灵魂、神与宗教
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中文
1→灵魂、上帝与宗教 2→ 3→穿越历史的长廊，世代的声音向我们传来；这是喜马拉雅山圣哲的声音，是林中隐士的声音，是曾向闪族人民言说的声音，是透过佛陀与其他灵性伟人传递的声音，是那些生活在光明之中的人们所发出的声音——这光明自大地肇始便伴随着人类，永远与人同在——如今依然向我们倾诉。这声音犹如山间流淌而下的涓涓细流，时而隐没，时而又以更磅礴的气势重现，最终汇聚成一股雄浑壮阔的洪流。来自各教派、各民族先知与圣男圣女们的讯息，正在汇聚其力量，以历史的号角之声向我们呼唤。而这声音传递给我们的第一个讯息是：愿平安归于你们，归于一切宗教。这不是一个对立与抗争的讯息，而是一个走向统一宗教的讯息。 4→ 5→让我们首先来研究这一讯息。在本世纪之初，人们几乎担忧宗教已走向末途。在科学研究那排山倒海般的重锤打击之下，陈旧的迷信如同瓷器般纷纷碎裂。那些将宗教仅仅视作一束教条与毫无意义的仪式的人陷入了绝望，他们束手无策，眼看一切从指间溜走。一时之间，不可知论与唯物主义的汹涌浪潮似乎将横扫一切。有人不敢说出心中所想，许多人以为大势已去，宗教事业就此万劫不复。然而，潮流已然逆转，前来救援的是什么？是比较宗教学的研究。通过对不同宗教的研究，我们发现它们在本质上是合一的。当我还是一个少年时，这种怀疑主义曾触动了我，一时之间我似乎必须放弃对宗教的一切希望。然而幸运的是，我研习了基督教、伊斯兰教、佛教及其他宗教，令我惊讶的是，我的宗教所传授的那些根本原则，其他宗教同样也在传授。这个发现以如此方式打动了我。我问自己：什么是真理？这个世界是真实的吗？是的。为什么？因为我看见了它。我们刚才聆听到的那美妙的声音（声乐与器乐）是真实的吗？是的。因为我们听见了。我们知道人有身体、眼睛和耳朵，同时还有一种我们无法看见的灵性本质。凭借他的灵性官能，他可以研究这些不同的宗教，并发现无论是在印度的森林丛莽中所传授的宗教，还是在基督教国度所传授的宗教，在其根本要义上，所有宗教都是合一的。这只是向我们表明，宗教是人类心灵不可或缺的构成性需求。一个宗教的证明有赖于所有其他宗教的证明。举例而言，若我有六根手指而旁人皆无，你大可说这是异常。同样的推理也适用于这样的论断：唯有一个宗教为真，其余皆为谬误。世上只有一个宗教，正如世上只有一个人拥有六根手指，这将是违反自然的。因此我们看到，若一个宗教是真实的，其他所有宗教也必然是真实的。在非根本之处存在差异，但在根本要义上，它们皆为一体。若我的五根手指是真实的，便证明你的五根手指同样是真实的。无论人处何方，他都必然发展出一种信仰，必然发展其灵性本质。 6→ 7→在研究世界各宗教的过程中，我还发现了另一个事实：关于灵魂（Atman）与上帝的观念存在三个不同的阶段。首先，所有宗教都承认，除了这会消亡的身体之外，我们身内还有某个部分或某种存在，它不像身体那样变化，这部分是不变的、永恒的，永远不会死亡；但一些较晚出现的宗教教导说，尽管我们有一部分永不消亡，但它却有一个开端。然而，凡有开端者，必有终结。我们——我们的本质部分——从未有过开端，也永远不会有终结。在我们一切之上，在这永恒的本质之上，还有另一个永恒的存在，无有终结——那就是上帝。人们谈论世界的开端，谈论人类的开端。「开端」一词所指的不过是一个周期的开始，它绝不意味着整个宇宙的开端。创造本不可能有一个开端，你们中没有人能够想象出一个开端的时刻。凡有开端者必有终结。「我曾经不存在，你也曾经不存在，我们日后也绝不会停止存在，」《博伽梵歌》（Bhagavad Gita）如此说道。凡提及创造之开端，皆指一个轮回周期的开端。你的身体将迎接死亡，但你的灵魂，永远不会。 8→ 9→与灵魂这一观念相伴而来的，是另一组关于其完美性的理念。灵魂本身即是完美的。希伯来人的《旧约》承认人在太初之时即是完美的，人是因自身的行为而使自己变得不纯净的。但他应当重归其原初的本性，其纯净的本性。有些人以寓言、故事和象征来述说这些事情，但当我们开始分析这些陈述时，我们发现它们都在传授：人的灵魂在其本性上即是完美的，人需要重新获得那原初的纯净。如何做到？通过认识上帝。正如《圣经》所言：「除非借着圣子，没有人能见上帝。」这意味着什么？见上帝是全部人类生命的目标与归宿。在我们与天父合一之前，必先经历成为圣子的历程。请记住，人是因自身的行为而失去纯净的。当我们受苦时，那是因为我们自身行为的缘故；不应将此归咎于上帝。 10→ 11→与这些观念紧密相连的，是一个曾经普世流传、但遭欧洲人曲解肢解的教义——轮回转世的教义。你们中有些人也许曾听闻并对此置之不理。轮回的这一观念与人类灵魂永恒性的另一教义并行相依。凡在某一点终结之物，便不可能没有开端；凡在某一点开始之物，便不可能没有终结。我们无法相信人类灵魂竟有开端这样一种荒诞的不可能。轮回转世的教义主张灵魂的自由。假设真有一个绝对的开端，那么人身上这一切不纯净的重担便全然落在上帝身上。全慈之父竟要为世界的罪孽负责！若罪孽以此方式而来，为何有人受苦更甚于他人？若这出自一位全慈上帝，何来如此偏私？为何有千万人遭到践踏？为何有从未造孽之人饱受饥馑？谁来承担这责任？若他们毫无干系，则上帝必定难辞其咎。因此，更为合理的解释是：人为自身所受的苦难负责。