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Comment of Visva Dharma

by Abhay Caran De

Çréman Acharya Visheshanandji a young thoughtful philosopher has very kindly presented to me his
book entitled Viçva Dharma. The name is very appropriate because there cannot be more than one path
of religion. And if there is only one religion for everyone it must be Viçva Dharma. or the religion for
all.
In the Bhägavatam also it is said that there are many cheating dharmas (kaitava dharma) and all such
so-called dharmas are completely rejected in it (Bhägavatam). In the same way the last word of
Bhagavad-gétä is that one should give up all sorts of man-made so-called dharmas and must surrender
unto the Lord. The Supreme or Visva Dharma is therefore nothing but to surrender oneself unto God.
Çréman Acharya says, “God is one. The path leading to Him is one and the same for one and all. Every
sect cannot have a different and exclusive God of his own.”
I think that there must be one exclusive God otherwise there is no meaning for “God is one.” If God is
one He must be exclusive one.* This one God who is exclusively one without any second greater or
equal competitor, is described as the Supreme Truth (satyaà paraà dhémahi) in the Bhägavatam.
Çréman Acharyaji has very appropriately defined dharma as duty. If God is one then our only duty is
to obey Him. Obedience to God is the one path leading to Him. Every living being has the tendency of
this eternal obedience. Even a crude animal like the tiger is brought into obedience by the trainer. If
obedience had not been there in the heart of a tiger or even a snake then it would not have been
possible to train such crude living beings. This duty of obedience is developed in human consciousness
and this universal consciousness is called dharma in different countries and societies in different
manner. Even the Buddhist and similar other religionists who do not believe in God, has the same
obedience to Lord Buddha and His laws. Devotion and obedience are two identical terms.
Sriman Acharya says that the difference between (the) living being and the Supreme Soul will be
known (at) some later stage. But he has indirectly hinted on the constitution of the living being as
follows: “The living being, so long as, forgetting the real character, seeks happiness in natural
resources, remains distressed because all the material comforts are changeable and fluctuating and after
a certain duration they come to an end.”
The Bhagavad-gétä has condemned even the material comforts available in the Brahmaloka the
topmost planet of the universe and where life is measured by one day equal to 4,300,000 x 1,000 solar
years! One has to return therefore to the spiritual universe where life and every thing is eternal.
The living being, having forgotten his spiritual identity, is seeking peace of mind in matter. This is an
impossible fact. A living being of the water cannot be happy on the land at any cost. Similarly the the
spirit living being cannot be happy in material existence. He must go Back to Godhead the Supreme
Spirit if at all he wants to be happy.
Therefore every living being's duty or dharma is to go back to Godhead which is confirmed in the
Bhagavad-gétä as follows: mama...
and that should be the motto of universal religion.

Oà Tat Sat.