Religion can provide answers to many questions. But what about the proper formulation of the question?
I As the saying goes: send a fool to pray to God, and he will smash his forehead.
The above proverb is not about religiosity but about fools. For better or worse, most religions are merciful and accept people not by intellect but by heart. But this presents a problem.
Losing One's Mind to Religion
Followers of cargo cults are religious people. But what about critical thinking?
Of course, a cargo cult is not a world religion. It is an incredible self-deception that is obvious to everyone except the followers of the cult. But it is a convenient example to clearly see the essence of the problem.
The problem is not with religion itself but with people's attitude towards religion. The same religion can be completely different for different people because perceptions of religion differ, as do attitudes towards it.
Besides doubts about the presence of critical thinking among cargo cult followers, another intriguing question arises: Does religiosity guarantee spiritual development?
So, the followers of the cargo cult have religiosity: they believe in "higher powers." But they lack knowledge about the nature of things, critical thinking is absent, and of course, there can be no talk of spiritual development.
Fifty Shades of Spiritual Experience
It is very convenient to reflect on such matters using the example of the cargo cult. After all, everyone will agree that finding a package sent from the heavens can hardly be called a spiritual experience. However, this did not prevent the cult followers from believing in what they wanted to believe.
But what about my spiritual experience? you may ask. My experiences were definitely real.
You can clearly see the fallacy of the "spiritual experience" of finding a package from the heavens because you are an outside observer and do not share the islanders' view. But if you yourself had an experience that you consider spiritual, then you are not an observer but a participant. In this case, it will be much harder for you to understand whether your experience is genuine or not.
For followers of the cargo cult, receiving a package from the heavens was a completely normal phenomenon within their worldview. Within the worldview of modern people, spiritual experiences might include meditation, a hypnotic trance, or a pay raise (why not?). But are hypnosis or career growth spiritual experiences?
The Ways of The Lord are Inscrutable
The truth is that even the most ordinary event can turn out to be a spiritual experience (even if you do not suspect it). And vice versa, the most vivid experience may turn out to be very far from anything spiritual or religious (even if you really want to believe otherwise).
In Mariupol, a Ukrainian city that suffered destruction as a result of the Russian invasion, the residents of one building gathered every evening for prayer. Their building was one of the few that remained intact. Bombs and shells did not hit their building. Is this a miracle or just a coincidence?
A young girl goes on stage where a guru/psychic/healer (call it what you will) stands with a microphone in hand. After a few words from the guru, the girl falls and convulses. Is this a spiritual experience or harmful hypnosis?
In no way am I urging you to stop believing in God or miracles. And I am not asserting that any spiritual experience is false. However, I am urging you to think critically. You can be religious or not. But if you want to be spiritual, you must think critically.
I have already written about why spiritual development is so important, especially for the modern person.
Philosophy is also important, especially during wartime when religion is turned into a weapon against the truth.
Philosophy is a wonderful tool for critical thinking that helps avoid the trap of deception. Otherwise, you risk turning religion into a cult or a cult into a religion.
Do Not Make Yourself an Idol
A lack of critical thinking and an excess of faith blind believers and turn them into fanatics.
For example, the activities (or "doing") of Carlos Castaneda are one of the clearest examples of how the search for the spiritual turned into a banal cult.
Amy Wallace, co-author of the bestseller "The Book of Lists" and one of Castaneda's "wives," describes in detail the sectarian life in the harem of their "guru" in her confessional book "Sorcerer's Apprentice: My Life with Carlos Castaneda." "Poor Amy..." this thought came to my mind from time to time as I read her book. Unfortunately, there were many more poor, deceived followers. "Happy people do not come to the world of magicians, they are too busy with the joys of life," Castaneda told his close ones.
People from all over the world came to Los Angeles, giving their last money for the magical courses of the last of the naguals. To prove their dedication to the path, a student had to renounce their former life, friends, and even family. One of the "witches," Taisha Abelar, beat her own mother to demonstrate her loyalty to the teachings. Later, Taisha confessed to Amy that it was Carlos who made her do it.
Amy's life was trampled, as were the lives of many other followers of the famous shaman and successful author. Despite this, many people are still enchanted by the stories of the shaman don Juan and his inept student Carlos. And the company ClearGreen, created by the nagual and witches through which all the courses were sold, continues to operate to this day.
Amy Wallace believed that Carlos Castaneda initially wanted to create a school of spiritual development, but over time the temptation of money and women shifted the "assemblage point" of his desires towards a cult. At the same time, Castaneda's ex-wife, Margaret Runyan Castaneda, said that Carlos, when he was an unknown student, envied successful authors and wanted to create his own harem. I am not sure what goals and motives Carlos Castaneda had initially, but we see what the result was.
For this reason, I am very skeptical of any kind of guru. Such people know how to charm with their sweet speeches. As a rule, they understand the psychology of their target audience well and are good at their stage image. Some of them really possess hypnosis. These are the reasons why gurus are popular now as they were before, and why they will continue to be popular in the future.
The commandment "do not make yourself an idol" is still relevant because there are still idols who abuse the trust of their followers.
Serving God and Pretending to Be God Are Not the Same
If one popular author can be so destructive in his lies, imagine what destruction can be done by using a world religion. In fact, you don't need to imagine, there is such an example.
An American writer managed to deceive thousands of people. The Moscow Patriarch deceived millions.
Where There Is Religion, There Is Not Always Spirituality
It is well known that many crimes are committed on religious grounds. Mass shootings and terrorist attacks are carried out not only by sectarians but also by people who hide behind world religions, distorting their teachings. Manipulators in cassocks turn sermons into propaganda, using the authority of religion. And people willingly believe them. Many people fall victim to deception because they are defenseless without philosophy, without a love of wisdom.
Philosophy and knowledge are not only protection against manipulation. Diverse knowledge can broaden the horizons of believers and deepen their understanding of religious teachings. With new knowledge, a person can look at what Scripture says in a new way.
Both philosophy and religion can be components of spiritual development, performing a mutually balancing role.
Simply put, with new knowledge, a person becomes smarter. Philosophy does not oppose religion. People and their views oppose each other. Philosophy, as the pursuit of wisdom, complements religion on the path of spiritual development.
P.S.
I did not mean to offend fans of C. Castaneda's work. His books can be very informative, provided you can separate the hidden wisdom from the tales of power in the chaparral.