The human ego likes to create separation, but the soul knows that we are all one. Any mystic will tell you this. Separation is an illusion created by the ego mind.
India is a land of rich spirituality, the birthplace of yoga and of many revered mystical teachers, from Paramahansa Yogananda to Deepak Chopra. A lesser known teacher, or guru as they are called there, was a man named Sai Baba. His teachings were simple: “There is only one religion: The religion of love.” He taught unity rather than separation, and it resonated with many.
Although he never left India, Sai Baba has millions of followers from all around the world and of all faith traditions. He taught, “Let the different faiths exist; let them flourish; let the glory of God be sung in all languages and in a variety of tunes. Respect the difference between the faiths and recognize them, so long as they do not extinguish the flame of Unity.”
My Hindu mother and Christian father were drawn to his teachings, so I grew up with them. I never learned to judge another person’s religion as wrong. I never learned to fear those whose faith practices were different from mine. I was always open and curious and I am thankful for that because it’s easier to feel at peace when you’re not judging others.
In the name of religious intolerance, so much pain and suffering has occurred throughout history. Indeed, it is the root cause of much of the inter-generational trauma we see today. Some believe we should do away with all religion because of this but I disagree. I believe that it is a wonderful thing to practice your faith tradition and you should do it wholeheartedly. And you should allow others to do the same with theirs.
One of the songs we sang in the Sai Centre went like this: “Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Allah all came to this land. All of them brought the message of love; love thy fellow man.”
Ultimately, it’s about love and nothing else. This is what unites all religions. The ego sees differences and creates separation, but love brings us back into unity and peace. Follow your path and focus on love, because that was the message of all the great masters. The names don’t matter. Only love matters.
