I am the Way, the Truth and the Life


An Inclusive and Liberating Vision


By Brother Martin



            'I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me', is the most difficult and controversial statement of Jesus Christ. Christian tradition, in general, interprets this statement to mean that Jesus Christ is the only way to God and belief in him is the only way to salvation. This interpretation leads to the other most important statement of Jesus, 'Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to the whole of creation'. Christians believe that they have the obligation or mission to preach that Jesus Christ is the only way to God and convert people to Christ or Christianity. This kind of interpretation makes Christianity an exclusive religion and creates difficulties in promoting Inter-Religious dialogue. Other religions would like Christians to say that Jesus Christ or Christianity is a way to God and not the only way or the perfect way. It means to accept that every religion is a valid way to God or salvation. Christians may be willing to say that Jesus Christ is the perfect way to God but not a way to God. If they say that then missionary activity or conversion does not have any meaning and purpose. My deep feeling is that the interpretation given by the Christian tradition to this statement of Jesus does not do justice to the inclusive, unifying and liberating vision of Jesus Christ.

            In this article I would like to give an inclusive interpretation of this statement.  Jesus Christ said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life'. Here the 'I' of Jesus is identical with the 'the way' with 'the truth' and 'the life'. This statement also can be reset as: I am the truth, the life and the way; or I am the life, the truth and the way. So we need to reflect what this 'I' is, what 'the life' is and what 'the truth' is so that we can understand 'the way' of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ told to Pilate that he came to bear witness to the Truth. Pilate asked him, what is truth? Jesus was silent.

Who is Jesus Christ?

            The questions we need to ask are:  who is Jesus Christ? What is the kind of life that he lived? What is the truth that he bore witness to? What is the way that he followed? Jesus proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God. He invited everyone to search for the kingdom of God and live according to its righteousness. We can say that

Jesus Christ is the kingdom of God.

His truth is the kingdom of God.

The life he lived is the life of the kingdom of God.

And the way he followed is the way of the kingdom of God.

            Jesus bore witness to it and gave his life for it. Now the question then is: what is the kingdom of God?

 

The kingdom of God:

The kingdom of God, in the ultimate sense, is the transformation of one's life into God's life and one's actions into actions of God. Jesus Christ said, 'the works which I do are not my own but the Father who dwells in me does his works'. The life of Jesus was transformed in such a way that he could say, 'my life is not my life but God's life and my actions are not my actions but God's actions'. The kingdom of God is the experience of oneness of human consciousness with the divine consciousness. Jesus Christ said, 'the Father and I are one'. The kingdom of God also can be described as the experience of the fullness of the love of God and fullness of the love of neighbor. When Jesus Christ said, 'the Father and I are one', it was the experience of one hundred percent love of God. When Jesus said, 'whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters that you do unto me', it was the experience of the one hundred percent love of neighbor. In Jesus Christ the love of God and the love of neighbor have reached their fullness. No one can go beyond that experience; no truth can go beyond that; no life can go beyond that and no way can go beyond that. Hence we can say that the kingdom of God is the experience of the one hundred percent love of God and one hundred percent love of neighbour. How did Jesus come to this experience? For this we need to reflect on the spiritual evolution of Jesus.

 

The Spiritual Evolution of Jesus:

Jesus Christ was born in the spiritual tradition of Judaism. The love of God and the love of neighbor were the two pillars of Judaism. But this love of God and love of neighbor were dualistic. God was understood as the creator and human beings were the creatures of God. The love between God and human beings was the love between the creator and a creature. There was a gulf between God and human beings. The neighbour was only the fellow Jew. Jesus evolved in his spiritual life in such a way that his dualistic love became non-dualistic love of God and non-dualistic love of neighbor. We can see four important moments in the spiritual evolution of Jesus, before his death and resurrection.

            The first moment was his birth as a human being from his physical mother, Mary. The second moment was the day of his circumcision on which he entered into the collective consciousness of Judaism. Jesus became a Jew and he was a hundred percent Jew. As he grew in the womb of his religious tradition he realized the limitations of his tradition. The first limitation was that his tradition divided humanity at that time into two, Jews and Gentiles. Secondly it limited God only as the God of the Jews and not of Gentiles. It built a wall between God and Gentiles. Thirdly it understood God as a transcendent mystery inaccessible to human beings except through the prophets and the Torah. Fourthly it made human beings to be subservient to the Law and to the religious authorities. The Law was more important than human beings.

