University of Colorado; Boulder, Colorado, USA

Physics Building
23 April 1974

Dear seekers of the highest Truth, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to give a short
talk on philosophy, religion and spirituality. As you all know, philosophy is a
vast subject. Religion is a vast subject. Spirituality is a vast subject. Time will not
permit me to do justice to these lofty subjects. Yet, with your kind permission,
with your loving goodwill, I shall say a few words from the spiritual point of
view on each one.
Philosophy is in the thinking mind. Philosophy is of the searching mind.
Philosophy is for the illumining mind.
Religion is our conscious or unconscious response to the beckoning Light.
Religion is our firm belief in the lofty experiences of our predecessors. Religion
is our great satisfaction in our glorious past.
Spirituality is in the aspiring heart. Spirituality is of the liberating soul.
Spirituality is for the fulfilling and immortalising God.
A lover of philosophy talks about God’s Vision. A lover of religion talks about
God’s Power. A lover of spirituality talks about God’s Compassion. A lover of
philosophy wants to see God’s Face. A lover of religion wants to see God’s Eye.
A lover of spirituality wishes to grow into God’s all-compassionate Heart.
A man of philosophy is a dreamer. A man of religion is an observer. A man of
spirituality is a divine lover. A divine dreamer, a divine observer and a divine
lover are good friends.
A man of philosophy wants to see the height of life. A man of religion wants
to see the depth of life. A man of spirituality wants to see the reality of life and
the reality in life.
There is a human philosophy and there is a divine philosophy. The human
philosophy is a dry piece of wood. The human philosophy is a soulless goal. The
divine philosophy is a fruitful tree. The divine philosophy is an all-illumining life
and an all-fulfilling Goal. The divine philosophy knows that its Source is Transcendental
Silence. The divine philosophy knows that its Source is Transcendental
Delight.
There is a human religion and a divine religion. The human religion is a
baseless self-aggrandisement. The human religion is a lifeless confidence. The
divine religion is a constant God-proclamation from the very depths of the
seeker’s heart. It is in the inmost recesses of his heart that a seeker proclaims
God’s Reality, God’s Divinity and God’s Immortality.
There is a human spirituality and a divine spirituality. The human spirituality,
in the name of God, deceives mankind. The human spirituality, in the
name of God, deceives its own true being by offering a false God-realisation to
aspiring humanity. The divine spirituality knows that at God’s choice Hour each
follower of religion will be inundated with infinite Light, Peace and Bliss. The
divine spirituality is fully aware of the fact that each practitioner of spirituality
is a conscious, chosen instrument of God, crying for the dawn of Life immortal
here on earth.
A man of true philosophy, a man of true religion and a man of true spirituality
need God. For them there is no other choice.
I am extremely happy to learn that the motto of the state of Colorado is
“Nothing without Deity.” Without God, without the Inner Pilot, we are nothing.
With the Inner Pilot, we are everything. God is the Realisation-Tree, and this
Realisation-Tree has many branches. Philosophy, religion and spirituality are
three branches of God the Realisation-Tree. The man of philosophy can sit under
the philosophy branch, the man of religion can sit under the religion branch, and
the man of spirituality can sit under the spirituality branch. It is in the protection
and shelter of the Divinity that we can grow into Immortality.
The man of philosophy, the man of religion and the man of spirituality are
three brothers walking along three different roads. But they have started their
journey, and they are destined to reach their Goal at God’s choice Hour. Each
human being has philosophy to some extent, religion to some extent and
spirituality to some extent. But if a seeker enters into the life of aspiration, and
if his inner being compels him to love God for God’s sake, then automatically the
wealth of philosophy, the wealth of religion and the wealth of spirituality will all
loom large in his life of aspiration. Philosophy will tell him who God is. Religion
will tell him where God is. Spirituality will tell him why God is.