God becomes man so that man evolves into god. It is a compelling irony of the times we live in, that human beings ceaselessly complain that god is formless. We often hear the refrain — ‘If only we could see him! It would be so much easier to believe in him and worship him!’ But, when out of compassion he responds to these pleas and assumes form as a human being, the same people are quick to emphatically exclaim often in disappointment: ‘Oh dear, he is only a man. He is not god!’ The end result is that god loses either way.
It is important to distinguish between religion and spirituality. Religion concentrates its attention on paths based on beliefs. Spirituality concentrates its attention on methods of self-awakening. The focus of religion is on the outer space, while spirituality occupies itself with the inner space. Religion can be potentially divisive (mine is better than yours), while the reach of spirituality is universal.
There is a beautiful account provided by Mercedes de Acosta of her first meeting with Sri Ramana Maharishi. Among the many questions posed by the devotee to the Maharishi, is a pointed question about the usefulness of religions, teachers and gurus in search for self-realisation - ‘What about religions, teachers and gurus?’
The Maharishi’s response was characteristically precise and to the point. He said, “Can religion, which teaches you to look outside yourself and promises a heaven and a reward outside yourself, help you? It is only by diving deep into the spiritual heart that one can find the self.”
The Maharishi then placed his right hand on the right side of his chest and continued, “Here lies the heart, the dynamic spiritual heart. It is called Hridaya and is clearly visible to the inner eye of the adept on the spiritual path. Through meditation, you can learn to find the self in the cave of this heart.”
However, this truth is not easily apprehended by human beings. “But,” continued the Maharishi, “In spite of ignorance, no man takes seriously the fact of death. He may see death around him but he still does not believe that he will die. He believes, or rather, feels in some strange way that death is not for him. Only when the body is threatened does he fall victim to the fear of death.”
“The purpose of all religions and spirituality is self-awakening. All spiritual traditions encourage seekers to experience the truth that the search is within and not without. The supreme self evoked by lord Krishna in the sacred spiritual practices, in every religion is to disengage the ego from one’s identification with the limited personality so that it may unite with one’s perennial personality.”
The article has been taken from the book The Global Mission of Sadguru Sri Sharavana Baba