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YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: F.A.Q. 4
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THE UNITY OF ALL FAITHS QUESTION: Is it true that all faiths are ultimately
one? ANSWER: In the same way as the Sun is variously
perceived as strong or mild, as shrouded by clouds or reflected on the surface
of the Moon according to time, weather conditions and geographic location,
all differences between the various faiths are due entirely to the cultural
and political peculiarities of the countries where they have evolved or in
which they are being practised. To better understand their inherent unity, it
is necessary to first obtain an overview of the elements they have in common.
All faiths accept the following facts: 1. There is a Higher Reality, Being or Force That
creates and governs the World. 2. This Higher Reality, Being or Force, commonly known as
God or some other equivalent designation, is Eternal, All-Powerful,
All-Knowing and All-Good. In short, God is Perfect. 3. Happiness is a state of Unity and Harmony
with God. The closer we are to God the happier we are. Distance or
separation from God results in unhappiness and suffering. The highest
happiness is called Heaven, Nirvana, Godhead (Shivatva) or Divinity. 4. Life exists on three basic levels: Terrestrial,
Intermediate and Supreme. The Terrestrial or Physical Plane
is inhabited by human beings and other creatures that are separated from God.
The Intermediate or Non-Physical Plane is inhabited by beings
who live in various degrees of Unity with God. Such beings are called Saints,
Angels or Gods. One God or many? What is important to understand at this point is that by
"Gods" we do not mean independent entities but beings who are
manifestations of and act in harmony with the Supreme Being Himself Who is
their Overlord. Concerning these Divine Beings, the Bible says that no other
Gods must be worshipped apart from God. Their existence, however, is nowhere
denied. On the contrary, the older portion of the Bible (Old Testament)
clearly acknowledges it. Says the Bible: "God stands in the Congregation
of the Mighty; He judges among the Gods" (Psalms Identical statements may be found in pre-biblical traditions
such as that of Ancient Greece and Scriptural confirmation of Ancient monotheistic beliefs are
likewise found in the holy books of the Hindus: "In the beginning shined
the Source of Light, the One Lord of all created beings. He established and
supports this Earth and Heaven. Giver of the vital breath, of strength and
vigour, He Whose Commands all the Gods acknowledge" (Rig Veda X,
121:1-10). In the Bhagavat-Gita, God declares: "I am the Source and
Origin of the Gods and Great Sages" (10:2). In the Shiva Purana, the Gods address Lord Shiva, the
Supreme God, with the following words: "O Great Lord! Lord of the Gods!
You Alone create, sustain and annihilate the Universe. You are the Supreme
Being. We bow to You, the Great Lord, Who are greater than the greatest, etc."
(Shiva Samhita II 41, 1-3). Moreover, it is written that, "the worship
of Deities other than Lord Shiva is futile [for the purpose of Salvation].
One should therefore be exclusively devoted to Shiva and none other (Rudra
Samhita I 4, 56-57)". This clearly refutes the fanciful notion entertained by
Bible-based religions of themselves as the only ones to admit a single
Supreme Being or God. Indeed, it must be said in this context, that the term
Monotheistic - believing in One God - may also be interpreted to mean
"believing in God Alone" (from Greek Mono, alone, and Theos, God).
