It is hard to know what to include in a short book and I am conscious of many omissions. I write from the standpoint of a Church of England parish priest and many of my examples are from that tradition, but I recognize that the Church of England is one church amongst many churches, just as Christianity is one religion amongst many world religions which are slowly learning to share with each other their spiritual treasures and to work together for peace, the relief of human need and the preservation of the planet. As we learn to live as citizens of one world, the history of the whole world-wide church becomes the inheritance of all Christians and a rich resource for the future. Instead of thinking in rigid terms that one view is right and another wrong or one belief is orthodox and another heretical, we are learning that different theologies, be they feminist, classical, black or liberation, can add to the fullness of our understanding of God’s revelation in Christ.Ĭhristians have also practiced their religion in a variety of ways and the expression of their service to the community has depended on particular historical, political and geographical situations. We are, however, beginning to recognize that truth is multi-faceted and that the True and Living God transcends all human description and language. Theological debate is as intense today as it has been in the past. Christians, over the centuries, have pictured Jesus in many different ways and have expressed their beliefs in a variety of doctrines. This is why I have included several quotations from hymns and prayers. It is difficult to convey the devotional heart of a faith. I also hope that Christians will learn more about the rich heritage which is theirs. He promotes teachings aimed at self-realization through The Prem Rawat Foundation, which he set up in 2001.I hope this book will help people of other religions and none to appreciate Christianity. Now known more by his birth name, Prem Rawat, Subsequently, disagreements among members of his family weakened the movement, leading to splits.
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In its heyday the Divine Light Mission had thousands of members in the WestĪs well as in India, living monastic or community lives in ashrams where they witnessed to their faith, meditated, and gave service to the community and the world.Īnother feature of the movement was the holding of large fairs in different parts of the world, where crowds would attend to have audience with Guru Maharaj Ji.
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Inner world and have an experience of Divine Harmony, Divine Light, Divine Nectar and the Divine Word. He was considered to be an embodiment of God, and his movement was centred upon four 'divine' methods of meditation which enable one to enter one's Like Swami Prabhupada of Hare Krishna and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi of transcendental meditation, visited and consciously targeted the West, as opposed to others like Satya Sai Baba, Guru Maharaj Ji was typical of the gurus of some Indian new religious movements who, He moved to London in 1971 at the age of 13,Īnd in the 1970s the Divine Light Mission grew quite quickly in the West.
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Chambers Dictionary Of Beliefs And ReligionsĪ new religious movement centred upon the work of Guru Maharaj Ji who was born in India in 1958.