Gloria K. Fiero's Poem 'The One True Light'

The One True Light

Though one of the simpler pieces of poetry found in the book by Gloria K. Fiero, The Humanistic Tradition, “The One True Light” (239), speaks to a long-time problem which is still evident to this day. The poem was written by the Sufi mystic and poet, Jalal al-Din Rumi, and explores what is beyond his own religion. He was a follower of Muhammad, but as a Sufi, and through an emphasis on visionary experiences, which included ritualistic whirling dances, he was supposed to have been transported to be intuitive and see a nonrational dimension of his religious experiences.

The poem, ‘The One True Light’, says that while each person might only view the world from the teachings of their own religion, perhaps it is only a matter of perspective. Whether you are Muslim, Jewish, or Christian, what you see “depends on the standpoint” (Fiero 239). Rumi illustrates this by having men of differing backgrounds simply describe an elephant, in the dark. Each man touches the elephant differently. One felt it his trunk and declared, “This animal is like a water-pipe (Fiero 240).” Another touched his ear and thought the elephant

felt like a fan. Another felt his leg and thought it had the shape of a pillar. The last one stroked his back and said “he resembles a throne (Fiero 240).” Had there been light, they each would have seen that they were describing the same animal and there “would have been no contradiction in their words” (Fiero 240).
So often, disagreements and conflicts erupt because people are looking at the same thing in a different way. If people spent more time seeing the similarities rather than the differences, people may actually get along. Religion was founded to provide people with comfort and explanations for the things they cannot understand. As humans we need to feel safe and that there is purpose in our lives. But, when men cannot even view the same elephant in the same way, there is bound to be disagreement. While many stories have been written in an attempt to explain their God, are they trying to say the same thing but just in a different way? This may explain why there are so many religions all claiming to have the one true god.
Maybe people should take a walk around the symbolic ‘elephant in the room’ to get another person’s perspective. We are all enduring the same basic human condition, so why have men been fighting since the beginning of history to proclaim their god is the greatest and the only? What would this world look like if there was only one religion? One god? As everyone has an opinion, it is not likely to ever change. Then you have to ask what is the point? Is it all about power and control? No one really wants there to be one supreme being because then there would be no debate, no struggle to uncover the truth. Or, they will just blindly follow what they have been told, until the next new reformer questions the status-quo and creates their own new religion. Every day we hear about terrorists asserting their beliefs on any person they decide is not true to their religious beliefs. Are they not evolving as humans? We know a lot more now than we did 2,000 years ago, then why have they not modified their position on what was written by a man, or many men, a long time ago? Stories are passed down from generations but they cannot be viewed as fact. We know that the Bible and Qur’an were written long after the people they are quoting had died. If you have ever played the child’s game of ‘telephone’ you know how one simple statement passed around a room of 20 people can change dramatically from the original sentence. We have learned that things change, that is why our laws evolve and change with the times. If there is ever a chance of us all learning to live together on this planet, we will have to evolve in the way we think and be more tolerant of others. We can’t all be the same, but we can recognize those differences, and be accepting of others as they are. Like the poem said, “The lamps are different, but the Light is the same (Fiero 239).” When you look beyond yourself you may truly see someone else.

Buddha’s Sermon at Benares
Like many other religions, the original intent and teachings of its founders may have been lost along the way.

According to the textbook, “The Humanistic Tradition” (Fiero) in chapters 8 and 9, Siddhartha Gautama, known as Buddha, lived in India a few centuries before Jesus. He came a realization that there were three basic “truths”; sickness, old age, and death. He became enlightened through meditation and preached that the path to enlightenment began with “Four Noble Truths” (Fiero 193): pain is universal, desire causes pain, ceasing to desire relieves pain and right conduct leads to release from pain. The goal being, to escape the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth, through the Eightfold Path of right views, right intentions, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right

concentration.
Buddha was a reformer, like Jesus, who sought to change the ritualistic ways of his religion, Hinduism. He proposed that people of any caste could achieve enlightenment and urged them to work out their own salvation. While Buddha never wrote down his teachings, his disciples, years after his death recorded his sermons along with miraculous tales. He preached modesty, moderation, and compassion without behavioral extremes and “commends the return of good for evil” (Fiero 194). In his Sermon at Benares, he cautions against practicing extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. He does not see the value in fasting and foregoing cleanliness. He also warns that “anger, drunkenness, obstinacy, bigotry, deception, envy, self-praise, disparaging others, superciliousness, and evil intentions constitute uncleanness (194).” A middle path should be followed.
These are teachings that can still apply today. It seems that when people take extremist views they begin to lose real perspective and suffer “sickly thoughts” (194). He preaches that you should not be slave to lust or greed but still need nourishment and the middle path keeps you from extremes. Whether you believe in Nirvana or just want to a good human, these seem like moderate values that will help you to recognize the suffering of others, while walking the right path. There is undoubtedly pain in the world but Buddha preaches the Eightfold Path is the way to loving kindness in the world.
India adopted the teachings of Buddha and promoted official policies of non-violence, vegetarianism, and defending egalitarianism. But, like other religions, his teachings resulted in many interpretations, and there were 500 major and minor Buddhist sects in India by the first century. Buddhism prevailed, though a minority, due to the strong Hindu culture, until Islamic invaders came in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. However, Buddhism did survive in China and Japan.
The image of Buddha sitting cross-legged in meditation became the icon of the religion by Gupta sculptors. He is depicted with a gentle smile in a still state of repose along with other iconic symbols. Massive sculpted images were created for centuries by wandering monks all along the Silk Road and were visible to approaching pilgrims and travelers from miles away, according to Chapter 9, of the text. Unfortunately, two of these incredible shrines located in Afghanistan were destroyed by the Taliban, radical Muslims, in 2001 (Fiero 222). More recently, Isis has destroyed many other ancient relics in the city of Palmyra, Syria using bulldozers and explosives. This is just another example of people destroying things in the name of their own religion and intolerance of others beliefs which I find reprehensible.
I will never understand why people use the preaching’s of peace-loving, and compassionate people, to turn their words in to their own excuse destroy others.
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