Ananda Sangha of Portland--Religion: A Universal Need by Paramhansa Yogananda

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Religion: A Universal Need
by Paramhansa Yogananda/Swami Kriyananda (editor)
from God is For Everyone

this book has been written to demonstrate that religion is a pragmatic necessity for everyone: that God is deeply relevant to every life, and is by no means the side issue so many people try to make Him.

If we accept that He exists, it surely goes without saying that He cannot be some minor or merely local deity. In the vast universe revealed to us by modern astronomy, God can only be thought of as infinite. To describe infinity adequately, however, would be impossible. The clearest mind could not conceptualize a state of consciousness that is both infinitely large and infinitesimally small! The Bible describes the futility of any such attempt. "My thoughts," it says in Isaiah 55:8, "are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways."

Nevertheless, there is something in human nature that feels imprisoned by finitude. Deep inside us we long to embrace infinity. We will never be satisfied until we have unraveled the mystery of existence. Everyone pondering life's strange twists and turns must surely ask himself sometimes whether there isn't some higher reality: wise, kindly (so he hopes!), and forever aware of his individual existence.

Most people imagine Him as in some obscure way omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. They may think of Him more personally, though still vaguely, as "all-merciful," or "all-wise." In any case, they usually separate Him from daily reality as they know it.

This book offers an alternative to all such abstractions. What purpose is served, indeed, by holding God at a distance? Theological definitions may persuade us to bow before Him in reverence, but they cannot inspire us to love Him. Religiously inclined people may consider it excessively familiar to address Him as their very own, yet, if He created us, how can He be anything else?

To the extent that we hold God aloof from our daily realities, we alienate Him from us. We need a concept of God that will bring Him into our kitchens, our bedrooms, and our living rooms. If God is everywhere, He must be quite as near to us as He is far away. We need to make Him our immediate reality. We need to seek His guidance and inspiration in our most intimate thoughts and feelings; relate to Him when the world is most demanding of our attention; seek His influence even in light undertakings; listen for His laughter behind our silliest jokes, and ask Him to infuse with His love our tenderest sentiments!

Ultimately, God alone can satisfy our most personal needs. In our dealings with other people, He is our conscience. In our labor, He is our satisfaction. When we read a good book or listen to uplifting music, He is our inspiration. He is there, watching, joining in if we invite Him to, and giving us our strength.

People distance themselves from God when they think of Him abstractly. Perhaps they imagine their belief will "save" them, but without love, what could salvation itself be? Theological definitions give no comfort to the heart. They are like antique chairs placed about to be seen, but not sat upon! People remember God during their times of suffering—but otherwise? In grief they may take Him out of the cupboard, dust Him off, and examine Him more carefully. Usually, however, they consider themselves well enough off without Him, as they go trudging wearily from one crisis to another, their brows furrowed in anxiety.

We need a concept of God that will motivate us to love Him. He is, even if we know it not, our very own.

What I plan to do in this book is introduce a concept of God that will inspire you to want to know Him. Once you have this knowledge, it will be your fault alone if you think Him far away. How you relate to Him is crucial to your happiness. To define Him with hairsplitting exactness may puff one up in pride, but it will offer no nourishment for the soul. In religion the most important thing is to love selflessly.

In religion, similarly, when people claim to have accepted Krishna, Rama, Buddha, or Jesus Christ as their "personal Savior," what matters is the depth and purity of their love. Whom they accept is less vital to their salvation than the question: Am I, myself, acceptable to God? God doesn't need reassurance that we find Him acceptable! What He wants from us is our love, reciprocating the love He has ever given us, His human children. In compassion, He is deeply personal, especially in what He wants for us: our fulfillment in perfect bliss.

This book is being written also for another purpose: to emphasize the commonality of all true religions, which aim to uplift the human spirit. Too long have religious leaders sought the bedrock of their faith in dogmatism. It is time they realized that religion can and should promote universal harmony. The pages of history are stained with the sad consequences of clinging blindly to untested beliefs. This narrow attitude is certain to change, as people's realities become more global, transformed by rapid travel and ever-speedier communication.

God is one. Truth is one. In material science the proofs of hypotheses are accepted as conclusive. Simple experimentation is the key to universal agreement, no less so as former notions of material substantiality are replaced by the knowledge that matter is insubstantial. If people everywhere could be persuaded to submit their religious beliefs to the test of actual experience, they would find that dogmas constitute only a crust that covers an essentially formless reality. Many religious differences might then be resolved, for in human life the counterpart of scientific experimentation is the test of experience.

Even the teachings of various religions, each of which claims to be inspired by divine revelation, would merge in a unanimity of understanding. For the revelations themselves only declare truth: They do not, in themselves, define truth. Truth, like gas, which conforms to the shape of its container, is abstract. Those who know truth express it according to people's capacity for understanding.

A study of the lives of those who have deeply lived their religions—the genuine saints—reveals numerous points that they had in common. Among those similarities is an appreciation for divine aspiration whatever the form it takes, and a gentle disapproval of narrow-mindedness. The difference between being conscious of God's presence and merely serving Him busily suggests that a more enlightened understanding may someday inspire in humanity everywhere a spirit of religious friendship and cooperation.

Differences of belief among the world's religions are inevitable. Indeed, they are desirable. For God's expressions are ever unique. The amazing variety in the universe should inspire people to a deeper appreciation for one another, without judging anyone.

Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam—every true religion, in fact—is no merely cultural phenomenon. It is dedicated to doing the divine will, which is ever to uplift human consciousness. Could any religion take out a divine patent on what simply IS? Humanity has one common Father/Mother, whom it calls variously God, Dio, Dieu, Gott, Bog, Jehovah, Allah, Ishwara, Jagadamba, and by many other names. Religion is no mere ornament of civilization: It is the fundamental need of all human beings. Its purpose is to raise human consciousness.

What I have written so far, then, is not a proposal to compromise true teachings for the sake of establishing interreligious harmony. Only in higher awareness, never in compromise, can the universality of truth become generally accepted. Oneness must be experienced, not merely proclaimed.

Here, then, is the purpose of this book: to encourage people everywhere to seek a meaningful relationship with God, and to establish, as a projection of that inner relationship, the brotherhood of all mankind. The noble plant, truth, will never flourish except in the soil of spiritual love.