As many faiths, so many paths: Are We Forgetting Our Spiritual Heritage?

In this thoughtful essay, Tish Malhotra reflects on the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, reminding us of India’s rich spiritual heritage. The piece highlights Ramakrishna’s message of religious harmony — that all faiths are valid paths to the same divine truth. At a time when intolerance and division seem to dominate, the essay calls us to remember the importance of respect, fellowship, and unity in diversity. It echoes the belief that true peace can only come when we honour every path to God.

As many faiths, so many paths: Are We Forgetting Our Spiritual Heritage? 

By Tish Malhotra 

The world celebrated the 190th birth anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna on 18 February. He was born in 1836.  The celebrations also reminded us the most disturbing and painful question confronting the Indian society today:  are we forgetting our spiritual heritage? The question becomes all the more grave if we study the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna.  The greatest Indian saint has been acclaimed and is revered as a "Prophet of the Harmony of Religions" who in his teaching always emphasized that all faiths are valid. They are the distinct paths to the same ultimate divine goal. 

Although Sri Ramakrishna was essentially a Hindu saint, his spiritual discipline sought to embrace spirituality in its entirety. Having finished practising all the spiritual disciplines of Hinduism, he went ahead to see for himself in what manner the votaries of Islam realized God and to verify its truths through discipline and experience.

Islam was not the only Semitic faith that Sri Ramakrishna practised. He also realised God through the religion of Jesus Christ. He looked upon Buddha as an Incarnation of God. He had great reverence for the Tirthankaras, who founded Jainism.  He described the Sikh Gurus as reincarnations of the saintly King Janaka, who came to do good for humankind and the world at large.

Sri Ramakrishna realized through actual practice in his own life how all religious paths led ultimately to the transcendental experience of the ultimate Reality. His religious toleration and harmony flowed freely from his whole personality. According to Swami Vivekananda, proclaiming and making clear the fundamental unity underlying all religions was the mission of my Master. 

The most significant conclusion of Sri Ramakrishna, which has great relevance  for all and is also highly beneficial for ensuring religious harmony,  is based, as mentioned earlier, on his  personal experience of realisation of the Divine through Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. In this way, all of humanity received the divine message:  "As many faiths, so many paths".

In his basic approach Sri Ramakrishna always  emphasized religious pluralism.  For this, he called for  mutual respect over mere tolerance. He had the  firm belief that this alone can and will promote unity in diversity. That is what the Indian spiritual heritage keeps claiming and asserting day and night. But the sad reality is quite the opposite, and falls far short in practice. 

As we learn from the preceding sections, the key aspect of Sri Ramakrishna's universal  message is his direct experience. Transcending the theoretical approaches, Ramakrishna's views were based on his direct and personal practice of various religious disciplines. This resulted in his divine proclamation, as stated above: "As Many Faiths, So Many Paths". His teachings underlined  that all religions are valid paths to reach the same God. They are different routes to reach a common destination. Therefore, Sri Ramakrishna taught respect for all paths.  He emphasized honouring all the other paths that take to God rather than condemning them. This is famously noted in his sayings that "God is one, but has many names". 

What needs to be highlighted time and again in all relevant forums is that his philosophy was not for fusion, but fellowship: He did not advocate blending all religions into one, but rather respecting the unique identity of each, while recognizing their shared underlying spiritual truth. He had directly seen the inner unity over external differences. That is why he acknowledged differences in rituals and beliefs but taught that these are complementary, not contradictory, aspects of the same Divine Reality.

Sri Ramakrishna’s message remains highly relevant for modern times. His unique yet simple teachings on religious harmony are vital for combating religious fundamentalism and promoting peace in the contemporary world, as noted by historian Arnold Toynbee. In this context,  it is also important to mention here some of his key quotations and analogies: 

"As one can ascend to the top of a house by means of a ladder or a bamboo or a staircase or a rope, so diverse are the ways and means to approach God, and every religion in the world shows one of these ways".

"Different creeds are but different languages to express the same truth".

"I have found that it is the same God toward whom all are directing their steps, though along different paths". 
 
The aforesaid  message of Sri Ramakrishna is very important for universal spiritual unfoldment. It was furthered by his chief disciple, Swami Vivekananda, through the founding of the Ramakrishna Mission, which stands for the harmony of religions and service to humanity. 

On our part, it is our fundamental duty to keep strengthening this message of religious harmony, peace and wellbeing of all members of our society, irrespective of their caste, creed,  colour,  and socio-economic status -  for that matter of the entire humankind. This is the very basis of our spiritual heritage, which unfortunately is being forgotten, as is evident from the disturbing, bloody, intolerant and firey reality around us.

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*A Delhi-based freelancer.