There is no need for the word saviour in its traditional religious sense in Panosophy, for Panosophers live in harmony with the fundamental law of the Universe, that is, of the Divine.

As sin is considered to be a transgression against Divine law, adopting a peaceful, both-and approach to life naturally redeems Panosophers from sin. Furthermore, the split soul is healed by recognizing that none of us is ever separate from the Divine, as the Immortal Ground of Being, for an instant.

This means, of course, that, with the essential assistance of God, we are all potential saviours of ourselves, healing deep traumatic wounds that humans have suffered from for thousands of years. It has been an immense struggle, which Isaiah described in the fourth servant’s song in the Hebrew Bible, which George Frederick Handel magnificently set to music in Messiah, particularly in the countertenor or contralto aria at the beginning of Part II.

The prospect of such a saviour figure appearing at the end of time is not unique to Judaism. Carter Phipps told us in an extensive article in the Spring/Summer 2003 issue of the What is Enlightenment? magazine that the Jews expect the Messiah, the Christians the second coming of Christ (as Parousia), together with the anti-Christ, the Muslims the Mahdi, the Hindus the Kalki Avatar, and the Buddhists Maitreya.

Yet, because none of us is ever separate from any other being, including the Supreme Being, Thich Nhat Hanh said in October 1993 that the next Buddha—as Maitreya, the ‘Loving one’—can only be a community or global sangha, practising mindful living rather than an individual.

Sadly, however, this does not prevent Panosophers being ostracized by society for daring to question the beliefs and assumptions that provide many with a precarious sense of security and identity in life. So, as abrupt, irreversible climate change is about to make out beautiful planet Earth uninhabitable, to what extent could humanity awaken to what is happening to us all as a species?