Truth is all-inclusive. Religion is one’s personal experience and it is important to live one’s life without impinging on the right of others to have their own faiths.
This story, favourite of Jalaluddin Rumi — the 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic — is about four visually challenged men who go about describing an elephant. One touches the legs and says the elephant is like a pillar, the second man feels the trunk and says it is in the shape of a hosepipe, the third one touches the tail and says it is a stick with bristles, and the fourth person feels the ears and describes them as fans.
Thus done with their subjective descriptions, they start fighting amongst themselves claiming that their personal version of the elephant is indeed the right one. Noticing their agitation, a passerby with clear sight enquires the reason for their fight, then laughs and explains that while each one was correct in their own way, they had missed completely the whole, the elephant in its entirety.
Religions are also like this. Each one sees only one perspective and concludes the Truth from that whereas the essence is vast and infinite.
The central Truth is so expansive and encompassing that when it is understood, there can be no quarrel. Truth is all-inclusive. Problems arise because we dare not open our eyes and see; like horses we wear blinkers which force us to see only in one direction. We must look at different religions as differently coloured beads, strung together like a maala or necklace.
During my padayatra, I have visited the Oachira Parabrahma Temple in Kerala. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that there is no other temple dedicated to Para Brahman or Universal Consciousness like it in the entire world. It is a beacon heralding human oneness or Manav Ekta. We are all fragments of the Supreme and the Supreme soul is present within all of us.
The Father of our nation, Gandhiji, who strived zealously for communal harmony in his time has spoken of this: “It is easy enough to be friendly to one’s friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion.”
The ability to love and empathise is a true indicator of the maturity of a Yogi. Bhagavad Gita talks about Kshetra and Kshetrajna. All human beings are like Kshetra or temple within which the Kshetrajna, the parabrahma, Supreme Cosmic Spirit, or Godhead, resides. We need to love and respect all Kshetras, maintain and take care of them. I am fully convinced about this.
The Holy Bible says: “Know ye not that you are children of God.” This conveys that all religions have a common essence. The mind has impurities and, therefore, purifying the mind is the goal.
Across the infinite world, which is beyond our mind and intellect, we try to build a dam with our limited senses and mind. Good and kind deeds, contemplation and meditation ensure salvation of any being. This culminates in the realisation that one is a small spark of the divine.
Sri M The writer is a spiritual guide and social reformer - and is leading the Walk of Hope, a padayatra for peace, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. The padayatra will be in Bengaluru from April 1 to 5. Details: www.walkofhope.in