Swami Vivekananda - Raja-Yoga & Patanjali Yoga-Sutra by Swami Vivekananda

All ourknowledge is based upon experience. What we call inferential knowledge, inwhich we go from the less to the more general, or from the general to theparticular, have experience as its basis. In what are called the exactsciences, people easily find the truth, because it appeals to the particularexperiences of every human being. The scientist does not tell you to believe inanything, but he has certain results which come from his own experiences, andreasoning on them when he asks us to believe in his conclusions, he appeals tosome universal experience of humanity. In every exact science there is a basiswhich is common to all humanity, so that we can at once see the truth or thefallacy of the conclusions drawn therefore. Now, the question is: Has religionany such basis or not? I shall have to answer the question both in theaffirmative and in the negative.

Religion,as it is generally taught all over the world, is said to be based upon faithand belief, and, in most cases, consists only of different sets of theories,and that is the reason why we find all religions quarrelling with one another.These theories, again, are based upon belief. One man says there is a great beingsitting above the clouds and governing the whole universe, and he asks me tobelieve that solely on the authority of his assertion. In the same way, I mayhave my own ideas, which I am asking others to believe, and if they ask areason, I cannot give them any. This is why religion and metaphysicalphilosophy have a bad name nowadays. Every educated man seems to say, "Oh,these religions are only bundles of theories without any standard to judge themby, each man preaching his own pet ideas." Nevertheless, there is a basisof universal belief in religion, governing all the different theories and allthe varying ideas of different sects in different countries. Going to theirbasis we find that they also are based upon universal experiences.

In thefirst place, if you analyze all the various religions of the world, you willfind that these are divided into two classes, those with a book and thosewithout a book. Those with a book are the strongest, and have the largestnumber of followers. Those without books have mostly died out, and the few newones have very small followings. Yet, in all of them we find one consensus ofopinion, that the truths they teach are the results of the experiences ofparticular persons. The Christian asks you to believe in his religion, tobelieve in Christ and to believe in him as the incarnation of God, to believein a God, in a soul, and in a better state of that soul. If I ask him forreason, he says he believes in them. But if you go to the fountain - head ofChristianity, you will find that it is based upon experience. Christ said hesaw God; the disciples said they felt God; and so forth. Similarly, inBuddhism, it is Buddha's experience. He experienced certain truths, saw them,came in contact with them, and preached them to the world. Sowith the Hindus. In their books the writers, who are called Rishis, orsages, declare they experienced certain truths, and these they preach. Thus itis clear that all the religions of the world have been built upon that oneuniversal and adamantine foundation of all our knowledge -- direct experience.The teachers all saw God; they all saw their own souls, they saw their future,they saw their eternity, and what they saw they preached. Only there is thisdifference that by most of these religions especially in modern times, apeculiar claim is made, namely, that these experiences are impossible at the presentday; they were only possible with a few men, who were the first founders of thereligions that subsequently bore their names. At the present time theseexperiences have become obsolete, and, therefore, we have now to take religionon belief. This I entirely deny. If there has been one experience in this worldin any particular branch of knowledge, it absolutely follows that thatexperience has been possible millions of times before, and will be repeatedeternally. Uniformity is the rigorous law of nature; what once happened canhappen always. The teachers of the science of Yoga, therefore, declare thatreligion is not only based upon the experience of ancient times, but that noman can be religious until he has the same perceptions himself. Yoga is thescience which teaches us how to get these perceptions. It is not much use totalk about religion until one has felt it. Why is there so much disturbance, so much fighting and quarrelling in the name of God?There has been more bloodshed in the name of God than for any other cause,because people never went to the fountain - head; they were content only togive a mental assent to the customs of their forefathers, and wanted others todo the same. What right has a man to say he has a soul if he does not feel it, or that there is a God if he does not see Him? If thereis a God we must see Him, if there is a soul we must perceive it; otherwise itis better not to believe. It is better to be an outspoken atheist than ahypocrite. The modern idea, on the one hand, with the "learned" isthat religion and metaphysics and all search after a Supreme Being are futile;on the other hand, with the semi - educated, the idea seems to be that thesethings really have no basis; their only value consists in the fact that theyfurnish strong motive powers for doing good to the world. If men believe in aGod, they may become good, and moral, and so make good citizens. We cannotblame them for holding such ideas, seeing that all, but before we have donethat, we are not rational in denying the truth of their assertions. So we mustwork faithfully, using the prescribed methods, and light will come.