            The baptismal experience of Jesus was the third most important moment in the life of Jesus. It was his spiritual rebirth in which he came out of the womb of his religious tradition and entered into the universal presence of God. This experience broke down the wall between Jews and Gentiles and gave birth to a new human consciousness which united both Jews and Gentiles. This consciousness can be described as 'the Son of God or the Son of Man'.  The Son of Man is one who stands before God representing the whole of creation and the whole of humanity. The Son of God is one who speaks to the whole of creation and to the whole of humanity in the name of God. We can also use expressions 'the Daughter of Man' and 'the Daughter of God'. This consciousness broke down the wall between God and Gentiles and made God, the God of the whole of humanity and of creation. It inaugurated one God, one creation and one human kind. It inaugurated the immanent God (Emanuel) also in which a person could say, 'I am in God and God is in me'. It inaugurated the New Covenant in which human beings could discover the Law or the Truth written in the heart. It inaugurated a human consciousness which could declare’ I am the way, the truth and the life'. It was the birth of a human consciousness which was greater than belief systems (religions). In this consciousness a person is free from past and free from future. He or she does not follow anyone from past or any path from past. He or she does not become a path to future. This person invites people to enter in this universal consciousness and say like him or her, 'I am the way, the truth and the life'.

Hence the baptismal experience of Jesus was the turning point in the life of Jesus in which the spirituality based on religion or external laws comes to and end and the spirituality based on God, the inner law, begins. In the spirituality based on religion first comes religion, second comes God as understood by that religion and third come human beings who have to worship God in that religion. In the spirituality based on God, first comes God, who is greater than religions; second come human beings and third come religions which are meant to be at the service of human beings (the Sabbath is made for human beings and not human beings for the sake of the Sabbath).

            The fourth important moment in the life of Jesus was when Jesus said, 'the Father and I are one'. It was the experience of the oneness of Jesus' consciousness with God or the Father, the Source and the Foundation of creation. We do not know clearly when Jesus discovered this truth. We have to rely on the statement that he had made. The Vedic tradition would call it the non-dual experience of God. As a Jew, Jesus was living in the dualistic experience of God, in the dualistic love of God and love of neighbor. In his spiritual evolution he transcended dualistic relationship and entered into the non-dualistic relationship with God. He has reached the fullness of the love of God and the fullness of the love of neighbor. Jesus called this experience, 'the kingdom of God'. The kingdom of God is that in which the human consciousness becomes a vehicle of the divine consciousness.

            This way of looking at the spiritual evolution of Jesus helps us to see four levels of 'I', life, truth and way. The first level is the individual 'I', way, truth and life; the second level is the collective 'I', way, truth and life; the third level is the universal 'I', way, truth and life; in the fourth level is divine 'I', divine way, divine truth and divine life. So Jesus Christ evolved from the individual 'I' to the divine 'I', form the individual way to the divine way, from the individual truth to the divine truth and from the individual life to the divine life.

Using the Symbol of Tree

            We can also explain this process of evolution using the symbol of a tree. A tree has leaves, branches, trunk and roots. Leaves represent the individual 'I', way, truth and life; branches represent the collective 'I', way, the collective truth and the collective life; trunk represents the universal 'I, the universal way, the universal truth and the universal life. Roots represent the divine 'I', the divine way, the divine truth and the divine life. The higher level embraces the lower level. Individuality (leaf) is the door through which the collective, the universal and the divine ways manifest their life. Individuality is an absolute necessary.

The Tree of Life

The book of Genesis speaks of the tree of life. The tree of life is that in which there is harmony between leaves and branches, branches and trunk and trunk and roots. There is only one tree, one way, one truth and one life. It is the way of the tree. In this one way there is no good and bad but only the manifestation of the absolute goodness of God.  The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is that in which there is disharmony between leaves and branches and branches and trunk and trunk and roots. Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They fell from the fullness of truth, life and way into the fragmented truth, life and way. They fell into the life of time, becoming, suffering and struggle. Jesus Christ ate the fruit from the tree of life. He reentered into the Garden of Eden and lived the fullness of truth, fullness of life and fullness of way. The so called fall of Adam and Eve has to be seen as a necessary process of evolution.

