What does this service mean? The service, a religious service, is a drill before the battle. And what is the battle? Our everyday life. If the service is only the religion, then we can only have the religion once in a week, and six days without it. But that is not the thing. This service is the winding which winds the mechanism of thought, the unity of all religions and of all people. It is for this winding that we come to the service every week; the mind is wound just like a clock to continue for the whole week.

What we receive here is the idea that God is one, truth is one, and religion is one. There cannot be two religions; that is confusion and the illusion of the human mind. When people cannot understand each other, then they say, "Your religion is different, my religion is different." But the difference does not belong to God, it belongs to the earth. We are on the earth, but we are not bound to the earth; we are bound to God.

In the realization of God and in the love of God, what are we expected to do? We are expected to unite with one another in the thought of God and in the love of God. How should we derive the greatest benefit from this service we attend? From the time we leave here that idea must continue in our heart. If we are in the office, in a factory, or in the market, the idea must be there; the prayer must continue with us in all our works in life. Not only the prayer of glorifying the name of God, but that lesson that we receive in that prayer: that all wisdom is from God. From whatever scripture, whatever religion, whatever form, it all comes from one source.

Remember that a person might ask, "How can it be that all scriptures and religions will be placed in the same place?" A Christian might ask, "How can the Buddhist or the Hindu religion or the religion of the Hebrews be in the place I consider my religion?" But he must first know that the Jewish person is thinking the same way, and the Buddhist and the Hindu also are thinking in exactly the same way, perhaps even more. Therefore the object of this movement is freedom. It is democracy of religion, at the same time not interfering with anybody's faith, ideal, idea, or belief.

For instance, there is a Christian belonging to this movement who thinks most of his religion and of his teacher; there is a Hebrew, perhaps thinking most of his religion and yet belonging to the Sufi movement; there is a Buddhist who also considers his religion most. Do you think we have any objection to it? Do we interfere with his ideal or with his devotion to his teacher? It would be as absurd as for a person to think that a child should think of the mother of another more than of his own. And who has the right to place the great teachers or the scriptures by comparison in such and such a place? No one. Our heart's devotion to the ideal we adore is that place where we can place our ideal. It is our affair; no one can interfere with it.

A few girls were playing one day, and each girl said in turn, "My mother is better," while the other said, "No, my mother is better." They were all discussing and arguing. But the girl who was wisest among them said, "Oh no, it is the mother who is adorable, whether it is your mother or my mother."

Does the Sufi movement, therefore, interfere with anybody's devotion to his teacher? Never. But at the same time it invites souls to see the source and goal of all wisdom to be one. In this truth all the blessing that the soul is longing for will be bestowed.