通向普世宗教证悟之路
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中文
通往普世宗教实现之路
人类内心没有比那个将神的光明带给我们的探索更亲爱的了。无论在过去还是现在，没有哪种学问耗费了人类如此多的精力，如同对灵魂、对神、对人类命运的探究。无论我们多么沉浸于日常事务、我们的抱负、我们的工作，在我们最伟大的奋斗之中，有时会有一个停顿；心灵停下来，想知道这个世界之外的某些事情。有时它会瞥见感官之外的一个领域，而努力抵达那里就是其结果。如此，自古以来，在所有国度皆是如此。人类想要向彼处眺望，想要扩展自我；而我们所称的一切进步与进化，始终以那一探索来衡量——对人类命运的探索，对神的探索。
正如我们的社会奋斗在不同民族中由不同的社会组织来代表，人类的精神奋斗也由各种宗教来代表；正如不同的社会组织不断争斗、不断交战，这些精神组织也不断地彼此交战，不断地彼此争斗。隶属于特定社会组织的人宣称，生存的权利只属于他们；只要他们能够，他们就想以牺牲弱者的代价来行使这一权利。我们知道，就在眼下，南非正在进行着那种激烈的斗争。同样，每个宗教派别都宣称对生存拥有专属权利。于是我们发现，尽管没有什么东西比宗教给人类带来了更多祝福，然而同时，也没有什么东西比宗教带来了更多恐怖。没有什么比宗教更能促进和平与爱；没有什么比宗教滋生了更猛烈的仇恨。没有什么比宗教更使人类的兄弟情谊变得有形可触；没有什么比宗教在人与人之间培育了更苦涩的仇恨。没有什么比宗教建立了更多慈善机构、更多医院——为人类，甚至为动物；没有什么比宗教使世界浸泡于更多鲜血之中。我们同时也知道，一直存在着一股思想的潜流；一直存在着一批人——哲学家、比较宗教研究者——他们尝试着、至今仍在尝试着，在所有这些嘈杂不和的派别之中带来和谐。就某些国家而言，这些尝试已经成功；然而就整个世界而言，它们已经失败。
有些宗教从最遥远的古代流传至今，其中蕴含着这样一种理念：所有派别都应获准生存，每个派别都有其意义、都有一个伟大的理念内嵌其中，因此它对于世界的善是必要的，理应得到帮助。在现代，同样的理念盛行，并不时尝试付诸实践。这些尝试并不总能达到我们的期望、达到所需的效能。更令我们大失所望的是，有时我们发现我们反而争论得更多了。
现在，撇开教条主义的研究，以常识的眼光来看，我们从一开始就发现，世界上所有伟大宗教之中都存在着一股巨大的生命力。有人或许说他们对此一无所知，但无知不是借口。若一个人说"我不知道外部世界正在发生什么，因此外部世界发生的事情并不存在"，那个人是无可宽恕的。如今，你们这些关注全球宗教思想动态的人完全清楚：世界上没有一个伟大宗教已经消亡；不仅如此，每一个都在发展进步。基督徒在增加，穆罕默德信徒在增加，印度教徒在获得新地盘，犹太人也在增长，通过他们散布世界各地并迅速增加，犹太教的阵地在不断扩大。
世界上只有一个宗教——一个古老、伟大的宗教——已经式微，那就是琐罗亚斯德教，古波斯人的宗教。在大约一百年前穆罕默德信徒征服波斯时，约有十万这些人来到印度避难，另有一些留在了古波斯。留在波斯的人，在穆罕默德信徒不断的迫害之下，人数减少至至多一万；在印度约有八万人，但他们不再增长。当然，有一个先天的困难：他们不向他人传教。而且，这一小撮人居住在印度，带着表亲通婚的有害习俗，不得繁衍。除这一个例外，所有伟大宗教都在生存、传播、增长。我们必须记住，所有伟大宗教都非常古老，没有一个是在当代形成的，而且每一个世界宗教都起源于恒河与幼发拉底河之间的地区；没有一个伟大宗教兴起于欧洲，没有一个兴起于美洲，一个也没有；每一个宗教都源于亚洲，都属于那片土地。若现代科学家所说的是真的，即适者生存是检验标准，这些宗教靠其至今仍在生存证明了它们对某些人仍然有用。它们生存是有原因的，它们给许多人带来善益。看看穆罕默德信徒，他们怎样在南亚某些地方传播，怎样在非洲如火如荼地蔓延。佛教徒一直在整个中亚传播。印度教徒如同犹太人，不向他人传教；然而渐渐地，其他种族正在进入印度教，接受印度教的风俗习惯，向其靠拢。基督教，你们都知道，在传播——尽管我不确定其成果是否与投入的精力相称。基督徒的传教努力有一个巨大的缺陷——那是所有西方机构的缺陷：机器消耗了百分之九十的能量，机械化太多。传教一直是亚洲人的事业。西方人在组织、社会机构、军队、政府等方面都很出色；然而当涉及传播宗教时，他们无法接近亚洲人——亚洲人一直以传教为本业，他清楚这一点，他不使用太多机械。
那么，这是人类当前历史中的一个事实：所有这些伟大宗教都存在着，都在传播和增长。现在，这其中必然有某种意义；若一位全知全慈的造物主的旨意是让这些宗教中的某一个存在而其余的消亡，那早在很久很久以前就已成为事实了。若这些宗教中只有一个是真的而其余皆是假的，那到现在它早该覆盖整个地盘了。然而事实并非如此；没有一个占据了全部地盘。所有宗教有时前进——有时退却。现在，请想想这个：在你们自己的国家，有超过六千万人，而信奉各种宗教的只有两千一百万。所以进步并非总是如此。在每个国家，若统计数据属实，你会发现宗教有时在进步，有时在退却。各种派别一直在增殖。若一种宗教声称拥有全部真理、神将这一切真理赐予某本书，这一说法若属实，为何会有如此多的派别？不出五十年，同一本书上就会派生出二十个派别。若神将所有真理放在某些书中，他赐予我们这些书的目的并非让我们为经文争论。这似乎就是事实。为何如此？即便有一本包含宗教全部真理的书由神赐予，也无法达到目的，因为没有人能理解这本书。以《圣经》为例，以及基督徒中存在的所有派别；每一个都对同一段经文作出自己的诠释，每一个都说唯独自己理解那段经文，其余的都是错误的。每一个宗教皆如此。穆罕默德信徒中有许多派别，佛教徒中有许多，印度教徒中有数百个。现在，我将这些事实摆在你们面前，是为了向你们表明：任何试图使全人类在精神事务上只遵循一种思维方式的努力都已失败，且将始终失败。每一个在当代发起某种理论的人都会发现，若他离开追随者二十英里，他们就会形成二十个派别。你看到这种情况一直在发生。你无法使所有人遵循相同的理念：这是事实，我感谢神它就是如此。我不反对任何派别。我很高兴派别存在，我只希望它们继续增殖得越来越多。为何？正因为此：若你、我以及在场的所有人都想着完全相同的思想，就没有什么思想可供我们去思考了。我们知道，两股或更多的力量必须相互碰撞才能产生运动。正是思想的碰撞、思想的分化，唤醒了思想。现在，若我们所有人想法都一样，我们就会像博物馆里的埃及木乃伊，茫然地互相对视——不过如此！旋涡和漩流只出现在奔腾湍急的活水中。在停滞的死水中没有漩涡。当宗教死亡，就不会再有派别；那将是坟墓般完美的宁静与和谐。然而只要人类在思考，就会有派别。变化是生命的标志，它必须存在。我祈望它们不断增殖，直到最终人类有多少个体，就有多少派别，每个人都有自己的思维方式，在宗教中有自己个人的思想方法。
