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Religion, Hinduism, and the Arya Samaj
Quote:
“All the religions share universal truths, yet these are clouded by a myriad of sectarian dogmas, and these are the product of a fundamental misunderstanding of the underlying reality.”

Very true. This reveals the essential flaw of manmade religion (Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, etc.): namely, they all expound half-truth as Truth and are therefore fundamentally unsound. Because Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews, etc. attempt to realize the Truth by means of half-truth, the Truth remains unfound (unpracticed and unknown).

Quote:
“If we begin removing the temporality and particularity infused in religion by ignorance, pride and misinterpretation, we come closer and closer to the original truth. And if we eliminate the sectarian spirit entirely, we arrive at the timeless, eternal, impersonal, unchanging Truth which transcends temporal, spatial and individual constraints.”

True indeed; when we remove the coverings of ignorance inherent in all these religions, there are no separate or distinguishable religions left: all that remains is the pure Truth (embodied in the Vedas). When we leave all our images of Truth we grasp the Truth directly, which is the ONLY way it can be truly known. The reason we do not leave our images of Truth is because we are attached to our ego. Our images of Truth prop up our ego and give us a false sense of knowing, when in fact we know nothing. (In other words, as long as we are in our ego, we CANNOT know the Truth, regardless how much we know ABOUT the Truth.)

Quote:
“If the Arya Samaj was a religion; if its members worshipped Swami Dayanand Saraswati as a ‘prophet’, ‘avatar’ or ‘god-man’; if Aryas considered Swamiji’s interpretation to be the only possible valid one, [then criticism and reproach would certainly be warranted.] However, none of this is the case.

Swamiji is honored as a man who possessed the vision and valour to denounce sectarianism and to promote the study of the Vedas by all peoples, irrespective of race, caste, nationality, gender, or any other mentally imposed limitations. For that reason, the Arya Samaj can never be considered a ‘sect’ – for there is nothing ‘sectarian’ about it.”

You are cent percent (100%) correct Shishyaji. Maharishi Dayananda presented himself without any false pretenses; refused to pretend to be the personal confident of God or lie to others and tell them GOD ‘whispered the Truth’ into his ears. He established the Arya Samaj with the express purpose of NOT starting a new religion but only to awaken in the hearts of all to the Universal Wisdom of the Vedas — our common spiritual roots and the only foundation upon which world peace and prosperity can be permanently established.

All people, regardless of their academic qualifications, intellectual capacity, (or their debating skills) realize that fresh, pure water is universally essential for good health. But only misguided and misinformed fools (educated or not) do not realize the universal applicability of the universal, imageless, impersonal, ever fresh (Pranav) TRUTH.

Just as everyone requires pure water and no one benefits from impure water, in the same way, everyone needs the pure, undiluted Truth to realize the aim of human life. Without the pure, undiluted Truth, we become delirious and lose sight of our goal and start shooting ourselves in the foot, effectively crippling our chances of reaching our full potential (which is to attain the highest state of Consciousness, which some call MOKSHA). Worse yet, when many people band together under the banner of false religion, their aim is so far off that they not only shoot themselves but they start shooting others too. Such is the condition of the world today.

Quote:
“A hindu would classify every path as valid, perhaps you have forgotten this.”

Shishya’s comment:

This kind of thinking – which, as far as I can tell, is a relatively recent development in ‘Hindu’ thought and is limited to particular schools only – is nothing but a crutch for those who either do not know the true path or who lack the courage to displease some of their more financially endowed or socially prominent supporters. There may indeed be variations on the path, and it is certainly true that each person’s experiences are unique to them alone. But to make a blanket statement that ‘all paths are valid’ is misleading at best and dangerously irresponsible at worst. It is a vacuous expression that is meant to conceal the speaker’s ignorance and insecurities in regards to his own knowledge, though it only reveals his lack of experience and conviction. Perhaps a parable will help to explain what I mean:

Imagine you are a traveller in a strange land, and though you have a particular destination in mind, you have no guide. Therefore, you turn to another who seems to know his way around. You ask him, “Sir, how may I reach the place to which I desire to go?” He looks at you for a moment, and then says, “For a small fee, I can point you on a sure path so that you will eventually reach your destination.” Eager to start your journey, you quickly produce the fee and deposit it in the man’s outstretched hand. However and to your surprise, rather than telling you the direction, he simply smiles and closes his eyes, resting in a meditative position. You wait a few moments, hoping that he will eventually tell you. But after a few minutes with no change in the situation, you lose your patience and demand that he tell you the way. The man slowly opens his eyes, turns to you and says, “You may go in any direction you like. For we are all here on this earth, and this earth is round in form. Therefore, no matter where you are, you can begin your journey in any direction you like, and eventually, with enough time, you will reach the destination you desire. Go, therefore, in peace.”

Only a fool would follow such ‘guidance’. Yet this is precicely what is done when people buy into the ‘all paths are valid’ scam.”

Again, Shishyaji, very insightful observations, and nicely illustrated by the parable given in the middle paragraph. These insights are right ‘ON’ the mark and are likely to incite the ignorant who insist on leaving their own mark in this world, even when they are way ‘OFF’ the mark.

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