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CRYSTALLIZATION OF VIEWS
Finally he crystallized his views on religion by saying, “all religions are more or less
true. All proceed from the same God, but all are imperfect because they have come down to us through imperfect human instrumentality”.(29) “In reality there are as many religions as there are individuals”.(30) “I do not share the belief that there can or will be on earth one religion”.(31) “So long as there are different religions, everyone of them may need
some outward distinctive symbol. But when the symbol is made into a fetish and an instrument of proving the superiority of
one’s religion over other, it is fit only to be discarded”. (32)
Also about proselytization he said, “(they) may change the lives of as many as they like but not their
religion. They can draw their attention to the best in their respective religions and change their lives by asking them to
live according to them”. (33)
The essence of his ideas on religion was expressed thus: “After long study and experience, I have come
to the conclusion that (1) all religions are true; (2) all religions have some errors in them; (3) all religions are almost
as dear to me as my own Hinduism, in as much as all human beings should be as dear to me as one’s own close relatives.
My own veneration for other faiths is the same as that for my own faith”. (34)
The thought in its purity is before you. To ponder over, to imbibe. Comment is superfluous.
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Mens Sana Monographs [MSM]: A Mens Sana Research Foundation Publication
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