然而这种事情已经存在了。我们每个人都在以自己的方式思考，然而他的自然进程一直遭到阻碍，至今仍在遭受阻碍。若刀剑不被直接使用，其他手段将被采用。就听听纽约最优秀的传教士之一所说的话吧：他宣讲说菲律宾人应该被征服，因为那是教导他们基督教的唯一途径！他们已经是天主教徒了；然而他想使他们成为长老会信徒，为此，他准备将这种流血的可怕罪孽加诸于自己的种族。何等可怖！而这个人是这个国家最伟大的传教士之一，是消息最灵通的人之一。试想，当这样一个人不以站起来说出这般明显的胡话为耻时，这世界处于何种状态；再试想，当听众为他喝彩时，这世界处于何种状态！这是文明吗？这是老虎、食人族、野蛮人的嗜血本能，以新的名义、新的形式再度显现。还能是什么？若事态如今如此，可以想象过去世界经历了怎样的恐怖，当时每个派别都竭尽所能地撕裂其他派别。历史证明了这一点。我们内心的老虎只是睡着了，并未死去。当机会来临，它便跳起来，一如往昔，使用它的爪和牙。除了刀剑，除了物质武器，还有更可怕的武器——蔑视、社会仇恨与社会排斥。如今，这些是针对那些不与我们想法完全一致之人的最可怕的惩罚。为何每个人都必须与我们想法完全一样？我看不出任何理由。若我是一个理性之人，我应当很高兴他们不与我想法完全一致。我不想生活在一片死寂的土地上；我想作为一个活人，在活人的世界中存在。会思考的存在必然有所不同；差异是思想的第一个标志。若我是一个有思想的人，我当然应当喜欢生活在有思想的人中间，在那里存在着不同的意见。
那么，问题随之而来：所有这些差异怎么可能都是真的？若一件事是真的，其否定便是假的。互相矛盾的意见怎么可能同时都是真的？这就是我意欲回答的问题。但我首先要问你们：世界上所有宗教真的是彼此矛盾的吗？我指的不是伟大思想所披覆的外在形式。我指的不是各种宗教所使用的不同建筑、语言、仪式、书籍等，而是每种宗教内在的灵魂。每种宗教都有其背后的灵魂，这灵魂或许与另一种宗教的灵魂有所不同；然而它们是矛盾的吗？它们彼此矛盾还是彼此补充？——这才是问题所在。我从还是个孩子的时候就开始探讨这个问题，毕生都在研究它。我将我的结论呈于诸位，相信或能对你们有所裨益。我相信它们并不矛盾；它们是相互补充的。每种宗教，可以说，承担了那伟大普世真理的一个部分，并将其全部力量用于体现和彰显那伟大真理的那个部分。因此，它是增添，而非排斥。这就是理念所在。体系一个接一个地兴起，每一个都体现着一个伟大的理念，理想必须叠加于理想之上。这就是人类前进的步伐。人类从不从错误进入真理，而是从真理走向真理，从较小的真理走向更高的真理——永不从错误走向真理。孩子或许比父亲发展得更好，但父亲就是愚蠢的吗？孩子是父亲加上某些东西。若你现在的知识远超你幼年时，你会俯视那个阶段吗？你会回顾并称之为愚昧吗？为何，你现在的阶段不过是孩童时的知识加上某些东西。
那么，我们也知道，对同一事物可能存在几乎相互矛盾的观点，然而它们都将指向同一事物。假设一个人正在朝着太阳行进，他每前进一步就给太阳拍一张照片。当他回来时，他拥有许多太阳的照片，将它们呈于我们面前。我们看到没有两张是一样的，然而谁会否认这些都是从不同角度拍摄的同一颗太阳的照片？从不同角度给这座教堂拍四张照片：看起来多么不同，然而它们都代表着这座教堂。同样，我们都在从不同的角度审视真理，这角度因我们的出生、教育、周遭环境等而各异。我们在审视真理，在这些环境所允许的范围内获取尽可能多的真理，以我们自己的心灵为真理着色，以我们自己的智识理解它，以我们自己的心灵把握它。我们只能了解与我们相关的真理之多少，只能接受我们所能接受的那些。这使人与人之间存在差异，有时甚至造成矛盾的理念；然而我们都属于同一伟大的普世真理。
我的理念因此是：所有这些宗教都是神的经济中不同的力量，为人类的善而运作；没有哪一个能够消亡，没有哪一个能够被消灭。正如你无法消灭自然界中的任何力量，你也无法消灭这些精神力量中的任何一个。你已看到每种宗教都有生命力。有时它可能退步或前进。有时它或许被剥去了许多装饰；有时它或许被各种装饰所覆盖；然而不管如何，其灵魂始终在那里，永不会消失。每种宗教所代表的理想从未消失，因此每种宗教都在理智地前行。
而所有哲学家和其他人在每个国家梦想的那个普世宗教已然存在。它就在这里。正如人类的普世兄弟情谊已然存在，普世宗教也是如此。你们那些走遍天下的人，有谁没有在每个国家找到兄弟姐妹？我在全世界各地都找到了他们。兄弟情谊已然存在；只是有许多人看不到这一点，反而通过呼吁新的兄弟情谊来扰乱它。普世宗教同样已然存在。若那些承担起传播不同宗教任务的神职人员和其他人只是片刻停止传教，我们就会看到它就在那里。他们一直在扰乱它，因为这符合他们的利益。你看，每个国家的神职人员都非常保守。为什么会这样？很少有神职人员引导民众；大多数是被民众引导的，是民众的奴仆和仆役。若你说天气干燥，他们就说是如此；若你说它是黑色的，他们就说是黑色的。若民众进步，神职人员也必须进步。他们不能落在后面。因此，在责怪神职人员之前——责怪神职人员已成时髦——你应当责怪你们自己。你们只会得到你们所值得的。一个想要给你们新的先进理念并引领你们前进的神职人员，命运会如何？他的孩子大概会挨饿，而他自己则衣衫褴褛。他受制于与你们相同的世俗法则。"若你们前进，"他说，"让我们一起前行。"当然，有一些例外的灵魂，不被公众舆论所压制。他们看到真理，唯独重视真理。真理已抓住了他们，已占有了他们，他们不得不继续前行。他们从不回顾，对他们而言没有民众。唯有神对他们存在，他是他们面前的光，他们追随着那道光。
我在这个国家遇到了一位摩门教绅士，他试图说服我信奉他的宗教。我说："我对您的意见深表尊重，但在某些方面我们不一致——我属于一个修道团体，而您相信娶多位妻子。但您为何不去印度传教？"他感到惊讶。他说："为什么，您根本不相信任何婚姻，而我们相信一夫多妻，然而您却让我去您的国家！"我说："是的；我的同胞会聆听来自任何地方的每一种宗教思想。我希望您能去印度，第一，因为我深信宗教派别。其次，印度有许多人对现有的任何派别都不满意，正因这种不满，他们不与宗教有任何往来，而您或许能得到其中一些人。"派别越多，人们接触宗教的机会就越多。在有各种食物的旅馆里，每个人都有机会满足其食欲。所以我希望派别在每个国家都增殖，使更多人有机会在精神上成长。不要以为人们不喜欢宗教。我不相信那一点。传教士无法给予他们所需。那同一个曾被称为无神论者、唯物主义者或诸如此类的人，或许会遇见一个人给了他所需的真理，他或许会成为团体中最有精神气质的人。我们只能以自己的方式进食。例如，我们印度教徒用手指吃饭。我们的手指比你们的更灵活，你们无法像我们那样使用手指。不仅应该供应食物，而且应该以你们自己特有的方式取用。不仅你们必须拥有精神理念，它们还必须按照你们自己的方法来到你们那里。它们必须说你们自己的语言，你灵魂的语言，唯有如此它们才会令你满足。当那个说我语言、以我的语言给予真理的人来临时，我立刻理解并永远接受它。这是一个伟大的事实。
现在由此可见，人类心灵存在各种层次与类型，宗教承担着何等艰巨的任务！一个人提出两三条教义，声称他的宗教应当满足全人类。他带着手中一个小笼子走向世界，走向神的百兽园，说："神和大象以及所有人都必须进入这里。即便我们必须将大象切成碎片，他也必须进去。"又或许有一个派别有一些好的理念。其追随者说："所有人都必须进来！""但容纳不下他们。""没关系！把他们切成碎片；无论如何把他们弄进来；若他们不进来，他们将被诅咒。"没有哪个传教士，没有哪个派别，我曾遇到过会停下来问："为何人们不听我们的话？"他们反而诅咒民众说："民众是邪恶的。"他们从不问："为何人们不听我的话？为何我不能让他们看见真理？为何我不能以他们的语言说话？为何我不能打开他们的眼睛？"当然，他们应当更明智，当他们发现人们不听他们的话时，若他们诅咒任何人，那应当诅咒他们自己。但问题总在民众身上！他们从不尝试使自己的派别足够宽广以容纳每一个人。
