new year – James Roose-Evans

Inner and outer

Once again Christmas is upon us and a new year lies ahead. A friend once sent me, written in beautiful calligraphy, the following words:

All happiness, peace, joy and love for a year
of inner growth and outward success

The two must go together if we are to fulfil our lives. Outward success can mean the simple satisfaction of a job well done, whether it is helping a neighbour, looking after an animal, or baking a cake. The inner and the outer are simply two halves of that ancient symbol, the mandala.

The many routes

The Sufi master Llewelyn Vaughan-Lee writes in one of his books, ‘There are as many routes to God as there are individuals.’ As the composer John Taverner said, ‘ There is only one absolute being. Whether you call it God, Allah or Brahman, God gave to each tradition different Saviours and Avatars. Christ is God for the Christian world, as Krishna is God for the Hindus.’ We have to go beyond labels to what lies at the very heart of existence. As a small boy, whom I have quoted before, once said to me with passion, ‘God is a feel, not a think!’