The House of Life

The Gathering in Melbourne was the 5th World Parliament. The first took place in 1893 and even at this distance of time, I can only salute those radical and intrepid souls who were able to look beyond the religious confines of their own time by reaching out to other faith traditions in search of commonality. This template still serves for the parliament meets in the spirit of co-operation and mutual sharing. Engagement is about building bridges between traditions and together facing the problems of the world. The theme at Melbourne was Making a Difference, Hearing each Other and Healing the Planet.

The richness of the programme speaks for the universal spiritual imperative of the human heart. The breadth of the programme measures the reservoir of goodwill that people of faith can find within their home tradition. The variety n the programme reveals a glimpse of the ideal, the family of humanity meeting in cooperation and harmony. Poverty and conflict resolution, the environment, women’s voices, health and welfare, indigenous peoples, social cohesion and business ethics were among the threads that ran throughout the week in plenary sessions, workshops and discussions. These hard nosed social and political issues were placed within a shared space made sacred by words and deeds of good intent: chanting, prayer, meditation, ceremony and blessings.

The building was warmed by a general sense of goodwill, open body language and smiling eyes. I saw the same light generated by rabbis, swamis, monks, imams and reverends. Here Muslims, Christians, Jews and Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, Pagans, whether Chinese, Tibetan, Asian, Australian, American, Japanese or European shared a palpable commonality that is rarely witnessed in the world at large.

Bridge building across age old divides is no easy thing to accomplish and I was heartened to discover ongoing dialogues between traditionally entrenched positions taken by Jews, Christians and Muslims. Art and music have the power to build bridges naturally so the evening concert of sacred music was a wonderful opportunity to share different traditions in a relaxed environment. I was late and so sat in the last row completely on my own at the very top of the huge auditorium. But this bird’s eye view gave me a wonderful perspective. A few rows down in front of me Tibetan monks sat in a row. Looking down into the arena I could see the Sikh delegation, bearded and turbaned men all dressed in white. The auditorium was filled with blocs of colour and distinctive styles, the family of humanity were coming together. The performances were each wonderful, especially the Whirling Sufis who filled the stage with a mesmeric display of meditative grace. Another unexpected and heartwarming moment occurred when the Tibetan monks broke out of their usual constrained reserve and were as one, standing with arms raised swaying in a wave to the sound of singing from the Christian Agape International Choir. It is a sight indelibly printed into my memory.

The Parliament takes place every five years, the actual event like a visible iceberg rests upon the ongoing work that takes place in the background at grassroots level and behind the scenes through the structured and orchestrated high level dialogue. I attended a panel on Global Ethics and was much heartened by the sense that serious and committed minds are at work thrashing out a new modality to enable transformative dialogue to develop. The challenges facing Ethics and Interfaith committees cannot be underestimated. The representative for the Yoruba tradition put one particular problem in a nutshell when he said simply, ‘the problem is the book.’ In other words where is the bridge to be found between the book based monotheistic religions and the oral transmission of indigenous spirituality which includes paganism in its many guises. Nevertheless a dialogue has been opened, pagan traditions have a place at the top table too.

Moving away from the intellectual rigour of debate, I was among the guests who chose to spend an evening in the company of the Melbourne pagan group who invited delegates to share in food and ceremony. This was another memorable event showing the evident strengths of pagan spirituality, a demonstrable love for the earth and the Goddess who is seen to be immanent in life. These twin values have much to give to a world beset by environmental crises, the belief in a transcendent deity has not served us well.

I was heartened by the seminar on global ethics but I was moved by the workshop Men who Love the Goddess. In a very simple format four men told their own stories in honest and riveting disclosure. I felt privileged to be included in such personal truth. We have heard so much about women and the Goddess, it was electrifying to hear from Her chosen sons. Michael York who chaired the proceedings threw in a wonderfully challenging note. We have become used to hearing about The Goddess, it is a phrase now safely embedded in our language. Michael York, scholar and academic deemed to ask, ‘Which Goddess.’ He elaborated upon his interest in polytheism and spoke of the multiplicity of the Godhead as a continual source of outpouring divine forms – a radical theology indeed. His distinction between the particular and the general chimes with my own experiences of the Divine Feminine not as The Goddess, the embodiment of living sacred Mother Nature but as individuated, yet not separate sacred identities. Speculating on such mysteries places us all in deep waters.

I came away uplifted and inspired by a shared sense of commonality balanced with a respect for difference and diversity. I hope I have said enough to keep hope alive, consciousness is changing fast. I hope it is changing fast enough. I am closing by including the words given by the Oracle of Isis from the 1993 Parliament. Our tasks have not yet been achieved.

Beloved Family, Sons and Daughters of the Divine One