Dogma and Discernment

From the Delta Enduring Tarot, the Hierophant; from the Southernisms Oracle, 'Hold your horses:'

          This preacher wears two faces - one that appears concerned about his congregation and another that looks greedily at the cash collection. This version of the Hierophant reminds me of a story told by Krishnamurti:

You may remember the story of how the devil and a friend of his were walking down the street, when they saw ahead of them a man stoop down and pick up something from the ground, look at it, and put it away in his pocket. The friend said to the devil, “What did that man pick up?” “He picked up a piece of Truth,” said the devil. “That is a very bad business for you, then,” said his friend. “Oh, not at all,” the devil replied, “I am going to let him organize it."  

In the same way, organized religion seems to have been poisoned by greed, feelings of superiority and power. What should be a community of support and encouragement has become a monument to the ego held together by judgment and separation from 'other.' Yet the saying 'hold your horses' reminds me not to be too quick to throw shade on everything associated with religion. If I dig down beyond the dogma and look with discernment, I'm likely to find something useful. In the words of Krishnamurti, "A belief is purely an individual matter, and you cannot and must not organize it. If you do, it becomes dead, crystallized; it becomes a creed, a sect, a religion, to be imposed on others."