The Religions Book

122

SO MANY FAITHS,

SO MANY PATHS

GOD-CONSCIOUSNESS

T

he idea that all religions

lead to the same God

was put forward by

Sri Ramakrishna, a 19th-century

mystic who practised bhakti

(Hindu religious devotion) and

followed the philosophy of Advaita

Vedanta, as originally taught by

Adi Shankara (p.121)—built

around the notion of of a single

underlying reality, Brahman,

with which the self (atman) is

identified. The starting point for

Ramakrishna’s thinking was the

idea that, in meditation, a person

comes to appreciate the divine

within, and that, to whichever god

or goddess they might be devoted,

there is only one spiritual reality.

Therefore, within Hinduism, each

person is free to worship in his or

her own way, while recognizing

IN CONTEXT

KEY FIGURE

Sri Ramakrishna

WHEN AND WHERE

19th century, India

BEFORE

From 3rd century BCE As

Buddhism spreads, devotional

images and practices diversify.

6th century The bhakti

tradition in Hinduism accepts

that the divine can be

worshipped through

any number of images.

15th century Guru Nanak,

founder of Sikhism, opens his

new religion to all who love one

God, regardless of class and

traditional faith distinctions.

AFTER

20th century Interfaith

dialogue becomes common.

20th century A plethora

of new religious movements

offer a spiritual path open to

all, irrespective of cultural

and religious background.

Each person on a spiritual quest may worship a particular god

or follow a particular path or religion.

But just as the different Hindu gods and goddesses all represent

different aspects of Brahman, so different religions are all

ways to approach a single spiritual reality.

It is better to allow each person to follow their own

religion than try to convert them from one religion to another.