Religions

[Pujar 0]

Everyone knows that the God is one and people belonging to various faiths call Him with different names. The different religions are the different paths to reach the ultimate goal, The Supreme. If this is so, why the concepts of salvation, reincarnation, eternity of the soul, theory of Karma are not commonly accepted by all?

[gHari 0]

Envy of Krsna, manifesting in attachment.

[Avinash 0]

Do find it surprising that different religions give different descriptions of God, reincarnation etc.? This is surprising only if you assume that none of them is wrong even to slightest extent.

[Avinash 0]

Very often, we compare religions. We know that if we take two religions , then we can find similarities as well as dissimilarities between them. Is it possible for all religions to have some truth inspite of contradictions between them? My answer is that it is possible. Please note that I am using the word possible and I am not claiming that it must be the case. Let me tell one reason why I feel that the contradictions may not be as much as they sometimes seem. I will add more latter: -

1. I am in India. Suppose that I go to some other country where I see a kind of animal which is not found in India. I come back to India. I tell about the animal to one of my friends. He wants to know how the animal looks like. Suppose that I do not have any picture of the animal. Also, I am not good at drawing. So, I am forced to use only words to answer him. But how can I explain to him how the animal looks like? The only way is to use similes. For example, I may say that its skin looks like that of a panther. When I make this statement, it does not mean that its skin looks exactly like that of a panther. But, while giving similes, I have to use the similes with which my friend is familiar. And panther's skin is the closest I can come to. By giving various similes, I will try to explain to him as to how the animal looks like.

All religions talk about many things which are not seen in this material world. So, similes have to be used. Different religions may use different similes to mean the same thing.

 

[Gauracandra 1]

The best explanation I've read is from Bhaktivinode's "Stages and Varieties of Faith" which can be found here:

 

http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/spiritual-discussions/27751-stages-varieties-faith-part-1-a.html

 

 

http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/spiritual-discussions/27752-stages-varieties-faith-part-2-a.html

 

I think its an excellent description of the various realizations of faith and an approach to appreciating the essence found in all religion.

[gHari 0]

Great stuff as usual from The Man. His perspective is always so liberating. Thanks for the link, Gauracandra Prabhu. I will read it many times.

[beemasane 0]

you will of course gHari, excuse me in this, a rare whimsical foray into the world of being critical of Vaisnavas, but i believe the correct nomenclature of a Prabhu whom you so highly and correctly so, regard, as such, is in more specific terminology: "you da' Prawboo, Gauracandra, you da' Prawboo". i have now used up my quota of harsh critique, that's all for the week, but on down the road, your false ego i'm sure to goad, but not to worry its just that BONA FIDING toad...beema-shave (at yer soivice{seva}, nuk-nuk).

[gHari 0]

Actually the right nomenclature for "The Man" (and I worried numerous times last night about having possibly been offensive here) is

 

<center><h2><font color=blue>OM VISNUPAD

SRILA BHAKTIVINODE THAKURA </center></h2></font>

 

 

Gauracandra is da' Prawboo for sure. He is certainly the man, but when I see the awe Srila Prabhupada has for Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, and then heaped upon that is the respect Sarasvati has for his father, then I see that Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is "The Man". The Man responsible for giving me Everything.

 

gHari

 

(Hoping to counteract any offenses)

[beemasane 0]

actually gHari, what we got here was a feeble attempt on my part at some light-hearted humor glorification that i hoped might destroy any offense i might have made to Gauracandra by my somewhat long-winded Gas-bag approach to the creation of a 4 way standardized biz card for K.C. on his "keys to successful religions"...no more, no less. to address the possibility of offense on your part...not in my books. anyway, just to make sure i'm covered, i'll be very careful about my attempts to become too familiar...i accept your critique at your feet...please forgive me.

[dattaswami 0]

 

Everyone knows that the God is one and people belonging to various faiths call Him with different names. The different religions are the different paths to reach the ultimate goal, The Supreme. If this is so, why the concepts of salvation, reincarnation, eternity of the soul, theory of Karma are not commonly accepted by all?

