The foundations of religious faith were given to humanity by the great Prophets sent by Almighty God to humanity. You will find them in the principles and practices of each of the great spiritual-religious traditions. They were taught by Shiva, Abraham, Rama, Zarathushtra, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Śankara, Caitanya and Muhammad. In the next century, they will be taught by a Savior, sent by God, whose name will be Love. When an originally founded religion is divided into sects, the Divine Faith is only one of 72 sects or factions, and only this is the true religion. All sects will be in the Fire except one. These are always people who will imitate the Prophet – Founder and his first disciples.
Faith is based upon your belief in Almighty God, in His Angels (Devata), in His Holy Books and in His Holy Prophets. Faith in God is faith in the Last Judgment and in divine laws regarding good and evil. Divine Faith consists in practicing the five pillars of the Holy Flower (Rose, Lotus):
- To bear witness that none is worthy of praise, honour and glory except the Most High God and that the Holy Prophet is his Messenger.
- Offering the Prayer in the manner prescribed by the Prophet.
- Almsgiving for the poor and needy, for the affairs of God, His Messenger and the Spiritual Community.
- Pilgrimage to the House of God, to the main temple.
- Observing fasting for one month a year.
A true believer is one whose hands and tongue do not pose a threat to other believers. A true renunciator, a man who has dedicated himself to God, is one who renounces what is forbidden by God. You will find it in the holy books of religions revealed by His Messengers. Actions are determined only by intentions. A person will only achieve what he really wants. The path of the one who truly desires to move towards God and His Saints will lead him to God and His Saints.
Offering Prayer
Purity is a requirement of faith. Washing before Prayer is a sign of true faith. Washing is a condition for fulfilling the act of Prayer and all worship of God. First, wash your hands three times, then take water in your right hand, rinse your mouth and spit out the water. Then clean your nose and wash your face three times. Then wash your hands and forearms up to the elbows three times, and then wash your feet up to the ankles three times. Whoever performs ablution in this way and then offers the prescribed prayers is forgiven his past sins. It is even more desirable to rinse the entire body by immersion (baptism).
When you bow, you do not hold your head too high or let it fall completely. The head is kept in line with the back, which remains in a horizontal position. One does not keep one’s elbows on the ground during the prayer offering. It is forbidden to sit in the devil’s position during the Prayer, that is, with the legs straight forward. Praying in this position only leads to Hell. Kneeling means sitting on your knees with your buttocks on your heels. Formal Prayer without prostration does not reach God, because prostration means offering prayer to God, and He does not accept what is not addressed to Him.
The Prophets prescribed formal Prayer twice a day (Śiva), three times a day (Rama), four times a day (Christ, Zarathushtra), five times a day (Muhammad), seven times a day (Abraham). Stay faithful to your Religion. Among the actions offered to God, the most pleasing to Him are prayers offered at a specified time. Then being good to your parents and, if they are believers like you, obeying them. The third best deed is to make efforts and endeavours on the Path to Return to God, following God’s Way.
Offering Alms
Whoever gives something in God’s name will be rewarded seven hundredfold. Give alms to save yourself from fire, even if it is only a piece of fruit. A generous person is close to God, close to people and close to Heaven, but far from Hell. The miser is far from God, people and Heaven, and is close to Hell. An ignorant man who is generous is more dear to God than a learned miser who prays. Give alms when you are in good health and when you are in need, when you are afraid of poverty and desire wealth – then do not neglect it. Never give money to beggars (so that they do not spend it on evil purposes, for you will be part of the punishment for evil expenditure), only food, clothing, shelter and work!
Pilgrimage
Oh people! Almighty God has ordained for you the duty of Pilgrimage. So you should fulfil it. When one performs the pilgrimage for God’s sake and does not stoop to filthy speech and does not commit any transgressions, he becomes as pure and innocent as the day his mother gave birth to him. Pilgrimage is a time of intense Prayer. Visiting your spiritual mentor or teacher is also a Pilgrimage.