若是我启动了这轮子，我便要为结果负责。而若我能带来苦难，我也能止息苦难。由此必然可得出结论：我们是自由的。命运之说根本不存在，没有任何东西可以强制我们。我们已然造作的，我们可以解除。 12→ 13→关于与此教义相关的一个论证，我请求你们耐心聆听，因为它稍显复杂。我们所有的知识都是通过经验获得的，这是唯一的途径。我们所称的经验是在意识层面上发生的。举例而言：一个人在钢琴上弹奏一首曲调，他有意识地将每根手指按在每个琴键上，如此反复，直至手指的动作成为一种习惯。此后，他无需特别注意每一个琴键便能演奏一首曲子。类似地，就我们自身而言，我们发现我们的性向倾向是过去有意识行为的结果。一个孩子生来便有某些倾向，这些倾向从何而来？没有任何孩子是以一块空白的平板——以心灵的一张白纸——降生的。这页纸在此之前已有书写，古希腊和埃及哲学家们教导说，没有孩子是以一颗虚空的心灵来到世间的。每个孩子都带着由过去有意识行为所产生的百种倾向降生。他在此生并未获得这些倾向，因此我们不得不承认，他必定在过去的生命中已经拥有了这些倾向。就连最彻底的唯物论者也必须承认，这些倾向是过去行为的结果，只是他们补充说这些倾向是通过遗传而来的。我们的父母、祖父母和曾祖父母，通过遗传法则传递到我们身上。若遗传单独就能解释这一切，则根本无需相信灵魂的存在，因为身体便可解释一切。我们无需深入讨论唯物主义与唯灵主义的种种论证与辩驳。在这一点上，相信个体灵魂存在的人的道路是清晰的。我们看到，要得出一个合理的结论，我们必须承认我们曾经有过过去的生命。这是古今伟大哲学家与圣哲们的信仰，这样的教义曾在犹太人中流传。耶稣基督也相信它，他在《圣经》中说：「在亚伯拉罕之先，我就已经有了。」另一处又记载：「这就是那曾被预言将要来临的以利亚。」 14→ 15→所有在不同民族中、在不同境遇与条件下兴起的不同宗教，其发源地都在亚洲，亚洲人深谙其中真义。当这些宗教离开母土之后，便与种种谬误相混淆。基督教中最深刻、最崇高的理念，在欧洲从未得到真正的理解，因为《圣经》作者所运用的意象与观念，对欧洲人而言是陌生的。以圣母玛利亚的画像为例，每一位艺术家都按照自己预先设定的观念来描绘圣母。我曾见过数百幅耶稣最后晚餐的画作，画中他被描绘成坐在桌旁进食。然而，基督从未坐在桌旁进食；他与众人一同蹲坐，用一只碗沾着饼食——那与你们今日所食的面包全然不同。一个民族若要理解另一民族陌生的风俗习惯，本就极其困难，更何况欧洲人要在历经数百年来自希腊、罗马及其他来源的变迁与积累之后，去理解犹太人的风俗，其难度可想而知！透过重重神话与神话学的层层包裹，人们对耶稣那美好宗教所能领受的极为有限，这毫不令人奇怪；人们将之化为一种现代商贩式的宗教，同样毫不令人奇怪。 16→ 17→言归正传。我们发现所有宗教都教导灵魂的永恒性，以及其光辉已然黯淡，而其原初的纯净应当通过认识上帝来重新获得。这些不同宗教中关于上帝的观念是什么？上帝的原初观念是极为模糊的。最古老的民族有着不同的神祇——太阳、大地、火、水。在古代犹太人中，我们发现众多神祇互相激烈争斗。而后我们看到了犹太人与巴比伦人所敬拜的以罗欣（Elohim），再往后，一个至高的上帝开始脱颖而出。然而，这一观念因不同部族而各有差异，他们各自声称自己的上帝是最伟大的，并试图通过战争来证明这一点——能够战胜最多敌人者，便由此证明其上帝是最伟大的。那些民族或多或少都带有野蛮性，但渐渐地，更美好的观念取代了旧有的观念，那些旧有的观念已然或正在走进历史的废墟。所有这些宗教都是数百年来的产物，没有一个是从天而降的，每一个都必须一点一滴地磨砺而成。接下来便是一神论的观念：相信一位全能全知的上帝，宇宙的唯一上帝。这位上帝是超宇宙的，居于天堂之中，被其创立者的粗糙观念所包裹，有右侧与左侧，手中握着一只鸟，如此等等。但有一件事是确定的：部落神祇已永远消失，宇宙的唯一上帝——神中之神——已取而代之。然而，他仍然只是一位超宇宙的上帝，遥不可及，无物能靠近他。但渐渐地，这一观念也改变了，在下一个阶段，我们发现了一位内在于自然之中的上帝。 18→ 19→《新约》中教导说：「我们在天上的父」——上帝居于天堂，与人相隔遥远。我们生活在地上，他生活在天堂。进而，我们发现了这样的教导：他是内在于自然中的上帝，他不仅是天上的上帝，也是地上的上帝，他是在我们内心的上帝。在印度哲学中，我们发现了上帝与我们如此亲近的同一阶段。但我们不止于此。还有一个不二论（Advaita）的阶段，在这一阶段中，人认识到他一直所礼拜的那位上帝，不仅是天上与地上的父，而且「我与我的父是合一的。」他在自己的灵魂中认识到，他自己就是上帝，不过是上帝较低层次的表达。在我身上真实存在的一切，都是他；在他身上真实存在的一切，都是我。上帝与人之间的鸿沟由此得以弥合。这样，我们就看到了，通过认识上帝，我们如何在内心之中找到天国。 20→ 21→在第一个或说二元论的阶段，人知道自己是一个渺小的个体灵魂，叫做约翰、詹姆斯或汤姆，他说：「我将永远是约翰、詹姆斯或汤姆，永远不会成为任何别的东西。」那个杀人犯来了，同样也可以说：「我将永远是一个杀人犯。」然而随着时光流逝，汤姆消融，回归到那原初纯净的亚当。 22→ 23→「心地纯洁的人有福了，因为他们必得见上帝。」我们能见到上帝吗？当然不能。我们能认识上帝吗？当然不能。若上帝可以被认识，他便不再是上帝了。知识即是局限。