Ātma Dharma is One. It's manifestations are many.


An excerpt from Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī's conversation with Kāśī University's Philosophy Professor, Phaṇībhūṣaṇa Adhikārī published in The Gauḍīya (Vol. 12, Issue 35) in 4th April, 1934:

Prof. Adhikārī: Then, until realisation is attained, no one will be able to speak about the truth.

Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta: The realisation of a jīva afflicted by defects such as *bhrama (*illusion) and *pramāda (*error) will not do. Whatever the Vaiṣṇavas speak, they are not speaking words of their own manufacture or imagination; in every case they are pointing toward the lotus feet of the guru. The guru is not ten or five (i.e., there are not many independent gurus).

mannāthaḥ śrī-jagannātho mad-guruḥ śrī-jagad-guruḥ

My Lord is Śrī Jagannātha. My guru is the guru of the entire world.”

The Absolute Truth requires no challenge from anybody.

Prof. Adhikārī: Then that guru can have no limit. That guru may be found in all religions.

Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta: Leave aside all talk of “all religions.” Just as the lotus feet of the guru are one without a second, so religion is also one. Its name is ātma-dharma (the religion of the ātmā). Whatever is not ātma-dharma is merely the religion of the body and the mind. In this world one hears of many opinions and many paths pertaining to bodily and mental religions, but such discussions do not concern ātma-dharma.

Ātma-dharma is one without a second, yet it is not devoid of variety. It is not a monotonous religion. It is the natural and spontaneous function of the pure, spotless self, free from all worldly coverings and limitations.

Those religions which serve as steps leading toward that ātma-dharma may be accepted to some extent insofar as they are favourable. But those which are distorted reflections of ātma-dharma can never be accepted in any way. They merely create thousands upon thousands of paths and present the riddle, yata mata, tata patha (‘as many opinions, so many paths’). Through a ‘conduit pipe,’ the current of Supreme Truth is flowing down to us.

Prof. Adhikārī: The Christians also say, “We have a conduit pipe.”

Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta: Very well. If that pipe is connected with the Supreme Truth, then truth may also be present within it. But if one hundred percent of the truth does not come through that pipe – if somewhere it becomes covered or contracted – then what follows?

If thousands of shopkeepers each claim that the commodities in their own individual shops are genuine, will all of them thereby become the one and only genuine article? And in the name of harmony, must we then say that all are equal?

Or, since everyone is claiming that the goods in his own shop are the only ones that are good, must we therefore propagate the mistaken, atheistic notion that nowhere in the world is there a single perfectly good thing, or that all religions are equal? What logic is there in that?

Prof. Adhikārī: People will accept a religion according to their own faith, devotion, and taste.

Śrīla Prabhupāda Bhaktisiddhānta: This is the talk of an atheist. The faith, devotion, and taste of one who is bahirmukha (averse to the Supreme) are all turned outward. Such statements are made by those who have already decided beforehand that the Supreme Truth is impersonal and nirviśeṣa (devoid of attributes). But those who acknowledge the absolute independence and sovereignty of the Supreme Lord know that the impersonal conception of the Supreme is an incomplete and monotonous conception.

The Supreme Lord is a relisher of divine play (līlā-vilāsī). A human being or any living creature can never accept the Truth by means of his outward-turned faith, taste, and devotion. When the Supreme Truth mercifully descends of His own accord, then He reveals Himself.

As to what is truly worthy of acceptance, caitya-guru (the indwelling guide) mercifully makes it known to one who is sevonmukhata (sincerely inclined toward service).

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