Perhaps nothing more so than religion stimulates the passions of humanity toward either higher or lower actions. This is because religion introduces absolutes into human life. Religion sets up a standard of judgement that goes beyond life and death and all the limited values of our transient existence. Such a standard can deepen our sensitivity or can breed fanaticism and bigotry, depending upon whether we use these absolutes to provide a higher standard for our own behavior or to become harsher in our criticism of those who think differently than we do.

True religion directs us to the Absolute, which requires that we cleanse our minds of our limited opinions and judgements. False or imperfect religion tries to make absolute these very prejudices, opinions and limitations. To understand religion, we must look at religion as a whole, not as a belief system but as a way of life, a system of ethical, mental and spiritual culture - what is called in the Eastern world, dharma or the guiding law of our being. Otherwise we will be unable to extract the essence of religion from its mass of conflicting beliefs.

This requires that we look at our own lives as a whole, and that we examine religion as a living phenomenon, as part of our greater human potential, our inner dharma, from whatever different land or culture it may arise. We must learn to look at religion as a way of connecting with Reality through our own consciousness, which is the view of the science of Yoga. This is the view of religion that India has given us, the land wherein human beings have spent the most time in pursuit of the sacred, not to convert others, but to realize the Truth.

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