Self Realisation

Author(s): Shrimad Rajchandra, Govardhandas
Publisher: Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram

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The Self Realization
has written for the advanced and the initiate in religion and not for all and sundry. While many Christian Missonary friends considered their religious duty to convert me to Christianity on the ground of its wonderful vows of charity, chastity, faith and hope, I made up my mind that I should first find out whether the religion of my birth namely Hinduism, gave me the message that I needed. And I asked a few fundamental questions on Hinduism to Sri Raichandbhai by post and his replies were so logical, so appealing and convincing that I regained my faith in Hinduism and I was saved from conversion of religion. From that moment onwards, my respect and admiration for Raichandbhai increased with leaps and bounds and I considered him to be my relligious guide till he lived." The nature of religion as described by Srimad
"Religion does not mean religious differences and set beliefs. Religion also does not mean cramming or reading of all religious texts or believing all what is said in them as gospel truth. Religion is the spiritual quality of the soul. It is imbedded in human nature in visible or invisible form. By religion we are able to know the duty of man, by it we are able to know our relations (or kinship) with other living beings. But all this requires the capacity to know one's self. If we do not know ourselves we cannot know others rightly. By religion one can know himself. Such a religion can be selected from wherever it is found. All students of comparative religion will testify to what is said about religion here. No religious scripture advises people to tell a lie or to practise falsehood. Nor does any religion advise violence. Shankaracharya expressed the quintessence of all scriptures in the formula Brahma satyam Jaganmithya that Brahma is the only reality, all else called the world and its differences are unreal or mixtures of truth and falsehood. Kuran Sharif declared that God is only one
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