Achieve the Goal of One Humanity, One God

by Chariji, January 5, 2007, Chennai, India.

My Master used to say that it is easy to begin something, but to carry it through successfully, faithfully, with dedication and love one needs a lot of confidence and faith in what you are doing. We have these seminars here in India, with people from all over the world participating, only to bring people of the world together and try to create the seed of a future growth towards unity, harmony, love, brotherhood and peace.

If I come to your countries, these talks will have no meaning because, of course, in Brazil you are all brothers, in Pakistan they are all brothers, in Russia they are all brothers and sisters. That is a political brotherhood, a linguistic brotherhood, a religious brotherhood, but not a human brotherhood. What we are trying to create and maintain is a human brotherhood in which history, geography, language and politics have no place. God did not create Russia, God did not create Pakistan, God did not create India, nor did God create China and the other countries. God created one world and He created human beings along with animals, birds, reptiles, fish and said, “Live in harmony.”

Today’s world is full of dissension: religious, political, ideological and, of course, economic. Economically there are the people who have and the people who have not. Politically there is United States, all-powerful, China trying to become equally powerful, and all the rest in fear of both these countries. Why it should be so, I don’t know. As long as Russia was powerful we had two equally opposed forces balancing each other, you know, and there was some peace among the rest of the countries—freedom from fear. When Russia went off the power map (I am talking of USSR, not Russia, USSR), we were now left with one powerful force and that is a danger to this world. That China may become such a power like the old USSR is not the solution. That the powerful should give up their power can only give confidence to the rest of the world. Because when all are powerful everybody is willing to fight everybody else. But when all are equally human, with only human powers, no powers of science, no powers of technology, then we live in harmony and love. So we have to be conscious of these forces working in the world which are threatening to destroy the world, not next century or even next year, but perhaps even tomorrow.

So these small circles of, I hope, harmony, mutual confidence, mutual trust, love should serve as nuclei for the future, and create in your respective countries this confidence so that we lose the fear of each other that the world now has. USA afraid of China, China afraid of India, India afraid of Pakistan, Pakistan afraid of, I don’t know, India maybe. This is very wrong, you know. I was very happy when East Germany and West Germany united. I thought maybe this is a new beginning for this world. But when I saw Yugoslavia divided into Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, I was heartbroken. Because I lived in Yugoslavia for about eighteen months and I came to love Yugoslavia as my own country and the Slavonic people as people very close to my heart. When I see families breaking up, it is worse than nations breaking up.

So you see we have a big job ahead of us, a long way to go, and great work, important work, which we have to do with our heart if we need the survival of the human race. I hope you do not think I am exaggerating. Because even the United Nations is now afraid of what can happen to this world, you see. You must not go back home as Brazilians, or Chinese, or Italians, but as human beings. That you were born in China and she in Yugoslavia, or Serbia, and I in India, these choices were made by the soul before it was born here. We did not choose these countries by name.

Apparently the soul chose an environment in which it could grow spiritually and get liberation. If that choice of the soul is respected in this life, that goal is assured. But when we are born, instead of remaining a human being, we become Chinese, Indian, Brazilians, Chileans and we destroy the peace of this world. We have to forget that we belong to a country and remember that we belong to this world. We must forget our nationality and become citizens of this world. We must forget our religions, go beyond them and become children of God remembering that my Master said, “God has no religion, religions have no God.” Please write this in your diaries, look at it every day.

God does not belong to any religion. Religions are man-made. Therefore religions today divide people. Therefore we have ethnic wars, religious wars, starting from the war of the Crusades or even earlier. Therefore we have Jews and Arabs fighting each other. Therefore we have Hindus and Pakistanis hating each other—Muslims, not Pakistanis, Muslims. Therefore we have ethnic wars in Serbia, in Bosnia. All man created, supported by war mongers who sell military equipment at a good profit for themselves and which we foolishly use, not only destroying each other but destroying peace for everybody, setting the whole world armed on fire and fear.

