by Maljini Amaratunga
"I have not come on any mission of publicity for any sect or creed or cause; nor have I come to collect followers for any doctrine. I have no plan to attract disciples or devotees into My fold or any fold. I have come to tell you of this unitary faith, this path of Love, this duty to love, this obligation to love. I have come to inscribe a golden chapter in the history of humanity, wherein falsehood will fail, truth will triumph, and virtue will reign. Character will confer power then, not knowledge or inventive skill, not wealth.

It is essential to realise and act on the basis that the purpose of religion is to promote unity in diversity, banish divisive tendencies and make human beings lead ideal lives. The essence of all religions, the message of all scriptures and destination for all mankind is the same. But because of selfishness, narrow-mindness and concern for self-interest, religion is used as a pretext for promoting differences and conflicts. All religions teach only what is good if they are studied intelligently. If your mind is good, what religion can be bad?

Morality and integrity, righteousness and charity, truth and tradition, forbearance and non-violence are basic tenets of all religions. These basic truths are common to all religions. But over the years men have forgotten these truths and have fostered divisive tendencies in the place of unity. As a result, respect for human values has gone.

It is essential to recognise the Divine unity that suffuses all the diversity in human existence. The essence of all creeds is one and the same thing. Man’s primary duty is to surrender to God. ‘Surrender’ means attaining the state in which the devotee feels he is one with God. This feeling arises out of the conviction that the same divinity is present in all.

Bodies of human beings are varied like bulbs, but the current passing through them is the same. The colour of the bulbs or their voltage may vary, but the current activating them is the same.

Recognise the fact that the whole universe is within you. You have all the powers in you. They are derived from the Divine Spirit within you. It is this Divinity which endows you with a Free Will.

Forgetting the supreme power of the Spirit, people place their reliance on the powers of the body, the mind and the intellect. Embodiments of love! If you want to realise God, if you wish to experience the Divinity within you, if you want to know your true self, you have to develop pure, unsullied Love. It is this love that binds all people. You have to act on the conviction that the same Divine Spirit dwells in one and all. Oblivious to this truth, man is immersed today in selfish pursuits. This selfishness is degrading man to the lowest levels.

To develop true humaneness, everyone has to foster the feeling of spiritual oneness. This sense of oneness constitute true religion. Religion means ‘realisation’ of your true self. Develop the love of God. All other forms of love are not love at all, but only fleeting and impermanent attachments.

Man’s biggest folly is forgetting his divinity. All should realise that they come ‘from God’. All are children of God. Everyone should seek to get nearer and nearer to God. You must feel that God dwells in your heart. You must develop compassion in your heart, because without it the heart is only a stone. Men should strive for God-realisation because they come from God and should go back to him. Embodiments of Love! There is love in everyone of you. Develop that love. Share it with others. When you have this love there is no need for you to go in search of ashrams. There are some foolish persons who go hopping from one ashram to another. This is sheer folly. There is no need to go anywhere. The Divine is in your heart. Adhere to one belief firmly. Do not change your faith from day to day. Follow one path with firm faith. That is the love principle.

"Don’t hate any religion; Don’t deride any religion; Don’t make derogatory comparisons between them. ‘All are one. Be alike to everyone’ that was the message of Jesus. This truth should be propagated throughout the world."