We have all been hearing from childhood of such things as love, peace, charity, equality, and universal brotherhood;
but they have become to us mere words without meaning, words which we repeat like parrots, and it has become quite
natural for us to do so.
We cannot help it.
Great souls, who first felt these great ideas in their hearts, manufactured these words; and at that time many understood their meaning.
Later on, ignorant people have taken up those words to play with them and made religion a mere play upon words, and not a thing to be carried into practice.
It becomes "my father's religion", "our nation's religion", "our country's religion", and so forth. It becomes only a phase of
patriotism to profess any religion, and patriotism is always partial.
To bring harmony into religion must always be difficult.
Yet we will consider this problem of the harmony of religions.
- Swami Vivekananda,
'The Ideal of a Universal Religion' - talk
in Pasadena, California (CW Vol II)
but they have become to us mere words without meaning, words which we repeat like parrots, and it has become quite
natural for us to do so.
We cannot help it.
Great souls, who first felt these great ideas in their hearts, manufactured these words; and at that time many understood their meaning.
Later on, ignorant people have taken up those words to play with them and made religion a mere play upon words, and not a thing to be carried into practice.
It becomes "my father's religion", "our nation's religion", "our country's religion", and so forth. It becomes only a phase of
patriotism to profess any religion, and patriotism is always partial.
To bring harmony into religion must always be difficult.
Yet we will consider this problem of the harmony of religions.
- Swami Vivekananda,
'The Ideal of a Universal Religion' - talk
in Pasadena, California (CW Vol II)
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