yet I am still whole!

As we read we simultaneously interpret what we read through the channel of our own experiences, education, and conditioning. Through expanding our knowledge and experience, and by widening our hearts, we can allow compassion to be the interpreter of sacred texts.

To read scripture through the lens of compassion is to take the perspective of any person who might feel diminished, hurt, or excluded by it. If we define scripture as the Word of God and it implies that some people are less valuable than others, we're accepting a God of inequality. We might read compassion and others condemnation, but what matters is how those people feel who it refers to or leaves out. Equality needs to be our single dogma, and any scripture questioned that kicks the dogma.

A wise One once told me there are only two conversations occurring: We are either talking to ourselves or to God...and God is only Good. Therefore any conversation that has the absence of Goodness, to say the least- is not God talking. Scripture can be interpreted through many lenses; but the aspects of God which include compassion, are prescriptive glasses capable of magnifying and confirming not only our hope of His existence, but the reassurance through scripture He was there all along...and still remains.

Compassion is the language of the heart, and therefore, encompasses all sacred scriptures.

If compassion is a lens for scripture it must be a transforming lens. Religious scriptures were all written in worlds very different from our own. They must be transformed to make them relevant to a global commununity. Compassion and respect for differences are the keys to this transformation.

Scripture is a transcript of our dialogue with the divine. Its pages reflect the light of G-d, but are not the source of it. Its words, long recorded and faithfully copied, persist in a world of evolving context, challenging our ability to construe their truest meaning. Compassionate insight, reverence, and rigor are required of those who would interpret it well.

I would change my sentence slightly to be …... Motivated by Compassion rather than parochialism, we look for Goodness in Scriptures of all Religions, not just our own. …. Here is an example of finding goodness in another Religion’s Scriptures. …... The story of Adam and Eve and the fall is one of the best known parts of the Judeo-Christian Bible. This Scripture has been, to say the least problematic. It has been used to oppress women. (See for example 1 Timothy 2:11-15) … ... There is parallel Scripture in the Qur’an. 2:120-122. In this Scripture it is not Eve who is deceived, it is Adam. (Also, the error of Adam is not given the status of Original Sin). So it does not to the harm of the Bible version. Out of Compassion for the people, mainly women, who have been oppressed by the Biblical version, I call on Judeo-Christian Authorities to acknowledge the Qur’anic version as morally superior.

The willingness to agree on Common Global Values that embrace the reality of an evolutionary worldview.

There are perhaps two approaches to religion, spiritual practice and scripture. One says that without these kinds of teachings, we would not be able to be compassionate. This approach means compassion is a skill learned from others and implies that we can't be compassionate without belief and without being taught how. The other approach is that we are innately already connected to these qualities. The role of teachings, scripture and meditations is not indoctrination, but rather to find the true nature of the human or mind or the human spirit. The former approach is ideological, externally based and assumes a lack of compassion until the proper beliefs are adopted. This is what leads to so much strife in religion. The latter assumes people already have compassion, or a fledgling compassion, and it's only a matter of recognizing that and allowing them to occur unobstructed. This approach uses scriptures simply to help one's focus, rather that telling anyone what's true or untrue as such, much like the comment that all scripture is commentary on the Golden Rule, all simply different perspectives to help us remember and contemplate things we already sort of know.

To achieve compassion, Scripture must be interpreted, and applied, with love, through love for love.

The Golden Rule is sometimes stated as "Do unto other as you would have them do unto you." In its simplest interpretation, this can be further clarified simply as "Live and let live." All too often, scripture has been used as an excuse to invade the peace and sovereignty of peaceful, harmonious societies who only require that they be respected. Scripture has been perverted to denigrate other people’s beliefs, without acknowledging the common ground that we all share, even rewriting scripture to legitimize prejudiced views.

Motivated to find expressions of Compassion, we look for Goodness in Scriptures of all Religions, not just our own.

