If all faiths and all paths lead to the same goal, should we accept them all?

Q: I believe that there is no one path for all and that all faiths lead to the same One (Goal), isn’t it true? Then we should expand to enjoy and accept the unity in diversity.

Alokda: There is no one path that is true but not all paths lead to the same goal. What the Sanatan Dharma does say is that the Reality is One, the wise call it by different names, ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti and not, ekam lakshya nana pathanti.

The Sanatan Dharma does say that the Reality is one but it admits that in the unfolding Truth or Reality does appear differently. The admittance of this evolutionary principle, first of the immortal soul passing through death and rebirth and next, of the collective march of mankind, lokasangrahart, through the cycles and yugas and Avatars is the reason why the Sanatan Dharma has endured. That is how it allowed multiple approaches old and new or else it would have stopped with the Rishis of the Vedas.

Yes, one should not get stuck with mental gymnastics but equally one should not drop the mind. Else the entire beauty of the Gita revealing new truths through the questions of Arjuna would be an exercise in futility. In fact, to make general statements such as ‘all faiths lead to the One’, ‘law of Nature is all’, ‘expand the heart first’ is an example of dropping the mind rather than transcending it. The Sanatan Dharma bids us to ascend beyond the mind and then returning use the mind as an instrument of the Spirit. Sri Krishna even teaches the role of Buddhi, buddhi yoga, as the first step towards karma and bhakti.

Expanding the heart to include all is the straight road to self-destruction if one has not the wisdom or the vision of the One Divine in everything and knows His ways and different dealings with different people. It is in fact not heeding of this advice that has led to India’s fall. But people now-a-days seem to believe they are wiser than Sri Krishna and Sri Aurobindo, not to speak of the great teachings of the Vedas and Upanishads of which one has no idea because all is one and God is great and the hero defending the right and the cowardly robber and violent murderer are all same, law of nature, unity in diversity, call it whatever else.