A dog is running on four legs and by our great technology we are now running on four wheels. A hog is eating the refuse in the street and we are eating nice foodstuffs. The pigeons are mating and producing offspring and human beings are also doing that. Billions of dollars are spent in developing bombs and weapons. The dog, on the other hand, is biting with his teeth and fighting with his claws. What is the difference? However sophisticatedly we may engage in these activities, the nature of our consciousness is same as that of an animal. What differentiates human species from all the lower species?
The difference is that we have the power to inquire into the true nature of truth. Who am I? Where am I coming from? Where am I going? Who is God? How to live in harmony with God? Human life begins when we inquire into the nature of the absolute truth. Until then, qualitatively we are of the poorest animal sector of society.
Yoga means to reunite, to reconnect the soul to its source, the atma to the paramatma, to be released from illusion and reunite with our nature, which is truth. The word religion comes from the Latin word religio which means to bind one back to one’s source. Both yoga and religion mean the same thing.
By Radhanath Swami