Fasting – abstaining from food
Fasting is a shield and protection against evil. What is the use to God of the fasting of a man who does not refrain from lying and cheating? Fasting is observed only for God’s sake and for Him alone. God himself is the reward for fasting. During fasting, no one should engage in idle talk or raise his/her voice. Through the power of prayer and fasting, all impurities of the body and spirit, as well as all evil spirits, are driven out. Fasting means abstaining from all foods.
In God’s Name, if Almighty God helps you to lead even one person to the Truth of God, it is better for you than all riches put together. I swear by the One who holds my life in His hands that you must exhort people to do good and forbid them to do evil. Otherwise, it is quite probable that one of God’s punishments will fall on you. Then, belatedly, you will raise your supplications, but they will not be heard. This is the reason for some of your misfortunes and unanswered prayers. A man who invites people to GOD’S TRUTH receives a reward (merit) equal to the reward of all those who accept God’s Truth, although their rewards will not be diminished in any way. Similarly, a person who encourages others to sin bears the burden of all the sins committed at his instigation, while the punishment of those who committed them will not be diminished in any way!!!
Bless each other. Every blessing is given in God’s name, it is God’s help. Receive the blessings of your Saints and Prophets, who give them through their servants and messengers, as the blessing of God himself.
Devotion to God’s Will and Obedience to God is the key issue and the light of all religiosity. You cannot be religious and disobey God. Train yourself in obedience to the Source of sanctified Good Will. Demons raise a riot and shout when obedience is mentioned. Fallen spirits are always rebellious in nature. Obedience strengthens the will of the spirit, weakens the forces of egotism and develops humility.
Almighty God has established certain religious obligations. Don’t underestimate them. He established certain boundaries. Don’t cross them. He forbade certain things: do not approach them. God’s forbidden territory consists of things that He has forbidden. Beware! Doing forbidden things damages the most important organ in the body, which is the heart. When the heart becomes sick, the whole body becomes sick. Stay away from things that are questionable and not clearly defined by God’s Law. Anyone who stays away from them protects his/her faith and honour. Graze your sheep near the borders of the forbidden area, but do not enter the borderlands, the questionable areas, for this zone separates you from Hell.
He who is not grateful to people is not grateful to God. Whoever believes in God and the Day of Judgment should not cause trouble to his neighbour. Whoever believes in God and the Day of Judgment should treat his guests with respect. Whoever believes in God and the Day of Judgment should speak only what is good or remain silent. He is not a believer whose neighbour is not safe from him. Do not judge or slander anyone among your human brothers.
The height of perfection is to strengthen the bond with the one who breaks it, to show generosity to the one who treats you like he is a miser, and to forgive the one who does you wrong. God honours and exalts the one who forgives the offenses committed against himself and does not treat the guilty one with pride. The Perfect One (Arhat) among men does not resort to judgment or revenge. The Perfect One prays: “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Whoever commits an act of revenge and resorts to judgment is not religious.
Do not be jealous of one another. Beware of the fire of envy, for it consumes good deeds as fire consumes wood and straw. Do not raise prices to please the demon of greed (Mammon). Don’t hate each other. Be true servants of God by being brothers and sisters to each other. Contempt for a believing brother is enough to ruin a man both materially and spiritually. The blood, property and honour of another person are inviolable for a believer. Do not despise the believers of any of the Revealed Religions from among the peoples of the Book (Veda, Torah, Sutra, Avesta, Bible, Koran). God does not forgive the sin of contempt and condemnation of believers’ brothers if they come from another of His Holy Messengers. Whoever has even a bit of arrogance and contempt in his heart will not enter the Paradise of God.
The worst sin of the hands is killing. Be especially aware of killing in the name of religion and defence of faith. Martyrs are defenders of the faith, not soldiers. Let yourself be killed for your faith rather than be the cause of another person’s death. The worst sin of the tongue is lying and cheating. Beware of lies. Be truthful, especially when it is inconvenient for you. Prayer (also sung) is the weapon and shield of the believer.
