THE RADIANT LIGHT OF SPIRITUALITY, NOT THE DARK FACE OF DOGMA
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It is impossible for a spiritual person to think that their country 
is the only one of merit.  Cries like 'God Bless America' and the 
like which do not mention the whole human race are falsities and 
represent a misunderstanding of the Omniscient Consciousness that is 
God.  These limited sentiments are called geo-religious sentiment.  
They are a restriction and cannot represent spiritual awareness or 
understanding.

"This geo-economic sentiment is causing enormous harm in social 
life. Here, there is not the least concern for rationality. 
Rationality is a human quality only; no animal possesses it. The 
same applies to geo-religion.  There is a place of pilgrimage in a 
certain country where if even a crow dies during that pilgrimage, it 
is sure to go to heaven, what to speak of a human being! 

There are some people who want to make a show of their devotion, 
saying, "I am a slave of Vrindavana" (the holiest of places 
associated with Lord Krs'n'a). This is an extreme geo-sentiment. 
Vrindavana is a place -- how can you be its slave? Have you lost 
your reason? Another says, "No, no, not slave! I am the dust of 
Vrindavana". What are you saying? You are a human being; you are 
made of the five fundamental factors; why should you become dust? 
Still another goes a step further and says, "No, no, not dust, I am 
the excrement of a crow of Vrindavana". This is the height of absurd 
devotional display. They have lost all sense of rational judgement, 
and have not the least vestige of logic. This is an expression of 
geo-religion. Some people say, "Since I must die, I will die only in 
Kashi [Benares]". How strange! All countries have been created by 
the Supreme Consciousness, so all countries are equal. The universal 
concept of dharma (spirituality) that God is all-pervasive -- this 
universe is the expression of the latent All-Pervading Entity -- 
this essence of dharma has been forgotten. Ultimately dharma has 
been reduced to a geo-sentiment centring around Benares. 

"At least once in your life you should visit such-and-such place of 
pilgrimage -- then a cottage in heaven will be reserved for you!" 
What sort of mentality is this? All countries are equal; why worship 
with your face turned only towards the east, or the south, or the 
west. All countries, all directions, are equal.

"East, west, north, south, northeast, southeast, northwest, 
southwest, upwards, downwards -- my Supreme Consciousness 
encompasses all the directions." Then why should I give undue 
importance to any particular direction? To do that means geo-
religion; not dharma, but simply a religion."
(THE LIBERATION OF INTELLECT, DISCOURSE 3, GEO-SENTIMENT, 7 March 
1982, Calcutta)

Another such religious sentiment goes like this:

"It has been said, "The flow of the Ganges is the water which washed 
the feet of Na'ra'yan'a in heaven, and this water ultimately flowed 
into Shiva's matted locks. Then, piercing through the snow-white 
moon, it spread in all directions in a bright cascade. The clear 
water that dwells in Shiva's matted locks". This means the water of 
the Ganges.  This is all the imagination of the authors of the 
Puranas."
(NAMAH SHIVA'YA SHANTA'YA, DISCOURSE 8, ALL BASK IN THE GLORY OF 
SHIVA - 3, 30 May 1982, Calcutta)

Such is the way of religious merchants.

"On other occasions they resorted to blatant falsehood and 
said, "These are the commandments of God. Those who contradict these 
commandments will be damned to eternal hell-fire ... Your eyes will 
develop cataracts and your throat will contract goitre if you do not 
read the scriptures and pray to God every day ... If the offerings 
made to God touch your feet, or if you do not touch your forehead 
after handling consecrated food, you will develop leprosy ... It is 
God who has made caste divisions, the division of society into rich 
and poor, etc."
(RELIGIOUS DOGMA, Prout in a Nutshell Part 16, Shabda Cayanika' Part 
16, 3 April 1988, Calcutta)

"In the Vedic ages priests even taught ordinary people that if they 
bowed their heads only once a day before the Ga'yattrii deity, this 
will take them a step closer to heaven. 

Women are considered second class citizens in each and every 
religion. If equal status is given to women, it will be very 
difficult to exploit them. So to avoid this happening, women are 
kept oppressed. The exploitation of women has been continuing for 
centuries. Some religions say that if the husband is virtuous the 
wife is benefited, so the wife does not have to do anything herself. 
Other religions say that men can go to heaven, but women have to 
remain standing at heavens gate. All this is dogma. Intelligent 
people know that nobody can share the virtues or vices of others. 
Everybody has to move with their own reactions to past actions."
(THE RUDIMENTAL CAUSE OF RELIGIOUS DOGMA, RELIGIOUS DOGMA, Prout in 
a Nutshell Part 16, 13 April 1988, Calcutta)

No serious spiritual aspirant can believe these things.

"Does the Supreme Consciousness reside in heaven or Vaekun't'ha 
above the seven realms of existence?  No.  He is omnipotent: He is 
in Vaekun't'ha (heaven) as well as in the lowest hell.  In fact, any 
place where God is non-existent, cannot itself exist.  Hence to 
substantiate the existence of anything, the presence of the Supreme 
Consciousness is essential.  So if so-called sinners complain that 
God does not look at them, they are mistaken.  He does look at them -
 He is with them.  The moment those sinners will say with tears in 
their eyes, "O Lord, please, take me in Your lap" He will 
immediately lift them upon His lap and brush the dust off their 
bodies and say, "I am cleansing all the dirt and dross of your 
sins".  Hence under no circumstances should anyone think that God 
can remain far away from them, because He cannot remain away from 
His created beings at all - it is contrary to His very nature."
(SUPRAMUNDANE HERITAGE AND SUPRAMUNDANE DESIDERATUM, Subha's'ita 
Sam'graha Part 11, 3 April, 1979, Siliguri)

On the humorous side, one can even go so far as to say:

"The Supreme Consciousness is my Father, the Creative Principle is 
my Mother, and the three worlds of earth, heaven and hell are my 
native land."
(DISCOURSES ON TANTRA  VOLUME 1, TANTRA AND INDO-ARYAN CIVILIZATION, 
A Few Problems Solved Part 1, May 1959, Muzaffarpur)

And:

"We are ready to live in hell, if the Lord is there in hell. We are 
not ready to go to heaven, if the Lord is in hell. 
This is the proper mentality of a devotee." 
(SUBHA'S'ITA SAM'GRAHA PART 21, JAEVA DHARMA AND BHA'GAVATA DHARMA, 
24 October 1971 DMC, Vishakhapatnam)

Why would a devotee or lover of God think like this?