因此，我们立刻看到了为何一直存在如此多的心胸狭隘——局部始终宣称自己是整体；那渺小的、有限的单元始终声称自己是无限的。试想那些诞生于几百年前、出自易错的人类头脑的小派别，却如此傲慢地声称掌握了神的无限真理的全部知识！试想其傲慢！若它表明了什么，那就是这一点：人类是何等自负。难怪这样的主张总是失败，而且以神的慈悲，总是注定会失败。在这一方面，穆罕默德信徒是最无顾忌的；每一步前进都是以刀剑实现的——一手拿《古兰经》，一手持刀剑："接受《古兰经》，否则你必须死；没有其他选择！"你们从历史上知道他们的成功是何等惊人；六百年间没有任何事物能够抵抗他们，然后到了他们不得不停下脚步的时候。若其他宗教遵循同样的方法，它们也将如此。我们是何等幼稚！我们总是忘记人性。当我们开始生命时，我们以为我们的命运将非比寻常，没有什么能使我们不相信这一点。但当我们年老时，我们的想法便不同了。宗教亦然。在它们早期阶段，当它们稍有传播时，便生出这样的想法：它们可以在几年内改变全人类的思想，继续杀戮和屠杀，以武力使人改宗；然后它们失败了，开始更好地理解。我们看到这些派别没有成功地完成它们起初所设定的事，这是一大幸事。试想若其中一个狂热的派别在全世界成功了，今日的人类将会在哪里？现在，愿主保佑他们没有成功！然而，每一个都代表着一个伟大的真理；每种宗教都代表着一种特别的卓越——某种构成其灵魂的东西。有一个古老的故事浮现在我的脑海：曾有一些食人魔，她们杀害人们，为非作歹；然而她们自身不能被消灭，直到有人发现她们的灵魂寄居在某些鸟身上，只要那些鸟是安全的，就没有任何东西能消灭食人魔。如此，我们每一个人都有，可以说，这样一只鸟，我们的灵魂寄居于其中；有一个理想，一个在生命中要执行的使命。每个人类都是这样一个理想、这样一种使命的体现。无论你失去什么其他的东西，只要那个理想没有丧失，那个使命没有受损，没有什么能杀死你。财富或许来了又去，不幸或许堆积如山，但若你保全了理想的完整，没有什么能杀死你。你或许已经年迈，甚至一百岁了，但若那个使命在你心中依然鲜活年轻，什么能杀死你？但当那个理想丧失，那个使命受损时，没有什么能拯救你。世间所有的财富和权力都无法拯救你。民族不过是个体的集合，又有何不同？因此，每个民族在各族和谐中都有自己的使命要执行；只要那个民族坚守那个理想，那个民族没有什么能消灭；但若那个民族放弃其生命的使命而追逐别的事物，其生命便会短暂，然后它消失了。
宗教亦然。所有这些古老宗教至今仍在生存这一事实证明，它们必定保住了那个使命的完整；尽管有所有错误，尽管有所有困难，尽管有所有争斗，尽管有所有形式与图像的积垢，它们每一个的核心都是健全的——那是一颗跳动着、充满活力的心。它们没有丢失，一个也没有，它们来时所承负的伟大使命。研究那个使命是美妙的。以伊斯兰教为例。基督教世界中没有哪种宗教像伊斯兰教那样被仇视。他们认为那是有史以来最糟糕的宗教形式。然而，一旦一个人成为穆罕默德信徒，整个伊斯兰世界都会张开双臂以兄弟身份接纳他，不作任何区分，这是其他任何宗教所不具备的。若你们美国的印第安人成为穆罕默德信徒，土耳其苏丹不会反对与他共进晚餐。若他有才能，没有任何职位会对他关闭。在这个国家，我还从未见过一座白人和黑人可以并排跪下祈祷的教堂。请想想这一点：伊斯兰教使其信徒人人平等——所以，你看，这就是伊斯兰教的特别卓越之处。在《古兰经》的许多地方，你会发现非常感官性的生活理念。没关系。伊斯兰教来向世界传讲的是这一点：所有同信者的实际兄弟情谊。这是伊斯兰教的本质；关于天堂和生命等的所有其他理念都不是伊斯兰教，那些是附加物。
就印度教徒而言，你会发现一个民族理念——精神性。在世界上其他任何宗教中，在其他任何神圣书籍中，你都不会发现有如此多的精力被用于界定神的理念。他们试图界定灵魂的理想，使任何尘世的触碰都不能玷污它。精神必须是神圣的；被理解为精神的精神，不得被化作一个人。遍在之神的同一合一理念、神的实现，贯穿始终地被传讲。他们认为，说他居于天堂之中以及诸如此类，完全是胡说。那不过是人类的、拟人化的理念。所有曾经存在过的天堂都是此时此地的。无限时间中的一个瞬间与任何其他瞬间同样珍贵。若你信奉一位神，你现在就能看见他。我们认为，当你实现了某些事物，宗教才开始。那不是相信教义，不是作出理智上的认同，不是作出声明。若有一位神，你见过他吗？若你说"没有"，那你有什么权利相信他？若你对是否有神存有疑问，你为何不奋力去看见他？你为何不舍弃世界，将你的全部生命用于这一个目标？舍弃与精神性是印度的两大理念，正因印度坚守这些理念，她的一切错误才显得无足轻重。
就基督徒而言，他们所传讲的核心理念是同样的："警醒祈祷，因为天国近了"——意思是，净化你的心灵，做好准备！而那种精神永不消亡。你们记得，即使在最黑暗的日子里，即使在最迷信的基督教国家，基督徒总是通过尽力帮助他人、建立医院等方式，为主的降临做准备。只要基督徒坚守那个理想，他们的宗教就有生命力。
现在一个理想呈现在我的心目中。或许它只是一个梦想。我不知道它是否会在这个世界上实现，但有时做一个梦，比在冷酷的事实上枯死更好。伟大的真理，即便在梦中也是美好的，胜过糟糕的事实。因此，让我们做一个梦。
你们知道，人类心灵存在着各种层次。你或许是一个脚踏实地、注重常识的理性主义者：你不在乎形式与仪式；你想要理智的、坚实的、铿锵的事实，唯有这些才能令你满足。那么还有清教徒、穆罕默德信徒，他们不允许在礼拜场所有任何图画或雕像。很好！然而还有另一种人，他更有艺术气质。他想要大量的艺术——线条和曲线之美、色彩、花卉、形式；他想要蜡烛、灯光以及仪式的所有标志和排场，使他能够见到神。他的心灵通过那些形式认识神，正如你的心灵通过理智认识他。那么还有虔诚者，其灵魂在渴望着神：他除了崇拜神、赞美神之外，没有其他念头。再有就是哲学家，站在所有这些之外，对他们嘲讽。他想："他们多么荒谬！关于神有什么理念！"
他们或许彼此嘲笑，然而每个人在这个世界上都有其位置。所有这些不同的心灵，所有这些不同的类型都是必要的。若这个世界将存在一种理想的宗教，它必须足够宽广和广大，能够为所有这些心灵提供滋养。它必须向哲学家提供哲学的力量，向崇拜者提供虔诚者的心灵；对于仪式主义者，它将给予最奇妙的象征主义所能传达的一切；对于诗人，它将给予他所能接受的尽多的情感，以及其他事物。为了建立这样一种宽广的宗教，我们必须回溯到宗教开始的时代，将它们全部纳入其中。
那么，我们的口号将是接纳，而非排斥。不是所谓的宽容，因为所谓的宽容往往是亵渎，我不相信它。我相信接纳。我为何要宽容？宽容意味着我认为你是错误的，我只是允许你活着。难道认为你和我在允许他人活着，这不是亵渎吗？我接纳过去所有的宗教，与它们一同礼拜；我用每一种宗教与神同拜，无论它们以何种形式崇拜他。我将走进穆罕默德信徒的清真寺；我将走进基督徒的教堂，在十字架前跪拜；我将走进佛教寺庙，在那里皈依佛陀和他的法。我将走进森林，与印度教徒一同静坐冥想，那位印度教徒正在试图看见那道启迪每颗心的光。
我不仅要做这一切，还要让我的心向未来所有可能来临之物敞开。神的书已经写完了吗？还是它仍是一场持续进行的启示？这是一本奇妙之书——世界的这些精神启示。《圣经》、吠陀[Vedas]、《古兰经》以及所有其他神圣书籍，不过是其中的若干页，而仍有无数页尚待展开。我会为它们全部留有余地。我们立足于当下，却向无限的未来敞开自己。我们汇聚过去的一切，享受当下之光，并为所有将要在未来到来之物敞开心灵的每一扇窗。向过去所有先知致敬，向当世所有伟大者致敬，向未来所有将要来临者致敬！
English
THE WAY TO THE REALISATION OF A UNIVERSAL RELIGION
