Posted on: 08 Jul 2021
[A question by Śri BVR Sastry of Hyderabad on phone]
Swāmi replied: Ego is the reason for praising one’s own religion and jealousy is the reason for criticizing other religions. These two cataracts of the two eyes have closed the third knowledge-eye, which disappeared permanently existing on the forehead in the case of human beings. Only in the case of God, the third eye exists on the forehead. Ego makes the devotee not to find defects in one’s own self and in one’s own religion. Every religion is polluted by the insertions up to 10% made by the ignorant followers. One does not see such insertions present in his own religion. He only finds those insertions in other religions. He also does not find faults present in himself and finds faults only in other human beings. Not finding fault in self and own religion is ego. Finding faults in others and other religions is jealousy. Every religion has 90% merits established by the founder Sadguru of that religion. In this way, from the point of percentage of merits and percentage of defects, there is perfect unity in the religions apart from the unity that the same absolute God established various religions to suit different cultures and languages of humanity.
Unless the devotee conquers ego and jealousy, he/she cannot recognize Sadguru or contemporary human incarnation and the merit of other religions. Poet Bhartṛhari says that one finds an atom of merit as a mountain in self and finds mountain of merit as atom in others. Similarly, the same person finds mountain of defect as an atom in self and finds atom of defect as mountain in others. This is the reason for quarrels among human beings and also the reason for the quarrels among religions. To get unity and peace among the human beings and also among the religions, reverse of the above attitude shall be inculcated in every human being. Every human being shall find the mountain of merit as an atom in self or in own religion and find an atom of merit as a mountain in others and in other religions. Similarly, the devotee shall find an atom of defect as mountain in self or own religion and find a mountain of defect as an atom in others and in other religions. This is told by poet Bhartṛhari ‘paraguṇa paramāṇūn parvatīkṛtya …’. If one is trying to convert other person from his or her religion in to own religion, he shall also convert other defective human beings in to self by killing him or her! The reason is that you can convert a person from one defective religion in to your own meritorious religion but cannot convert another person in to yourself without killing him or her! This means that you are converting a person from one religion to your religion means finally that you are killing him or her!!