Spiritual Straight Talk - Sadhguru
Q. Why must religions insist that their way is exclusive?
Sadhguru: The moment man became religious should have been the end of all conflict, but unfortunately, everywhere in the world, religion has become the main source of conflict. This has taken the maximum number of lives and caused the maximum amount of pain on the planet for thousands of years. This is only because people believe in something that is not a reality for them. Somebody believes in something, somebody else believes in something else, and naturally conflict cannot be avoided. They may avoid conflict for some time, but some day they will fight. When each believes that only his way is right, they are bound to fight.
Though all religions started as an inward path, over time they have gotten twisted up and have simply became a set of beliefs. Though all religions speak of the value of a human life, for the sake of the same religion, today you are willing to take each other's lives. Much pain and conflict has risen in this planet because of this. This basic problem has not been properly addressed. People are always trying to do patch up jobs between one group and the other, but they do not last for long and somewhere conflict will arise -- the basis being that people believe in something which is not yet a
reality for them. If you come down to reality, it is the same reality for everybody, no matter what religious background you come from. When you come to belief, each group has their own belief of what is right and is wrong, what is true and false. You believe in things that you have not seen and experienced. This has become the basis of all conflict.
The basic purpose of yoga has always been to pursue religion as an inner experience, not as a belief. Don't start with any belief; start looking inward. Whatever is true, experience it and go further, approach it as a science. In yoga, we just see that fundamentally a human being can grow or reach his Ultimate Nature, God or the Divine, or whatever you call it, by approaching it either through the body, the mind, emotion, or through inner energies. These are the only four realities that you know. Everything else is imagined. Everything else has been taught to you.
These are the four basic ways of yoga. If the body is used for growth, it is Karma yoga. If the mind or intelligence is used, it is Gnana yoga. If emotion ? love and devotion are used, then it is Bhakti yoga. If you transform your energies and grow, it is Kriya yoga. This is like referring to head, heart, hands and energy. That's what you are; that's what every human being is. Nobody is all head, or all heart, or all hands, or all energy, they are a combination of these four dimensions.
Send your questions for Sadhguru to Isha Foundation, 10 Belcaro Circle, Nashville, TN 37215 or email: info@ishafoundation.org
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev will be in Atlanta July 7-13th. For more details see the "Events Calendar" in this issue.
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