A discussion on the Religions of the World

All our knowledge is based upon experience. What we call inferential knowledge, in which we go from the less to the more general, or from the general to the particular, have experience as its basis. In what we call the exact sciences, people easily find the truth, because it appeals to the particular experiences of every human being. The scientist does not tell us to believe in anything, but he has certain results which come from his own experiences, and reasoning on them when he asks us to believe in his conclusions, he appeals to some universal experience of humanity. In every exact science there is a basis which is common to all humanity, so that we can at once see the truth or the fallacy of the conclusions drawn there from. Now, the question is: Has religion any such basis or not? The question can be answered in the affirmative and in the negative.

Religion, as it is generally taught all over the world, is said to be based upon faith and belief, and in most cases consists only of different sets of theories. This is the reason why we find religions quarrelling with one another. These theories are also based on belief. One says there is a great Being sitting above the clouds and governing the whole universe, and he asks us to believe that solely, because he says so. In the same way, we may have our own ideas, which we ask others to believe, and if they ask for a reason, we cannot give them any. This is why religion and metaphysical philosophy have a bad name. Many educated people say, “these religions are only bundles of theories without any standard to judge them by, each religion preaching its own ideas based on their creed."

 Nevertheless, there is a basis of universal belief in religion that embraces all the different theories and all the varying ideas of different sects in different countries. Upon investigating we find that they also are based upon universal experiences.

When we look at the various religions of the world, we will find that thy are divided into two classes, those with a book and those without a book. Those with a book are the strongest, and have the largest number of followers. Those without books have mostly died out, and the few new ones have very small following. Yet, in all of them we find one consensus of opinion, that the truths they teach are the results of the experiences of particular persons.

Christians believe in Christ as the incarnation of God, they believe in a God, a soul, and in a better state of that soul in the afterlife. But if we go to the source of Christianity, we will find that it is based upon experience. Christ said he saw God; the disciples said they felt God; and so forth.

Similarly, in Buddhism, it is Buddha's experience. He experienced certain truths, saw them, came in contact with them, and preached them to the world.

The same experience is found with the Hindus. In their books the writers, who are called Rishis or sages, declare they have experienced certain truths, and these they preached. Thus it is clear that all the religions of the world have been built upon that one universal and uncompromising foundation of all our knowledge, direct experience.

The teachers all saw God; they all saw their own souls, they saw their future, they saw their eternity, and what they saw they preached. Unfortunately most of the religions claim, that these experiences are impossible at the present day; they were only possible with a few men, who were the first founders of the religions that subsequently bore their names. At the present time these experiences have become obsolete, and, therefore, we have now to take religion on belief.

Yet, if there has been one experience in this world in any particular branch of knowledge, it absolutely follows that that experience has been possible millions of times before, and will be repeated eternally. Uniformity is the strict law of nature; what happened once can happen always.

The teachers of the science of Yoga declare that religion is not only based upon the experience of ancient times, but that no one can be religious until he has the same perceptions himself. Yoga is the science which teaches us how to get these perceptions.

It makes little sense to talk about religion until one has felt it.

We need to ask ourselves, why is there so much disturbance, so much fighting and quarrelling in the name of God? There has been more bloodshed in the name of God than for any other cause, because people never went to the source; they were content to agree with the customs of their forefathers, and wanted others to do the same.

What right do we have to say that we have a soul, an inner essence, if we are not in touch with it? Or, that there is a God, if we don’t experience Him? God is our very consciousness.

The modern view, particularly with the "educated people" seems that religion and metaphysics and all searches after a Supreme Being are futile; its only value consists in the fact that it provides a strong motive for doing good in the world. If men believe in a God, they may become good, and moral, and so make good citizens.

We cannot blame them for holding such ideas, seeing that all the teaching these men get is simply to believe in a continuous repetition of words, with little substance behind them. They are asked to live by words.

People want truth, they wants to experience truth for themselves; when they has grasped it, realized it, felt it within their heart of hearts, then alone, declare the Vedas, would all doubts vanish, all darkness be scattered, and all crookedness be made straight. "Ye children of immortality, even those who live in the highest sphere, the way is found; there is a way out of all this darkness, and that is by perceiving Him who is beyond all darkness; there is no other way."