Our spiritual evolution can be described as a process of evolution from the unconscious unity (Garden of Eden) to the conscious unity. The desire of original humanity is nothing but the desire to become conscious of what is unconscious. It is a good desire but projected in the wrong direction. When human beings are born they are in a state of unconscious unity (Garden of Eden). As they grow desire manifests. This desire fragments this unconscious unity and projects God as an object outside. That projection creates time, effort and means to reach the object and consequently suffering. When human beings discover that what they are looking for is already inside then this process comes to an end and what is unconscious becomes conscious. Jesus Christ said, 'the time has come to an end, the kingdom of God is here and now'. The unconscious unity is represented by a snake holding its own tail. The process of desire, becoming and time is represented by a snake crawling on ground and the conscious unity is represented by a snake raising its hood. Adam and Eve were in the unconscious unity, like the snake holding its own tail. Their desire makes them to take the path of time, the snake crawling on ground.

Jesus Christ stopped this movement and brought back humanity to its original state but in a conscious way. His consciousness was awakened consciousness, the serpent raising its hood. There is no direct path from the unconscious unity to conscious unity. Everyone needs to go through the path of desire, time, suffering and good and evil, the serpent crawling on ground. In this sense the fall of Adam and Eve and that of every human being, is a necessary fall. It is Felix Culpa, Happy Fault that brings saviour and salvation into our lives.

 

The Four Yugas in Hinduism and Four Types of Truth

            Hinduism presents time in four Yugas according to the manner of the truth lived: Sathya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dwapara Yuga and Kali Yuga.  Sathya means truth. Treta means three. Dwapara means two. Kali means dark. Truth is symbolically presented as a bull standing on four feet.

Sathya Yuga is the time in which Truth manifests in its fullness. Here Truth walks on four feet. Treta Yuga is the time in which Truth walks on three feet. One leg is missing. It is incomplete. Dwapara Yuga is the time in which Truth walks on two feet. It is incomplete. Two legs are missing. Kali Yuga is the time in which Truth walks on one foot. Three legs are missing. These Yugas can be understood as different levels of consciousness in which human beings live. These Yugas do not necessarily follow one after the other but at the same time people can be in different Yugas according to the way they live.  Kali Yuga is a consciousness in which individuality dominates. People live in extreme individualism. Each individual lives only for himself or herself. Individual values dominate the society. Society is there for the sake of individuals. The relationship with God is very individualistic. God is there to fulfill one's individual desires and ambitions. Dwapara Yuga is a collective consciousness in which individuals live for a group, for a religion or for a nationality or for an ethnic group. Here individuals are taken for the sake of society. The relationship with God is a collective relationship. Here God is the God of one group or one's religion.  People are guided by a belief system or an ideology.  Treta Yuga is that in which a person lives in the universal consciousness. Here Truth walks on three feet. A person is united with the whole of humanity and the whole of creation. A person lives for the welfare of the whole of humanity and of creation.  A person stands before God representing the whole of humanity and of creation and a person speaks to the whole of humanity and creation in the name of God. A universal human being is greater than religions or constructions of social morality. This person is often called as 'the Universal Man', 'the Son of Man' or 'the Son of God'. This person will say, ‘it is written in your Law but I say unto you’.

Sathya Yuga is that in which a person discovers being one with God and declares, 'God and I are one or God alone is'. A person says, 'my life is not my life but God's life, my actions are not my actions but God's actions'. Here Truth walks on four feet. It is living in the fullness of Truth.  This shows that there are four levels of 'I', way, truth and life: Individual way, collective way, universal way and divine way. If we come back to the analogy of a tree we can say that those who live in Kali Yuga are like leaves on a tree. Each leaf lives only for itself. Those who live in Dwapara Yuga are like leaves that live for a branch, for a religion, a nationality or an ethnic group. Those who live in Treta Yuga are like leaves living at the service of a trunk. They live for the whole of humanity and of creation. Those who live in Sathya Yuga are like leaves that manifest the truth of the roots. They live in the fullness of Truth. They live for everyone and for all times. They embrace the whole tree. Jesus Christ is the whole tree. He is the tree of life.

