"No Country No Name"

I would like to quote from a book given me by Dr Sara Pavan when I was in Prashanti Nilayam in 2010 with my brother. Dr Pavan once lived in Sydney Australia, and worked at the Concord Hospital as an anaesthetist, but now resides with his wife in Swami’s Ashram and has been for some years. I would also like to add that Dr Pavan is an Australian citizen, though born in Malaysia in 1938, and is a very good friend of my brother and I. Dr Pavan is the author of this book which was published in 2010; I am very grateful to him for gifting this wonderful book to me.

I will not quote any other part except that which I feel is significant to the way religion is at present. Also the reason why I had chosen to name this post No Country No Name, is because that is the Title of Dr Sara Pavan's book.

Quote;

In 1984 I was directed to meet with Reverend Ted Noffs, who founded the Internationally acclaimed Wayside Chapel in Sydney. He pioneered the ‘Family of Man’ as early as 1965. I had much to learn from this great man who had faced heresy charges from the Uniting church establishment for speaking out the truth.

His beliefs are universal in nature and help the faithful to experience the Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man. Rev Ted Noffs’ creed:

“ I am a child of the stars. My religion, like the clothes I wear belong to the dust of the centuries. My spirit is eternal. Our children come to us from the eternal kingdom and are here to inherit the riches and resources of this planet, for a span until they too journey through time and space.

I am a Catholic … I am a Protestant … I am a Jew … I am a Hindu … I am a Buddhist … I am a Sikh … I am a Moslem. I am a part of all religions, past, present and future, because I am a human being and
nothing in the world can be alien to me. It is this affirmation “I am” that characterizes the prolife attitude of the person who is consciously a part of the Family of Man.

Later Reverend Noffs added: “The world is in dire straits; on the verge of self-destruction due to caste, creed, nationality and socio-economic divide, and needs the Einsteins and Galileos of the spirit to show the human race a scientific basis for a spiritual life. Religions are manmade, here today and gone tomorrow. Blessed are those who distinguish between religion and spirituality and abide by the spirit of universal love to build a better world for our children and their children to come.

If we look at world events today we will discover that the greatest barrier to world peace is religion in the way it is propagated and practiced. The trouble spots across the globe that are most dangerous are those locations where there is religious enmity. How ironic it is that world religions which have often claimed to act in the name of an alloying, all-merciful God are the centrepoints of hatred that have brought the world to the threshold of annihilation.

Religious fundamentalism, rivalry and intolerance have become a fundamental dilemma of the gravest consequences facing mankind, because upon the answer to this problem rests the survival of humanity. For this reason the removal of religious hatred would be a fortuitous beginning. It is the most urgent task men and women of goodwill should undertake.

Along with other world problems, we see religious hatred as one of the most challenging and formidable of social concerns threatening the survival of life on planet earth.
A religion without love is no religion. A human must manifest all characteristics of a true human by practicing Human Values. He should live by the moral code and live a virtuous life that befits a human birth. Unless one is truly human, one cannot experience the DIVINITY within. End of quote

Reverend Noffs had a lot of trouble brought to him from the church authorities from the comments he made, and this did take a great toll on his health. When will others of authority and in prominent positions stand up and speak out loud on behalf of humanity, by showing that nothing can ever be won over by hatred and violence, but only by love alone. Also, how can anyone earn respect if they never show compassion or understanding towards others. OMSAIRAM