"As an Entity, God is as sweet as He is soft. People experience His 
softness in the deepest cavity of their hearts and in the 
controlling point of human sentimentality. There is no scope for 
harshness there. When one thinks of another entity, he or she thinks 
with the softness of the heart, not with harshness. For instance, 
suppose a little girl does not go to school. Her mother, in 
displeasure, bursts out, "Blast you -- neglecting your studies. You 
naughty child! If you don't change your ways, you'll go to hell". 
Later on she has second thoughts about her words, she realizes her 
mistake. She tells herself, 'It wasn't proper to chastise my little 
child that way. Supposing she didn't go to school, what of it? I 
wished her death. O God, I beseech You, don't take her life. They 
were only words from my mouth, O Lord. I didn't really mean them.' 
 
The subterranean Cosmic flow operating in the human heart is always 
soft, never harsh. This is the flow of the touch inferences in human 
beings. This is how the Supreme Consciousness is attracting people 
in the world of touch inferences. He does not allow people to be 
harsh, He wants them to remain soft. Outwardly, these soft-minded 
people will have to 
assume a harsh composure against the wicked. This is the way of the 
world. By nature you are not hard-hearted. There are people whom we 
call cruel because of their hard-heartedness. But if those very 
wicked persons go deeper into their beings, they will no longer 
remain wicked or hard-hearted. Mostly it is just that they take a 
superficial view of life. Had they gone deep into their minds, had 
they tried to realize God with their sentimentality, they would 
certainly have felt the presence of the undercurrents of His 
softness. The difficulty with them is that they never go deep into 
their sentimentality and hence they have a tendency towards hard-
heartedness."
(NAMA'MI KRS'N'ASUNDARAM, DISCOURSE 27, KRS'N'A AND SUPRA-AESTHETIC 
SCIENCE, 12 April 1981, Calcutta)

From this it can be seen that no religion can condemn anyone to 
hell.  To do so is a love for the violent and the hurtful.  
Similarly, when one leader of the world claims that his or her 
country is the chosen one or that it will be blessed by God over 
other countries, it is also a narrow sentiment and a hurtful.  The 
object of such talk is merely to create division.

"With complete trust at the feet of these intellectuals, people did 
not realize that they had sold themselves to cheats. The illusion of 
escaping the misfortunes of this life, and going to heaven in the 
next, cloud their simple minds."
(HUMAN SOCIETY PART 2, THE KS'ATTRIYA (WARRIOR) AGE)

"They also created many fanciful and appealing stories, and demanded 
that people accept them as the truth. They declared that those who 
listened to these stories with reverence, holding a copper pot 
containing Ganga water and basil leaves, would attain heavenly 
bliss, while those who showed any disrespect or disregard for them 
would be annihilated. Common, fearful people accepted such dogma 
without the least protest, and believed that the absurd, mind-
boggling stories were spiritual discourses.

Dogma has had a extremely negative influence on ordinary people. 
This is the consequence of the play of dogma.

Isms can never help establish universalism. Rather, they merely whip 
up artificial differences amongst human beings. By arousing narrow 
sentiments, the adherents of dogma hope to fulfil their selfish 
aspirations. Isms are nothing but a collection of dogma. Modern, 
educated people must be liberated from all sources of dogma and 
petty isms. They should reject the worn out shackles of the past and 
welcome the new, crimson dawn with an open mind. This will prepare 
the way for all-round success in human life, and the attainment of 
the highest fulfilment.

The followers of dogma do not want people to tread the path of 
rationality. You must have noticed that the flag-bearers of dogma do 
not support scientific development. Although some scientific 
theories are based on dogma, and although some scientists are 
hesitant to leave the labyrinth of dogma, dogma has comparatively 
little influence on science. The worst propounders of dogma --the 
kings of dogma -- do not want people to develop mental clarity. They 
do not want the penetrating illumination of the sun's light to 
pierce through the mists of dogma. They do not want people to bathe 
in the radiant light of the day and stand under the clear, unclouded 
sky."
(RELIGIOUS DOGMA, Prout in a Nutshell Part 16, Shabda Cayanika' Part 
16, 3 April 1988, Calcutta)

"Movement which is devoid of logic and reason is called "dogma," and 
a collection of dogma is called an "ism." When the advocates of 
dogma and the followers of isms lack sufficient charisma to convince 
people through the power of their personalities, they tried to 
persuade them by taking the name of God. They openly exploit others 
in the name of the Supreme. Sometimes they said, "I have received 
certain instructions in a dream. God's commandments are that you 
should follow these instructions." At other times they would 
intimidate people saying, "If you violate these commandments you 
will suffer eternal damnation". Thus, they created complexes in the 
minds of the people, and they force them to accept all kinds of 
dogma and follow them out of fear."
(RELIGIOUS DOGMA, Prout in a Nutshell Part 16, Shabda Cayanika' Part 
16, 3 April 1988, Calcutta)

Today's age requires the radiant light of the clear unclouded sky 
for society to develop spiritually, not the dogma of religious 
merchants.

from works of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti 





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