Is it wrong to say, ‘only my religion is right’ and is it wrong to convert others
Unfortunately, neither Christianity nor Islam are based on reason, intuition or experience but only on blind belief in unverifiable dogmas. One can never know for sure if Jesus is really the son of God who was sent to earth to save us from the original sin and if he really said that the way to God, the father, goes only through him.
Similarly, we can never know for sure if Allah really communicated via Gabriel with Prophet Mohammad and declared that Mohammad is the last Prophet and all must follow his words.
These two religions make blind belief even into a virtue : if you believe blindly what the Church or the mullahs tell you, you will be vastly rewarded with heaven after you are dead, is promised.
So for Christians to claim that only Christianity is right and for Muslims to claim only Islam is right, is wrong, because firstly, both cannot be right and secondly, both of them have a harmful aspect in their doctrine.
Both claim that whoever does not heed the words of the founder of their ‘only true’ religion (Jesus, respectively Mohammad) will burn in hell for ever. If this were true, over half of today’s world population, and moreover, billions of people who lived before us, would burn in hell for all eternity. This cannot be true.
But there is another ‘religion’ which is very different, but is also called ‘religion’. It is the ancient Indian wisdom and tradition which is called Hindu Dharma or Sanatan (Eternal) Dharma.
Now this Dharma is based on reason, intuition and experience. It makes claims that make sense and can be verified, like the claim that the essence in all is one and the same – ‘Sat-Chit-Anand’ – blissful awareness beneath the names and forms.
So, in this case it is not wrong to say that Hindu Dharma is right. This means, it’s also not wrong to try and convince others of its value.
Unfortunately, only members of Christianity and Islam go all out and try to spread their religion, claiming it alone is true and all others will not be accepted by the ‘true God’.
It would be so much better if Hindus would go all out and explain the philosophy of the Vedas, that the Supreme Intelligence behind this Universe is one and immanent in everything, including in us and can be experienced.
This knowledge results in a very beneficial mind-set, far more beneficial than the divisive mind-set of the new-comer religions. It gives inner strength and makes people kind and truly human. If this mind-set would spread all over, we could even have a world without borders, as we would feel like one family …
(Introduction : Ms Maria Wirth is from Germany and has been in India for the past 38 years. She is the Author of the book ‘Thank you India – a German woman’s journey to the wisdom of Yoga’)
Never thought one can love a country so much !
Many years ago in a dream, I saw a map of India before me as one can see it sometimes on TV, with mountain ranges and the Himalayas distinct. Looking at it, my heart expanded with great love. Still dreaming, I was surprised that one can love a country so much. Yet it was not love at first sight. Only on my second visit – intended as a stopover on my way to Australia that lasts meanwhile 40 years – India that is Bharat, showed me what amazing treasures she hides under her noisy and often challenging surface.
I realized that in Bharat an intensive, dedicated and essential inner search for what is truly true has been made since time immemorial. The findings of this search are startling and comforting to all humanity and they are also upheld by modern nuclear physics. These findings claim : ‘Beneath’ every appearance, including our own person, there is the same ‘Real Presence’ (or whatever one wants to call THAT which has no form and no name). It is the ONE SOURCE of and Essence in all manifestations. It is all-knowing and blissful Sat-Chit-Anand. It is indestructible.
Weapons cannot cut It, nor can fire burn It; water cannot wet It, nor can wind dry It. (Bhagawad Geeta 2.23)
To uncover THAT is the purpose of life and its fulfillment.
Every country has good people. But India has also wise and enlightened people, far more than any other place. They make Bharat what it is – a country full of Divine Light.
May this Light illumine the intellect of all … Including the intellect of those who are highly influential in our times and who see humans as ‘hackable animals’ without eternal Atma. – Ms Maria Wirth
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