Religion

Religion (from Latin religio, recollection) denotes the human being’s search for the meaning of their own existence. The term encompasses the different systems of belief and interpretation with which cultures describe the relation of the individual to life, to death and to a greater order.

What is religion?

Religion gives expression to the need of many people to experience something about the meaning of their own existence and to fill unwished-for circumstances of life with meaning. Systems of religion arise in concrete epochs and cultural spheres and have, for their time and their space, their value. They are thus less a rigid set of rules than the respective attempt of a community to interpret the unavailable.

This view makes it possible to regard religious traditions alongside one another, without playing them off against each other. Related conceptions such as reincarnation and karma are found again in several cultural spheres and show how differently the same basic questions are answered.

How does the Kyborg Institute stand towards religion and spirituality?

The Kyborg Institute meets religion respectfully and in a grounded way. Spirituality is understood here as a personal, experienceable development, not as subjection to a dogma. Fear and guilt are no suitable ways to a free mental life, and no promises of salvation are made.

At the centre stands the human being’s own recollection of what carries them. Values such as loving-kindness and altruism can be lived independently of a particular confession. The historical and critical engagement with religious institutions belongs to it just as much as the appreciation of their spiritual core thoughts.

What is the significance of Shankara?

Shankara means “salvation-bringing” and is a byname of Shiva, the destroyer of worldliness. In this meaning, Shankara stands for the wisdom-granting god and the teacher of all gurus. The name refers at the same time to a significant Indian yoga teacher.

With this, Shankara joins the divine aspect with the concrete tradition of teaching: he stands for the overcoming of attachment to the merely worldly and for the passing-on of wisdom from teacher to pupil.

Standpoints and deepenings

Whoever wishes to occupy themselves with the historical and religion-critical backgrounds finds further reflections in the articles around the Holy Grail as well as in the engagement with Jesus of Qumran. These standpoints place religious traditions historically and invite one’s own further thinking.

Literature

The following selection of literature on the theme area of religion and orders comes from the Health Encyclopedia of Esotericism by D. Harald Alke and is stored as quellen in the frontmatter of this entry.

Autor: D. Harald Alke