Aptavani-4
125
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Religion of the World: Religion of the Self
Which Religion Should One Adopt for
Happiness?
Questioner: What is religion (dharma)? Who has to
practice religion? What is the purpose of practicing religion?
Dadashri: All the religions that are out there, are all
worldly (vyavaharik; secular) religions. Vyavaharik means that
they are for carrying out the worldly life. The Vaishnav religion,
the Jain religion, the Shiva religion, etc., are all religions that
pertain to the worldly interaction (vyavahar).
Now isn’t there a code of conduct for the vehicle drivers
on the road? Their ‘dharma’ (code of conduct) says that any
collision with another vehicle will be fatal. It says that you are at
grave risk if you collide; therefore, do not collide with anyone.
Do not cause any harm or trouble (traas) to anyone. That is the
law governing (dharma of) the vehicles and traffic. The
vyavahar dharma also says the same: not to give suffering to
others. If you want happiness, then you should give happiness to
others. If that person does not give you any happiness, then
there will be others who will. And if you hurt others, then
definitely anyone will hurt you. This is called vyavaharik
(worldly) dharma.
The real religion is the nature of one’s own Self. That is
the religion of the Self (Atma-dharma); it is the religion of
your natural state, wherein there is supreme bliss. The real
religion begins to work on its own, from the moment the