No search has been dearer to the human heart than that which brings to us light from God. No study has taken so much of human energy, whether in times past or present, as the study of the soul, of God, and of human destiny. However immersed we are in our daily occupations, in our ambitions, in our work, in the midst of the greatest of our struggles, sometimes there will come a pause; the mind stops and wants to know something beyond this world. Sometimes it catches glimpses of a realm beyond the senses, and a struggle to get at it is the result. Thus it has been throughout the ages, in all countries. Man has wanted to look beyond, wanted to expand himself; and all that we call progress, evolution, has been always measured by that one search, the search for human destiny, the search for God.
As our social struggles are represented amongst different nations by different social organizations, so is man's spiritual struggle represented by various religions; and as different social organizations are constantly quarrelling, are constantly at war with one another, so these spiritual organisations have been constantly at war with one another, constantly quarrelling. Men belonging to a particular social organisation claim that the right to live only belongs to them; and so long as they can, they want to exercise that right at the cost of the weak. We know that just now there is a fierce struggle of that sort going on in South Africa. Similarly, each religious sect has; claimed the exclusive right to live. And thus we find that though there is nothing that has brought to man more blessings than religion, yet at the same time, there is nothing that has brought more horror than religion. Nothing has made more for peace and love than religion; nothing has engendered fiercer hatred than religion. Nothing has made the brotherhood of man more tangible than religion; nothing has bred more bitter enmity between man and man than religion. Nothing has built more charitable institutions, more hospitals for men, and even for animals, than religion; nothing has deluged the world with more blood than religion. We know, at the same time, that there has always been an undercurrent of thought; there have been always parties of men, philosophers, students of comparative religion who have tried and are still trying to bring about harmony in the midst of all these jarring and discordant sects. As regards certain countries, these attempts have succeeded, but as regards the whole world, they have failed.
There are some religions which have come down to us from the remotest antiquity, which are imbued with the idea that all sects should be allowed to live, that every sect has a meaning, a great idea, imbedded within itself, and, therefore it is necessary for the good of the world and ought to be helped. In modern times the same idea is prevailing and attempts are made from time to time to reduce it to practice. These attempts do not always come up to our expectations, up to the required efficiency. Nay, to our great disappointment, we sometimes find that we are quarrelling all the more.