This is precisely what Eastern Faiths do. They believe that God Alone exists
and that everything else is just a temporary Appearance or Manifestation, of
God. Says Scripture: "All this is perceived (or projected) by God within
Himself", "This World, which is but a mass of thought, is thought
by Him, and in Him it disappears", etc. (Shiva Purana, Maitri
Upanishad). We have thus demonstrated that Eastern Faiths who
believe in One Reality Only, are the true Monotheistic Faiths and not their
Western counterparts who believe in Spirit and Matter, Three Eternal and
Different Persons (God the Father, Holy Spirit, God the Son), God and Devil,
etc. As far as the Gods of non-biblical traditions are concerned,
they evidently are on a par with the Angels of the Bible and the Quran. As
such, they mostly inhabit the Intermediate or Non-Physical Plane although
they may on occasion descend to Earth either as radiant Light Beings or in
human-like shape. Finally, the Supreme or Divine Plane is
inhabited by God Himself and all the beings who have attained Absolute Unity
with Him and therefore exist as One Supreme Being. 5. The human Soul attains the state of Unity with or
Closeness to God by shedding his imperfections such as wrong thinking and
faults of character and becoming Perfect or God-like. Says the
Bible: "Be you therefore perfect even as your Father (God) Who is in
Heaven is Perfect" (Mat. 5:48); and "All Scripture is given by Inspiration
of God that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good
works" (2 Tim. 3:16,17). 6. The process that leads to Perfection, Unity with God
or Supreme Happiness is called Spiritual Practice (Sadhana). Spiritual
Practice is of two kinds: inferior and superior. The inferior kind comprises
all religious and ritual practices such as attending places of worship,
praying, giving alms, etc. In Yoga, the main religious practices are the Five
Duties (Pancha Dharma) as explained in Teachings
and Practice. They enable the human Soul to attain a degree of Unity with
God and avoid falling into disunity with Him. However, due to man's many imperfections, in most cases Specific
Spiritual Practices have to be applied to attain Perfection, Heaven and
Supreme Happiness. These practices include prolonged periods of prayer,
studying the Scriptures, etc. In Yoga, they are known as the Eight Yogic
Practices (Posture, Breath-Control, Meditation, etc.) and are regarded as
superior to the first kind, constituting an infallible means of attaining
Perfection. 7. Resurrection or Rebirth and Ascension
to Heaven. Following death, the Soul returns to life. The observance of
Spiritual Practices of the superior kind leads to the Soul's Perfection and
Elevation to the Realm (and status) of God either during or after the current
lifetime. On this point, Western religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) are
of the opinion that man lives only one life before a final judgement
regarding his fitness for Heaven is made. This view, however, must be
rejected as wholly unsatisfactory: even a superficial observation of facts
will show that the vast majority of Mankind is unable to become perfect and fit
for admission to Heaven in just one lifetime. Eastern faiths (Yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism) therefore teach that
more than one life is necessary. It is not difficult to see why. If God
admitted imperfect Souls to Heaven, this would render all religious teachings
and practices meaningless. If He did not admit them, it would be unfair to
reject such Souls after just one life on Earth. God being All-Good, He must
give them a second chance. In consequence, Eastern faiths which believe in
the Supreme Being's Infinite Compassion, teach that Souls are reborn
repeatedly until Perfection is attained. Says the Upanishad: "Having
enjoyed the fruit of their good works in Heaven, ignorant men re-enter this
World, or a lower. But he who knows the Supreme, becomes that very Supreme.
He crosses over sorrow and sin and with a heart freed from the fetters of
desire, becomes a Liberated One and an Immortal (Mundaka Up. I This view was initially accepted even by Western religions. It
was accepted by the Sages of Ancient Greece and the Founding Fathers of the
Christian Church. It is never denied in the Bible and it is taught in the
Quran: "God gave you life when you were dead and He will cause you to
die and then restore you to life and at last you will return to Him"
(2:28). Some Muslim scholars may object that this is not how they would
interpret this verse. That may be so. But as our Muslim friends, no doubt,
are aware, the Quran - like other Scriptures - is capable of various
interpretations (several of which are officially recognised) and we on our
part are entitled to draw our own conclusions. The fact is that Reincarnation is not alien to Islam. It is
traditionally accepted by many Muslims in the In the light of these facts we cannot but conclude that the
apparent differences between the two viewpoints are due to different levels
of scriptural meaning and interpretation. Thus, on a lower level, verses such
as the one under discussion may be regarded as referring to Resurrection
while on a higher, more Spiritually advanced level, as referring to
Reincarnation. While the former interpretation may be sufficient to satisfy
Spiritually untrained minds, the more enlightened among Mankind no doubt
correctly view the latter as closer to the Original Tradition and to Truth. This conclusion is supported by scriptural evidence. Both the
Bible and the Quran relate that at the time of their respective revelation
(1st and 7th centuries CE), there were numerous sceptics (or what may be
termed materialists) who rejected the notion of any life after death, let
alone Resurrection or Reincarnation. It is precisely this kind of people that
would have required a significant amount of persuasion on the part of a new
religion intent on gaining influence among the masses. Obviously, once the
doubters have been persuaded, it would be that much easier to convert the
rest. Indeed, that the Quran was originally addressed to a mainly
materialist audience is evident from its description of Heaven as a place
where the believers will be "married to dark-eyed virgins, wear silk
clothes and gold jewellery, eat and drink to their heart's content in gardens
with running streams and surrounded by servants", etc. These are clearly
materialist preoccupations that would have found a resonance with those who
cannot conceive of anything higher, but would have been of little interest to
Spiritually elevated Souls. Moreover, in the Quran, God addresses the Arab people as
follows: "We have sent you an Apostle of your own who speaks to you in
the Arab tongue, because before you were ignorant". Thus even the Quran
admits the ignorance of the Arabs at that time. And you cannot teach the
higher truths of Religion to ignorant people. It seems reasonable to deduce
from this that Resurrection was put forward as a simplified - and more easily
acceptable - version of Reincarnation in order to render it more palatable to
simple-minded materialists while Reincarnation proper remained the preferred
view among the educated classes, that is, those who were more sensitive to
Spiritual truths, such as the Gnostics and the Theosophists (followers of
Divine Wisdom or Tasawuf, in Arabic) who in the Muslim World came to be known
as "Sufis", that is, Sophists or men of wisdom. In fact, this
situation has remained unchanged even today. While the ignorant, uneducated
and fanatical elements in the Muslim World continue to strictly adhere to the
doctrine of physical Resurrection, the educated classes follow the lead of
the great minds of Islamic Mysticism, such as Mansur-al-Halaj and Rumi.
