SANATANA DHARMA AND THE MODERN WORLD

Aren't All Religions the Same?

Because there is a unity of Truth behind all religious seeking and, above all, because there is a commonality in the religious experience, some people have come to the conclusion that all religions are the same - that it doesn't matter if one goes to a temple, church or mosque, or whether one prays, fasts or meditates - that as long as one is doing something that can be called religious, one will get to the same goal only along a different route.

Let us compare this with the field of art. Because there is a unity of the human creative experience behind all art does not mean that all art is the same, and it certainly does not mean that all that is called art is good art. Similarly that there is a unity of scientific inquiry behind all scientific pursuits does not mean that all science is the same, that all scientific theories are correct and lead to the same conclusions, or that it does not matter what experimental procedures we employ.

There is a tremendous gap between organized religion, which divides people, and the religious experience, which unites them. And the religious experience itself has different stages, levels and variations. All religious experiences are not merely equal or the same. There are many gradations between ordinary human consciousness and Self-realization, which should not all be lumped together as the same thing.

Religious experiences can also occur in an impure or untrained mind and be mixed with egoism and delusion. Moreover, there is a diversity of spiritual practices, like the Yogas of knowledge and devotion, which proceed by different lines and have their own characteristic experiences. While we should recognize the unity of the religious experience, we should also acknowledge its diversity and multilevelled nature.

That all religions are one is a statement similar to that all water is one. This does not mean that all water is the same or that all water is fit to drink. That all water is one does not mean that it is not necessary to carefully consider the quality of the water we drink. There are religious doctrines and practices, which are outward or preliminary value and others which are limited or even wrong. To discover the real truth of religion requires a great deal of discrimination, a discerning of the essence, not merely an acceptance of all forms.

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