Order of Universal Interfaith Symbols
The symbol of the Order of Universal Interfaith is called the “Touch of the Divine” which is an inclusive representation of humanity’s relationship to all that is sacred.
The golden circle at the center of the symbol is called the “darshan” which is Sanskrit for “glimpse of the Divine.” The darshan is thought to be sitting on a pool of still water and portrays the initial Holy touch on humanity.
Like a ripple that radiates out from a touch upon the water, the first wave of individual human spirituality traveled out in every direction and is represented by the silver circle called the “ruhollah” which means “Spirit of God” in Arabic. It is our individual spirituality that brings us closest to the Divine. The gift of individual spirituality is unique to each person and must be nurtured for a lifetime.
An initial touch upon still water will cause additional ripples to circle outward from the center. Similarly, this wave of individual spirituality travelled outward throughout the world and people eventually formed many different religions represented by the bronze circle called the “ecclesia” which means “church” in Greek.
The points on the ruhollah and the ecclesia symbolizes the many different ways that humankind has organized into religions and portrays the infinite number of spiritual paths. People are standing furthest apart when they are on the bronze circle of religion. It is only when they travel down the horizon line towards the Divine that they will grow closer to each other.
The final part of the symbol is the “horizon line” across the middle. Like a bridge crossing over water, the top half of the symbol above the line represents the bridge across the many spiritual paths. This is also a symbol of the “reality based” spiritual paths. A bridge has a reflection on the water and the bottom half of the symbol represents that reflection. The reflection is a symbol of the mystical paths of human spirituality.
