Preface
I was raised in Ft. Worth, Texas by an avowed agnostic father and a lukewarm Episcopalian mother. Dad “refused to be a hypocrite”, so he wouldn't go to church. Mother has this vague feeling that she should give us some religious education, so she began taking us to the local Episcopal church. My uncle Kellner (Dad's older brother) was a celibate Episcopal priest so we became Episcopalians. I gave it my all, even becoming an acolyte (similar to an altar boy of the Catholic faith). One Sunday, the priest and I were getting ready for the service, and, being a curious boy of 14, I asked him “Why do I have to say all this Latin in the service? I don't know what it means.”
The priest replied, “It is not important for you to know what it means; it is a ritual of the church.”
“I am not saying it anymore if I don't know what it means!” I replied.
He said, firmly, “It is not important that you know what it means.”
I left the church that day and have not returned. I did not have a formal religious practice for many years after that. As I approached age thirty, I began to have a gnawing feeling that there was a Higher Power at work in the Universe, but it was not to be found in my Episcopal church experience. So, I began what I call my religious dilettante experience. I started going to every church I could think of, from Baptist to Catholic, from Church of Christ to Methodist, from Pentecostal to Baha'i, from Presbyterian to Christian, from Unitarian to Unity. I looked at them all and came away feeling empty. So, I finally relaxed the search and just lived my life.
This search for ultimate truth is what Joseph Campbell called the “hero's journey.” At some point, all of us seem to become disenchanted with the promises of materialism and start the search for ultimate “truth”. Here is a wonderful quote from the Self-Realization Fellowship papers of Yogananda:
What is the Best religion?
Most people who follow a variety of teachings stick to none. Their choices are usually influenced by imitation or curiosity, rather than by logical reason or necessity. Such students like to listen incessantly to new ideas from new personalities, without ever making an effort to assimilate the ideas. They may be compared to one who sets out to reach a certain destination, and becomes enamored with walking that he wanders here and there, forgetting all about his goal.
Some students are led by curiosity to adopt a certain spiritual path, hoping to reach the destination of truth and wisdom, but they often get sidetracked by their insatiable curiosity As they keep trying new ways for the thrill of a change, they never reach their goal. These people are interested in listening to spiritual truths but not in making the effort to apply those truths to everyday life and to realize them through experience, within the Self.
(NOTE: The difference is thatI have tried to apply them.)