但我与我的父是合一的：我在自己的灵魂中发现了那实在。这些思想在一些宗教中有明确表达，在另一些宗教中则只是隐约暗示，在某些宗教中甚至遭到放逐流亡。基督的教导在这个国家至今仍鲜为人真正理解。如承蒙见谅，我要说，它们从来就不曾被真正深刻地理解过。 24→ 25→各种不同的成长阶段，对于达到纯净与完美而言是绝对必要的。种种不同的宗教体系，在根底处都建立在相同的理念之上。耶稣说天国在你们心里。他又说：「我们在天上的父。」你如何调和这两句话？如此调和：当他说后者时，他是在向未受宗教教化的大众说话，向那些在宗教上尚未受过教育的大众说话。以他们能够理解的语言与他们交谈是必要的。大众需要具体的观念，需要感官能够把握的东西。一个人或许是世界上最伟大的哲学家，但在宗教上却可能仍是一个孩子。当一个人已发展出高度的灵性境界时，他便能理解天国就在他自己内心，这才是真正的心灵之国。因此我们看到，每一个宗教中那些表面上的矛盾与困惑，不过标志着不同的成长阶段。既然如此，我们就没有权利因其宗教而责难任何人。有些成长阶段需要形式与象征，这些形式与象征就是那一阶段的灵魂所能理解的语言。
1→我接下来想要向你们传递的一个思想是：宗教不在于教义或教条。重要的不是你所读的，也不是你所相信的教条，而是你所实证的。「心地纯洁的人有福了，因为他们必得见上帝」——是的，就在此生之中。那就是解脱（Moksha）。有些人教导说，这可以通过喃喃念诵言辞来获得。然而，从未有一位伟大的导师教导过，外在的形式对于得救是必要的。获得它的力量就在我们自身之内。我们生活并运动在上帝之中。信条与教派各有其作用，但它们是为孩童准备的，只是暂时的。书籍从不创造宗教，而是宗教创造书籍。我们不能忘记这一点。从未有一本书创造了上帝，但上帝启示了所有伟大的书籍。从未有一本书创造了一个灵魂，我们决不能忘记这一点。所有宗教的终极目标，是在灵魂中实证上帝，那是唯一普世的宗教。若所有宗教中存在一个普世的真理，我将其置于此处——在实证上帝之中。理想与方法或许各有不同，但那是核心所在。可以有千条不同的半径，但它们都汇聚于同一个圆心，那就是实证上帝：在这个感官世界之外某种东西，在这个永恒饮食、喋喋废话的世界之外，在这个虚假阴影与自私自利的世界之外，还有那超越一切书籍、超越一切信条、超越这尘世虚荣之物——那就是在你自身内部对上帝的实证。一个人或许相信世上所有教会，或许将所有曾经写就的神圣书籍尽悉藏于脑海，或许在大地上所有的河流中洗礼，然而，若他对上帝毫无感知，我将把他与最彻底的无神论者归为同类。而一个人或许从未踏入教堂或清真寺，从未举行任何仪式，但若他在自身之内感受到上帝，并由此被提升超越尘世的虚荣，那么这个人就是一位圣洁的人，一位圣者——无论你如何称呼他。一旦一个人站起来声称他是对的，或者他的教会是对的，其他一切都是错的，他自己便全然错了。他不明白：他自身的证明有赖于其他一切的证明。对全人类的爱与仁慈，那才是真正虔诚的试金石。我指的不是「人皆兄弟」这种情感性的陈言，而是必须感受到人类生命的合一。就其不具排他性而言，我视所有教派与信条皆为我的；它们都是崇高的，都在引领人类走向真正的宗教。我还要补充：生于一个教会是好的，但死于其中是不好的。生为一个孩子是好的，但永远保持童年是不好的。教会、仪式与象征对孩童是有益的，但当孩子成长之后，他必须冲破教会的束缚，否则便是冲破自身。我们不能永远停留在童年。这就如同试图用一件外衣适合所有尺寸与身形一样。我并非贬低世上教派的存在——但愿上帝让教派再多两千万，因为教派越多，可供选择的领域便越宽广。我所反对的，是试图以一种宗教适应所有情形。尽管所有宗教在本质上是相同的，它们必然因不同民族所处环境的差异而产生形式上的多样性。我们每个人都必须拥有属于自己的个人宗教——就宗教的外在形式而言，是个人化的。 2→ 3→多年以前，我拜访了我们国家的一位伟大圣哲，一位极为圣洁的人。我们谈到了我们的启示之书《吠陀》（Vedas），谈到了你们的《圣经》，谈到了《古兰经》，以及一般意义上的启示书籍。在我们谈话结束时，这位善良的人请我走向书桌，取出一本书——那是一本内容涉及当年降雨量预测的书。圣哲说：「读一读。」我便大声读出了预测将要降落的雨量。他说：「现在把这本书拿起来，挤一挤。」我照做了，他说：「瞧，孩子，连一滴水也没有挤出来。在水流出来之前，一切都只是书，书而已。同样，在你的宗教使你实证上帝之前，它是无用的。那个仅凭书籍研习宗教的人，令人想起一则寓言中的驴子，它背负着沉重的糖，却不知其甘甜。」 4→ 5→我们是否应当劝告人们屈膝俯身，哭喊：「唉，我们这些可怜的罪人！」不，倒不如让我们提醒他们自身的神圣本性。我来讲一个故事。一头母狮在追猎时扑向一群羊，就在她跃扑之际，产下了一头幼狮，母狮随即死去。这只幼狮便在羊群中被养育长大，吃草，像羊一样咩咩叫，它从不知道自己是一头狮子。有一天，一头成年狮子遇见了这群羊，惊讶地看见其中竟有一头巨大的狮子在吃草、像羊一样咩咩叫。羊群见了那头成年狮子便四散逃跑，那头「狮羊」也随羊群一同逃跑。但那头成年狮子等待时机，有一天发现「狮羊」在熟睡，便将它唤醒，说：「你是一头狮子。」另一头答道：「不，」便开始像羊一样咩咩叫。但那头陌生的狮子带它来到一个湖边，让它俯视水中自己的倒影，看一看是否与它——那头陌生狮子——相似。它看了，承认确实如此。于是那头陌生狮子开始长啸，要它也这样做。