הרחמים כעדשה דרכה לקרוא את כל כתבי הקודש בעבר, גמילות חסד היתה העקרון של כל המקרא. הלל אמר שכל התורה כולה רק פרשנות על המצווה ואהבת לרעך כמוך; חז"ל פסלו כל פירוש שעלול להביא לשנאה או לזלזול. אוגוסטין הקדוש אמר שאסור לעזוב טקסט מקראי עד שלא מוצאים פירוש שמגדיל גמילות חסדים, אפילו עם דרוש לכך מדרש אגדה. מקדימים כל הקראה של הקוראן בהקדמה המעורר את רחמי האל. היום, לעתים יותר מדי קרובות, אנשים משתמשים במקרא כדי להצדיק חרם על עמים שלמים, מזלזלים בקדושת כתבי הקודש של עמים אחרים מבלי לראות את הפסוקים הבעייתיים באלה של עצמם, ואילו משתמשים בכתבי קודש להצדיק השקפה מפלה ורצופה בדעות קדומות.

It is possible to interpret religious texts in nearly any way we desire: either to emphasize fear and division and the narrow gate of salvation, or unconditional love and acceptance of others regardless of where they are on the path of life and faith. In every holy book, we can find verses that have rained forth from the Clouds of Heavenly Bounty and bubbled up from the Wellspring of the Spirit within the prophetic heart -- timeless, wondrous verses which empower us to broaden our vision beyond the confines of self and apologetic disputation; -- and we can also find verses that have troubled millions of sincere souls, which have been made an excuse for swords to be swung, guns to be fired and bombs to be detonated in the name of a god of cold and unforgiving doctrine. Let us choose to focus on the golden thread of compassion that runs through the heart of all the divine scriptures; let us choose to downplay our religious differences to the extent possible, or at least to respect each other's right to believe according to individual conscience, acknowledging the uncertainty we all share about the unknowable totality of truth. Let our scriptures not be shackles and chains to bind us in hatred and division against each other, but keys to unlock the doors of compassion, as we view the words we hold sacred through the lens of God's universal love and compassion and the Golden Rule of compassionate behavior among human beings which is found in every great scriptural tradition.

Compassion is the language of the soul, the innate inspiring light that guide our way to read scriptures. All prophets and great teachers of humanity were motivated by compassion. Otherwise they would have kept their knowledge to themselves. We do not learn how to be compassionate by reading scriptures alone, rather by being part of that compassionate spirit which have been inspiring teachers of humanity to see beyond their limited ego, and express their love through actions. By so doing, we may be able to read scriptures with fresh eyes, to see how compassion manifested itself in so multiple ways.

“Is not religion all deeds and all reflections? Your daily life is your temple and your religion.” (The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran.)

Faith is facing, and overcoming our fears. Fear is misplaced faith. "Unfortunately we find there is great faith in fear." (Ernest Holmes.) FEAR is only the “false evidence appearing real” to us. Many of our thoughts are clouded by distortions in thinking. We do not see things as they are, but through lenses colored with our past perceptions, and emotions. Our emotions can only reflect the past. We must believe that a Higher Power will remove this veil from our eyes, and allow us to see the magnificence we were created to be. There is no problem or situation too large for the Almighty, and faith is the vehicle we use to get His aid.

Conflict will bring out the desire for justice in anyone who is involved in it. It is tempting to seek justification in the scriptures to mete out retribution, even though such judgments are clearly made by God or Heaven (not men). It is mentioned in the Christian Bible, the problem with people twisting God’s meaning: Isaiah 59:13-14. 13 “Rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. 14 So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. “ If you are faithful, it is important to seek and abide messages of compassion in scriptures. Over and over in the Bible, there are mandates for compassion: Zechariah 7:9. “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true judgment, and show kindness and compassion toward each other.” James 1:27. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Exodus 22:21-23. 21”You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 22You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. 23If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry.” Luke 6:27-36. 27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” It isn’t enough to merely acknowledge the existence of these messages and instructions in the scriptures. One must also endeavor to apply them at every opportunity, or else all claims upon faith and loyalty to that faith are hypocrisy, and all the lessons in that scripture are nothing more than idle notions with less weight and substance than the air used to utter them or the ink used to print them.

