Acharya Shree, in your opinion, which religion is closest to the truth?
It's a very very very good question.
Because people are confused about religion.
And they think their religion is super.
And their religion is close to the truth.
Every person you talk to on the earth, "Which religion do you follow?"
They will say Christian, Baptist, Catholic, Bahai, Zen, Buddhist, Islam, or any other.
Or Sikh.
And they think their religion is super and their religion is closest to the truth.
I am going to tell you now, today, a very bitter truth.
The bitter truth is none of the religions are closest to the truth.
But if you have to make a choice, I will suggest to you the religion which doesn't teach you to worship the idols...
The religion which doesn't teach you to worship the pictures...
The religions which doesn't teach you who is your saviour.
They are not close to the truth at all.
They are far away from the truth and the reality.
Maybe there are a few religions you can count, you can consider them a little bit close to the truth.
Sāṃkhya Darshan. It is the oldest one.
Sāṃkhya System was started by Kapila Muni a long time ago.
Maybe 3,000 years minimum.
Sāṃkhya System has 24 elements, 24 substances.
And if you understand all of those, you can get rid of their grip, get out of their grip.
But their system makes 2 main substances. One is purusha. Another is prakriti.
Purusha is soul and prakriti is matter.
There is a combination of purusha - soul - and prakriti - matter.
So our body is a combination also of soul plus matter.
And these two things seem to be eternal to me.
That's why Sāṃkhya system is Dvaitavadi.
It is close to the truth, because the truth can be revealed if you follow the system.
Another system is considered, now it is considered, the Jain System.
But it unfortunately has become a religion.
And they got trapped into rituals, traditions, and worshipping the tirthankaras.
Even the Tirthankaras themselves, they never spoke about worshipping like Krishna did in the Gita.
That, "If you surrender to me, if you come to me, I will release you from all the sufferings."
The highest, most egoistic statement ever made in the world by Krishna.
I never recommend you to get trapped into it.
But the Jain religions is doing the same thing.
The tirthankara, they achieved in their lifetime the kevala jnana.
Kevala jnana is the highest supreme bliss. The highest state of consciousness.
And they try to teach the truth. Their teachings are very valuable.
And they try to teach the truth that there is no God which is sitting on the golden chair wearing a diamond crown or something -- who is a person.
They say no, God is hidden in us.
And you have to improve it.
So the third religion I can tell you is Buddhist, a little bit.
Because they talk about soul.
Even though they talk about soul, in their denial they accept the soul.
Even they deny it. They say they are shunyavad, and shunyavad means they don't believe in anything.
Shunya means void, zero.
And they deny everything. When they deny, in their denial, somehow they accept the soul.
So there is a little truth about it, because at least they teach you how to improve and not to cling to God.
That such a God that Hindus believe or Christians believe or Islamic people believe.
That God, according to different religions, is a very different God.
There is no one God. Different religions believe in different God.
Jewish people believe in a very jealous God and cruel God.
"This for that."
Hindus believe in like a king God.
Can be happy on you, can shower a lot of rewards on you.
If he's happy.
Or, if he's angry on you, gets mad at you, can destroy all of you.
That kind of God, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, they all believe that.
We don't need that. Those religions are not close to religion.
Even among the Hindu culture there are a few religions which are very close to the truth, like I mentioned.
Samkhya system. I mentioned Jain system. I mentioned Buddhist system.
Originally. Not right now.
What you see is too much expanded.
So they are going too far from the truth.
Or the teachings which were taught by Lao-Tzu (Laozi, Lao-tze).
It is close to the truth.
So, there are a few religions. But, I never accept the people who consider 'God is our father'.
Mostly, the well-known religions believe that God is a father.
And we are his children. It means they accept God as a male.
Because the society is dominated by the male.
Male-oriented society is...This era is a male-oriented society.
My friends, there is no need to believe that God is a father.
God is above all of them.
There is no such a God, like a person God.
God is like a siddha.
And siddha means formless, shapeless, bodiless, like a light.
But not this kind of light. It is a different kind of light, if you will enter into your own deep being.
And you will hit one day your deepest core of your heart, deepest core of your being.
You will see that light.
And that light can be God light.
You are surrounded by it.
So there are a few religions which are talking about the truth.
And a few saints like Kabira, like Saint Fareed. There are a few saints who talk about it.
But I don't see that Christianity talks about it or Judaism talks about it, or Islam talks about it, or most of Hinduism talks about it.
I doubt it. They don't know the truth. They don't know the reality.
Just a few religions are close to the truth.
And you have to know it more.