Miscellaneous - Religion   

Many paths, one goal

CHENNAI : Scriptures are like signposts that lead one towards the ultimate goal of God realisation. But spiritual progress depends largely on the extent to which one is able to pursue the quest with eagerness and determination. A true Jnani is always keen and enthusiastic to attain knowledge.

Sri Ramakrishna's incessant thirst for exploring scriptural truths was responsible for shaping his perspective of a universal approach to the different systems of religions that he realised as the many paths leading to a single goal, pointed out Swami Gautamananda in a lecture. Hence his teachings emphasise the need to be tolerant to all religions.

He advised all to praise one's religion as passionately and fervently as one wished but cautioned against the tendency to decry other religions. Even as a medicine is accepted after it passes the test to cure, religions also have to be tested against their ability to show the right path.

Since no two individuals have the same temperament, and no two people lead life the same way, there are different ways to choose the most suitable path for this purpose. What is to be noted is that religion is present in an individual's realisation and is more than mere theories, doctrines or dogma.

Great souls have realised that God is present in each and every aspect of creation, and that He alone creates and sustains the entire universe.

This is the basic truth that needs to be internalised within one's consciousness so that one is able to establish one's role and relationship in the world and with the Supreme Being.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna reiterates that a yogi sees the Supreme Being in all things and all things within Him. If such is the perception there is no way by which a person can lose sight of the Lord, nor the Lord of him. This is the state of union with God that is reflected as worship of the divine in all beings as well. The Lord accepts whatever a devotee offers with love, be it water or flower. This is proved by the very fact that the devotee's Bhakti grows. We begin to think of God and meditate on Him in our hearts. Spiritual quest draws sustenance from the timeless quality of the fundamental truths enshrined in the scriptures that makes them relevant for all times and ages.

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