Philosophy Of Liberation Interfaith

Author(s): Paramhansa Maharaj, Donald Howard, Veena Howard
Publisher: USA Santmat Society of North America

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These essentials have previously been discussed; satsang is referenced in section 53; moral rectitude is addressed in section 60; meditation is
referenced in sections 54 through 59. In Sant Mat an intense eagerness to acquire these essentials must be present. However, devotion to the teacher is paramount to the other three essentials and is the key to achieving the other three.
85. The desire of an individual to be free from sufferings and to attain the happiness of absolute peace is naturally present in the hearts of all. The purpose of Sant Mat is to provide a system which fulfills the desires of attaining absolute peace.
86. In the world there are many deities (1) recognized by their respective devotees. Even though the deities have different names and forms their Atma (Spiritual Essence, Self) is the same. The devotees can never be perfect in their worship unless they realize the Atma (Self) of their deity. There is no doubt that one who realizes the Self of one's deity attains the Supreme Sovereign God. The Self can only be realized through the four essential practices described in section 84. Every deity is formed of Gross, Subtle, Causal, Supra-Causal and Oneness aspects as well as having Suddha Atma (Pure Self Existence).
The devotee who does not understand the essential nature of the deity makes no effort to realize the
1. Although "deities" is spelled in lower case here denoting an aspect of the Supreme Being, it in fact denotes any of the forms of God which various religions and philosophies recognize.
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