Why does every religion claim that it is the best?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Every religion has its own conception of how it is the best. And then they also have their own philosophy, justification of how they are the best. And this often leads to conflict.
So, how do we understand why every religion has this idea that they are the best? You see, within every tradition, every religion, there are exclusive statements. This is the best way. This is the only way.
And there are plural statements. Other people want to follow their path, let them follow their path. There are statements like that also.
Now, it depends on the leaders of that tradition, which they emphasize. Now, in one sense, why are the exclusive statements present? They are present to create focus. Just like a patient has gone to many doctors and has taken the diagnosis from here, diagnosis from there, diagnosis from there and has actually not applied, taken any prescription.
Finally, that patient comes to a doctor. Doctor says, OK, this is your diagnosis and this is your prescription. No, no, but I went to this doctor and he said that.
I went to that doctor and she said that. And I went there and the doctor will say, just forget it all. Just forget all that you heard.
Just do what I’m telling you. You’ll be cured. Now, this statement, just forget everything and just do what I’m telling you.
This is not meant to be a rejection of all other doctors. It is just meant as an emphasis for the patient to take that treatment. So, when this context is forgotten and you say that this doctor said forget all other doctors.
That might seem like an exclusive statement. But similarly, when people come to any path, at that time, to get them to focus on that path, this kind of statements are always there in every tradition. So, their purpose is not to convey an absolute universal truth.
Their purpose is to create focus among the practitioners. Now, if the leaders of that tradition they emphasize on this statement as absolute truth, then that tradition often becomes supremacist, trying to say that we are the best, we are supreme. Or they become intolerant, they become fanatical.
And this danger is there in all traditions. That’s why the leaders of the tradition, it is important for them to convey the statements according to their context. Now, that way, if we see this kind of superiority, it does not require religion for that.
We can see regions, we come from India, there are people of each state, they think we are the best people. There are people of races, even among, there are people who think, our Hitler Nazis they thought we are the best race. So, this human ego that is there that wants to prove itself to be superior, to be the best.
And the purpose of spirituality is to transcend the ego. But unfortunately, sometimes the ego misappropriates the spiritual path. And instead of going beyond the ego, we end up perpetuating the ego.
So, I have to understand that actually I am not a Hindu, I am not a Muslim, I am not a Christian. I am actually a soul and I am a spiritual being and I have a connection with God. So, I have to gain that realization.
That’s how I transcend the ego. But instead what happens is, just as the ego wants to claim superiority by maybe getting more wealth, getting more power, getting more position or claiming my country to be the best, my race to be the best. Similarly, the ego also wants to claim superiority by claiming that my religion is the best.
And when that happens, then actually religion gets hijacked by the ego. And when religion is hijacked by the ego, it can actually become very dangerous. And much of the violence that happens in the name of religion, that is because the religion has been hijacked by the ego.
Where the religion is no longer a spiritual search for the truth, but it has become a material search for power. A political search for territory or a social search for wealth or economic search for wealth or whatever it is. So, the ego can misappropriate the tradition’s teachings for its own purposes.
And that’s why we have to be very alert in our practices. That we remind, remember that we want to go beyond. When Srila Prabhupada was in Iran, he had sent some devotees to Iran to share Krishna Bhakti there.
And at that time he was talking with them and in the background, suddenly they started hearing the prayers of Namaz. And Prabhupada folded his hands and closed his eyes and he became absorbed in those prayers. And then after Prabhupada opened his eyes and his eyes were bright.
He was looking jubilant and he said, wasn’t that beautiful? Now these young devotees, they thought, oh, we are going to deliver the whole world. So, one of the devotees asked Prabhupada, wouldn’t it be better if they chanted Hare Krishna instead of Allah o Akbar? So, Prabhupada looked pained and he said, why are you making me sectarian? He says, we are worshipping God in our way and they are worshipping God in their way. So, you know, there has to be a broad-mindedness.
And if it is not there, then that means the ego has hijacked the religion. So, this can happen and we can’t blame any particular religion. All of us, we also have that tendency.
So, for inspiring commitment to our path, it is important that we have faith in the potency of our path. So, it is for creating focus, the statements of exclusive sounding statements, supremist sounding statements, they can be seen as impetuses for creating focus. But if they are seen as absolute truths, then they become tools for the ego to hijack our spiritual growth.
And then we end up perpetuating the ego instead of transcending the ego. Does it answer your question?