Now, leaving aside dogmatic study, and taking a common-sense view of the thing, we find at the start that there is a tremendous life-power in all the great religions of the world. Some may say that they are ignorant of this, but ignorance is no excuse. If a man says "I do not know what is going on in the external world, therefore things that are going on in the external world do not exist", that man is inexcusable. Now, those of you that watch the movement of religious thought all over the world are perfectly aware that not one of the great religions of the world has died; not only so, each one of them is progressive. Christians are multiplying, Mohammedans are multiplying, the Hindus are gaining ground, and the Jews also are increasing, and by their spreading all over the world and increasing rapidly, the fold of Judaism is constantly expanding.
Only one religion of the world — an ancient, great religion — has dwindled away, and that is the religion of Zoroastrianism, the religion of the ancient Persians. Under the Mohammedan conquest of Persia about a hundred thousand of these people came and took shelter in India and some remained in ancient Persia. Those that were in Persia, under the constant persecution of the Mohammedans, dwindled down till there are at most only ten thousand; in India there are about eighty thousand of them, but they do not increase. Of course, there is an initial difficulty; they do not convert others to their religion. And then, this handful of persons living in India, with the pernicious custom of cousin marriage, do not multiply. With this single exception, all the great religions are living, spreading, and increasing. We must remember that all the great religions of the world are very ancient, not one has been formed at the present time, and that every religion of the world owes its origin to the country between the Ganga and the Euphrates; not one great religion has arisen in Europe, not one in America, not one; every religion is of Asiatic origin and belongs to that part of the world. If what the modern scientists say is true, that the survival of the fittest is the test, these religions prove by their still living that they are yet fit for some people. There is a reason why they should live, they bring good to many. Look at the Mohammedans, how they are spreading in some places in Southern Asia, and spreading like fire in Africa. The Buddhists are spreading all over Central Asia, all the time. The Hindus, like the Jews, do not convert others; still gradually, other races are coming within Hinduism and adopting the manners and customs of the Hindus and falling into line with them. Christianity, you all know, is spreading — though I am not sure that the results are equal to the energy put forth. The Christians' attempt at propaganda has one tremendous defect — and that is the defect of all Western institutions: the machine consumes ninety per cent of the energy, there is too much machinery. Preaching has always been the business of the Asiatics. The Western people are grand in organisation, social institutions, armies, governments, etc.; but when it comes to preaching religion, they cannot come near the Asiatic, whose business it has been all the time, and he knows it, and he does not use too much machinery.
