the agnostic has a very curious notion
0:02:41 of religion
0:02:42 he is convinced that a man who says i
0:02:45 believe in god should at once become
0:02:47 perfect if this doesn't happen
0:02:50 then the believer must be a fraud and a
0:02:53 hypocrite
0:02:54 he thinks that adherence to a religion
0:02:57 is the end of the road whereas in fact
0:03:00 it is only the beginning of a very long
0:03:03 and sometimes very rough road
0:03:06 he looks for consistency in religious
0:03:08 people
0:03:09 however aware he may be of the
0:03:11 inconsistencies
0:03:13 in himself
0:03:16 the fact that we do expect consistency
0:03:18 of others and are astonished by their
0:03:21 lack of it is sufficient proof of our
0:03:24 awareness that the human personality
0:03:27 ought to be unified under one
0:03:30 command perhaps the most difficult of
0:03:33 all the requirements of religion is
0:03:36 simplicity
0:03:38 for the simple man is all of one piece
0:03:41 he does not leave bits of himself
0:03:43 scattered all over the landscape of his
0:03:46 life
0:03:47 he is so to speak the same all through
0:03:51 whichever way you slice him
0:03:53 and it has been said that only the saint
0:03:56 has a right to say i
0:03:59 the rest of us would do better to
0:04:01 confess
0:04:02 my name is legion
0:04:05 this inward multiplicity the
0:04:07 multiplicity of the factions
0:04:10 is like an echo within the human
0:04:12 personality of outward polytheism
0:04:15 on the one hand many persons within a
0:04:18 single envelope of flesh
0:04:21 on the other many gods in a fragmented
0:04:24 universe
0:04:26 monotheism is not only a theology it is
0:04:31 also a psychology
0:04:33 as is the shahadah
0:04:36 Applause
0:04:40 and that is a reading from
0:04:43 this book islam and the destiny of man
0:04:46 by guy eaton pages 73 to 74. guy eaton
0:04:51 was a very famous
0:04:53 english convert islam he died a few
0:04:55 years ago he used to go to regent's park
0:04:57 mosque regularly and give talks
0:04:59 astonishing talks also on the radio on
0:05:02 bbc
0:05:03 radio i do uh recommend this book
0:05:06 its english is extraordinary exquisite
0:05:09 beautiful as you have just heard
0:05:12 there we go till next time