Reincarnation must therefore be regarded as the original teaching and true
meaning of Resurrection which moreover is based on facts of experience (see Karma and
Reincarnation). We have thus resolved the only point of disagreement between
Eastern and Western faiths and established their inherent Unity. All other
perceived differences are of a cultural and political rather than religious
nature. They can only lead to childish disputes and must be regarded as
unworthy of consideration in the present context. Does this mean that all Religions are the
same? Unfortunately, no. The fact that all religions are essentially
one - in the sense that they are all based on the same Spiritual truths -
does not mean to say that they are also equal in practice. For example, out
of the various branches growing on the same tree, some may dry out, others
may be broken by storms or cut by man; some may yield much fruit, some little
and some none at all. The same happens with religions. To begin with, some religions are genuine (Sat), being
Divinely revealed. Others are man-made and therefore false (Asat) even
if they profess to be revealed by God. In addition to this, just as water, though coming from a pure
well, may become contaminated as it makes its way into ditches, lakes,
rivers, seas and cesspools, so also, religion can and does become
contaminated as it comes into contact with human ignorance and its attendant
excrescences such as political and financial interests. We only need to think of the forced conversions, "holy
wars", slavery and genocide the Western World has engaged in in the name
of religion, (slavery, for example, is approved by the Bible and the Quran)
and compare this with Yoga's own record of peace, tolerance, wisdom and
compassion, to realise what a gigantic mistake it would be to believe the
myth that all faiths are literally the same! Religions are true when and to the extent that they
agree with YOGA which is the SPIRITUALITY OF UNIVERSAL UNITY and TRUE
BROTHERHOOD OF MAN, and false to the extent that they disagree. Religions, therefore, that are closest to Yoga, that
is, to the One Original and True Faith (Sat Dharma), must be admitted
to be the least contaminated and hence the purest (Shuddha). These
are: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism as well as Bon-po (the religion
of East vs. West In practice, therefore, we may divide Religion into Eastern
and Western. Eastern Religion is that which comes from where
the Sun rises, that is, from the True Light Source. By contrast, Western
Religion comes from where the Sun sets, that is, from a Place of
Darkness. This is why it has been said that Light comes from the East.
Nobody has ever said that light comes from the West. To say such a thing,
would contradict what is patent fact. This fact is clearly reflected in the geographical and
political situation of the main religions. India, which is known from
ancient times as the Land of Glory (Bharat Varsh) as well as Land
of Righteousness or Land of the Right Faith (Dharma Bhumi), is
situated at the centre of the Eurasian Continent. Indeed, the Now all religions that originated in The objection that may be raised here is that, By contrast, to the East of India, we find that all
countries have, historically speaking, either accepted Hinduism and Buddhism
or have developed their own adaptations of the Original Faith (Adi Dharma),
such as, Taoism (in China) and Shintoism (Japan). Even those Asian countries
that have fallen under the influence of Western Faiths such as Communism ( But the best proof for this is that 99 per cent of the
conflict and violence currently raging in the World today is generated by
countries that are dominated or otherwise influenced by Western faiths. This
is a fact that nobody can deny. The main conflicts that are disrupting
World peace today and that may soon develop into a Global Conflagration, are
taking place between Capitalism and Communism and between Christianity and
Islam. These conflicts are Western-made and have nothing to do with
Eastern culture and religion. On the contrary, if Mankind were wise enough to
embrace Eastern faiths, in particular Yoga, the World would be a much safer
and more peaceful place! We therefore invite all human beings on Earth to
embrace the teachings of Yoga before it is too late. |