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No. IV RULES FOR ASCETICS IN JAINISM, BUDDHISM & HINDUISM. 81
(6 Kayena samvare sadhu sadhu vachaya samvare.
Manasă samvare sadhu savvattheo samvare.
99
(Dhammapada. Bhiksubaggo 2.
We should therefore remember that though the goal is the same, the paths and means of locomotion are different according to the inclination of different persons. As Ramakrishna Paramahansa has said, "Though men appear alike on the outside, they are entirely different in their internal likings and capacities. So, what is good for one is injurious to another." Religious teachers in India always recognized this, and prescribed rules to suit individual tendencies. This is opposed to the congregational activities of the West and the idea of the Church. In India it is the Guru who judges what is suitable for the religious aspirant, and individual struggle is necessary for one's spiritual uplift. The rules to help one advancing in the religious path are in substance the same, though in practice these may have become different. It is useless to quarrel for these differences, for every rule and custom was introduced for a particular purpose, and men are free to choose what is suitable for them according to their belief. In the words of Ramakrishna "He alone is really great who can realize the truth in the different doctrines."
