Religion and Truth Essay

All Religion is TruthWhat is insanity of the religion? According to Ramakrishna, no One religion is truth, however, all the integral transmissions of sacred wisdom and contemplative practice that survive the test of time are true. (43) That means, the complete devotion to the source of knowledge and actions through prayer are the fundamental and most important walks of life that constitute to the wholeness of truth. These most important aspects of religion constitute to the wholeness of truth by what they place on the individual, which is the Grace of God. The belief that My Religion Alone is true is not the correct belief because all religions are truth from what the religion does to the practitioner. If the practitioner is in complete consciousness of God and life, that alone is the key to truth. So the basis of all these religions, be it Hindu, Christian, Jew or Muslim is primarily through the sanctity of God and that is the willingness to devote time and life through veneration to the Divine Reality, which is God, that brings all the religions together. As time transcends and religion expands, reality becomes the critical starting point through where we begin our destiny of truth. That means, knowledge is transcendent and that it is the gauntlet or tool that creates the value of truth within the individual. To understand this point fully, we must break down what Ramakrishna meant by integral transmissions of sacred wisdom. Integral means the completeness of the whole, and in this case it is used to exemplify the wholeness of truth in being the basis of knowledge. By the basis it is then completed through transmission or rather a passage of possibly enlightenment of knowledge. That is why knowledge is referred to as sacred, because of the qualities of truth that it brings within the individual. Furthermore, what constitutes to truth is the emphasis the individual places on eternal goal or spiritual peace by a means of illuminating the sacredness of knowledge. Persistence of intense awareness is the truth that Ramakrishna is trying to convey. Moreover, the goal of achieving a manifested state of sanctity is through complete sincerity. That is sincerity works in the favor of the practitioner because they not only work for truth and knowledge for themselves but indeterminately for God alone, and this is what is achieved in all religions, in essence making them very connected and similar. According to Ramakrishna, its supposed to be about what we fight for in religion, not what we fight for outside of religion. In addition, what we fight for is suppose to be for the ultimate being, God, through Divine Nature. Divine Nature is achieved through a balance of realization in our daily life. The key tool is sincerity. Sincerity is about being genuine and honest; however it is about being honest first and foremost to the individual. Because without being able to be truthful to yourself, there would be no decisive factor that contributes to inspired belief and thus creating a problem within the individual. The way to obtain divine nature is not simple, because it takes time, but those who are sincere can and will achieve it. Divine nature consists of being able to learn from our daily trials and tribulations and learning very critically from them. At the same rate, the most fundamental thing that helps us on our path is the presence of God within us. (42)Why does Ramakrishna refer to God being the only living presence within us and how do we achieve this? The benefits of having God within us are bliss and freedom. What it means to have bliss could potentially lead to freedom, freedom of the self. It is freedom of the self because the presence of God is the only thing that we become conscious of and creates a sort of ripple within us that really brings out the bliss of God. Moreover, it is the awareness of God that structure our daily life and thus creates a Divine Nature that we live. Religions create a sense of supreme happiness and that reveal an urgent desire to be at peace. Through understanding that God is present everywhere is the beginning stages of awareness, but moving to the stage that God is present with in us creates motivation and an incentive for the individual to complete his or her goal in life. Furthermore, in order to maintain a balance of the spiritual self, there are certain spiritual ideals that are really crucial in understanding the truth in all religions. Devotion seems to sound easy, whereas it is serves as a purpose for the individual. Devotion is the dedication to belief in God and resulting in profound piety. It is correlated with the idea of ideals. Ideals are processes that work hand in hand in achieving the individuals ultimate goal, which is developed by the means of devotion. Ideals are the realization of something more and that something more is the supreme presence. Ideals exist in the mind but at the same time in the heart and the entire body. It takes form in the individuals day to day action and helps in creating a balance within the individuals spiritual conscience. Once this process of ideals is followed up by proper actions and proper living, then harmony is reached in the form of the manifestation of God. Manifestation of God means that the cause of being completely habituated in living the proper way creates the effect of harmony. Harmony is a consistent pleasing effect that is caused by this absolute idea of consciousness and bliss. That is to say that all the important aspects that were stated from the beginning to now, are the primary purpose of the truth in all the religions, in essence showing the beauty that God brings forth through each and every religion. Finally we must go back to the original question of insanity. Ramakrishna in essence is saying that it is insane to believe your religion is the only and ultimate truth for we have no basis for that belief. We can see through the process of spiritual development that the beauty lays in the truth and sincerity each and every religion places on the individual in such a balanced and consistent manner. BIBLIOGRAPHY1. Philip Novak. The Worlds Wisdom: Sacred Texts of the World. Harper SanFrancisco. -1st ed. Pg 42-44.