「狮羊」试了试自己的声音，不久便与另一头一样发出了雄浑的长吼。它再也不是一头羊了。 6→ 7→我的朋友们，我愿意告诉你们所有人：你们威猛如雄狮。 8→ 9→若房间黑暗，你会去捶胸顿足、哭喊「黑暗啊，黑暗啊！」吗？不，驱散黑暗的唯一方法是点亮光明，黑暗便会消散。实证你内在光明之上的光明的唯一方法，是点燃你自身内部的灵性之光，罪孽与不洁的黑暗便将消散而去。思念你更高的自我，而非你较低的自我。 10→ 11→* * * 12→ 13→此后有听众提问，并有回答如下。 14→ 15→问：一位听众说道：「若传教士们停止宣讲地狱之火，他们便无法控制其信众。」 16→ 17→答：那么他们最好失去这种控制。因恐惧而信仰宗教的人，根本没有宗教可言。不如教导他认识自身的神圣本性，而非其动物性。 18→ 19→问：上主说「天国不属于这个世界」，这句话是什么意思？ 20→ 21→答：天国在我们内心之中。犹太人的观念是天国在地上实现的王国，那不是耶稣的观念。 22→ 23→问：您相信我们是从动物进化而来的吗？ 24→ 25→答：我相信，根据进化法则，较高的生命形式是从较低的界域进化而来的。 26→ 27→问：您是否认识任何人记得自己前世的？ 28→ 29→答：我曾遇到一些人，他们告诉我确实记得自己的前世。他们已达到了一个可以回忆起前世轮回的境界。 30→ 31→问：您相信基督被钉十字架一事吗？ 32→ 33→答：基督是上帝的化身，他们无法杀死他。被钉十字架的不过是一个幻象，一个虚幻的显现。 34→ 35→问：若他能够产生如此逼真的幻象，那岂不是最伟大的奇迹？ 36→ 37→答：我视奇迹为真理道路上最大的绊脚石。当佛陀的弟子们告诉他，有人创造了所谓的奇迹——不用触碰便从高处取下了一只碗——并将那只碗展示给他看时，他拿起碗，用脚将其踩碎，并告诉弟子们，永远不要将信仰建立在奇迹之上，而要在永恒的原则中寻求真理。他教导他们真正的内在之光——灵性之光，那是前行所能依凭的唯一可靠之光。奇迹只是绊脚石，让我们将其拂去。 38→ 39→问：您相信耶稣宣讲了山上宝训吗？ 40→ 41→答：我确实相信他是那样做的。但在这个问题上，我必须像其他人一样依赖书籍，我也意识到单凭书籍的证言是相当不可靠的基础。但以山上宝训的教导作为指引，我们都是安全的。我们必须接受那触动内心灵性的东西。佛陀在基督之前五百年传道，他的言辞充满了祝福：他的嘴唇，他的一生，从未发出任何诅咒；琐罗亚斯德未曾，孔子也未曾。
English
Soul, God And Religion
Through the vistas of the past the voice of the centuries is coming down to us; the voice of the sages of the Himalayas and the recluses of the forest; the voice that came to the Semitic races; the voice that spoke through Buddha and other spiritual giants; the voice that comes from those who live in the light that accompanied man in the beginning of the earth — the light that shines wherever man goes and lives with him for ever — is coming to us even now. This voice is like the little rivulets; that come from the mountains. Now they disappear, and now they appear again in stronger flow till finally they unite in one mighty majestic flood. The messages that are coming down to us from the prophets and holy men and women of all sects and nations are joining their forces and speaking to us with the trumpet voice of the past. And the first message it brings us is: Peace be unto you and to all religions. It is not a message of antagonism, but of one united religion.
