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This document describes a Religion or Faith that was in existence long before the start of the major religions of the world and served as the foundation for all of those institutionalized religions. It exists in plain sight, its teachings and powers are openly discussed and a significant percentage of the dwellers on the face of the earth follow its dictates, yet it is well hidden. It is called the Perennial Religion for two reasons, one is that it keeps reappearing as does a perennial plant and secondly it can be compared to the universal mystical understanding of reality that is called the perennial philosophy.

The results of following the precepts of this Religion are evidenced by individuals who have an absolute faith in their own future. They make the world a better and happier place. No matter how their actions may be judged, the results are beneficial to society. Many of these individuals make no claim to follow any formal religion and may even scoff at the idea of a god yet also have an implicit faith they will be guided by some external and hidden means in reaching their goals in life. These individuals have an unquestioning belief that whatever they fully dedicate themselves to will be found. They know that unseen doors will open and seemingly impossible events will occur that prepare the way for reaching the desired goal.

Our news media delights in reporting the nearly impossible feats that are performed by some of these inspired and energized individuals as they save lives, correct injustices, create useful inventions, or change the structure of a society. A religious explanation of these feats is not reported, because it is not accepted nor understood by the reporters or the majority of the populace. Those who follow (perhaps unknowingly) the practices of the Perennial Religion are not hesitant, however, to tell of the guaranteed results of dedication, faith, and perseverance that they have applied in their own lives. They attempt to help others to find the joy and purpose in life that they have found within their own.

The Perennial Religion grows without any support from institutions or society. It maintains itself by its own powers that are continually being discovered by individuals attempting to find a greater future in life than is offered by their immediate world. The power of the Religion can be found at any age, but generally is sensed in finding an inner pleasure while being good and improving the surrounding world. It is not good behavior such as done by a child being obedient and subservient, but is touched only when the individual becomes good from a firm dedication to be good. Many of those with the attributes of the Religion discovered the pleasure of being good in childhood. They all had to start with being obedient rather than good. They quickly learned how society expected them to behave but something within them wanted to master good behavior. They then learned that they had to find a certain feeling within themselves of being good and then to seek to apply this to their immediately future world. Once they found the state of being good, they were then able to discriminate being good from acting good. Even though children acting good may have gotten rewards that they didn’t, they experienced the longer ranged pleasure as their whole life seemed to become comfortable and rewarding as long as they sought more of the experiencing of goodness.

All of the early religious writings start with describing three kinds of people inhabiting the world. There are a few of those who are evil who attempt to exploit or destroy those around them. There are also a few individuals who are called good, righteous, enlightened, freed, walking in light, or with guidance and access to a higher power. Then there are the vast majority of the people who walk in darkness, sin, unbelief, ignorance, or false beliefs. The religious writings then generally center upon one righteous individual who attempts to teach those in darkness or sin to find the light of righteousness. The central religious figure is not unaware of the other righteous individuals however, and in fact generally honors them. Jesus, for instance, is quoted[1] as saying that the whole person has no need of religious teachings and that he had no need to call the righteous to repentance. Some of the early Indian writings are even more definitive such as the Vedas which state that the righteous or enlightened already know Religious teachings without being taught. The righteous individuals can all be described as already believing in the precepts of the Perennial Religion.

The early manuscripts are also in good agreement as to where the source of righteousness resides. They all refer to an inner power that lies in the lower body. The Taoist describe the center of power as a cauldron above the sexual region. The Hindus describe it as residing within the range between the Muladhara and Svadhistana chakras. The Buddhists as residing within the lower heart or hridaya (not in the chest). Matthew describes it as a lower dispensary such as a lower storage room in a home (Greek: tameion [2] translated as ‘closet’) where the ‘Father’ or source of power dwells. In the modern social setting, the source of power is commonly described as being in the guts such as with a gut feeling or knowledge.

Such an idea as having a mystical power center within the lower body is unthinkable to science even though it is well aware of the genius and power of certain individuals. Religions likewise gloss over the concept of an inner power and instead point to an external god or power as the source. Indeed, the description of that external source becomes the distinguishing characteristic of many religions and the name of that power can become the source of war between different religions.

The Perennial Religion does not require an external god that must be worshipped, but an individual desiring to find the inner power must follow some very specific requirements.

The first two obstacles that must be overcome are illustrated by the child described above becoming good. The child must first find a strong desire or dedication to evolve or to become more than what the child presently is. There must be a strong drive to understand and master the outer world. This drive reaches a limitation level at some point when the progress of the child yields experiences and knowledge that are not supported by the parents or surrounding community.

The second obstacle can be perceived to arise from evolving, as for instance, when the child finds a deep interest in another child who also has similar experiences, but expresses them within a different cultural setting. The parents of both children may express horror that their child associates with the other and pressure is generally brought to bear in teaching both children the error of their actions. Goodness is interpreted as following socially accepted rules of conduct and seldom in furthering awareness, interactions or closeness with others. It is permissible, for instance, to give charity to an individual outside of the family group, but not to find a union. Religious writings are very clear on this point in many stories of how some righteous individual is ostracized for giving care to a person of another village or belief. If the righteous individual becomes more concerned about the thoughts of those within the same household or community, then goodness is lost.

As the righteous individual grows, a personal future is seen that become very attractive, but which may be at great variance with the plans or ideas of the immediate circle of associates. The righteous child generally undergoes a brain washing effort to get the child to think straight and follow in the father’s profession rather than following some strange inner dream. It is difficult to maintain a faith in a future world that meets with opposition within a family or circle of friends. It is also a leap of faith to know that the dream is a far better personal future than the well-known paths through life.

The third problem can be readily understood with a common expression given to an evolving person, “Who do you think you are, that you should have a power over what happens?” It is a large sin in the modern culture for anyone to believe that they have special powers, insights, or knowledge that is not shared by others. An evolving person’s first thought in finding inner powers, is a simple cultured thought that they must be going crazy and better forget it immediately and conform to the demands of society!

The above examples of a growing righteous individual are of course also found in many religious stories.

In finding the joy and unity in meeting the needs of others, inner feelings are found that are associated with the source of being joyous and energized. Typically this is described as finding a wonderful feeling in the depths of being or in the bowels of personal existence or simply a warmth, flame or vibration in the guts. When this feeling is kindled in order to reach deeper into the needs of another, changes are noted in the awareness and understanding of the outer world. There is also the increase in self-confidence or in the faith of the outcome. The mind becomes more active and the body becomes activated to meet any demands. This sequence is often well described by someone who reacts to another person in danger and then takes bold and unexpected measures to save him or her.

There is yet another surprising result of finding an inner power and that is that the individual can then understand and appreciate the expressed inner power within others. In general, a self-directed individual (to use Maslow’s definition) finds a deep appreciation for the creative deeds of others and has a desire to unite with that individual at a higher level than normally encountered in society. At such a level, mutual goals become the motivation for discussion rather than the desire to amuse or please the other individual. Social conventions become ignored as the topic becomes shared and fully lived by all engaged in its clarification.

A simple example of the above sharing is given by the difference in the viewing of a talented person, say for instance, a dancer by a non-dancer and another dancer. The observing dancer can fully appreciate the inner skill and precision demonstrated, while the non-dancer can only judge the dance according to accepted concepts. 

Unfortunately, the majority of the people through the ages are like the non-dancer who have not found the inner power and can only judge others by socially accepted standards. They can only view a follower of the Perennial Religion by the same standards that society uses to judge conformance to social laws. To the inexperienced individual, there is no Perennial Religion, but only the socially accepted religion(s).

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