What is true religion? This is the most natural question with man, and each one is confronted with it at one stage or another. We have with us hundreds and thousands of scriptures and treatises dealing with the vital problems of life, but they are not at one in their reply to this baffling question. We have, therefore, to carry on our investigation and our search for a 'correct solution,' and there can be only one. But before we launch upon this quest, we must first know the purpose of religion or Dharma. The objective which all the religions place before us is, however, one and the same-Divine Beatitude and the Beatific Vision of the Lord. All religions, then, aim at the same target, like so many archers. If we are really sincere in our profession of love for God, we must have love for Cod's creation, because the Creator and His creation are identical. We cannot love the one and hate the other. All the saints and sages work on this principle and love humanity as such, no matter whether one believes in God or does not, for they draw no distinction between theists and atheists or agnostics. They believe in the one great family of Cod and all are dear to them, in spite of seeming differences in non-essentials of life
    But what do we actually see in the world? Having forgotten the basic truth of love working at the root of all religions, we are cut off from the sheet-anchor and are afloat rudderless on the sea of life. Each one of us tries to catch at a straw to save himself. The natural result is that after a brief struggle with chance winds and waters, we sink into the great oblivion, without solving the riddle of life - whence we come and where we are bound, or the why and wherefore of human life.
    Love, then, is the only true religion. Saint Paul, addressing the Galatians, said: "By love, serve one another." (Galatians V:13). Leigh Hunt declared: "One who serves his fellow men, loves God and is the true beloved of God." Similarly Samuel Taylor Goleridge, in his famous poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner, informed us:

"He prayeth best who loveth best,
All things both great and small,
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all."

 "All reflect the Self-Source Light,
 Oh, none is good or bad." - Parbhati Kabir
 "The part is in the whole, and the whole in the part,
 Where then the difference, when both reflect the One?" - Parbhati Kabir

"No better than quarry stone is the Kaaba of Khalil,
The Kaaba of the human heart provides God a seat.
Of all pilgrimages, the one to the human heart is true,
It gives more of merit than the countless Mecca trips will do."

"The Grace of God never descends until ye love His creation;
God forgives only those who work for the good of His creation."

    All persons irrespective of sex, colour, caste or creed; all men rich or poor, high or low, come into the world the same way. Born, as he is, from the mother's womb by the union of sperm and ovum, each one sees the light of the day after a period of gestation.
    Kabir Sahib, a great Indian saint, while addressing a high caste priest, told him: "O Brahman, should you claim high birth and on that account special privileges, you ought to have been born in a way different from that of the rest."
    Again, there is a marked likeness in the physical attributes of all men whether in the East or the West. Each one is gifted with an equal number of organs and senses. All are moved and actuated by similar impulses and instincts. The weather conditions affect them all alike. All enjoy freely the gifts of Dame Nature and participate in her boundless bounties-light, air, water and food, etc.
    In every way, similarity runs through the entire creation. All persons, irrespective of their nationalities or colours, are gifted with bodies composed of five elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether, and live alike on this earth under the canopy of the blue sky. Disease, decay and death come to all in just the same way. No one escapes the ravages of time. So also do the remedies work in each case. God has made no distinction between man and man. Man alone is responsible for all kinds of distinctions and differences of caste, colour and creed, splitting humanity into narrow grooves of classes, groups, sects and nationalities.
 

    All apparent religious differences are man-made and are the result of narrowness and bigotry.
    Saints and seers have one common message for the entire world. Their message is one of Universal Love. No one, indeed, can prove his love of God unless he knows how to love his fellow beings. Just as physical maladies wreck the human body, so do mental perversities. The latter so poison the circulatory system in the body, that one is badly affected by greed, selfishness, hatred, ill will and animosity, which in turn lead to perverted outlook on life. Thus man is dragged down to the level of beasts, nay, at times, man descends even lower than the beasts. Very often, the result is social and economic disintegration.
    Whenever Master-souls come into the world, they tell us that all religious differences are the outcome of ignorance, individual whim, religious vanity or spiritual egotism. So-called leaders in every religion suffer from misguided fervour and narrow prejudices, so that they cannot possibly take a detached view of things around them. On the contrary, they see the world through the smoke-coloured glasses they have provided for themselves. They have no toleration for things and conditions that are not in accord with the rigid creeds of their organized sectarian or religious orders.
    There is only one world-embracing universal religion, the religion of Love, based on the great fundamental truth--the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, We have through self-interest, petty, prejudices and befogged understanding, carved out narrow sectarian principalities. We have raised around us hedges and walls of hatred and antagonism thus dividing man from man, class from class, nation from nation, and country from country. In this connection, Hafiz, a great Mohammedan saint, stated:

