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An Essay by Mounir Murad
I am an Arab-American who came to the United States about 20 years ago when I was 16. At that age, I was already molded by Middle Eastern culture and language. They were a part of me and always will be. After almost two decades of living in this country, I still speak English with a slight accent, and I still prefer Middle Eastern foods.
When I moved here, I liked certain things about my native culture and disliked others. At that time, though, I had a feeling deep down in my heart that I did not belong in the East and should move to the West. Could such feelings have been caused by the increasing Western influence in the region? Perhaps, but there is always something called fate.
My grandparents barely escaped from Turkey during the Armenian massacre of the 1920’s. In the ’40’s, my family had to move from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to avoid fighting between Arabs and Zionists, only to find themselves fleeing the West Bank of Jordan for Lebanon shortly after the 1967 Israeli–Arab war. When the Lebanese civil war began, my family and I left for America. Thus, within six decades, my family was forced to leave its home time and again to survive.
This background is not unique to my family. Millions have gone through such an experience, and millions more are either going through it now or will in the future. Why? That is a puzzling question! Why would the Turks slaughter the Armenians? Why would the Arabs and Israelis fight? Why would the Lebanese fight each other? These conflicts have many political causes, but they occur primarily because of religion. How sad! If we add to the religious conflicts all the territorial and political conflicts, we see humanity drowning in its own hatred. To make things even worse, the superpowers will intervene only if they have an economic interest in the region where the conflict is taking place.
After many years of living in the West, I have found here many of the same problems the East faces, but at different levels. Among the many problems that plague humanity are racial and ethnic intolerance and the destruction of family unity. If we want to correct these problems, how should we do it? Should we start an armed revolt? Should we turn to religious fundamentalism? Absolutely not. Bloodshed will only produce hatred and more bloodshed. Religious fundamentalism will alienate free-thinking individuals and will ultimately result in chaos. If, however, we use common sense, humanity may have a chance.
I am proposing a philosophical concept that if adopted, will lead to a much different and better world. This concept is called Daheshism.
As a start, we must eliminate the main reason for religious hatred. We can eliminate such animosity through total acceptance of others’ spiritual beliefs. A Daheshist must unconditionally accept that the essence of all religions is the same, although religions appear in different forms among different groups of people at different levels of consciousness at different times. Daheshism makes no distinction between a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist, or a Hindu. A Daheshist who comes from a Christian background must shed all preconceptions about Islam and other religions. The same holds true for a Daheshist who comes from a Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, or other background. Both publicly and deep within their hearts, Daheshists may not take sides in conflicts between religious groups. Such conflicts run counter to the true teachings of all religions. A Daheshist accepts Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and many others as prophets of God, and Martin Luther, Gandhi, and many others as spiritual guides.
What is so puzzling to me is that although most religions worship a single God, each one claims to worship the one true God. If each group believes in a single Creative Force, doesn’t it logically follow that they are all talking about the same thing? If you accept the following three equations: a + b = c, a + b = d, and a + b = e, then logically, c = d = e. Therefore, any Daheshist must unconditionally accept the idea that there is only one Creator. It is this single Creator to whom our prayers are addressed. The name you give to this Creative Force is immaterial. You can call it God, Allah, or anything you want. A Daheshist regards God as having absolute power over the universe and believes that He is loving, just, wise, and forgiving, among many other traits.
How can this God be just, yet allow unequal suffering? How can God allow one child to be born blind and another to be born with sight? How can God allow one person to be born into poverty and another into wealth? Well, God is just, and what you see is nothing but an implementation of His justice. A Daheshist believes in a universal justice system that administers retribution depending on our good or bad deeds in past and present lives. No crime goes unpunished, and no good deed goes unrewarded. A Daheshist believes that our current lives are nothing but small chapters in the book of life and that we move from one chapter to the next through reincarnation. According to this view, reincarnation is a merciful act of God that gives us a chance to live time after time until we are able to escape the forces of evil completely. The heaven-and-hell concept introduced in holy books is nothing but an oversimplification of what is really out there. The universe is full of inhabited worlds. The worlds that are better than ours are collectively referred to as the upper worlds, or the worlds of paradise, and the worlds that are worse than ours are referred to as the lower worlds, or the underworlds.
Do you truly believe that we are the only living things in this vast universe? Our Earth is no more than a particle of dust, compared with the magnitude of the universe. Why would God go to such an extreme if His only intention were to create life on Earth? The universe is vast because God has scattered life throughout it. A Daheshist believes that every living entity in the universe is subject to the conflict between good and evil, but at varying levels. Not until we completely escape the forces of evil can our spirits reach perfection and be united with God in the spiritual world. Each of our lives is nothing but a manifestation of our spirit in material form. A Daheshist believes that this spirit extends to a countless number of forms throughout the upper and lower worlds. In other words, the spirit of an individual is linked to other forms of life throughout the universe. Daheshism is unique among the philosophies in that it supports the idea of simultaneous existences throughout the universe.
