Chapter 9SALVATION
I. Religion and SalvationEVERY human activity is directed to some end. The end may be
clearly formulated or may only be dimly perceived, but some kind of
end desired by man is necessary to rouse him to action. Man's
activity becomes intelligible only when we know the goal he is
seeking. Religious activity too is goal-directed. It aims at the
attainment of some objective, which, rightly or wrongly, is believed
to satisfy the spiritual longing of man. Most of the higher religions
of mankind agree in regarding salvation as the ultimate goal of
religious endeavour. It is believed that the purpose of religion is to
help man to attain salvation. They differ as to the means by which
salvation may be attained, but they are one in regarding it as the only
end which a wise man can desire. Because of its essential role in
many religions, it will be worthwhile to take a closer look at the
concept of salvation and to examine its underlying supposition.
Salvation means the saving of the soul, or in other words, its
deliverance from sin and its consequences. The supposition on
which the idea is based is that even at birth the human soul is stained
by sin. This stain can be wiped out only by leading a devoutly
religious life. It is obvious that the doctrine of salvation is based on a
belief in original sin. The soul of the newborn infant is, it is said,
already infected with evil and the infection will grow and spread
unless it is checked by religious belief and action. Man is born under
the shadow of sin. He can dispel it only by submitting to a rigorous
religious discipline. The followers of most religions are obsessed
with the idea of sin and their chief aim in life is to loosen its hold on
their souls. Each religion has its own distinctive view as to the source
of sin and the means by which it may be eradicated.
In Hinduism, Mukti or salvation is conceived as liberation from
Avagawan, or the cycle of death and rebirth. The doctrine of Karma
offers an apparently reasonable answer to the question why one
man is born with a silver spoon in his mouth while another is