One Reality shines both in Islam and Kufar (the man of faith, and a heretic)
  and all the seeming differences in the various orders are, in fact,
  vapourous nothings.
It is through sheer prejudice that the Brahmans and the Sheikhs (religious heads
  of Hinduism and Islam, respectively) have now different drinking bowls,
  though in a wine-bar there is only one butler (the God-man), dispensing the
  same wine (of Divine Love) from the same flagon to the various tipplers at the table.

    Saints tell us that there is only one God of the entire universe. The Upanishads say the same thing: "Truth is one, though sages call it variously." He is the God of the whole creation and not of one religion or the other. There is, in fact, no difference between Karta (the One True Creator) of the Hindus and Karim (Merciful) of the Muslims, Ram (Sustainer of the Hindus) and Rahim (Compassionate of the Muslims). All these names are descriptive of the various attributes of God and were coined by sages, saints, rishis and munis of different denominations in their own respective languages. The Nameless Reality is One but responds to the calls of all by any name by which any individual may invoke that Power.

"The Nameless One has many names. He doth attend, by whatsoever name
     He is addressed." - Maulvi Rumi

"Some keep shaven crowns, while others robe themselves in flame-coloured apparel, and still others call themselves Jogis (a sect that wear wooden earrings in their ears and are ever on the march from stage to stage). Again, some are observing celibacy in quest of the Lord, while others perform penances and strict austerities. Some are Hindus and some are Turks, while others are Imams, Rafzi or followers of any other saint. With all these differences in nomenclature, they at the root are all One- mankind- to wit, men born of and embedded in God. Call Him the Creator, the Merciful, the Donor or Rahim, for that makes no difference at all--take this as a settled truth and be not therefore bewildered by diversity in names. They all serve and worship the same God, the same Lord and Master of the Universe. All of them manifest the image of the same God and exist simply by His Love and Light alone. Many a name has the Nameless One; addressed in any, He doth attend."

    Remembrance of God is the main thing before us to find the Way back to Him. The purpose of all devotional exercises, places of worship and pilgrimages is the same. The human body is the veritable temple of God.
    There is one and only one common objective of the various forms of devotion as prescribed in different scriptures: How to love the Lord and how to realise Him. Various writers, in different times and in different climes, have in their own way pointed out this Path leading to God. It may be likened to a game of archery, in which so many archers participate and discharge their arrows at the common target. An Indian saint said: "Each one in his own way talks to us of his own Beloved. O Rajab! the target is one but the archers are countless."
    In the holy Quran (Surat Nahal-5th Raku) it is mentioned that from time to time different forms of worship were introduced by God-sent Master-souls according to the needs of the age in which they lived. Omar Khayyam, a great Persian Sufi poet, discloses: "The temples and the mosques, or the churches and the synagogues, are alike for the worship of God. The Gong and Conch perpetually produce therein rapturous strains of the Music of Life. The Arch in the mosques, the Cross in the churches, the Altar in the temples and the Lamp in the synagogues are just different symbols for the worship of the Divine Beloved.
    God cannot be realised outside oneself, even in the holy places of worship, no matter what their denomination might be. To realise Him, one has to enter into the laboratory of the human body which in the truest sense of the word is the temple of God. Real worship and devotion are purely internal and mental processes, unconnected with and independent of any and everything outside the human frame. All that is required is purity of mind. With an ethical background, one can worship God anywhere under the blue sky, for the whole world is a vast temple of God, and there is no place without Him, including the specific places of worship described above. In fact, wheresoever devotion kneels in humility, that place becomes sanctified.
    In the holy Quran (Albukar) it is mentioned: "All the universe is His. Turn wheresoever one may, East or West, one would face God, for He is both Omnipresent and Omniscient.' Again: "For the ignorant, God lives only in man-made temples, mosques or churches, but the really awakened find Him only within themselves- the God-made temple of the human body."
    Al-Nisaee Sahib affirmed: "For me the whole world is a holy mosque; wherever the fixed time of prayer comes up, my followers may perform their prayers then and there."