Killing animals is also prohibited by the religion established by God. Killing an animal brings the punishment for the sin of murder. It is better to fast than to satisfy your hunger with slaughtered meat. Only for saving a human life in the face of death (including starvation) is worth sacrificing an animal’s life, then the sin is justified. For the breath of both is the same, which God breathed into the nostrils of both humans and animals. Only a person who lives from the produce of the land can say that he has not harmed anyone and has not caused any breathing (living) creature any forbidden suffering.
He who remembers God is to him who is oblivious to Him as the living is to the dead. A house where God is remembered is to a house where God is not remembered as the living are to the dead. It is best to keep God in mind by proclaiming, “No one is worthy of praise except God.” And supplication is best when we confess, “All the glory belongs to God.”
Almighty God has certain high-ranking angels who are always on the lookout for people gathered to remember God. When they come across a gathering engaged in the remembrance of God, the angels join them, spreading their wings over them, floating one above the other so that the space between the earth and the nearest heaven is filled with their presence. When people disperse, the angels also depart, returning back to Heaven. These angels always report to God the nature of the meeting. If it was dedicated to Him, He sends blessings and support to each participant through the Angels. Sacred Assemblies are the basis of all religious practice. A sin is committed by those who leave the Holy Congregations, isolate themselves and try to practice religion for themselves. All religious gatherings are thus protected and assisted by the angels (devas) of Almighty God.
God said through the Prophet: “I treat My servant according to his understanding and expectations of Me. So let him choose how he wants to think about Me. I am with him whenever he remembers Me. Whoever comes to Me within the distance of an open hand, I come to him by half an arm’s length. Whoever comes to Me by half an arm’s length, I will come to him by a whole arm’s length. When he comes to Me, I run to meet him.”
The prophet is sent to perfect the best customs. No one is a true believer unless he desires for others what he desires for himself. The most dear and closest to God on the Day of Judgment will be the one who is best arranged, compatible, harmonious (in relation to God and His Holy Prophets). The most detestable among you and the most alienated from God on the Day of Judgment will be the boasters, the boastful, and those who are arrogant and malicious.
Be righteous and you will be the best of the faithful. Be content and you will be the best of the grateful. Treat your neighbour with the greatest consideration, and then you will become worthy of being a believer. Don’t laugh too much, because too much laughter (chortles) makes the heart sink.
The House of Prayer is intended to be useful to all nations. The service praises God and cannot condemn other faiths or the believers of other Prophets sent by God. The Most High God said: “I have sent to you Noah, Manu, Śiva, Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad. Once every hundred years I send My Prophet to every nation. Once every thousand years I send a Messenger to the whole earth. At the beginning of each Great Age I send My Lawgiver. Listen to them. Follow them.”
Religion cannot be adapted to your own views or needs. It is your own views and needs that must be adapted to the requirements of religion. Man who adapts God to his own purposes commits the greatest sin of sacrilege. These are one’s own goals and the whole person that one must adapt to God and His requirements. This is the sign of true religiosity, the Way of Conversion and Transfiguration, the Way of Gnosis and Transformation. Religion is only a test of man’s adjustment to God. Seek to understand the teachings and views of God contained in your religion, accepting them deeply to your heart as they are. Then, consciously and intelligently act in accordance with them. God’s life is unimaginably difficult for beings possessed by the powers of hell. Ask God to overcome all temptations.
The prophet of God is full of sweetness for those whose intention to go towards God is sincere and true. The most deceitful and deceitful people can count on are harsh and harsh words from the Prophet. They will always revile the Prophet. God knows best what is needed by those who want to draw closer to Him.
Many BLESSINGS on your Path to God!!! Hum!
Many Blessings on your Path to Awakening and Realization!
Om Namaśśivaya! Hum!
Acharyacharya Swami Lalita-Mohan G.K.
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