Affirming that Humanics Institute is not advancing or advocating another religion.
The Humanics Institute is not in any way promoting itself as advancing or advocating another new religion. As the definition of Humanics outlined in the home page of the Humanics Institute infers, it could be considered as advocating an attempt at holistic understanding of all natural and spiritual phenomena as one all-inclusive reality. We human being are all individually and collectively searching for Reality, or the Truth. As Gandhi has once said; “The Truth is God”.
So what the Humanics Institute is advancing or advocating is a continued search for the Truth concerning both the natural relative phenomena, as well as the possible existence of a spiritual, supernatural (meaning beyond or including all relative realms of time and space), infinite and absolute phenomena. Whether or not a spiritual, supernatural, infinite, and absolute phenomena that includes all relative realms of time and space, does exist or not is a central issue that needs to be addressed. This issue is also central to the issue of whether there is or isn’t life after death.
In the theistic religions and particularly in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, there is a firm belief in a phenomena of God as a spiritual, supernatural, infinite and absolute personal being. And also in life after death, which could include a life of union with God in Heaven, or a life of permanent damnation in the company of the Devil in Hell, depending on the merit one has gained throughout one’s life on earth. And particularly in Christianity, there is also the concept of purgatory, a realm one may be in until one atone for one’s sins and be eligible to enter Heaven. But to the extent that the realm of the Devil and Hell is separate and distinct from the phenomena of God, then God is no longer an infinite absolute being. But some theologians of monotheistic religions argue that Hell and the Devil are not separate and distinct from God, and that Hell and Devil are somewhat temporary realms, within God as an infinite and absolute personal being. Also in Christianity, the concept of the phenomena of the infinite, absolute God they believe in, consists of three persons in One God: the God the Father, Christ the God the Son and the Holy Spirit. The other two monotheistic religions, Judaism and Islam do not believe in the concept of the Trinity and Christ as the only Son of God. Muslims however believe that Christ is a prophet.
In Hinduism, there is also a belief in Brahma, a spiritual, infinite absolute entity, which includes a plethora of gods, goddesses, all human beings, and life forms, and all matter. But Brahma remains somewhat aloof and Hindus’ mostly venerate and pray to Vishnu, Shiva and various other gods and goddesses, with devotees being free to choose, their favourite gods and goddesses, they may venerate and pray to.
Some others who consider themselves to be “Agnostics” genuinely doubt the existence of a spiritual, supernatural, infinite, absolute phenomena, and particularly such a phenomena to be a personal being as all three monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, advocates. But Buddhist are Agnostics in that they do not believe in spiritual, supernatural, infinite absolute personal being or a God, But they still believe in life after death i.e. rebirth, or achieving ‘Nirvana”. But as clearly brought out in a recent book The Island: an anthology of the Buddha’s teachings on Nibbana, written by Ajahn Pasanno & Ajahn Amaro, quoting S 43.1-44, describes Nibbana as:
It is the Unformed, the Unconditioned, the End, the Truth, the Other shore, the Subtle, the Everlasting, the Invisible, the Undiversified, Peace, the Deathless, the Blest, Safety, the Wonderful, the Marvellous, Nibbana, Purity, Freedom, and Island, the Refuge Beyond”. Thus this description of Nibbana is analogous to a supernatural, infinite, and Absolute Realm (the Island). Also Buddhist believe in a form of life after death either by being born in a higher or lesser form of life, depending on the merit one has acquired throughout one’s lifetime, or attaining enlightenment and entering into the Spiritual, Supernatural, Infinite and Absolute Realm of Nibbana.
Thus what we see is that there is a common analogous element in all religions, i.e. some form of Spiritual, Supernatural, Infinite and Absolute Reality, that in monotheistic religions is a personal God, in Hinduism an Entity, and in Buddhism a Realm (described as an Island). Also there are somewhat analogous beliefs of continued existence after death, that monotheistic religions identifies as one’s soul, which is a permanent element in human beings in particular, but in Buddhism left somewhat left as neither self or no self.
Some people who considers themselves to be “atheist” do not believe in the existence of such a supernatural, infinite, and absolute phenomena. Consequently, they do not believe in life after death. But even an atheist may accept that infinite and perhaps an absolute realm exist, in the form of infinite number of universes, and if time travel is a possibility, that the infinite absolute realm is possibly beyond any time and space, or includes all relative realms of time and space. Also an atheist may well believe that everything is in some form or other is interrelated, by the phenomena of cause and effect, as the whole evolutionary process started with the Big Bang. Thus even an atheist may accept “oneness of reality” as a possibility and as an essential value or phenomena.