"All is holy where devotion kneels." -H. O. Wendell

"Where shall I go, when I see His glory within?
The mind saturated in Him has no distractions.
One day greatly obsessed, I prepared a sandal paste,
And started for the abode of Brahma, when the Master told me that He dwelt
  in the folds of the mind."
Wherever I go, I see houses of water and clay;
And yet I see Thee in fullness in everything.
I have searched for Thee in the Vedas and the Puranas,
  and all scriptures repeat the same.
Why should I wander elsewhere when Thou art right here?"

"O Satguru! I would like to make a holocaust of myself at Thy feet,
For Thou hath saved me from all delusions and snapped all bonds,
Ramanand now lives and rests in Brahma,
The Word of the Master burns to ashes myriads of Karmas." - Basant Ramanand

    Guru Arjan stated: "Some address Him as Ram and some as Khuda. Some call Him Gosain and others Allah. He is the Kaaran and Karim or the Kirpa Dhar Rahim. He is the Creator giving out merciful glances all the world over. Some go for a bath to the sacred rivers, while others go for a Haj (pilgrimage to Mecca). Some worship Him and some bow their heads in silent adoration. Some engage in the study of the Vedas and some read sacred books of other religions. Some put on white raiments and some the blue apparel. Some are called Hindu and others Turk. But O Nanak! one who has known His Will (by becoming a conscious co-worker with Him), he alone may know the mystery of God." -Ramkali M.5
    The sacred lore of the Hindus is in Sanskrit or in Hindi, and that of the Mohammedans, in Arabic or in Persian. Guru Granth Sahib of the Sikhs is in Punjabi, while the Bible of the Christians is in Hebrew, Greek, Latin and English. The various expositions, the commentaries and annotations of these are in the different languages that were in common vogue at one time or another. Alt these scriptures, whatever their language (for language counts not with God), simply serve the purpose of creating in us a desire, a yearning, a craving, a longing and love for God. They are the means and not the end, for God is an Unwritten Law and His is an Unspoken language. He is beyond all tongues, for none can reach Him. No particular tongue has any special merit, for it is just a vehicle of expression and nothing else, so that one may narrate and listen to the loving stories of God. Hafiz therefore beautifully indicates:

"O Hafiz! in the matter of love, there is no difference between Turkish and Arabic or other languages. The tales of love may be narrated in any of the languages that may be known to thee."

    These are common in all religions and point the same way. Religious truths, whether social, ethical or spiritual, have a common ideal and a common objective. Man should lead an ethical life, serve mankind, be of help to all others in this earthly sojourn, and should know himself and then develop God-knowledge and God-consciousness leading ultimately to God-head. The word religion, as the term indicates, is a great binding force that links man back to his Creator, Whom he, by his entire absorption in the mundane affairs of life, has entirely forgotten through having become identified with the world. Love of man and love of God, as also faith in God and living contact with 'God-in-action' or the 'Holy Ghost,' 'Ek-aunkar' or the 'Word,' is the universal religion that has been given to the world by the saints from age to age. It is eternal and unchangeable for all times.
     All the scriptures, the world over, teach the same thing, namely, that one should engage in good and pious acts, take hold of the saving life-chord within and, riding on the Sound-current, reach the home of his Father. God is the Ideal and one should worship Him with love and devotion, and people should serve one another with love. St. Paul always exhorted mankind: "By love serve one another." The Vedas tell us to remember and worship God in congregations. (Atharv Veda: 3:30-5). There is no virtue higher than to have firm faith in God, to commune with His holy Word and to render loving service to His creation. This, in fact, is the true and universal religion, common for mankind, eternal and unchangeable.
    Guru Arjan, speaking of the highest and holiest Truth at the core of all religions, refers to contact with the 'shabd Dhun,' the Sound Principle which is the primal manifestation of God and the causeless Cause of the entire creation.

