Oftentimes, literature tries to make us think in terms of respect and morality. This is often the case of the Transcendentalist movement through which came the writings of Thoreau and Emerson. Literature also has a great tendency to show us what the consequences will be if we chose evil over good. This is seen much in the writings of Stephen King, but it goes much further back, back to Hawthorne, and even further back to Dante's "Inferno." Basically, what literature does is try to show us the sides of good and evil, as well as the consequences which follow our decisions. Such ideas are expressed in every piece of religious literature. For example, the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim religious scriptures speak of a wonderful Heaven which awaits for the righteous, and a terrible, fiery Hell which awaits those who do evil without remorse. Likewise, the Hindu and Buddhist scriptures speak of reincarnation, and they claim that the forms we take in our next lives are determined by the choices we make in this life. For example, in a Hindu story, a hot-tempered raj once ruled over India. He was so furious over so much in this life that when he died, he became reincarnated as a hot pepper.

All literature gives us the same message. Good is the key to an eternal reward, and evil is the key to damnation.

Another thing which we spoke of which ties into this message of religious scriptures is the idea of the Universal Soul, or God, if you will. For countless centuries, humanity has pondered how their souls can become one with God. It turns out, however, that each of our souls is part of the one Universal Soul. If we take a study of near-death experiences, we will find that most people experience their soul rising from their body into a glorious, all-loving Light, a Light they call God. They claim to merge with the Light before returning to their body, becoming one with It.

When we take a look at the religions of the world, we see that all teachings generally say the same thing. This idea of the Universal Soul is not only a part of ancient Asian religions and philosophies and New Age rhetoric. The idea of becoming one with God is seen in the Christian teachings. Many people who have returned from near-death experiences claim to have seen Jesus, and that all righteous souls pass through to a much higher realm of spirituality through Him. They have claimed that Christ may have actually been quite literal when He claimed, "I am the Light of the world; no one cometh to the Father, but by Me." Ancient native Americans also spoke of becoming one with God, or their idea of God. Their Christ was often the earth, Mother Earth, their God. They believed in a happy hunting ground, in which the righteous would become one with the earth. Likewise, the Christ of Buddhists is nirvana, or supreme enlightenment. Once a Buddhist has lived enough lives to reach his/her highest level of spirituality, they attain Buddhahood, along with their founder, Siddhartha Guatama. Buddhas then spend eternity in a joyous enlightenment which allows them to know all secrets of the universe.

All major world religions speak of the Universal Soul, which all of us are a part of. Through our decisions in life, we can choose the pathway of love or the pathway of hate. We merge with the Universal Soul when we decide to put evil aside and work toward righteousness.

Unfortunately, we are living in a time in which humanity's own arrogance and fear is driving them away from love. Instead of using religion, which is merely a cultural institution, to make them achieve higher spirituality, many people are using their religions against themselves and others. When we do this, we do not work toward the Universal Soul, but against It, for we are seeing our souls as separate from others. Those religions or denominations which claim a singular relationship with God, persecute others, and/or exclude certain people for various reasons are going against God's laws of universal love and respect. Not only that, but they are destroying themselves from within. In both the past and present, we have seen cases of Catholics versus Protestants, Christians versus Muslims, Jews versus Muslims, Muslims versus Hindus, and radical Christians versus all other faiths. We cannot divide ourselves into "we" and "they" any longer. The idea of the Universal Soul, or God, is that we can work together to form a universe of peace, in which differences in culture are respected and honored. If we are to finally see God's peace among us, then we must put aside these stupid, petty differences and work toward this peace. The foundations of God are not built on persecution, hate, and fear, but on love, respect, and honor. Only until we all start working toward this will we begin to understand the Universal Soul.

Literature is used the same way as religion. It can be used to create or to destroy. Those who concentrate only on the negative aspects seen in the Bible and other religious texts will only bring about hate, fear, and discord. However, those who take a look at the gray area between the black and white will create a world of love and harmony. It is these people who write literature on topics such as unification among people, regardless of race, creed, color, or life style. Those who choose to write about indifference are attempting to destroy at least one of the four things aforementioned.

Thus, I believe that literature should be used in a positive way, trying to get people to think positively. When we write, we must avoid all forms of prejudice and persecution. Instead, we should attempt to spread a message similar to that spread by Transcendentalists. Love, not fear, should be the foundation of our society and our literature.