Book Title: Glimpses Of World Religions
Author(s): Gunvant Barvalia
Publisher: Navbharat Sahitya Mandir

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Page 192
________________ Creeds, Sects are bodies and.... A sect or a belief or a creed is for stability or order. A sect is a body, religion is the soul; accepting this, it is the ideal of mankind to do religious acts, remaining in the sect symbol or a creed. 167 At different times, keeping in mind the contemporary situations of the respective space and time, different propagandists of religion, sages and saints, as well as monks, the main preachers and holy persons, either because of the prevalent languages or because of the differences of views inspired people to arrange or initiate different religious sects; and hence it is, thus, many sects and creeds came into existence. But the perennial and the perfect truth residing within them is the religiousness. One can't make the 'truth' dependent on the scriptures. A question may arise whether many sects, creeds, 'gachcha' or views are tokens of pride, ego or of the progress? If, according to country or time, one sect agrees that there is in other religions, ceremonies or rituals thereof have some better principles than their own and if a judicious following or acceptance of that is welcomed or attempted by them, there is bound to be a progress of it. The extra-ordinary tolerance, extra-sensory intuitic insight, as well as the noblest character and the transparent honesty in accounts of the firms, religious institutions and their trustees looking after the administration of the hermitages (Ashramas), holy centres of pilgrimage, temples - these things can redeem or remove any controversy whatsoever. If the sects or creeds express brotherly feelings for other religions or other sects, they can be symbols of progress. Muni Vatsalyadeep call Dharma a water from the sky. So long as water emanating from the sky does not touch the earth,

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