Jesus Christ and the Four Yugas

 If we use the analogy of four Yugas to Jesus' spiritual evolution, we can say that Jesus moved from Kali Yuga (individual consciousness) to Dwapara Yuga (collective consciousness, Jew) from Dwapara Yuga to Treta Yuga (universal consciousness, the Son of God) and from Treta Yuga to Sathya Yuga (divine consciousness, the Father and I are one). So Jesus Christ was living in Sathya Yuga, in the fullness of 'I', truth, way and life. In him Truth walked on four feet.  This is the life of the kingdom of God. In the lower three Yugas there will be always good and bad. These good and bad are relative good and relative bad or evil. In Sathya Yuga there will not be relative good and relative evil but only absolute goodness. Sathya Yuga goes beyond good and evil. The Garden of Eden is the symbol of the life of Sathya Yuga where human beings will be naked, without ego, and walk in the universal presence of God. The four rivers flowing in the Garden of Eden may symbolically refer to Sathya Yuga, the fullness of Truth. In the case of Adam and Eve it was unconscious and in the case of Jesus Christ it was conscious. When we are born we are in the unconscious Sathya Yuga but we have to make it conscious Sathya Yuga. Jesus called this process, ‘repentance’.

 

What is the sign that a person is living in Sathya Yuga?


        A person who lives in Kali Yuga lives only for himself or herself. The focus is one one's own happiness. A person may even have materialistic view of oneself. A person who lives in Dwapara Yuga lives in a moral system or a belief system. If he or she has a gift of leadership then he or she can become a founder of a religion or movement. This person may give a scripture to believe and to follow. There will be an institutional authority and hierarchy. People live in a dualistic relationship with God. A person who lives in Treta Yuga reflects the divine light like the moon that reflects the light from the Sun. This divine light attracts people to that person.  This person may inspire millions of persons. This person may even become a Centre of adoration and worship. People may consider this person as an incarnation of God or avatar of God, or a prophet of God. Usually this person sees God in every person and invites everyone to discover the divine within by purifying their ego. He or she teaches the path of the purification of ego and helps others in their spiritual evolution. This person may be described as a golden chariot sent by God to bring people to God. It is a blessing to meet such a person and to be in the presence of such person. The energy this person radiates may uplift many persons to the divine presence and give illumination. It is also possible that many people are satisfied just to be in that person's presence.  People may be fascinated by the golden chariot that they may forget the destiny it points. If this happens then there will be a hierarchy between this person and others. As the time passes (that it may also occasionally possible) people who have entered into this level seek power and authority from that experience. This keeps the followers under their authority and blocks their spiritual evolution. In Treta Yuga people relate with the attributes of God and form images of God. This creates a subtle form of ego. This may be a wonderful stage to be but it is not the last stage. When Jesus Christ transfigured on Mount Tabor his disciples wanted to build three booths for Jesus, Moses and Elijah and remain there but Jesus did not approve of it.

            Where there is duality and hierarchy there is not yet the fullness of truth. One has to go beyond avatars, incarnations and prophets because they also belong to time and manifestations. Where there is absolute hierarchy there will be spiritual apartheid.  There will not be the fullness of truth. A person who lives in Sathya Yuga goes beyond time, beyond manifestations and beyond ego and lives from his or her natural state. He or she does not give a scripture, does not give a religion but points towards God, and invites people to grow into Sathya Yuga. He or she prepares a high way to God with clear sign boards so that people can make their journey even without an escort. He or she will be like a finger or sign post pointing towards God. He or she frees people from all the burdens of lower three Yugas. This person does not seek power or authority. He or she washes the feet of his or her disciples to show that he or she has come to serve others, to help others to discover the truth present in everyone's heart. This person will say, 'I no longer call you disciples or servants, but I call you my friends'. A person who lives in Sathya Yuga will not call him or herself a master and will not have any disciples.  He or she will say that only 'God alone is your master'. In Sathya Yuga each person lives by the inner light. No one is dependent on another. There will not be gurus and there will not be disciples. It is like the New Covenant that God promised to the Jewish people. God would write the Law in the hearts of the people. From the least to the greatest everyone knows God. There is no need for one person telling another person to know God, because everyone knows God. There will be a universal brotherhood and sisterhood.