Let there be sufficient consciousness to write a Global scripture that does not focus or favor humanity but all living being.

The charter does not seek to change any scripture. We seek only to call attention to compassionate teachings wherever found-in scripture or elsewhere. Not all religions emphasize exactly the same aspects of compassion, but all include scripture suggesting that certain acts of compassion are required. We simply ask that all to whom sacred literature is important consider the importance of compassion in their scriptural tradition, and whether they are following teachings flowing from their scripture.

It is the hallmark of our times that we see first-hand humanity's instinct is to self-destruct and to war. Those are, unfortunately, human constructs. It is easy at points of conflict, at times of diversity and adversity to harp on a harm done to you and to inflict some in return, in revenge. It is not a human construct to remember the good done to you in a time of conflict. It is a Divine construct of compassion handed down to us, that causes us rather to work at forgetting injustices done to us and polish bright those memories of bounties and favors, contributions and collaborations, that others have bestowed upon us. It is this role of Scripture that can aid us in rising beyond our human instincts and frailties as well as allowing us to bask in its light. "Oh mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female, and made you into nations and races, that you may know one another, not that you may despise one another. Truly, the most honorable of you in the sight of God is the most inwardly righteous (not outwardly obvious) of you. And God has full knowledge and is well aware of all things." (Holy Qur'an 49:13)

These are few words of Master Ali Rafea, the spiritual guide of the Egyptian Society for Spiritual and Cultural Research: The root of compassion in Islam as I reflect upon is: 1- Awareness of the Oneness of Humankind. 2- Respect of the Diversity of Expressions. Oneness of Humanity in the Holy Qur’an refers to the one origin of human beings and hence to their interconnectedness: O mankind, be mindful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single Soul (An-Nisaa’ 4: 1) As such, our interconnectedness is a fact. That is what The Prophet Muhammad PBUH also declared in his Farewell sermon: 1. ‘All mankind is from Adam and Eve’. The prophet mentioned another dimension which is the oneness that we are supposed to achieve, or we are guided to realize. 2. "An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action" The Prophet guides humans to go beyond their differentiations to be able to 'experience' the absence of the egoic identity boundaries. 3. “know that every Muslim (one who submits his or her self to God) is the brother or sister of another Muslim, and that Muslims constitute one brotherhood” The word “Muslim” in this context is not to be understood as an identity that differentiates a person from another who is a Christian or a Jew, or any other label. The Prophet reminds all humans that they are potentialized to go through a state or condition of perfect harmony or accord in which they experience the absence of the egoic identity boundaries. Those who achieve that goal, experience the sense of brotherhood and sisterhood with their fellow human beings. The Hadith is an invitation to humans to discern their interconnectedness or oneness, which is a fact, to be able to realize their oneness as members of the human family living in perfect harmony or accord, which is a goal.

Knowledge leads to understanding which leads to peace and finally love which is the basic fabric of this universe or God. When there is tolerance and oneness amongst religions then man will also have compassion for all beings. RELIGIONS The entire Buddhist monk’s life is but a preparation, For his Death Point or moment of separation. The Jains have santhara, Quitting life consciously to join with the paramatma. Hindus go into Samadhi, Where there is no Congress, Shiv Sena, BJP or Samajwadi. The Christian merges with the Holy Spirit, Peace, no more desperate. The Sufi mystic to become one, Dances, twirls, prays, trances to get the job done. Aghora means Illumined with Light, Longing for Shiva in whom they delight. Shamanism or the Art of Ecstasy, The ultimate being one with the super entity. There is no need to change your faith, And on your old religion lay a wreath.

Scriptures should be interpreted with compassion for others, and this should lead to excluding texts that promote intolerance, violence and racism towards ourselves and others, which otherwise are cited by fanatics to justify the worse criminal acts.