What does this service mean? The service, a religious service is a drill, a drill before the battle. And what is the battle? Our everyday life. If the service only is the religion, then we can only have once in a week, the religion and seven days without it. But that is not the thing. This is the winding, it winds the mechanism of thought, the though of unity of all religions, of all people. It is for the winding every week that we come to the service; the mind is wound just like a clock to continue for the whole week. What we receive from here is the idea that God is one, truth is one, and the religion is one. There cannot be two religions; that is the confusion, 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. And 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, in the love of God.

And how should we derive the greatest benefit by this service we attend? By moving the idea all the time, from the time we leave here, that idea must continue in our heart. If we are in the office, or in a factory, or in the market, the idea must be there; the prayer must continue with us in all our works in life. And 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.

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

For instance there is a Christian belong to this movement, who thinks most of his religion, of his Teacher; and there is a Hebrew who is perhaps thinking most of his religion and he is, perhaps, belonging to the Sufi Movement; and there is a Buddhist, and he is also considering his religion most; do you think we have any objection about it? Do we interfere with his ideal, 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. It is our heart's devotion to the ideal we adore, it is that place where we can place our ideal; and it is our affair, no one can interfere with it.

A few girls were playing one day, and each girl said in turn that, 'My mother is better.' The other said, 'No my mother is better.' And they were all discussing and arguing. But the girl who was wiser 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 the souls to see the source and goal of all wisdom to be One, and it is in this truth that all the blessing the the soul is longing for will be bestowed.