"The highest and the holiest in all religions enjoins communion
     with the Word of God, and good actions."- Gauri M.5

"There is no virtue higher than to sing of the Lord (the Divine Melody)
     and to associate with His elects.
O Nanak! these boons one gets only through the writ of the Most High
     and not otherwise." -Sorath M.5

"I sent you into the world to unite people unto Me,
And not to lead astray such as were already united with Me."

"When once the ignorance is dispelled, all distinctions between the Hindus and the Muslims, and in fact among all the sectarian people, drop off and vanish like airy nothings." - Guru Gobind Singh

    Rites and rituals as well as forms and ceremonies play an integral part in each religion. The differences in rites and rituals and in the forms and ceremonies of various religions are determined by various considerations like climatic conditions prevailing in different countries and the mode of life of the people. Let us, for instance, take the case of Arabia. It is a desert country. Owing to scarcity of water it is considered enough for an Arab to wash only his feet, hands and face before offering prayers; and where no water is available at all, he may cleanse them with sand instead, the ritual being technically known as Tayamum. Similarly, in Bikaner, another desert tract, in India, where there is dearth of water, it is commonly believed that if someone uses more than ten pounds of water in a day, he will have to account for his extravagance to God.
    In the rest of India and other places where water is plentiful, no one sits for meditation without a full bath, to one's heart's content. Again, in the West, people would enter churches and attend the services bareheaded but with shoes on. In the East, it is quite the contrary. An Oriental would never enter a temple or a Gurdwara and attend the service unless he covered up his head and his feet were bare. The object in each case is, of course, the same--to maintain an attitude of respect and reverence for the holy precincts. Different modes of worship have been adopted in various parts of the world owing to climatic considerations, such as a cold climate in the West and a hot climate in the East.
    All rites and rituals are correlated with the human body and are, more or less, part of social conduct. The ultimate object in each ease is to secure cleanliness and awareness on the one hand, and a respectful attitude on the other, before going into the presence of God. The outer forms that one may adopt to achieve the object are immaterial to God. He loves His creatures regardless of how and in what fashion they come to Him, just as any earthly father would love his children whether they were in rich attire or in tatters. Here is the question that naturally arises: When love is the universal religion for the entire humanity, how has mankind come to be split up into so many sectarian and watertight compartments, in spite of the fundamental unities in all religions? This segregation into groups is due to the differences in the articles of faith, which in course of time grow rigid and inelastic.
    When Guru Nanak went to Mecca and preached worship of the Supreme God, the Muslims declared that there was no difference between his teachings and those of Islam. Guru Nanak then explained to them that his teachings centered around "Absolute Oneness," while theirs were hedged around with limitations and were, therefore, "Relative Oneness" only. He said that God sent into the world countless prophets and Master-souls to guide the people from time to time, and will continue to do so in the future. The law of supply and demand was always at work in Nature, as well as in man, and there could be no limitations to God's power to send mediators and reconcilers into the world. Similarly, from age to age and in different climes and countries, there sprang up sacred lore and scriptures like the Vedas, the Quran and the Bible, and there could be no end to these at any time.
    God is Infinite and man as a finite being cannot possibly know His purpose and the working of His Will, nor can he adequately sing of His limitless attributes. The more one may advance towards Him, the greater he grows in His glory and greatness -- too deep for human insight to penetrate and understand Him. A fish living in the ocean cannot know the depth and extent of the ocean.

"Thou art an all-knowing ocean and I, a trifling shrimp, cannot sound Thy vastness."
     - Sri Rag M I

"Thou art limitless; how can we as limited beings know of Thee, O Lord."
     - Sorath M.5