Question 197: About the best path to religious truth.
Question 197: What is the best path to discover religious “truth?”
The open-ended path to a higher state of consciousness is the best way to go. It is the path of asking questions, seeking answers within and without. It is the path of self-discovery of one’s own true desires, goals, personality quirks, biases and prejudices, and hidden agendas and ideas in our subconscious minds. It is the path to find our highest identity in the universal Spirit while overcoming our egos which can often block our way to higher states of consciousness. It is the path of meditation, contemplation, introspection, and sincere seeking for the truth. It is the path of recognizing scientific discoveries about nature and considering them in the whole picture of reality. It is also the path of learning to love unconditionally.
If a religion teaches you to follow an external savior or doctrine to save your soul, it is a false path. No one is saved or reaches enlightenment by believing some outer doctrines, which may be supported by bold claims to absolute authority and showy trappings of power and influence, but they are nothing more than empty posturing to uphold traditional doctrines that have never been proven to be true such as Jesus is the only son of God or that Mohammed was the last prophet and that the Quran and the Bible are literally the words of God.
The ones who preach and teach these dead doctrines are the false teachers and false prophets, the blind leading the blind into the ditch of delusion. Question them about everything they teach. If they teach about love and goodwill to all, that is good, but if they overlay it with the necessity to believe in some absolute doctrine of salvation, beware. If they talk about going to hell if you don’t believe in the right way, beware. If they say their religion is the only true one, beware.
No one had to die for you to be saved. No prophet or saint is above criticism. No one is the one and only perfect example for mankind. The Universal Spirit of Oneness loves everyone equally, no one is a favorite child of the Infinite One. We can find our way to Self-realization of our oneness with Spirit by always raising our consciousness higher and higher, expanding our sense of our divine Selves without limit.
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“Calmness, gentleness, silence, self-restraint, and purity: these are the disciplines of the mind.” – Bhagavad Gita
“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.”
― Dalai Lama XIV
“Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car.”
― Garrison Keillor
