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Religion of the World: Religion of the Self
Which Religion Should One Adopt for Happiness?
Questioner: What is religion (dharma)? Who has to practice religion? What is the purpose of practicing religion?
Dadashri: All the religions that are out there, are all worldly (vyavaharik; secular) religions. Vyavaharik means that they are for carrying out the worldly life. The Vaishnav religion, the Jain religion, the Shiva religion, etc., are all religions that pertain to the worldly interaction (vyavahar).
Now isn't there a code of conduct for the vehicle drivers on the road? Their 'dharma' (code of conduct) says that any collision with another vehicle will be fatal. It says that you are at grave risk if you collide; therefore, do not collide with anyone. Do not cause any harm or trouble (traas) to anyone. That is the law governing (dharma of) the vehicles and traffic. The vyavahar dharma also says the same: not to give suffering to others. If you want happiness, then you should give happiness to others. If that person does not give you any happiness, then there will be others who will. And if you hurt others, then definitely anyone will hurt you. This is called vyavaharik (worldly) dharma.
The real religion is the nature of one's own Self. That is the religion of the Self (Atma-dharma); it is the religion of your natural state, wherein there is supreme bliss. The real religion begins to work on its own, from the moment the
