OmshantiMandiram Svami Vivekananda

Universal Religion

Svami Vivekananda

My idea, therefore, is that all these religions are different forces in the economy of God, working to the good of mankind, and that not one can become dead, not one can be killed. Just as you cannot kill any force in nature, so you cannot kill any one of these spiritual forces. You have seen that each religion is living. From time to time it may retrograde or go forward. At one time, it may be shorn of a good many of its trappings; at another time it may be covered with all sorts of trappings; but all the same, the soul is ever there, it can never be lost. The ideal which every religion represents is never lost, and so every religion is intelligently on the march.

And that universal religion about which philosophers and others have dreamed in every country already exists. It is here. As the universal brotherhood of man is already existing, so also is universal religion. Which of you, that have travelled far and wide, have not found brothers and sisters in every nation? I have found them all over the world. Brotherhood already exists; only there are numbers of persons who fail to see this and only upset it by trying for new brotherhoods. Universal religion, too, is already existing. If the priests and other people that have taken upon themselves the task of preaching different religions simply cease preaching for a few moments, we shall see it there. They are disturbing it all the time, because it is in their interest. You see that priests in every country are very conservative. Why it is so? There are very few priests who lead the people; most of them are led by the people and are their slaves and servants. If you say it is dry, they say it is so; if you say it is black, they say it is black. If the people advance, the priests must advance. They cannot lag behind. So before blaming the priests--it is the fashion to blame the priest--you ought to blame yourselves. You only get what you deserve. What would be the fate of a priest who wants to give you new and advanced ideas and lead you forward? His children would probably starve and he would be clad in rags. He is governed by the same worldly laws as you are. "If you go on," he says, "let us march." Of course, there are exceptional souls, not cowed down by public opinion. They see the truth and truth alone they value. Truth has got hold of them, has got possession of them, as it were, and they cannot but march ahead. They never look backward, and for them there are no people. God alone exists for them. He is the Light before them, and they are following that Light.

Source: Complete works, 2:366-367.

Of course this is a very big scheme, a very big plan. I do not know

whether it will ever work out. But we must begin the work. But how?

Take Madras, for instance. We must have a temple, for with Hindus

religion must come first. Then, you may say, all sects will quarrel about

it. But we will make it a non-sectarian temple, having only "Om" as the

symbol, the greatest symbol of any sect. If there is any sect here which

believes that "Om" ought not to be the symbol, it has not right to call

itself Hindu. All will have the right to interpret Hinduism, each one

according to his own sect ideas, but we must have a common temple. You

can have your own images and symbols in other places, but do not quarrel

here with those who differ from you. Here should be taught the common

grounds of our different sects, and at the same time the different sects

should have perfect liberty to come and teach their doctrines, with only

one restriction, that is not to quarrel with other sects. Say what you have

to say, the world wants it; but the world has no time to hear what you

think about other people; you can keep that to yourselves.

pp. 302-303 "The Future of India" from Lectures from Colombo to Almora