DO ALL RELIGIONS LEAD TO THE SAME GOAL

[Guest guest]

DO ALL RELIGIONS LEAD TO THE SAME GOAL

PUJYA SWAMI DAYANANDA SARASWATHI

 

"All religions lead to the same goal", is a concept widely d mostly

by educated Hindus. I feel that this well-meaning concept needs to be

enquired into and understood.

 

If all religions have a well-defined common goal, the difference would be

purely cultural. Difference of culture is totally acceptable to any thinking

person. If the goal of various religions is the same, there will be no

religious issue necessitating any discussion. But then what is the truth of

the statement "all religions lead to the same goal"?

 

If ethical values constitute the goal of religion, certainly there is a

singular goal adopted by all religions, the ethical values being universal.

But should any person be religious to be ethical? Is there a necessity to be

educated by religious scriptures to know what is ethical and what is not? Is

it not true that any normal human being is well informed about the universal

values? An aborigine in the outback of Australia as even a pandit from

Benares has the same value in not getting hurt at the hands of

another. That others also do not want to get hurt from him or her is also

very well known to the person. Other values like non-stealing, compassion,

sharing and so on are equally known facts. In fact, they form the moral

infrastructure for human interaction with one another and also with the

other living organisms in the world. This value-knowledge is born of human

common-sense. When there is this faculty of choice for a human being, there

should be a matrix of norms known to him for making the right choices. If

the human being is totally programmed, there will be no such thing as right

or wrong in human behavior. Without religious masters and religious

scriptures preaching about right and wrong, one is very well informed about

them.

 

Therefore, ethical values cannot constitute the goal of any religion, for

one can be ethical without being anyway religious. On the other hand, some

religions take away the universality of these common-sense-born values by

giving sanction to killing of those who do not conform to their beliefs and

who articulate their non-conformity. That the common-sense-born ethics

are better off, without any interference of religion, is really a cause for

sadness. In fact, religion should confirm the universal values as most of

them do. The vedic religion adds strength to the value-structure by

introducing the adrsta phala of punya and papa for actions that are right

and wrong. Many other popular religions also introduce this element of

reward or punishment. Suppose the goal for all religions is just reward

or

punishment, we may be able to say that all religions have the same goal in

spite of differences in these rewards and punishments.

 

Theology differs from religion to religion. The concept of reality of

God,

world and you is again thought of differently. More often, god is looked

upon as a judgemental person located in a place yonder. Reaching that

place

and living with him is the goal. Neither the vedic religion nor buddhisim

will accept this as a goal. Much less will a devout Christian accept a

goal other than reaching the heaven promised by his scripture. Then, what

does the statement that "all religions lead to the same goal" mean?

 

For a vaidika who accepts with total understanding that this world

including

one's body-mind-sense complex is the Lord's manifestation, any form of

prayer and worship is valid. Every name and form is valid enough to

invoke

the Lord, the Lord being every name and form. But prayer either mental,

oral or ritualistic is a karma, capable of producing a result. The given

result is not the goal of religions much less the goal of any individual

even if one thinks so. The goal of an informed vaidika is freedom from a

sense of limitation centered on I. Can there be an ultimate goal for a

human being other than this? This freedom, moksa, from this sense of

limitation is the human goal. The veda says that the sense of limitation

is

due to one not knowing oneself. Then it is obvious that the human goal is

self-knowledge. The various theologies of various world religions and

that

of some cults in vedic religion as well do not have anything to do with

this

goal. They are committed to their own beliefs even though they are

non-verifiable and more often than not, unreasonable. They have a right

to

have their beliefs which do not have any space for accommodating other

religious goals. But these beliefs are not acceptable to any thinking

person. They are not acceptable to a person who understands moksa either.

So all that a vaidika can say is "all forms of prayer are valid". Being

an

act, a karma, each prayer can produce a limited result. One wants a

limited

result too in life. But it can never be the goal of religion much less of

a

human being.