Sathya Yuga and Walking on Water

To live in Sathya Yuga is like walking on water or like a bird flying in the sky. A person who walks on water does not enter into the traces left by others and does not leave traces for others to follow. (A bird that flies does not enter into the traces left by others and does not leave traces for others. It does not contaminate or condition the sky. It keeps the sky free and pure).His or her path is pathless land. He or she is free from the past and gives freedom to the future. He or she lives an original and creative life and invites everyone to do so. He or she declares, 'I am the way, the truth and the life' and invites everyone to the same way of life. To be free from the past is greatness and to give freedom to the future is humility. This is the greatness and the humility of the person who lives in Sathya Yuga. If this person gives a moral teaching or initiates a new movement they are only provisional. They are only like nests that prepare one to fly into the freedom of the infinite space. Jesus Christ walked on water and invited his disciples to do so. Peter tried to do that.  We can say that freedom, unity, humility, simplicity and peace are the signs of one who lives in Sathya Yuga. In Sathya Yuga 'the present' manifests eternity. Jesus Christ might have acted from Treta Yuga for a while, as the Son of God, but he transcended that level and moved into Sathya Yuga and declared 'the Father and I are one'.

 

The Three Gunas and the Four Paths

            The Bhagavad Gita speaks of three gunas or qualities: tamas (ignorance), rajas (striving) and sattva (harmony). In Kali Yuga the guna, tamas dominates; in Dwapara Yuga, the guna, rajas, dominates; and in Treta Yuga, the guna, sattva, dominates. In Sathya Yuga a person goes beyond these three gunas and lives from the natural inner light. A person who lives in Sathya Yuga follows the way of the Sun (Surya Yana or Deva Yana). He or she radiates the divine light. It is the way of unfolding. It is living in Sanathana Dharma or the kingdom of God. The person who lives in Treta Yuga follows the way of the Moon (Chandra Yana), reflecting the light from the Sun, He or she follows Yuga Dharma, a unique manifestation for that age. A person who lives in Dwapara Yuga follows the way of clouds or ancestors or tradition (Pitru Yana), Sampradaya Dharma. This person gives continuity to the past. The past uses the present in order to continue into the future. It is the way of becoming. A person who lives in Kali Yuga follows the individual path, Individual dharma, svadharma. It is like walking on the earth. These four Yugas, explained above, need not come one after the other. In every age people might be living in different Yugas according to their spiritual need and evolution. In general majority of the people live either in Kali Yuga (individual) or Dwapara Yuga (collective). Now and then appear persons who move into Treta Yuga. They are called Yuga Purushas or incarnations of God and give a message for that time. Now and then may appear also persons who move into Sathya Yuga and manifest Sathya Yuga, the Sanathana Dharma. I believe that Jesus Christ lived in Sathya Yuga (the kingdom of God) and invited everyone to that life. The kingdom of God is the ultimate destiny or goal of our spiritual evolution. It is also our natural state.

 

I am the way, the truth and the life

 

The above understanding makes us ask several questions:

Who is this 'I' of Jesus that says, 'I am the way, the truth and the life'?

What is this 'way' that Jesus refers to here?

What is this 'truth' that Jesus refers to here?

What is this 'life' that Jesus refers to here?

 

Is it an individual 'I', individual way, individual truth and individual life?

Or

Is it a collective 'I', collective way, collective truth and collective life?

Or

Is it the universal 'I', universal way, universal truth and divine truth?

Or

Is it the divine 'I', the divine way, the divine truth and the divine life?

            If Jesus had made this statement as an individual, then Jesus, the individual, becomes the way, the truth and the life and everyone has to believe in Jesus, the individual, and follow the individual Jesus. All the other individuals are excluded.

             If Jesus had made this statement as someone who  belonged to a religion or a belief system, then that religion or belief system becomes the way, the truth and the life. That means everyone is invited to join that belief system or religion. All other religions or belief systems are excluded.

          If Jesus had made this statement as the universal consciousness then it is the universal Jesus who says that and everyone is invited to transcend individual ways and collective ways and grow into the universal consciousness or way. It is going beyond belief systems or religions and finding the truth within.

          If Jesus had made this statement as being one with God, then God is the way, the truth and the life. It means that everyone is invited to grow in divine-human relationship and realize oneness with God and say like Jesus, 'the Father and I are one'.