So you see, this is not a small job which you are expected to try to do. If you do it because it is God’s will that this should be so, you will surely have success. Of course, failure means you are not interested in a one world or one human community which loves all. So failure will be yours; success will be yours and His. But remember even if you fail, God’s will will ultimately succeed. But our intention is to try to overcome all that will happen in between: fear, suppression, vices, destruction, mutual killing, hatred. Our effort is only to avoid all this and achieve the goal of one humanity, one God.

Every religion says there is only one God, but why are there so many religions then? Christianity says, “Come unto me,” you see. Islam says, “Allah-o-Akbar.” Of course, I also say, “Allah-o-Akbar”, but in English. “Allah-o-Akbar” only means “God is great.” Even a fish can say it in fish language; it doesn’t make it religious. But we have made associations and links with dress, with language and with religious, shall we say, sayings.

I remember I was speaking to a Muslim couple in Kuala Lumpur and something they said—I said, “Allah-o-Akbar.” And that Muslim gentleman, “Oh,” he said, “You are willing to say Allah-o-Akbar?” I said why not? I am only saying what you are saying in your language but I say it everyday in English, in Tamil, in Hindi, in Russian, I don’t know, you see. He did not understand. He thought I was joking, you see. That something should be said in some language and then only it becomes sacred is a foolishness.

See you call your dog. You don’t speak any language to it, any language it will understand, because it looks at your eyes and it will look—the tone of your voice. Dogs can understand what human beings are unwilling to understand. Therefore the insistence—which fortunately many religions have given up—on one language for prayer throughout the world. First thing is it ensures that most people don’t understand it, like Sanskrit. You know until about thirty years back all prayers in temples were only in Sanskrit. Now we have them in Tamil, in Hindi, in Gujarati, in Marathi—name the language—because I must be able to speak or try to communicate to my God in the language I understand; not in Latin if I am a converted Christian, or in Arabic if I am a converted Muslim, or in Chinese if I am a Taoist or something like that, you see. Only if I am understanding what I am able to pray for, will I know that my prayer is reaching Him. If I go to Russia, you know, I must be able to speak in Russian. Not to pray in Russian, because God—silence is his language. Therefore we sit in prayer, silent; and the heart speaks to the heart.

God cannot speak all languages (of course we may say God is great, he can learn all languages), but it is easier for me to communicate in the only language that is necessary, the language of the heart. So we meditate. We don’t address any particular god because we have no particular gods; we have only one God. And we say and place before him, humbly, not a request; because my Master said we are children of God. And no father likes his son or his daughter to come crawling on their knees and begging for something, you see. No father would like it. Would you like it if your son or daughter comes like that on their knees, grovelling, like a prisoner? We are not prisoners of God. We are not slaves of God. We are children of God. We must go with our heads erect. Proud to be his children and say, “Dad, I know I am not a perfect son, but please, look after me.” That’s all. We don’t have to say, “Look after my health, look after my pocket, look after my food.” Just say, “Dad, look after me.” We don’t have to specify, we don’t have to itemise; and we feel lighter, we feel that our prayer has been heard. Whereas in no religion does a man come out of his place of worship feeling that he has been heard. “I have been shouting but has he heard me?”

I have experience of most of the religions in the world. I have prayed in most of the places of prayer, and I know what it feels. Because in my own places of prayer like temples where I used to go thirty years back, twenty-five years back, I never felt anything except that we look at other people what they are offering, look at the pretty girls and come out. It is well known that in Christian churches many marriages are formed and arranged. Marriages have become social—I mean, places of worship are places of social gatherings.

All people worship out of fear. God says: I am love. Why should we be afraid? We say: God is love. Why are we afraid? In Christianity it says: Perfect love casteth out fear. Then why are we afraid? Because he was crucified? So there is no logic behind approaching God with fear, with supplication, with requests, with demands. We have only to go as son or daughter to the father and say, “Dad, I am here, look after me.” We don’t have to say, “I lost my job in Shanghai, or in Tokyo, or in Honolulu. Please, Dad, I’ve no job, so I have come to you.” The father will say, “My son, you are welcome to your home, whether you have a job or not, whether you have money or not, whether your wife has left you or not. Under all circumstances you are my son. Welcome and ever be with me.”

Thank you.