This then is a fact in the present history of the human race, that all these great religions exist and are spreading and multiplying. Now, there is a meaning, certainly, to this; and had it been the will of an All-wise and All-merciful Creator that one of these religions should exist and the rest should die, it would have become a fact long, long ago. If it were a fact that only one of these religions is true and all the rest are false, by this time it would have covered the whole ground. But this is not so; not one has gained all the ground. All religions sometimes advance — sometimes decline. Now, just think of this: in your own country there are more than sixty millions of people, and only twenty-one millions professing religions of all sorts. So it is not always progress. In every country, probably, if the statistics are taken, you would find that religions are sometimes progressing and sometimes going back. Sects are multiplying all the time. If the claims of a religion that it has all the truth and God has given it all this truth in a certain book were true, why are there so many sects? Fifty years do not pass before there are twenty sects founded upon the same book. If God has put all the truth in certain books, He does not give us those books in order that we may quarrel over texts. That seems to be the fact. Why is it? Even if a book were given by God which contained all the truth about religion, it would not serve the purpose because nobody could understand the book. Take the Bible, for instance, and all the sects that exist amongst Christians; each one puts its own interpretation upon the same text, and each says that it alone understands that text and all the rest are wrong. So with every religion. There are many sects among the Mohammedans and among the Buddhists, and hundreds among the Hindus. Now, I bring these facts before you in order to show you that any attempt to bring all humanity to one method of thinking in spiritual things has been a failure and always will be a failure. Every man that starts a theory, even at the present day, finds that if he goes twenty miles away from his followers, they will make twenty sects. You see that happening all the time. You cannot make all conform to the same ideas: that is a fact, and I thank God that it is so. I am not against any sect. I am glad that sects exist, and I only wish they may go on multiplying more and more. Why? Simply because of this: If you and I and all who are present here were to think exactly the same thoughts, there would be no thoughts for us to think. We know that two or more forces must come into collision in order to produce motion. It is the clash of thought, the differentiation of thought, that awakes thought. Now, if we all thought alike, we would be like Egyptian mummies in a museum looking vacantly at one another's faces — no more than that! Whirls and eddies occur only in a rushing, living stream. There are no whirlpools in stagnant, dead water. When religions are dead, there will be no more sects; it will be the perfect peace and harmony of the grave. But so long as mankind thinks, there will be sects. Variation is the sign of life, and it must be there. I pray that they may multiply so that at last there will be as many sects as human beings, and each one will have his own method, his individual method of thought in religion.
But this thing exists already. Each one of us is thinking in his own way, but his natural course has been obstructed all the time and is still being obstructed. If the sword is not used directly, other means will be used. Just hear what one of the best preachers in New York says: he preaches that the Filipinos should be conquered because that is the only way to teach Christianity to them! They are already Catholics; but he wants to make them Presbyterians, and for this, he is ready to lay all this terrible sin of bloodshed upon his race. How terrible! And this man is one of the greatest preachers of this country, one of the best informed men. Think of the state of the world when a man like that is not ashamed to stand up and utter such arrant nonsense; and think of the state of the world when an audience cheers him! Is this civilisation? It is the old blood-thirstiness of the tiger, the cannibal, the savage, coming out once more under new names, new circumstances. What else can it be? If the state of things is such now, think of the horrors through which the world passed in olden times, when every sect was trying by every means in its power to tear to pieces the other sects. History shows that. The tiger in us is only asleep; it is not dead. When opportunities come, it jumps up and, as of old, uses its claws and fangs. Apart from the sword, apart from material weapons, there are weapons still more terrible — contempt, social hatred, and social ostracism. Now, these are the most terrible of all inflictions that are hurled against persons who do not think exactly in the same way as we do. And why should everybody think just as we do? I do not see any reason. If I am a rational man, I should be glad they do not think just as I do. I do not want to live in a grave-like land; I want to be a man in a world of men. Thinking beings must differ; difference is the first sign of thought. If I am a thoughtful man, certainly I ought to like to live amongst thoughtful persons where there are differences of opinion.
Then arises the question: How can all these varieties be true? If one thing is true, its negation is false. How can contradictory opinions be true at the same time? This is the question which I intend to answer. But I will first ask you: Are all the religions of the world really contradictory? I do not mean the external forms in which great thoughts are clad. I do not mean the different buildings, languages, rituals, books, etc. employed in various religions, but I mean the internal soul of every religion. Every religion has a soul behind it, and that soul may differ from the soul of another religion; but are they contradictory? Do they contradict or supplement each other? — that is the question. I took up the question when I was quite a boy, and have been studying it all my life. Thinking that my conclusion may be of some help to you, I place it before you. I believe that they are not contradictory; they are supplementary. Each religion, as it were, takes up one part of the great universal truth, and spends its whole force in embodying and typifying that part of the great truth. It is, therefore, addition; not exclusion. That is the idea. System after system arises, each one embodying a great idea, and ideals must be added to ideals. And this is the march of humanity. Man never progresses from error to truth, but from truth to truth, from lesser truth to higher truth — but it is never from error to truth. The child may develop more than the father, but was the father inane? The child is the father plus something else. If your present state of knowledge is much greater than it was when you were a child, would you look down upon that stage now? Will you look back and call it inanity? Why, your present stage is the knowledge of the child plus something more.
Then, again, we also know that there may be almost contradictory points of view of the same thing, but they will all indicate the same thing. Suppose a man is journeying towards the sun, and as he advances he takes a photograph of the sun at every stage. When he comes back, he has many photographs of the sun, which he places before us. We see that not two are alike, and yet, who will deny that all these are photographs of the same sun, from different standpoints? Take four photographs of this church from different corners: how different they would look, and yet they would all represent this church. In the same way, we are all looking at truth from different standpoints, which vary according to our birth, education, surroundings, and so on. We are viewing truth, getting as much of it as these circumstances will permit, colouring the truth with our own heart, understanding it with our own intellect, and grasping it with our own mind. We can only know as much of truth as is related to us, as much of it as we are able to receive. This makes the difference between man and man, and occasions sometimes even contradictory ideas; yet we all belong to the same great universal truth.