Let us study this message first. At the beginning of this century it was almost feared that religion was at an end. Under the tremendous sledge-hammer blows of scientific research, old superstitions were crumbling away like masses of porcelain. Those to whom religion meant only a bundle of creeds and meaningless ceremonials were in despair; they were at their wit's end. Everything was slipping between their fingers. For a time it seemed inevitable that the surging tide of agnosticism and materialism would sweep all before it. There were those who did not dare utter what they thought. Many thought the case hopeless and the cause of religion lost once and for ever. But the tide has turned and to the rescue has come — what? The study of comparative religions. By the study of different religions we find that in essence they are one. When I was a boy, this scepticism reached me, and it seemed for a time as if I must give up all hope of religion. But fortunately for me I studied the Christian religion, the Mohammedan, the Buddhistic, and others, and what was my surprise to find that the same foundation principles taught by my religion were also taught by all religions. It appealed to me this way. What is the truth? I asked. Is this world true? Yes. Why? Because I see it. Are the beautiful sounds we just heard (the vocal and instrumental music) true? Yes. Because we heard them. We know that man has a body, eyes, and ears, and he has a spiritual nature which we cannot see. And with his spiritual faculties he can study these different religions and find that whether a religion is taught in the forests and jungles of India or in a Christian land, in essentials all religions are one. This only shows us that religion is a constitutional necessity of the human mind. The proof of one religion depends on the proof of all the rest. For instance, if I have six fingers, and no one else has, you may well say that is abnormal. The same reasoning may be applied to the argument that only one religion is true and all others false. One religion only, like one set of six fingers in the world, would be unnatural. We see, therefore, that if one religion is true, all others must be true. There are differences in non-essentials, but in essentials they are all one. If my five fingers are true, they prove that your five fingers are true too. Wherever man is, he must develop a belief, he must develop his religious nature.
