ALL THE PATHS ARE MINE - Sadhu Vaswani

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ALL THE PATHS ARE MINE!!!

-Sadhu Vaswani

 

There is a beautiful legend, which says that in the olden days, God

spoke from Mount Sinai. and when He spoke, the Voice was heard by the

people, as they listened from east and west, from north and south,

from earth and heaven. But each man – we read – heard the Voice in

his own tongue.

 

That story is suggestive of a great truth. The One Voice of God has

spoken to all but has, in its utterance become many, the one religion

has become the many religions of the world. and this truth, has been

intuited by the great religious geniuses of the race.

 

So one great Sufi writer says: "The ways of God are as many as the

breaths of man." And a text in the Gita expresses the same idea

wonderfully wellOn whatsoever path men approach Me, on that I go

to meet them. For all the paths are Mine !"

 

Prophets of the race, in east and west, have glimpsed this great

truth. and yet there is conflict in the religious world.

 

Rivalry in religion, as it seems to me, is due to two things – want

of knowledge, and lack of sympathy. Sometimes, there is lack of

knowledge; sometimes, there is lack of sympathy; and often, I think,

there is lack of both.

 

There are some who believe that there is but one and full and final

revelation of the Spirit, so that those who stand outside the circle

of their own faith must necessarily be in error. There are some who

approach the religious problem in no spirit of sympathy. they fix

their attention on certain aberrations and extravagances of a

particular religion and say, "Look here, this religion is a

monstrosity !"

 

So it is that quarrels, discord and hatred, have entered the

religious world. Religion, which was meant to be a bond of union, has

become a source of sectarian strives.

 

I remember, many years ago, while in Europe, I received an invitation

to speak at a Church. The minister of the congregation took the

chair. I spoke on "The wisdom of Higher Life." The reverend gentleman

was very kind. At the close of the lecture he said, that evening they

had "listened to a non-Christian but to words of inspiration."

 

Then a friend came to me and said "There is one little thing I wish

to communicate to you. The question of your being invited to speak

here was brought before the committee of the congregation, and one

member of the committee objected to your being invited at all on one

ground "So and so is an Indian and a heathen!"

 

What a wonderful teaching comes to us from Sri Krishna in the ancient

words "I am in all religions !"

 

Greece and Rome, Carthage and Assyria, Egypt and Babylonia have

vanished, and are today a memory of the past; they are gone , but

India lives on. And if the history of man be not an aimless pursuit

of shadow-shapes that come and go, but a sacred scripture showing a

purpose of the World-Will, is there not some great meaning in this

survival of India?

 

India has survived the many Shocks and changes of times, because I

believe India is meant to be the standard-bearer of a great message.

I believe that India is meant, under the grace of God, to be an

interpreter to the nations of a religion of reconciliation, a

religion of harmony. But India may not enter upon her world-mission

if you and I will not strive to verify in every day life the vision

of harmony and love.

 

Religion is Love ! The highest force in life is Love! Love is in

truth, the profound philosophy of life! For Love is expansion of the

self. the Lord of Love is the inspirer of all religions. And the

paths of all converge to a common centre.

 

(Courtesy: East and West Series – Oct. 2001)