My idea, therefore, is that all these religions are different forces in the economy of God, working for the good of mankind; and that not one can become dead, not one can be killed. Just as you cannot kill any force in nature, so you cannot kill any one of these spiritual forces. You have seen that each religion is living. From time to time it may retrograde or go forward. At one time, it may be shorn of a good many of its trappings; at another time it may be covered with all sorts of trappings; but all the same, the soul is ever there, it can never be lost. The ideal which every religion represents is never lost, and so every religion is intelligently on the march.
And that universal religion about which philosophers and others have dreamed in every country already exists. It is here. As the universal brotherhood of man is already existing, so also is universal religion. Which of you, that have travelled far and wide, have not found brothers and sisters in every nation? I have found them all over the world. Brotherhood already exists; only there are numbers of persons who fail to see this and only upset it by crying for new brotherhoods. Universal religion, too, is already existing. If the priests and other people that have taken upon themselves the task of preaching different religions simply cease preaching for a few moments, we shall see it is there. They are disturbing it all the time, because it is to their interest. You see that priests in every country are very conservative. Why is it so? There are very few priests who lead the people; most of them are led by the people and are their slaves and servants. If you say it is dry, they say it is so; if you say it is black, they say it is black. If the people advance, the priests must advance. They cannot lag behind. So, before blaming the priests — it is the fashion to blame the priest — you ought to blame yourselves. You only get what you deserve. What would be the fate of a priest who wants to give you new and advanced ideas and lead you forward? His children would probably starve, and he would be clad in rags. He is governed by the same worldly laws as you are. "If you go on," he says, "let us march." Of course, there are exceptional souls, not cowed down by public opinion. They see the truth and truth alone they value. Truth has got hold of them, has got possession of them, as it were, and they cannot but march ahead. They never look backward, and for them there are no people. God alone exists for them, He is the Light before them, and they are following that Light.
I met a Mormon gentleman in this country, who tried to persuade me to his faith. I said, "I have great respect for your opinions, but in certain points we do not agree — I belong to a monastic order, and you believe in marrying many wives. But why don't you go to India to preach?" Then he was astonished. He said, "Why, you don't believe in any marriage at all, and we believe in polygamy, and yet you ask me to go to your country!" I said, "Yes; my countrymen will hear every religious thought wherever it may come from. I wish you would go to India, first, because I am a great believer in sects. Secondly, there are many men in India who are not at all satisfied with any of the existing sects, and on account of this dissatisfaction, they will not have anything to do with religion, and, possibly, you might get some of them." The greater the number of sects, the more chance of people getting religion. In the hotel, where there are all sorts of food, everyone has a chance to get his appetite satisfied. So I want sects to multiply in every country, that more people may have a chance to be spiritual. Do not think that people do not like religion. I do not believe that. The preachers cannot give them what they need. The same man that may have been branded as an atheist, as a materialist, or what not, may meet a man who gives him the truth needed by him, and he may turn out the most spiritual man in the community. We can eat only in our own way. For instance, we Hindus eat with our fingers. Our fingers are suppler than yours, you cannot use your fingers the same way. Not only the food should be supplied, but it should be taken in your own particular way. Not only must you have the spiritual ideas, but they must come to you according to your own method. They must speak your own language, the language of your soul, and then alone they will satisfy you. When the man comes who speaks my language and gives truth in my language, I at once understand it and receive it for ever. This is a great fact.
Now from this we see that there are various grades and types of human minds and what a task religions take upon them! A man brings forth two or three doctrines and claims that his religion ought to satisfy all humanity. He goes out into the world, God's menagerie, with a little cage in hand, and says, "God and the elephant and everybody has to go into this. Even if we have to cut the elephant into pieces, he must go in." Again, there may be a sect with a few good ideas. Its followers say, "All men must come in! " "But there is no room for them." "Never mind! Cut them to pieces; get them in anyhow; if they don't get in, why, they will be damned." No preacher, no sect, have I ever met that pauses and asks, "Why is it that people do not listen to us?" Instead, they curse the people and say, "The people are wicked." They never ask, "How is it that people do not listen to my words? Why cannot I make them see the truth? Why cannot I speak in their language? Why cannot I open their eyes?" Surely, they ought to know better, and when they find people do not listen to them, if they curse anybody, it should be themselves. But it is always the people's fault! They never try to make their sect large enough to embrace every one.
Therefore we at once see why there has been so much narrow-mindedness, the part always claiming to be the whole; the little, finite unit always laying claim to the infinite. Think of little sects, born within a few hundred years out of fallible human brains, making this arrogant claim of knowledge of the whole of God's infinite truth! Think of the arrogance of it! If it shows anything, it is this, how vain human beings are. And it is no wonder that such claims have always failed, and, by the mercy of the Lord, are always destined to fail. In this line the Mohammedans were the best off; every step forward was made with the sword — the Koran in the one hand and the sword in the other: "Take the Koran, or you must die; there is no alternative! " You know from history how phenomenal was their success; for six hundred years nothing could resist them, and then there came a time when they had to cry halt. So will it be with other religions if they follow the same methods. We are such babes! We always forget human nature. When we begin life, we think that our fate will be something extraordinary, and nothing can make us disbelieve that. But when we grow old, we think differently. So with religions. In their early stages, when they spread a. little, they get the idea that they can change the minds of the whole human race in a few years, and go on killing and massacring to make converts by force; then they fail, and begin to understand better. We see that these sects did not succeed in what they started out to do, which was a great blessing. Just think if one of those fanatical sects had succeeded all over the world, where would man be today? Now, the Lord be blessed that they did not succeed! Yet, each one represents a great truth; each religion represents a particular excellence — something which is its soul. There is an old story which comes to my mind: There were some ogresses who used to kill people and do all sorts of mischief; but they themselves could not be killed, until someone found out that their souls were in certain birds, and so long as the birds were safe nothing could destroy the ogresses. So, each one of us has, as it were, such a bird, where our soul is; has an ideal, a mission to perform in life. Every human being is an embodiment of such an ideal, such a mission. Whatever else you may lose, so long as that ideal is not lost, and that mission is not hurt, nothing can kill you. Wealth may come and go, misfortunes may pile mountains high, but if you have kept the ideal entire, nothing can kill you. You may have grown old, even a hundred years old, but if that mission is fresh and young in your heart, what can kill you? But when that ideal is lost and that mission is hurt, nothing can save you. All the wealth, all the power of the world will not save you. And what are nations but multiplied individuals? So, each nation has a mission of its own to perform in this harmony of races; and so long as that nation keeps to that ideal, that nation nothing can kill; but if that nation gives up its mission in life and goes after something else, its life becomes short, and it vanishes.
