In the modern world we pride ourselves in our freedom of choice. We can choose where to travel, where to work, what to read, and so on , but in religion we still have little choice. We may be able to choose what church to join, but how much freedom do we have to choose our relationship with God?

If we want to worship the Divine as Mother, what choice do we have in Christianity or Islam, for example? We are given different ways of approaching Christ but how many of our churches offer other great teachers who we can connect? And how many of them teach us to contact the Divine within ourselves?

As part of Sanatana Dharma, Hindus are not restricted from studying other religions or respecting Truth wherever and in whomever they see it. Hinduism does not have any word like heretic, pagan, or kafir. Hindus have never invaded any country and tried to force people to adapt their religion.

There is no excommunication in Hinduism, nor do Hindus ever condemn anyone to eternal hell. Hindu leaders do not issue proclamations restricting the forms of worship that can be practiced by Hindus. Hindus do not have blasphemy laws that prevent anyone from criticizing Hindu teachings.

Hinduism does not require that we all have the same view of Divinity but encourages unique and diverse views for the full unfoldment of creative intelligence. It says that there is something unique about each person, which is their special connection with the Divine, and that there should be no standardized religion for all people.

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