The ‘I’ of Jesus and the Divine Consciousness

            Hence the 'I' of Jesus here either refers to the universal consciousness or to God consciousness. I prefer to say that it refers to the divine consciousness, the kingdom of God. This reveals to us that Jesus' consciousness is one with the divine consciousness. His 'I' is divine 'I'; his truth is the divine truth; his life is the divine life; and his way is the divine way. These four are identical. This divine 'I' is not an isolated divine 'I', without any relationship with the people and the world, but that which integrates the human also. It is the divine 'I' in communion with the human 'I'. It is the divine 'I' manifesting through the human 'I'. It is fully divine and fully human. It is the fullness of the love of God and the fullness of the love of neighbor. It is the one hundred percent love of God manifesting in the one hundred percent love of neighbor. It is the non-dualistic love of God manifesting in the non-dualistic love of neighbor. This is the kingdom of God. This truth is not an invention of Jesus. It is not Jesus' truth. It is the Truth. This Truth is independent of all persons and systems or religions. It was there before the physical birth of Jesus. Jesus Christ only discovered it. To discover the Truth is to become the Truth. To know God is to realize oneness with God. This 'I' or way or truth or life is not something we can begin with but it is the goal and the destiny of our spiritual evolution. Jesus Christ said, 'first of all seek you the kingdom of God and its righteousness and all things will be added unto you'. The kingdom of God is the experience of oneness with God and oneness with the whole of humanity and of creation. Its righteousness or dharma is Sanathana Dharma. To a person in whom God lives all the needs are provided by the providence of God.

 

A Way and the Way

           

            The word 'way' generally is understood as something that begins somewhere and leads to somewhere and ends somewhere. It has a beginning and an end. But Jesus is not using the word 'way' here with that meaning. It refers to ‘the Way’. The Way is the ultimate destiny and goal of all the ways. It is a Way of living'. It is the Way of the kingdom of God. It is the Way of fullness of the love of God manifesting in the fullness of love of neighbor. It is living in Sathya Yuga. It is truth walking on four feet. It is similar to the Way referred in Tao Te Ching: 'the Way that can be defined is not the Way'. So we need to distinguish ' a way' from 'the Way'. The limitation of Christian interpretation is that it transformed 'the Way' into 'a way'. The destiny or the goal is transformed into a process, into a means. The person who lives in Sathya Yuga or the kingdom of God affirms the dignity of every human being. He or she proclaims that every human being is a unique manifestation of God and has the potential to say, 'I am the way, the truth and the life'. He or she invites everyone to realize this possibility.

 

No One comes to the Father Except through me?

 

            Jesus said, 'no one comes to the Father except through me’. This statement has been interpreted to mean that no one can come to God except through Jesus Christ, excluding any other way to God. This interpretation does not do justice to the all-inclusive and liberating spiritual vision of Christ. According to the spiritual vision of Jesus Christ this statement need to be interpreted to mean that no one can come to the experience of oneness with God as Jesus arrived, no one can come to the fullness of truth that Jesus discovered, no one can live the fullness of life that Jesus lived, and no one can follow the fullness of the Way that Jesus followed, unless a person makes the same journey or spiritual evolution that Jesus had made. What is that journey? It is growing from the individual 'I', way, truth and life to the collective 'I', way, truth and life, from the collective to the universal 'I', way, truth and life and from the universal to the divine 'I', way, truth and life, which is the kingdom of God. It is growing from the leaf consciousness to the branch consciousness, from the branch consciousness to the trunk consciousness from the trunk consciousness to the root or the tree consciousness. It is the way of expanding one's consciousness from Kali Yuga, to Dwapara Yuga, from Dwapara Yuga to Treta Yuga and from Treta Yuga to Sathya Yuga.

The Way of Growth

Jesus described this journey with a simple parable: 'the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. It is the smallest of all seeds. But when it grows it becomes so big that the birds of the air will come and make their nests in it'. It is expanding our consciousness from the fragmented individual consciousness to the all-embracing divine consciousness. The originality of Jesus experience consists in bringing together the fullness of the love of God and the fullness of the love of neighbor. (If we make our journey to God without integrating the love of neighbor then it may be missing something). This is the 'only way' for everyone to come to that 'Way' and there is no other way. In this manner the statement of Jesus makes perfect sense. It is not an exclusive statement or exclusive way but an inclusive statement and inclusive way. It embraces all individual ways (individual pluralism) but invites them to grow into collective ways (religious pluralism). It embraces all collective ways but invites them to grow into the universal way. It embraces the universal way but invites it to grow into the divine Way. In this sense 'the way of Jesus' is not a way to God or salvation among many other ways to God. It is not the only way that excludes all the others ways to God. It is not the perfect way among the imperfect ways to God but it is the only Way that embraces all the ways in a dynamic growth.

 

 

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