Such a misunderstanding breeds fanatics who sow seeds of rivalry and jealousy which reap, in time, a harvest of death and disaster, all in the name of stone deities, wooden symbols, and brass gods! Three tiny bits of colored cloth may make the national flag, but that is not my motherland. But when I bow my head as my country's flag is raised, I am expressing my adoration for my nation, for the flag is the sacred symbol of my country's culture and its aspirations.

The Goal of all religions is one and the same - to merge back to our Source, the Supreme, the Substratum of all, the One that supports the very play of time and space. All religions describe God or Truth as omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal. God being the eternal Principle, the religions agree that the entire universe and every member of the plant, animal and human species can only be a projection of the infinite God.

This divine Principle holds all the varied objects of this universe together, as a string holds flowers of different shapes and colours in one beautiful garland. The plant, the animal, the human-all these are enlivened by that one Principle which enables all forms of life to gain their respective experiences. Call this Principle “Isvara”, “Father in Heaven”, “Buddha”, or by any other name you choose, it matters little; for all the many names indicate but the same Almighty Factor.

Ways of Reaching the Goal.

The spiritual goal remaining the same, the divine paths to it are different. (Cont’d)