Qusetioner : Dear Satyashri, I have a doubt in my mind. If our religion is eternal then why doesn’t it reflect in the attitude of people? There doesn’t seem to be any positive effect of spirituality in their lives. Everywhere we can see people fleecing, betraying and competing with each other in the name of religion. I am unable to understand the difference between religion and spirituality. What is the true religion?

 

 

You are right dear. One thing is sure that whatever is being propagated in the name of religion is not true religion or spirituality. Today religion and spirituality have become just a set of actions. One goes to temples, mosques or churches, offer some flowers and money to the God and place list of their desires in front of Him. Some people are thinking that religion and spirituality is just to hear religious discourses and sing songs in the God’s praise. Others are feeding the poor and satisfying their ego.

Some so-called pseudo spiritualists have consciously designed religion in this way so as to earn their bread and butter. Not only this, everyone has their own set of rules and practices to satisfy and please their preferred Lord. Some are making delicacies and others are fasting in His name.

 

Realise the whole

Spirituality has nothing to do with all this. You have to understand the difference between religion and spirituality. Religion is only an avenue of life like art and science. Spirituality is whole life. Though an avenue or a part represents the whole but it cannot be whole.

You must have read the ‘Panchtantra’ story of six blind persons and an elephant.

Once upon a time in a village, there lived six blind men. One day they heard from the villagers that today there is an elephant in the village. As they were blind, they had no idea what an elephant looks like. They were interested to know about it. They decided that even though they would not be able to see it, they would go and feel it. As decided, all of them went near the elephant. Each one of them started touching the elephant and feeling it.

The first man touched his leg and said, “Hey, the elephant is a pillar.”

The second man who touched the tail said, “Oh, no! it is not a pillar, it’s a rope.”

The third man who touched the trunk of the elephant said, “Oh, no! You are mistaken, it is a thick branch of a tree.”

The fourth man who touched the ear of the elephant said, “You are wrong. It is a big hand fan.”

The fifth man who touched the belly of the elephant said, “No, no! It is a huge wall.”

The sixth man who touched the tusk of the elephant said, “You all are wrong. It is a solid pipe.”

They all perceived the elephant in their own way and began to argue. Each one of them insisted that he was right and the other was wrong. Soon the argument escalated into a fight.

A man, who had a perfect vision, was passing by. Out of compassion towards the blind men, he stopped and asked them, “Why are you fighting. What is the matter?”

They said, “Each of us can feel what the elephant is like and it is different from the other one’s perception. We cannot agree to what the elephant is like.” This man calmly told to them, “All of you are right as each one of you have touched the different part of the elephant.”

 

Sliced Truth is Half Truth

If some enlightened person had been present there, he would have told them “All of you are right and all of you are wrong as well.”

Truth in parts is truth but not the whole truth. It may be right for the person who is experiencing that part but may be wrong for the other person. There may be truth to what someone says but sometimes we can realise this and sometimes not because of our limited perception.

This is happening with the established religions of the world. As the man with eyes can see the whole elephant, same way a spiritual, enlightened person can see the existence as a whole.

 

Life is not a pie

A true religion is a religion which gives you insight to see the existence as a whole. Same way a true Master is a Master who doesn’t bind you to a set of philosophies but through his unique ways takes you above mind and philosophies from where you can see all aspects of truth.

A religious man accepts only one avenue of life while a spiritual man accepts life in its totality, with all its flowers and thorns. His insight is deep and vast. So, he knows that thorns are as necessary in like as flowers.

Don’t get misguided by huge crowd at religious places. Don’t come to a conclusion that all of them are spiritual. Only a one in thousands present there may have curiosity or inquisitiveness to realise the truth. If there happens to be a time that there are thousands of such inquisitive people then, only a few of them will have courage to find and realise it. If there are thousands of such courageous people following the path then, only a few of them will reach the summit. Don’t get misguided by crowds of followers. Sheep also move in herds.

 

True Religion

Spirituality is the search for truth, search of the Self. Path of spirituality is meditation and payer of spirituality is meditation. That’s why no ‘Upnishad’ talks of any physical God or Goddess, because in spirituality the importance is of Self-realisation. They motivate an individual to realise the Self. This doesn’t mean that they renounce the physical world or you have to run away from the physical world.

Self or Atma is the core, the root on which the tree of this world is standing upright. World’s heart is Atma and Atma’s body is this world. Religious teachers are teaching about ‘Sanyas’ and people are renouncing the world and running to forests in search of God. Renouncing the world is not ‘Sanyas’, instead it is an awakening.

The only goal of a true religion is to realise the Self who is running this whole show. Anything that helps is fulfilling this goal is religion. All else is untrue. Awakening towards Self is religion. All doubts are of mind and because of mind which takes the man away from bliss, his true nature. Then man starts searching the lost paradise.

The state of supreme bliss is a state where there is no mind, it has merged in the Self. One cannot reach that state with the mind. You need something beyond mind to transcend mind. This happens only with the grace of a true Master. The positive effects of spirituality can be realised only under the guidance of a true Master. A realised soul has no reason to fleece, betray and compete. Bliss is his nature… eternal bliss, but this can be realised only through meditation, by being witness.

That will be the rise of true religion.