And another fact I find in the study of the various religions of the world is that there are three different stages of ideas with regard to the soul and God. In the first place, all religions admit that, apart from the body which perishes, there is a certain part or something which does not change like the body, a part that is immutable, eternal, that never dies; but some of the later religions teach that although there is a part of us that never dies, it had a beginning. But anything that has a beginning must necessarily have an end. We — the essential part of us — never had a beginning, and will never have an end. And above us all, above this eternal nature, there is another eternal Being, without end — God. People talk about the beginning of the world, the beginning of man. The word beginning simply means the beginning of the cycle. It nowhere means the beginning of the whole Cosmos. It is impossible that creation could have a beginning. No one of you can imagine a time of beginning. That which has a beginning must have an end. "Never did I not exist, nor you, nor will any of us ever hereafter cease to be," says the Bhagavad-Gita. Wherever the beginning of creation is mentioned, it means the beginning of a cycle. Your body will meet with death, but your soul, never.
Along with this idea of the soul we find another group of ideas in regard to its perfection. The soul in itself is perfect. The Old Testament of the Hebrews admits man perfect at the beginning. Man made himself impure by his own actions. But he is to regain his old nature, his pure nature. Some speak of these things in allegories, fables, and symbols. But when we begin to analyse these statements, we find that they all teach that the human soul is in its very nature perfect, and that man is to regain that original purity. How? By knowing God. Just as the Bible says, "No man can see God but through the Son." What is meant by it? That seeing God is the aim and goal of all human life. The sonship must come before we become one with the Father. Remember that man lost his purity through his own actions. When we suffer, it is because of our own acts; God is not to be blamed for it.
Closely connected with these ideas is the doctrine — which was universal before the Europeans mutilated it — the doctrine of reincarnation. Some of you may have heard of and ignored it. This idea of reincarnation runs parallel with the other doctrine of the eternity of the human soul. Nothing which ends at one point can be without a beginning and nothing that begins at one point can be without an end. We cannot believe in such a monstrous impossibility as the beginning of the human soul. The doctrine of reincarnation asserts the freedom of the soul. Suppose there was an absolute beginning. Then the whole burden of this impurity in man falls upon God. The all-merciful Father responsible for the sins of the world! If sin comes in this way, why should one suffer more than another? Why such partiality, if it comes from an all-merciful God? Why are millions trampled underfoot? Why do people starve who never did anything to cause it? Who is responsible? If they had no hand in it, surely, God would be responsible. Therefore the better explanation is that one is responsible for the miseries one suffers. If I set the wheel in motion, I am responsible for the result. And if I can bring misery, I can also stop it. It necessarily follows that we are free. There is no such thing as fate. There is nothing to compel us. What we have done, that we can undo.
To one argument in connection with this doctrine I will ask your patient attention, as it is a little intricate. We gain all our knowledge through experience; that is the only way. What we call experiences are on the plane of consciousness. For illustration: A man plays a tune on a piano, he places each finger on each key consciously. He repeats this process till the movement of the fingers becomes a habit. He then plays a tune without having to pay special attention to each particular key. Similarly, we find in regard to ourselves that our tendencies are the result of past conscious actions. A child is born with certain tendencies. Whence do they come? No child is born with a tabula rasa — with a clean, blank page — of a mind. The page has been written on previously. The old Greek and Egyptian philosophers taught that no child came with a vacant mind. Each child comes with a hundred tendencies generated by past conscious actions. It did not acquire these in this life, and we are bound to admit that it must have had them in past lives. The rankest materialist has to admit that these tendencies are the result of past actions, only they add that these tendencies come through heredity. Our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents come down to us through this law of heredity. Now if heredity alone explains this, there is no necessity of believing in the soul at all, because body explains everything. We need not go into the different arguments and discussions on materialism and spiritualism. So far the way is clear for those who believe in an individual soul. We see that to come to a reasonable conclusion we must admit that we have had past lives. This is the belief of the great philosophers and sages of the past and of modern times. Such a doctrine was believed in among the Jews. Jesus Christ believed in it. He says in the Bible, "Before Abraham was, I am." And in another place it is said, "This is Elias who is said to have come."
All the different religions which grew among different nations under varying circumstances and conditions had their origin in Asia, and the Asiatics understand them well. When they came out from the motherland, they got mixed up with errors. The most profound and noble ideas of Christianity were never understood in Europe, because the ideas and images used by the writers of the Bible were foreign to it. Take for illustration the pictures of the Madonna. Every artist paints his Madonna according to his own pre-conceived ideas. I have been seeing hundreds of pictures of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, and he is made to sit at a table. Now, Christ never sat at a table; he squatted with others, and they had a bowl in which they dipped bread — not the kind of bread you eat today. It is hard for any nation to understand the unfamiliar customs of other people. How much more difficult was it for Europeans to understand the Jewish customs after centuries of changes and accretions from Greek, Roman, and other sources! Through all the myths and mythologies by which it is surrounded it is no wonder that the people get very little of the beautiful religion of Jesus, and no wonder that they have made of it a modern shop-keeping religion.
