Universal Religion - Pundit Sukhdevji

There is a hunger in every creature—both physical and spiritual. The animal is contented with merely satisfying his physical hunger, but the aim of man should be to satisfy both kinds of hunger, for he cannot do without it. We appease our physical hunger by external means, but we have to adopt a different process to satisfy our internal hunger. The name of that process is religion. In this scientific age religion is rejected in favor of science. The fact that science can satisfy only our external needs and that it is inadequate for the purpose of internal needs is forgotten. God has created our senses externally as a result of our actions (Katha Up., iv.I). He is not to be blamed for that. It is the result of sinful actions. Therefore, it is desirable that we should turn our senses or desires inward. But if we follow science, instead of turning within we shall be turning more without. The great souls of Europe also had attained true peace from within and not from without. The first translation of the Upanishads into Latin in the year 1785 created a stir in Europe. After going through it, Schopenhauer said: "It has been the solace of my life, it will be the solace of my death." Was this true peace gained from any scientific age? No, never.

This scientific age is a curse to the giant brains of the West. Being puzzled by its influence they want to get back to Nature, because they think that natural life will satisfy their internal needs and that they will gain true peace from it. Adolf Just, the learned German, has written a book entitled, Return to Nature. In this he has proved beyond doubt that it is possible for man to satisfy his spiritual hunger by living a simple and religious life. Although London is a big city and one can have a direct view of the scientific discoveries as soon as one enters it, it was once written about it by the Bishop of Zanzibar, "London is a glorious city but is terribly in the hands of Satan."

If you go through the works of Bacon, Cost, Goethe and other learned men, you will find them declaring that to obtain the internal hidden peace you must lead a natural and religious life. True peace will be yours from within your own self. We, the followers of the Vedic religion chant the hymn from Isvariya jnana Veda (the knowledge revealed by God), when engaged in our daily worship— "Soma, the peace-incarnate, appearing in the heart of all, protects us in our helplessness" (Atharva, iii. 27.4). The name of this process through which we achieve this soul-force or by which we satisfy our spiritual hunger, is religion. That religion should therefore be a Universal religion.

© "The Religions of the World" published byThe Ramakrishna Mission, Institute of Culture, Gol Park, Kolkata 700 029. Reprinted with permission.

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