Headmaster’s Weekly Comment: 13/05/13

I am often asked about the spiritual basis of the school and I explain that we believe in God and encourage everyone to find their own unique way to Him. 

But, we sometimes tell the children that God is everywhere; that He is in the trees, in our thoughts, in the chair and the table, and in our hearts.  And this doesn t sound wholly like the Judeao-Christian God, who seems located outside ourselves, watching over us and whom we are encouraged to worship and revere.

So, this is how I see it.  God can be seen in two ways.

There is a self-conscious creative, all-powerful, loving entity, called by many different names, but for our purposes we can call Him God .  He creates, He preserves and He destroys; and as created beings we would do well to discover His rules, and live by them.  These rules are usually fairly simple and practical: revere and worship Him; and love and care for your fellow creatures.  They lead to a happy, purposeful life.

But there is a second way of considering God.  And the Eastern wisdom seems to have delved into this area in detail.  They take God to be a synonym of Reality , everything we can see or feel; and also as that which is watching from the inside. This God can be found everywhere and in everything.  The trick here is to be inwardly quiet, to be present and attentive and really connect with what is going on inside and outside; to connect with reality, and therefore to connect with Reality . 

The pay-off is to realize yourself to be a part of that Reality, to be powerful, intelligent and full of love. Hence our continuous encouragement to the children to be still.  Then, in the words of the Psalm we can be still and know that I am God.