If the skin tone of one person is lighter or darker than that of another, does this imply that one person is better than the other? Absolutely not. Skin color has nothing to do with whether a person is good or bad. A Daheshist unconditionally accepts the idea that all races should be treated equally. Just because one race has a lighter complexion does not give it the right to dominate or exploit others. When a Daheshist meets a person of a different skin color, he or she should never entertain the thought that the person is inferior. That would be completely despicable. A Daheshist believes in unconditional brotherly love among people of all nations.
Men and women may differ slightly in physique, but neither gender should dominate or exploit the other. Another belief that must be accepted unconditionally by any Daheshist is the general equality of men and women in all aspects of life. Any standards should be applied to men and women equally. I find it absolutely incomprehensible that people discriminate between the sexes. Why should a woman who is as qualified as a man be employed at a much lower salary? Why should a man, after returning from work, grab a beer and watch television or read the paper, while his wife, who has also had a full day at work, prepares dinner, washes the dishes, cleans the kitchen, and puts the children to bed? Why do we have such double standards? Daheshist men see women as their equals, and vice versa.
Every person is in a constant state of flux. Daily conflicts act to reshape our behavior and our thought processes. It is only through these experiences that we are able to refine our senses and transcend our current state of being. Life is full of contradictions — We are split between materialism and spirituality, between what is “right” and “wrong.” Where do we draw the line? Under what code of ethics are we supposed to live? Is this code carved in stone? How will people react to our stance on certain issues? Faced with all these questions, people react with individual responses. Recognizing our human weaknesses and our diversity, not all Daheshists will react the same way under the same conditions. A Daheshist follows the basic code of ethics prescribed by all major religions. However, he or she does not stand blindly by traditional laws that promote bigotry, racism, hatred, and violence.
How should we deal with each other? Daheshists must be humane. They must feel compassion for the sick and the poor of this world and lend a helping hand whenever possible. A Daheshist is a compassionate person who weeps with those who are in agony and rejoices with those who are happy. Daheshists do not envy others, because they understand that whatever is given to them in terms of wealth, health, intelligence, and wisdom is in direct proportion to what they deserve. Daheshists are honest when dealing with others and are unable to sleep at night if they have wronged a fellow human being. A Daheshist will not hesitate to forgive and will refrain from hatred. Forgiveness is not always easy, but in the long run it is a lot easier than carrying hatred in your heart.
A Daheshist rejects the notion of violence. Forcing your will on others is barbaric and inhumane. We are all free to express ourselves in different ways, but resorting to brute force is absolutely unacceptable. It is a shame and a disgrace when human beings are unable to resolve their differences through common sense and dialogue. How can we face ourselves knowing that we have physically harmed others to prove a point or to force our will on them? Unfortunately, violence is all around us. Look at the countless wars fought by humanity now and throughout the ages, the political assassinations, the religious persecutions, the battering and rape of women, the abuse of children, and the countless other brutalities.
How do we treat other living entities on Earth? A Daheshist will use the resources of nature to survive but will not abuse them. The Earth is not only our home but the home of billions of other creatures who are powerless to stop the abuses of the human race. A Daheshist realizes that both plants and animals are living entities with varying consciousness levels. They suffer as we do from pain, disease, and the forces of nature. When we burn down a forest, we kill millions of living creatures. When we pollute a river or a stream, we poison countless others. A Daheshist has sympathy and compassion for all God’s creatures, as well as respect for the Earth that supports us while we live and that receives our remains when we die. The way we eradicate ignorance is through knowledge. Daheshists seek knowledge and realize the need to refine their senses. The search for knowledge is paramount and leads to a better understanding of the laws of nature, humanity, and most important, spirituality. A Daheshist does not claim to know it all, because humans are far from omniscient. Daheshists are humbled more and more as they become more knowledgeable in matters of spirituality. Daheshists believe in free expression and respect the views of others, even if they diverge from their own.
If you agree with these ideas, you are not far from becoming a fellow Daheshist — Please do not let the name scare you away. Daheshism is a spiritual message addressed to the inhabitants of Earth in the hope that they can transcend their religious, racial, ethnic, and gender prejudices and realize that many of the “pleasures of life” are a meaningless facade that do little to benefit their souls. Daheshism calls for religious and social reconstruction and appeals to individuals to place more importance on matters of spiritual significance than on materialism. Although the ideas I am proposing here can be dismissed as utopian, the adoption of them would make a real difference in the world. Daheshism is the force that we need to raise our consciousness.