And so with religions. The fact that all these old religions are living today proves that they must have kept that mission intact; in spite of all their mistakes, in spite of all difficulties, in spite of all quarrels, in spite of all the incrustation of forms and figures, the heart of every one of them is sound — it is a throbbing, beating, living heart. They have not lost, any one of them, the great mission they came for. And it is splendid to study that mission. Take Mohammedanism, for instance. Christian people hate no religion in the world so much as Mohammedanism. They think it is the very worst form of religion that ever existed. As soon as a man becomes a Mohammedan, the whole of Islam receives him as a brother with open arms, without making any distinction, which no other religion does. If one of your American Indians becomes a Mohammedan, the Sultan of Turkey would have no objection to dine with him. If he has brains, no position is barred to him. In this country, I have never yet seen a church where the white man and the negro can kneel side by side to pray. Just think of that: Islam makes its followers all equal — so, that, you see, is the peculiar excellence of Mohammedanism. In many places in the Koran you find very sensual ideas of life. Never mind. What Mohammedanism comes to preach to the world is this practical brotherhood of all belonging to their faith. That is the essential part of the Mohammedan religion; and all the other ideas about heaven and of life etc.. are not Mohammedanism. They are accretions.
With the Hindus you will find one national idea — spirituality. In no other religion, in no other sacred books of the world, will you find so much energy spent in defining the idea of God. They tried to define the ideal of soul so that no earthly touch might mar it. The spirit must be divine; and spirit understood as spirit must not be made into a man. The same idea of unity, of the realisation of God, the omnipresent, is preached throughout. They think it is all nonsense to say that He lives in heaven, and all that. It is a mere human, anthropomorphic idea. All the heaven that ever existed is now and here. One moment in infinite time is quite as good as any other moment. If you believe in a God, you can see Him even now. We think religion begins when you have realised something. It is not believing in doctrines, nor giving intellectual assent, nor making declarations. If there is a God, have you seen Him? If you say "no", then what right have you to believe in Him? If you are in doubt whether there is a God, why do you not struggle to see Him? Why do you not renounce the world and spend the whole of your life for this one object? Renunciation and spirituality are the two great ideas of India, and it is because India clings to these ideas that all her mistakes count for so little.
With the Christians, the central idea that has been preached by them is the same: "Watch and pray, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand" — which means, purify your minds and be ready! And that spirit never dies. You recollect that the Christians are, even in the darkest days, even in the most superstitious Christian countries, always trying to prepare themselves for the coming of the Lord, by trying to help others, building hospitals, and so on. So long as the Christians keep to that ideal, their religion lives.
Now an ideal presents itself to my mind. It may be only a dream. I do not know whether it will ever be realised in this world, but sometimes it is better to dream a dream, than die on hard facts. Great truths, even in a dream are good, better than bad facts. So, let us dream a dream.
You know that there are various grades of mind. You may be a matter-of-fact, common-sense rationalist: you do not care for forms and ceremonies; you want intellectual, hard, ringing facts, and they alone will satisfy you. Then there are the Puritans, the Mohammedans, who will not allow a picture or a statue in their place of worship. Very well! But there is another man who is more artistic. He wants a great deal of art — beauty of lines and curves, the colours, flowers, forms; he wants candles, lights, and all the insignia and paraphernalia of ritual, that he may see God. His mind takes God in those forms, as yours takes Him through the intellect. Then, there is the devotional man, whose soul is crying for God: he has no other idea but to worship God, and to praise Him. Then again, there is the philosopher, standing outside all these, mocking at them. He thinks, "What nonsense they are! What ideas about God!"
They may laugh at one another, but each one has a place in this world. All these various minds, all these various types are necessary. If there ever is going to be an ideal religion, it must be broad and large enough to supply food for all these minds. It must supply the strength of philosophy to the philosopher, the devotee's heart to the worshipper; to the ritualist, it will give all that the most marvellous symbolism can convey; to the poet, it will give as much of heart as he can take in, and other things besides. To make such a broad religion, we shall have to go back to the time when religions began and take them all in.
Our watchword, then, will be acceptance, and not exclusion. Not only toleration, for so-called toleration is often blasphemy, and I do not believe in it. I believe in acceptance. Why should I tolerate? Toleration means that I think that you are wrong and I am just allowing you to live. Is it not a blasphemy to think that you and I are allowing others to live? I accept all religions that were in the past, and worship with them all; I worship God with every one of them, in whatever form they worship Him. I shall go to the mosque of the Mohammedan; I shall enter the Christian's church and kneel before the crucifix; I shall enter the Buddhistic temple, where I shall take refuge in Buddha and in his Law. I shall go into the forest and sit down in meditation with the Hindu, who is trying to see the Light which enlightens the heart of every one.
Not only shall I do all these, but I shall keep my heart open for all that may come in the future. Is God's book finished? Or is it still a continuous revelation going on? It is a marvellous book — these spiritual revelations of the world. The Bible, the Vedas, the Koran, and all other sacred books are but so many pages, and an infinite number of pages remain yet to be unfolded. I would leave it open for all of them. We stand in the present, but open ourselves to the infinite future. We take in all that has been in the past, enjoy the light of the present, and open every window of the heart for all that will come in the future. Salutation to all the prophets of the past, to all the great ones of the present, and to all that are to come in the future!
文本来自Wikisource公共领域。原版由阿德瓦伊塔修道院出版。