God is One, Allah is One
Whenever there is decay of righteousness, O Bharata and rise of unrighteousness, then I manifest myself. (Chapter IV-7 Bhagavad Gita).
The messengers of God are sent to teach and guide mankind. When that fails then God - becomes Lord and - comes to help all and is known as Avatara. Krishna, Buddha, Moses, Jesus Christ and Hajrat Mohamad Sarkar-a-doalam were the living words of God in materialized form.
Swami Yogananda’s Life is one of all-consuming love and service to humanity and is an illustration of Bhagwan Krishna’s assertions in the Geeta.
God is All Love. He is the Ocean of Compassion, the Ocean of Forgiveness, the Ocean of kindness. He is the only Reality. He is the basis, source and origion of all religions. He is the Goal of all religions. Even though called by different names, as Brahman, Atman, Jehovah, Father in Heaven, or Allah, yet that Supreme COSMIC Reality is One and Non-Dual. It is that Reality which is worshipped in all places of worship: Hindu temples, Jewish synagogues, Christian churches, Islamic mosques. It is the One Being glorified in all the scriptures of the world. For before creation was created, to whom did God belong? Before there was any creation at all, when there was neither sun, moon, stars, planets, space, time, world, what to say of human beings, then what was His name? Who was there to give Him a name? What were the words that addressed any prayers to Him? Who was there to pray? Why do we fight over names? What folly! Before there was any creation at all, the one absolute transcendental Being alone existed, the one universal Reality that ever has existed, ever exists, and ever shall exist.
It was only when man came into being in the course of the strange, mysterious progression of human history that languages emerged. In different parts of the earth, different ways of expressing thoughts through articulate speech evolved. Different terminologies to express the same thing developed. Consider how many totally different names there are for the one element that you drink in order to slake your thirst.
In another country, if you ask for water in your language, they may not know what you want. Yet, water is the same, thirst is the same? You call God by one name, he calls God by another name, but that does not multiply God - that does not make God many. There is only one non-dual Supreme Universal Spirit. God is the Great Spirit. Call Him Allah, call Him Ahura Mazda, call Him Almighty Father in Heaven, call Him what you will. It is the Great Spirit. And all religions say that you are related to God. This is one of the basic concepts in all religions.
In Islam they say, “there is the Light of Allah in man”, because God is ‘Noor’ (the holy light of Allah). In the Bhagavad-Gita, Lord Krishna says. “I am the Soul seated in the hearts of all beings.” Because God is the Supreme soul and the particles of soul are in the hearts of all living beings. Christianity and Judaism say that God created man in His own image and breathed His spirit into him. Therefore, all men and women are the idols of God. Therefore, the spirit of God dwells in man as the innermost Reality in him.
The essence of living successful life is the awakening of the sleeping and slumbering divinity within you, and doing all one can to let it unfold to its fullest extent. This is real life. Swamiji says, my children! You are unique - distinct and unique. In the eyes of God, you are something special. No one can replace you in the role that you fulfill in God’s creation at any given place and at any point in time. You are most necessary and indispensable for that particular time-space context.
Therefore, rejoice and be grateful to the Lord that He has given a role for you to perform. How well you perform your given role is irrelevant to you. God expects each one to do only what one is capable of doing at any point in time. God does not expect an ant to haul a great log of timber as the elephant does in the forest. Nor does God expect the elephant to fly in the air gracefully as parrots and doves and many other birds of flight who wend their way in the open space. He expects birds to fly and He loves them for what they do. He expects elephants to fulfill their role, giving dignity to the forest and doing incredible jobs of strength. He expects man to be man. And each one in his own sphere can fulfill a task and gladden the heart of the Maker and contribute something to His plan on earth. To be aware of this truth is to be worry free.
Things are as they should be. The Lord is in heaven and all is well on earth. This is the firm belief of those who have faith in the infinite love of God, who have trust in the infinite goodness of God, and who are sure that in God’s heart they have a special and unique place. This place is forever kept reserved for them and no one can take it away from them, because God’s infinite heart is large enough to hold the entire cosmos and everything within it. The peace of God pervades the entire earth. The peace of God pervades everywhere - without and within. The peace of God is the one great truth underlying all things, ever-present, ever-accessible, ever-full, availble and inexhaustible. Try to live in the light of this truth, and the heart and mind will be at ease. Never compare and contrast, because there is no comparing and contrasting among unique things. Every little fledgling hatched from an egg is unique to its parents. So is each being unique in itself, for God is the parent of all.
Therefore,
Rejoice that you are special to God in His infinite love.
Rejoice that you have your own special place and role to perform in this creation of God.
Rejoice that His love is immediately available to you. For He is not a remote reality, but He is the, indwelling Reality - nearer to you than anything else on earth.
Rejoice that within you is the peace of God as your own Self. You are God’s peace and you have a duty to perform, that is, to spread this peace, which you are, to one and all.