People are against religious indoctrination, and I agree, but we do not apply the same criterion to politics, social aspects and commerce. Day in day out we are indoctrinated about practically everything. Look at the commercials, advertisements, television, movies and politicians fighting for votes. Human nature is such that we accept indoctrination in these aspects and that is exactly where the problem lies. If we were openly communicating, even though differing, then peace would be attained very easily. It doesn’t matter if you call God Shiva, Rama, Jesus or by no name. Language is a robe or dress in which we cloak our ideas, nothing more than that. And fighting over differences of dress has no meaning. What matters is the idea inside you; how you express that is not really a great point. We give too much importance to the expression and then fight over semantics. I have no need to indoctrinate anyone to believe as I believe; if I do that it will be an imposition.
      Somebody says, “I don’t believe in God.” Now if I condemn him to hell for being an atheist, the first one to go to hell will be me. He may or may not go, but I will go because I have condemned him. Maybe an atheist has his own conceptions, his own way of dealing with the world and life. And I, being religious, may be doing many things or behaving in ways that are not acceptable in the eyes of God, even though I may believe in God. Then am I religious or an atheist? This is what Jesus and Krishna meant when they said: He who does my word is the truly religious person, not one who just believes. I always consider that if I believe in God, if I’m truly religious, I’ll do His word. Not doing His word and worshipping Him is a dual personality. And because it is a dual, complex personality, it is irreligious. It is against the laws of simplicity.

      We earn self-image automatically if we are simple, truthful and loving. We don’t have to try to culture it and preserve it. It should be automatic. Then if someone would say, “Oh, how great you are,” it would not make a difference to you because you are not fighting for your self-image. What does it matter if somebody praises you? The simple-hearted one will not be pampered by praise. But if you pamper a person who is concerned with her self-image, even if you only slightly reduce your pampering she may see you as bad. It is all correlated: self-image, selfishness, greed, complexity, untruth, and so on. Likewise humility, simplicity, truthfulness, love, freedom, honesty and sincerity are correlated. It doesn’t matter how we describe God; really it is immaterial. And probably each way one describes God is true. What matters is what we believe in and whether we live according to that. This is simplicity. It does not matter if you are sitting in a chair or on the carpet but it does matter when you speak untruth.
IF I AM PREOCCUPIED WITH my self-image, certainly I would not like to recognize anyone else’s image. If I do that my image reduces. I’ll only care for someone else’s image when that protects mine. I’ll shield negative characteristics in someone else because those are in me too; I may protect another’s falsehood or untruth only because the same is in me. Human nature, therefore, is very complex. But if we base our nature on spiritual laws, it is very simple. And that will work in the material plane. That is my conviction and experience. You simply have to have patience. Ultimately, simple ones prevail; truthful ones prevail. They are accepted first into the kingdom of heaven. They will inherit the earth.