40. What is the difference between Sant Mat and other religions of the world?
All the other religions of the world deal with both Pravritti (worldly affairs) and Nirvritti (emancipation, liberation, redemption, salvation), with greater emphasis on the former. Sant Mat deals with Nirvritti only, that is to say, it imparts the secrets of the Supreme Being and sings His praises and explains how to reach His Holy Feet by performing the practices of Surat Shabd Yoga with love and devotion. Whereas the Vedas, Upnishads and other revealed books give only casual hints about the higher regions and the creations in them, Sants have described these matters in detail from their personal knowledge.
The goal or the final and ultimate stage of Sants is much higher than that of other religions. As Sant Mat dwells only on the performance of internal practices by Surat and mind, there are no rites, observances and worship. For this reason, men of every religion, group or nationality, can join Sant Mat and attain true emancipation, without giving up outward customary practices of their religion. Sant Mat is a spiritual religion that is to say, it chiefly dwells upon the emancipation of soul. The Rooh (soul) of all individuals is alike and every body stands in need of its salvation.
41. Does Sant Mat, like other religions, recognize the testimony and authority of old religious books?
A seeker may, in the first instance, see for himself and observe intelligently the functions of his own body and the bodies of others, and come to the conclusion that the law of Nature is the same everywhere. He may then compare the teachings in Satsang with what is given in the books of true Sants and Sadhs. Apart from this, there may be some accord with the principles of the religions promulgated by those who were practitioners of internal yoga and had gained access to some higher region. But there can be no accord between the goals of all the extant religions and the goal of Sant Mat, because the former stopped somewhere on the way, while Sants reached the highest region.
But the principles of Sant Mat can have no affinity with the eclectic religions which are the products of human intellect and reason. Sants speak of the secrets of the internal path and regions and the spectacles thereof. These secrets are of universal application. The religions of the intellectuals refer to the outward circumstances and conditions of the world. In point of fact, they are ignorant of the essence of Surat (spirit) and other objects. Sants, in their utterances and discourses, do not rely on any religious book or books of olden times and the statements of past personages, because faith based on them would be flimsy and unreliable. The outlook of such people is limited. They always rely on what others have said. This is called blind adherence, superstition and prejudice, which Sants do not approve. No benefit can accrue to Jivas from it. It causes harm to them.
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