Today about 400 of my Muslim brothers have gathered at this Vishwa Prarthana Mandir (Mysore ashram) for Iftar function. On this occasion, I remember my mother Jayalakshmi Mata. In our family, the influence of ‘sufi’ Fakir has always existed.

All of you must have heard of Mekedatu (Sangam) in Kanakapura district of Karnataka. A great soul (Mahatma) named ‘Noor’ lived there for about 110 years. He was a great mystic. Once he visited Channapatna (a town near Mekedatu) and stayed there for 40 days. No one knew which place he belonged to. He transferred all his spiritual powers to my mother Jayalakshmi Mata and also taught her Koran. He used to say, “Amma! Read Koran every morning and in the afternoon read Bhagavatam. Both are same.”

Recently we found the Bhagavatam written by Amma. She has composed so many Kannada keertanas (songs) in her Bhagavatam. In many of these compositions preaching of Fakir tata have been incorporated. In his memory, the Guru Nilaya (Guru’s residence) at Mekedatu (Sangam) has been constructed in the form of a mosque.

Our Ashram prayer states that all religions are same and that there can be no difference between them:

Baiballu madhye’ tha kuraana madhye Sastresu vedesu purana varge

Yatkeertireka viratam sughustha Tameka devam shranam vrajamah.

Meaning: The God to whom you pray in Koran is the same one to whom prayers are offered through the Bible. The same God is worshipped in our Bhagavatam or in our Shastras. We are all the same. To that Lord I offer obeisance.

Flowers are many but puja is the same. Cows are different but the milk is the same. There are so many languages but feelings are the same. All the great people –the Mahatmas, sants and sadhus state this. They say is, “All religions lead to the same goal. Just follow your Swadharma (the dharma in which you were born). Always abide by the truth. Do no harm others. We do not know why God has given us this body. Just abide by and follow your religion with pure faith.”

If you are a Muslim, be a true Muslim; if you are a Christian then be a true Christian; if you are a Hindu then be a true Hindu. The blood is the same for everyone irrespective of the religion.

Every religion has its own rules and regulations and there will be reasons behind each of them. Understand and follow it. With such a proper understanding dharma (righteousness) can be protected. While unfailingly respecting and adhering to your religious duties (dharmas) live in harmony with other dharmas.

Igirju masjida sumandireshu Preyarnamajarcana panktibhiryam

Archanti gayanti ca yadganaughan Temeka devam saranam vrajamah.

Meaning: While some people call it a temple, others call it masjid and for some others it is a church. But the same God resides in all the places. He is our refuge.

The different customs, religious practices and regulations are to reach the same God. A person may choose a boat to reach the destination while another may decide to walk. What is the problem if a different route is selected? As long as you reach the destination the route doesn’t matter. That is why all dharmas have the vratas or rituals.

For Hindus, Ekadashi fasting is very special. Upavasa (fasting) has been elaborately explained in Hinduism. Upavasa means ‘being closer to God and to his temple’. Controlling and monitoring the indriyas (senses) is extremely important on the day of fast. It is not a fast for the body. The senses must fast. Controlling the senses is the real fasting. That is what the Koran also says. My mother used to read and explain Koran to me regularly. That is why I love my Muslim brothers and am friendly to them. Wherever I may be, I have the same friendly feelings.

There is a great similarity between our 2 religions. While in your religion people go to Haj, in our religion they visit Kashi. Learn to observe the similarities. You pray 5 times a day. Our dharma says that we should pray thrice- morning, afternoon and evening which are called the sandhya hours. You fast during Ramzan, we fast on Ekadashi. Rules and regulations are fixed around this in every religion so as to create a fear and obedience in us and to adhere to it.

In 1986 Swamiji visited Mecca. There is a Nawab in Malaysia. He had only one request. He wanted to sleep in my room. I agreed. He took a mat and without informing anyone went to my room and slept on the floor there. His long-standing heart problem got cured with that. Even now his daughter has faith in Swamiji. That Nawab loved music. He used to say, “Your religion is yours. You do your pujas. I don’t get involved in it. I like your music. You are my music doctor.” He used to help me a lot with the Malaysia ashram work.

I am not sure whether you will believe this but once it so happened that in Malaysia Swamiji’s concert place was next to a mosque. The mosque authorities changed the direction of the mike. I sent Radhakrishna (a member in Swamiji’s troupe) to find out the reason. I said, “Tell them to continue with their prayers as usual. It is not an inconvenience to us.” They replied, “this evening for the concert thousands are expected to attend. Some of our people will also be there. All we have done is to slightly change the direction of the mike so that it won’t be an inconvenience to the concert. Let it be like this.” When they were asked why they were showing so much love and affection and consideration towards us, they said, “You are friendly with us. So we are reciprocating the similar feelings.”

We should treat all the people in the world equally. It is important that everyone understands this.

“Tameka Devam saranam vrajamah” means there is only one God. Everything belongs to that same God. He is omnipresent. We do not have the capacity to direct God. However we can directly pray to him. He is everything. Koran preaches about the changeless, formless (nirvikara) God. Bhagavad Gita also preaches it, so does Bible. We are praying to his nirguna roopa (absolute God without any form and traits). Only the methods adopted are different.

Swamiji follows a method of worshipping such Supreme God with herbs. Who is this God who is worshipped? He is the Absolute Supreme Essence that is devoid of traits and form. It is just a point (bindu). That is the Sri Chakra. Idols are kept mainly to develop concentration but the worship is to ‘Sri bindu’. It is the nirguna roopa. Such formless God is worshipped with herbal water, which is later given to devotees as teertha (sacred water).

Bhaktimala Jan ‘01