Maharshi - The real aim of all religions

[Guest guest]

How are the conflicting views of men of different religions

to be reconciled ?

 

(Ramana Maharshi:)

 

The real aim of all religions is to lead up to the awakening

to the Truth of the Self. But the Truth of the Self is too simple

for the generality of men ; even though there is no one who is

not aware of the Self , men do not care to be told of It ; they think

the Self to be of little worth; they want to hear of far-off things -

heaven, hell , reincarnation and so on ; they love mystery , and not

the plain truth ; and the religions humour them , so that ultimately

they may come back to the Self. But why not seek and find and

abide in the Self at once , without further wandering ?

The heavens cannot be apart from him that sees or thinks of them:

their reality is of the same degree as that of the ego that wants

to go there; hence they do not exist apart from the Self ,

which is the real heaven.

 

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MAHA YOGA or The Upanishadic Lore

published by : T.N. Venkataraman

Sri Ramanasramam , 1973

from chapter : Some More Sayings of the Sage