To come to our point. We find that all religions teach the eternity of the soul, as well as that its lustre has been dimmed, and that its primitive purity is to be regained by the knowledge of God. What is the idea of God in these different religions? The primary idea of God was very vague. The most ancient nations had different Deities — sun, earth, fire, water. Among the ancient Jews we find numbers of these gods ferociously fighting with each other. Then we find Elohim whom the Jews and the Babylonians worshipped. We next find one God standing supreme. But the idea differed according to different tribes. They each asserted that their God was the greatest. And they tried to prove it by fighting. The one that could do the best fighting proved thereby that its God was the greatest. Those races were more or less savage. But gradually better and better ideas took the place of the old ones. All those old ideas are gone or going into the lumber-room. All those religions were the outgrowth of centuries; not one fell from the skies. Each had to be worked out bit by bit. Next come the monotheistic ideas: belief in one God, who is omnipotent and omniscient, the one God of the universe. This one God is extra-cosmic; he lies in the heavens. He is invested with the gross conceptions of His originators. He has a right side and a left side, and a bird in His hand, and so on and so forth. But one thing we find, that the tribal gods have disappeared for ever, and the one God of the universe has taken their place: the God of gods. Still He is only an extra-cosmic God. He is unapproachable; nothing can come near Him. But slowly this idea has changed also, and at the next stage we find a God immanent in nature.
In the New Testament it is taught, "Our Father who art in heaven" — God living in the heavens separated from men. We are living on earth and He is living in heaven. Further on we find the teaching that He is a God immanent in nature; He is not only God in heaven, but on earth too. He is the God in us. In the Hindu philosophy we find a stage of the same proximity of God to us. But we do not stop there. There is the non-dualistic stage, in which man realises that the God he has been worshipping is not only the Father in heaven, and on earth, but that "I and my Father are one." He realises in his soul that he is God Himself, only a lower expression of Him. All that is real in me is He; all that is real in Him is I. The gulf between God and man is thus bridged. Thus we find how, by knowing God, we find the kingdom of heaven within us.
In the first or dualistic stage, man knows he is a little personal soul, John, James, or Tom; and he says, "I will be John, James, or Tom to all eternity, and never anything else." As well might the murderer come along and say, "I will remain a murderer for ever." But as time goes on, Tom vanishes and goes back to the original pure Adam.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Can we see God? Of course not. Can we know God? Of course not. If God can be known, He will be God no longer. Knowledge is limitation. But I and my Father are one: I find the reality in my soul. These ideas are expressed in some religions, and in others only hinted. In some they were expatriated. Christ's teachings are now very little understood in this country. If you will excuse me, I will say that they have never been very well understood.
The different stages of growth are absolutely necessary to the attainment of purity and perfection. The varying systems of religion are at bottom founded on the same ideas. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is within you. Again he says, "Our father who art in Heaven." How do you reconcile the two sayings? In this way: He was talking to the uneducated masses when he said the latter, the masses who were uneducated in religion. It was necessary to speak to them in their own language. The masses want concrete ideas, something the senses can grasp. A man may be the greatest philosopher in the world, but a child in religion. When a man has developed a high state of spirituality he can understand that the kingdom of heaven is within him. That is the real kingdom of the mind. Thus we see that the apparent contradictions and perplexities in every religion mark but different stages of growth. And as such we have no right to blame anyone for his religion. There are stages of growth in which forms and symbols are necessary; they are the language that the souls in that stage can understand.
The next idea that I want to bring to you is that religion does not consist in doctrines or dogmas. It is not what you read, nor what dogmas you believe that is of importance, but what you realise. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," yea, in this life. And that is salvation. There are those who teach that this can be gained by the mumbling of words. But no great Master ever taught that external forms were necessary for salvation. The power of attaining it is within ourselves. We live and move in God. Creeds and sects have their parts to play, but they are for children, they last but temporarily. Books never make religions, but religions make books. We must not forget that. No book ever created God, but God inspired all the great books. And no book ever created a soul. We must never forget that. The end of all religions is the realising of God in the soul. That is the one universal religion. If there is one universal truth in all religions, I place it here — in realising God. Ideals and methods may differ, but that is the central point. There may be a thousand different radii, but they all converge to the one centre, and that is the realisation of God: something behind this world of sense, this world of eternal eating and drinking and talking nonsense, this world of false shadows and selfishness. There is that beyond all books, beyond all creeds, beyond the vanities of this world and it is the realisation of God within yourself. A man may believe in all the churches in the world, he may carry in his head all the sacred books ever written, he may baptise himself in all the rivers of the earth, still, if he has no perception of God, I would class him with the rankest atheist. And a man may have never entered a church or a mosque, nor performed any ceremony, but if he feels God within himself and is thereby lifted above the vanities of the world, that man is a holy man, a saint, call him what you will. As soon as a man stands up and says he is right or his church is right, and all others are wrong, he is himself all wrong. He does not know that upon the proof of all the others depends the proof of his own. Love and charity for the whole human race, that is the test of true religiousness. I do not mean the sentimental statement that all men are brothers, but that one must feel the oneness of human life. So far as they are not exclusive, I see that the sects and creeds are all mine; they are all grand. They are all helping men towards the real religion. I will add, it is good to be born in a church, but it is bad to die there. It is good to be born a child, but bad to remain a child. Churches, ceremonies, and symbols are good for children, but when the child is grown, he must burst the church or himself. We must not remain children for ever. It is like trying to fit one coat to all sizes and growths. I do not deprecate the existence of sects in the world. Would to God there were twenty millions more, for the more there are, there will be a greater field for selection. What I do object to is trying to fit one religion to every case. Though all religions are essentially the same, they must have the varieties of form produced by dissimilar circumstances among different nations. We must each have our own individual religion, individual so far as the externals of it go.
