The heart of wisdom traditions

“Love God.”

This phrase is at the heart of Judaism and Christianity, but the essence of “love god” is not unique to those faiths. Many other wisdom traditions advise the same goal, albeit with different words or concepts.

In Ancient Greece, philosophers were “lovers of wisdom.” That is the literal meaning of the word philosophy, which combines the root philos (meaning love) with Sophia (meaning wisdom). Wisdom and God are not exact equivalents, true. But wisdom is surely an aspect of god in theistic traditions, and a top-tier virtue in non-theistic traditions as well. So “love wisdom” is pretty similar to “love God.”

This is true for Eastern traditions as well. Hindu guru Radhanath Swami says, “The essence of Hinduism is the same essence of all true religions: Bhakti or pure love for God and genuine compassion for all beings.” That is a clear equivalent of “love God.” Not to mention “love your neighbor as yourself.”

It’s not just a guru’s opinion. It’s at the heart of a central text in Hinduism:

Those who remember me at the time of death will come to me [the Almighty]. Do not doubt this. Whatever occupies the mind at the time of death determines the destination of the dying; always they will tend toward that state of being. Therefore, remember me at all times and fight on. With your heart and mind intent on me, you will surely come to me.” (Bhagavad Gita 8:5-7)

Like many ancient wisdom texts, the Gita has god speak in first person: “Remember me” ... “come to me” ... “heart and mind intent on me.” In other words, “love me,” says god in the Gita. Knowing it’s not easy to love god amid human society, god’s encouragement includes “fight on.” There will be many difficulties in loving god. Yet love god, according to Hinduism, is god’s message.

What about Buddhism, a nontheistic tradition that doesn’t use the word god the way many other traditions do? “Strive for perfection” or “Work out your own salvation with diligence” are paraphrases of the Buddha’s last words and a summation of his teaching. They don’t include the word god, but they do advise an active and earnest effort toward perfection / salvation, concepts very closely related to holiness and god. A less direct equivalent, perhaps, but in the ballpark.

The same is true for most major wisdom traditions – Indigenous, Islam, Baha’i Faith, Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism – they all have clear or rough equivalents to “love God” at their core.

So I think it’s fair to say that a single concept expressed by various phrases – loving holiness, loving god, loving wisdom, striving for perfection – is at the heart of a variety of wisdom traditions. And that’s what this site is about – discovering the shared heart of diverse wisdom traditions and making it beat. This discovery is essential to our individual liberation and to our survival as a species.

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