If we were not so arrogant in our belief that only OUR religion holds the truth, we would look for the common denominator in all religions instead of the differences, and maybe, just maybe, we might begin to understand that all the great Messengers were speaking the same truth according to the time, the place, and the understanding of the people amongst whom they dwelt.

One truth that shines through Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism is that mankind is separable from that which we call 'God' and, as such, we have the power to create all that seemingly 'happens' to us. Because of our inseparability from God we are anything but powerless. The Budhha taught that though man creates his own prison, he can also acquire a power greater that that of gods. He said that he was born in God and lives in God. All separations are illusionary.

Jesus taught that the Spirit of God dwells within us, and that the miraculous works he did, we could do. Yes, works even greater. He taught that there are no real separations between man and God. That he is in God, we are in him and that he is in us. The multitude would see these things without perceiving and hear of them without understanding.

Swami Vivekananda, a God-realised messenger of contemporary times has written this about God-realisation:

"This is the only way to reach the goal, to tell ourselves, and to tell everybody else, that we are divine. And as we go on repeating this, strength comes, He who falters at first will get stronger and stronger, and the voice will increase in volume until the truth takes possession of our hearts, courses through our veins and permeated our bodies. Delusion will vanish, and there will come a time when all else has disappeared and the Sun alone shines."

"You are divinities on earth, not sinners! It is a sin to call a man a 'sinner'; it is a standing libel on human nature. Come up, you lions, and shake off the delusion that you are sheep. You are Souls immortal, spirit free, blessed and eternal; you are not matter, you are not bodies, matter is your servant, not you the servant of matter. If there were sin, this is the only sin - to say that you are powerless, or others are powerless."

When we become aware of these parallels in Hindu, Buddhist and Christian reminders to the race of our spiritual birthright and heritance, it is time to discard those dis-empowering middle-men who stand between you and God, who deify the messengers ad sing and chant their praises endlessly and do not reflect the glory of God. They are good, loving people who passionately worship the Messenger, but remain in conditioned ignorance about the true and uncorrupted teachings. It is time to stop fluttering like a sparrow and learn to soar with the wings of an eagle.

Following Swami Vivekananda's interpretation of sin, we should know that it manifests as despair. Despair is a total denial of the Holy Spirit within you. In your worst moments God is as close to you as your breathing. You can never, ever remove the Spirit from you, you can only deny its existence. In the seeming absence of God there is only fear. In direct, personal experience of God, there is only love.