Page 7 - All India Magazine Oct-2018

The higher and truer Hinduism
The higher and truer Hinduism is also of two kinds,
sectarian and unsectarian, disruptive and synthetic, that
which binds itself up in the aspect and that which seeks the
All. The first is born of rajasic or tamasic attachment to an
idea, an experience, an opinion or set of opinions, a temper-
ament, an attitude, a particular guru, a chosen Avatar. This
attachment is intolerant, arrogant, proud of a little knowl-
edge, scornful of knowledge that is not its own. It is always
talking of the kusanskars, superstitions, of others and is blind
to its own; or it says, “My guru is the only guru and all oth-
ers are either charlatans or inferior,” or, “My temperament
is the right temperament and those who do not follow my
path are fools or pedants or insincere”; or “My Avatar is
the real God Himself and all the others are only lesser rev-
elations”; or “My ishta devata is God, the others are only
His partial manifestations.” When the soul rises higher, it
follows by preference its own ideas, experiences, opinions,
temperament, guru, ishta, but it does not turn an ignorant
and exclusive eye upon others. “There are many paths,” it
cries, “and all lead equally to God. All men, even the sinner
and the atheist, are my brothers in sadhana and the Beloved
is drawing them each in His own way to the One without a
second.” But when the full knowledge dawns, I embrace all
experiences in myself, I know all ideas to be true, all opin-
ions useful, all experiences and attitudes means and stages
in the acquisition of universal experience and completeness,
all gurus imperfect channels or incarnations of the one and
only Teacher, all ishtas and Avatars to be God Himself…..
The destruction of bondage, the realisation of freedom,
the trampling upon our fetters, that is the first need of the
future. It was to give mukti that Ramakrishna came, not to
impose a new bondage. Therefore was Vivekananda His

All India Magazine, October 2018 7