As different paths conceive God differently do they all lead to the same goal?

Answer Podcast

Do all paths lead to the same God, given that each religion has a different outlook on perfection of life? If goals themselves are different, then does that lead to a hierarchy of religions? But doesn’t Krishna say that all paths lead to the same goal? Yes. There is God. Now in God, there is a philosophical conception of God.
There is a particular scriptural, rather there is a philosophical definition of God. There is a particular scriptural revelation about God. And there is a cultural conception of God.
I don’t want to confuse, but I’ll make this simple. There is, you know, when we talk about, just like India, I can have a political map of India, we can have a topographical map of India, we can have a transport map of India. It is the same India, but it’s seen from different perspectives.
The same way, when we talk about God, there is a philosophical definition, that God is the cause of all causes. The philosophical definition of God is there. Now, within different scriptures, certain aspects of God may be revealed, certain aspects of God may be stressed.
Like I told earlier, the Bible itself was more of moral instruction. So the Christians, they integrated biblical theology with or biblical teachings with Greek philosophy. So now, if we can say the philosophical definition of God as is talked in the various religious traditions, that definition is more or less the same.
All religions talk about God as a source of everything. All religions talk about God as the sustainer of all of existence. So largely, there is tremendous similarity between various religions as far as the philosophical definition of God is concerned.
Now, beyond that, there is a scriptural revelation. In each scripture, God is revealed with certain details or certain emphasis. And then there is the cultural conception of God.
There is this Bhagavad Gita that tells about Krishna as God. But there are millions of people who may follow Bhagavad Gita and each of them may have their own conception of what the Bhagavad Gita teaches. They may have their own conception of what Krishna is.
So there is a cultural conception that people have. So there is one God that is talked about in say in the Bible, the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita. But the followers of the Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, they may not have the same conception of the same one God.
The God of the terrorists, here I am using the word God in double quotes, the God of the terrorists is not necessarily the same as the God of the transcendentists. The God of terrorists, they may say we are following the Quran, but their God is simply a super powerful being who hates the people whom they hate. Their God is simply a projection of their ego.
So that’s why when we say do all paths lead to the same end or do all religions talk about the same goal? In terms of philosophical definition, yes, the God that is talked about in the atheistic traditions of the world is the same. But in terms of the cultural conceptions of the followers, they may have different conceptions. And depending on how basically there is a journey from self-centeredness to God-centeredness.
That is the essence of developing a relationship with God. From what can I do for what can God do for me to what I can do for God. That is the mood of service.
So now to the extent that they are developing that, to that extent they are advancing. So ultimately, the various religions are meant to help people arrive at love of God. But specifically what conception who has, what conception the particular religious texts are teaching, what particular conception the teachers of that religious text are teaching with followers, that will vary.
So as the Gita says, mama vartamanu vartante manushyaha partha sarvashyaha, that all people are on my path. So there is the path of raising one’s consciousness upwards and all people are on that one path. But they are at different levels or different places on that path.
And some of them are going further on the path, some of them are going backwards on the path. So it is not necessary that just because somebody is practicing a religion, they are necessarily going up. Sometimes if religion itself becomes a tool for increasing one’s ego, increasing one’s pride, increasing one’s arrogance, then that person may not be going closer to God.
So it has to be, we have to see based on individual consciousness. So essentially or ultimately, yes, all religions are meant to help people to move towards the same one ultimate destination. But in terms of the individual cultural conception of that destination, there may be variety.
And based on that variety, people may or may not move all the way along the destination. So all paths lead to the same goal, but all paths may not lead people all the way to the same goal, because their own conception may be somewhat different. And if their conception is different, when I talk about all paths, I am not talking about atheism, I am talking about theistic religions and their proper practitioners.
So it depends on individual to individual. Even within Krishna consciousness also, it is not that just because we are chanting Hare Krishna, we are all going back to Krishna. We also have to purify ourselves.
We have to develop love for Krishna. So there is, there is nominal affiliation with a particular religion, particular organization, particular book. And there is all round dedication to what is taught over there.
So when there is dedication, then gradually, we may have a particular conception, but if that conception is not correct, that conception will get corrected. And we will move towards clearer and clearer understanding. So he says that as we keep practicing the process of purification, then the doubts go away.
The clear understanding, the understanding of the truth about God that emerges. So this is what the Bhagavatam is teaching the verses. That is actually the universal trajectory for purification.
So different people may follow it in different ways. But if people become purified, then whatever conceptions they may have about God, if they are not the precisely correct conception, those conceptions will get purged out. And then their understanding of God will match with the revelation which is given in the scriptures.
And if their revelation is not, is not fully given, the revelation is also partial, then whatever is not there, that will be provided by God from Him. Yogakshemam vahamyaham. I will provide you what you lack.
So Krishna says. So that way, ultimately, if people have the intensity of that love for God, they will be guided. So it is not just which path one is following, but with what intention, with what intensity, with how much intelligence one is following that path, that will determine whether one will get to the, get all the way to the destination.