Many years ago, I visited a great sage of our own country, a very holy man. We talked of our revealed book, the Vedas, of your Bible, of the Koran, and of revealed books in general. At the close of our talk, this good man asked me to go to the table and take up a book; it was a book which, among other things, contained a forecast of the rainfall during the year. The sage said, "Read that." And I read out the quantity of rain that was to fall. He said, "Now take the book and squeeze it." I did so and he said, "Why, my boy, not a drop of water comes out. Until the water comes out, it is all book, book. So until your religion makes you realise God, it is useless. He who only studies books for religion reminds one of the fable of the ass which carried a heavy load of sugar on its back, but did not know the sweetness of it."
Shall we advise men to kneel down and cry, "O miserable sinners that we are!" No, rather let us remind them of their divine nature. I will tell you a story. A lioness in search of prey came upon a flock of sheep, and as she jumped at one of them, she gave birth to a cub and died on the spot. The young lion was brought up in the flock, ate grass, and bleated like a sheep, and it never knew that it was a lion. One day a lion came across the flock and was astonished to see in it a huge lion eating grass and bleating like a sheep. At his sight the flock fled and the lion-sheep with them. But the lion watched his opportunity and one day found the lion-sheep asleep. He woke him up and said, "You are a lion." The other said, "No," and began to bleat like a sheep. But the stranger lion took him to a lake and asked him to look in the water at his own image and see if it did not resemble him, the stranger lion. He looked and acknowledged that it did. Then the stranger lion began to roar and asked him to do the same. The lion-sheep tried his voice and was soon roaring as grandly as the other. And he was a sheep no longer.
My friends, I would like to tell you all that you are mighty as lions.
If the room is dark, do you go about beating your chest and crying, "It is dark, dark, dark!" No, the only way to get the light is to strike a light, and then the darkness goes. The only way to realise the light above you is to strike the spiritual light within you, and the darkness of sin and impurity will flee away. Think of your higher self, not of your lower.
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Some questions and answers here followed.
Q. A man in the audience said, "If ministers stop preaching hell-fire, they will have no control over their people."
A. They had better lose it then. The man who is frightened into religion has no religion at all. Better teach him of his divine nature than of his animal.
Q. What did the Lord mean when he said, "The kingdom of heaven is not of this world?"
A. That the kingdom of heaven is within us. The Jewish idea was a kingdom of heaven upon this earth. That was not the idea of Jesus.
Q. Do you believe we come up from the animals?
A. I believe that, by the law of evolution, the higher beings have come up from the lower kingdoms.
Q. Do you know of anyone who remembers his previous life ?
A. I have met some who told me they did remember their previous life. They had reached a point where they could remember their former incarnations.
Q. Do you believe in Christ's crucifixion?
A. Christ was God incarnate; they could not kill him. That which was crucified was only a semblance, a mirage.
Q. If he could have produced such a semblance as that, would not that have been the greatest miracle of all?
A. I look upon miracles as the greatest stumbling-blocks in the way of truth. When the disciples of Buddha told him of a man who had performed a so-called miracle — had taken a bowl from a great height without touching it — and showed him the bowl, he took it and crushed it under his feet and told them never to build their faith on miracles, but to look for truth in everlasting principles. He taught them the true inner light — the light of the spirit, which is the only safe light to go by. Miracles are only stumbling-blocks. Let us brush them aside.
Q. Do you believe Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount?
A. I do believe he did. But in this matter I have to go by the books as others do, and I am aware that mere book testimony is rather shaky ground. But we are all safe in taking the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount as a guide. We have to take what appeals to our inner spirit. Buddha taught five hundred years before Christ, and his words were full of blessings: never a curse came from his lips, nor from his life; never one from Zoroaster, nor from Confucius.
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。