Logic Only can bring unity among religions

 

Today the development of science is terrible, which is the faculty of logic and analysis. Today the heart is reduced and the brain is expanded. The old generations were having a broad heart and less brain. The heart can be inspired by appeals but the brain will not be satisfied by appeals. If you appeal “All the human beings are one and the same internally and externally. God is one only. Do not quarrel with each other and be united as one family”, the effect of such appeal is temporary only. When the devotee returns back, the emotion is subsided by next day itself.

The reason is that his or her intellectual facility (Buddhi) is not satisfied. You have not given the logical analysis of such concepts. You have worked at the level of mind only and not at the level of intelligence. Mind is the steering rod and the intelligence is the driver. Mind is in the hands of intelligence. Due to this reason only, the Lord started Gita with the concept of knowledge and analysis (Buddhi Yoga). The driving knowledge of the driver is more important than the driver. The correct driving depends on the correct driving knowledge imparted on him by the teacher of the driving school, who is the Satguru.

In the case of Arjuna, the teacher of the driving school himself became the driver! You cannot imagine the fortune of Arjuna. When God Himself became the driver, He is called as Satguru. The word Sat is used to mean God. Guru means guide.

[dattaswami 0]

 

Everyone knows that the God is one and people belonging to various faiths call Him with different names. The different religions are the different paths to reach the ultimate goal, The Supreme. If this is so, why the concepts of salvation, reincarnation, eternity of the soul, theory of Karma are not commonly accepted by all?

Unity of Religions

 

The correlation of the scriptures of various religions was done in a detailed way by several prophets who aimed at the world peace. Even I have done this correlation in major topics like human rebirth, concept of human incarnation etc. The effect of such correlation is not much because the devotees of various religions are neither influenced by the unity of the scriptures nor by the unity of human beings having the same bodies of matter and energy externally and the internal souls made of the same pure awareness.

Scriptures are the concepts given by various forms of God. Devotees feel that these forms of God are totally different from each other. Unless you bring the correlation of the various forms of God belonging to different religions, the problem is not solved in the root. You have to come from top to bottom in the solution for difference. The correlation of unity in the scriptures and in the human beings is an attempt of solving the problem from bottom to top. If you can prove the unity of the forms of God and establish the concept of single God in various religions, the scriptures have to be correlated forcibly because one God cannot speak contradicting concepts in various religions.

Like this if you come from the top for the solution, there is always a tremendous binding force acting on the heads of devotees to correlate the scriptures. Even if some little variations exist in the scriptures, they have to be unified by force in the light of unity of God, who is the single speaker of various scriptures.

[dattaswami 0]

The essence of all the religions is one and the same

 

 

The essence of all the religions is one and the same since the Universal God gives it. The religions are different from each other because the religious leaders who are the human beings create the material that surrounds the essence. The skeleton is one and the same and there is no difference in the skeletons of the human beings. The difference lies only in the external materials covering the skeletons, which are flesh, skin etc., in these external materials differences arose due to deficiencies. Suppose there are two students. One is weak in physics and the other is weak in chemistry.

Each student mocks the other for the deficiency. Therefore, the deficiency is the root of difference and quarrels in the religions. The reason for the deficiency is the human brain that developed the external body of the spiritual knowledge. Therefore, the spiritual knowledge is the skeleton and the religion is its body. The deficiency in a religion can be removed by taking the merits of the other religions. Every religion has deficiency and the rectification of that deficiency should be from other religion without any ego and jealousy. Do not think that you are without defects. Do not think that your parents have no defects. Do not think that your teachers and preachers do not have defects. Therefore, observe others and take the merits from anybody without prejudice.

The blind thinking that your nation, your state, your district, your town or village, your caste, your family, your parents, etc., is the best or highest should be eradicated from your brain. Always base your self on your analysis and commonsense that is observed from the examples in the world. Your elders might have polluted the scriptures but this world is the best scripture written by God. This world-scripture is Universal without any color of any religion. You can develop the entire spiritual knowledge by observing this world and the scientific knowledge existing in the various examples or items of the world. Any human being cannot pollute these. You must be scientific and analytical in your belief. The ignorant and clever religious elders always exploit blind belief.

[Jahnava Nitai Das 2]

These forums are for back and forth personal discussions, not for copying and pasting past articles you have written.

 

Please desist from posting ready made material, and also do not revive ancient threads that are years old.