We often hear it being said that there are many pathways to God and this is preached and propagated by many who may have their own agenda for preaching this ideology. While in a real sense this statement is true, the proponents of this statement may have a completely different meaning and motive than the true philosophical underpinning of this utterance from Shri Krishna.
It is a noble gesture on the path of many to wish peace, unity and harmony to all of humanity, regardless of our nationality, religious persuasion, race and ethnicity. The idea of the statement that all pathways lead to God is cleverly used by man to create religious tolerance and acceptance. Therefore it is preached by many that the religion we practise, the form of God that we worship, the philosophy that we believe in and the rituals that we practise will all take us to the same place, which is to Godhead.
While unity and harmony among mankind is desired, this ideal outcome should not be founded upon and indeed flourish through misunderstanding and false teachings. Respect for all is not built upon compromise of our beliefs, but rather on acceptance and tolerance for the differences of others, recognition of similar philosophies and principles and connecting with the presence of God in all of humanity.
The pathways to enlightenment that are spoken of in our scriptures are the various Yoga or practices. Through Gyaan Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga man is able to reach God. These are the prescribed paths upon which we must walk that will allow us to merge with Paramatma.
Sanatan Dharma is truth and truth carries the definition of “that which is”, meaning that anything else besides Sanatan Dharma is not the truth. God is the highest truth, a personification of ideal principle and the substratum.
If A = B and B ≠ C, then C ≠ A.
This simple and familiar logic tells us that any derivative concept, practice and philosophy must be consistent with the original to be considered real and thus the truth. “A” represents the truth, true principles, practices and philosophies while “C” represents all that is fundamentally different from that which the truth is. There are many ways of life practised by many people of varying creeds, ethnicities and geographic locations that are consistent with the true principle; many world religions that philosophically are consistent with the principles of Sanatan Dharma. As Sanatanists, while we hold on to our way of life, our practices and principles most dearly, we must respect the efforts of our brothers and sisters who are seeking the same Satchitanand, through surrender to the divine.
When seeking God, adhere to your Dharma and ensure that all practices are consistent with the foundation and ideal principles and philosophy. Violation of practices such as truth, cleanliness, compassion, charity, kshama and ahimsa affect all of mankind and will push us off the path of Dharma into an interminable abyss of pain and mental turmoil.
We must ensure that we are not mired by the corrupt and heretic utterances of man, who many times use religion for personal gain. In such cases the principles and philosophies are lost or misinterpreted to serve selfish means. Any practice that propagates the pristine principles of Sat(truth), Sauch(cleanliness), Dayaa(compassion) and Daan(charity) deserves respect and its practice will in a significant way lead us many steps closer to spiritual awakening and self realization.
