WHO ARE THE PERSONALITIES AT
TEMPLE UNIVERSAL?
MOHAMMED
The Great
Prophet Messenger
An uneducated man of humble origin, Muhammad promulgated
Islam, one of the world's greatest religions, and
became an effective political leader. Today fourteen
centuries after his death, his influence is still
potent and pervasive.
THE DIGNITY AND GOODNESS OF MUHAMMAD
Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca, in approximately
the year 570 AD. He came to be called Muhammad or
“highly praised.” Pure hearted and beloved
in his circle, he was, it was said, of sweet disposition.
His sense of honor, duty, and fidelity won him,
as he grew older, the high and enviable titles of
“The True,” “The Upright.”
Earning his living as a trader, he was also known
as the “Trustworthy One.”
HIS PERIOD OF INSPIRATION
When reaching the age of 40, in a cave within Mount
Hara, on the outskirts of Mecca, Muhammad became
absorbed in spiritual meditations. He would retire
during the whole month of Ramadan to a cave. There
he prayed, meditated, and shared his meager provisions
with travelers who happened to pass by. There came
to Muhammad revelations and inspirations through
the angel Gabriel that established his prophethood.
With time, there came a pause in revelation, extending
over three years.
During the three years of waiting the Prophet
had given himself up more and more to prayers and
to spiritual practices. The revelations begin again
and God assured him that it was He Who had guided
him to the right path:
He communicated to him the following Divine message:
Revelation
With the name of God, the Most Merciful, the All-Merciful.
Read: with the name of thy Lord Who created,
Created man from blood coagulated,
Read: and thy Lord is the Most Wondrous,
Who by the pen taught
man what he knew not.
SPREADING THE MUSLIM FAITH
God had chosen him as His messenger ordering him
to spread the Muslim faith, the faith of his forefather,
Abraham. This was the same destiny that came to
Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. The angel taught him
the mode of ablutions, the way of worshiping God
and the conduct of prayer.
Eventually he began delivering the message to all.
In the next 20 years of his life, he communicated
the message of Allah to his people, and set an example
for how each human being should lead her or his
life.
Muhammad's teachings is of the word of God (Islam)
and submission and obedience to the one true God
(Allah). "Muhammad is the messenger of God
and sealer of prophets. And God has full knowledge
of all things."
The following has been edited and revised from
the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda.
Mohammed's heart was sick at the sin, idolatry
and mock worship, superstitions and human sacrifices,
and so on. The Jews were degraded by the Christians.
On the other hand, the Christians were more degraded
than his own countrymen.
We're always in the hurry. But if any great work
is to be done, there must be real preparation. After
much praying, day and night, Mohammed began to have
dreams and visions. Gabriel appeared to him in a
dream and told him that he was the messenger of
truth. He told him the message of Jesus, of Moses,
and all the prophets would be lost and asked him
to go and preach. Seeing the Christians preaching
politics in the name of Jesus, seeing the Persians
preaching dualism, Mohammed said: "Our God
is one God. He is the Lord of all that exists. There's
no comparison between Him and any other." God
is God. There's no philosophy, no complicated code
of ethics. "Our God is one without a second,
and Mohammed is the Prophet."
MOHAMMED WAS TRUELY GREAT
Mohammed began to preach it in the streets of Mecca.
They began to persecute him, and he fled to the
city of Medina.
He began to fight, and the whole race became united.
Islam deluged the world in the name of the Lord.
The tremendous conquering power! These messengers
must have come from God, else how could they have
been so great?
Mohammed married quite a number of wives afterwards.
Great men may marry two hundred wives each. "Giants"
like you, I wouldn't allow to marry one wife.
The characters of great souls are mysterious, their
methods past our finding out. We mustn't judge them.
Christ may judge Mohammed. Who are you and I? Little
babies. What do we understand of these great souls?
These old people were all messengers of God. I
fall down and worship them; I take the dust of their
feet.
But they're dead! And we're alive. We must go ahead!
Religion isn't an imitation of Jesus or Mohammed.
Even if an imitation is good, it's never genuine.
Be not an imitation of Jesus, but be Jesus. You're
quite as great as Jesus, Buddha, or anybody else.
If we're not, we must struggle and be. I would not
be exactly like Jesus. It's unnecessary that I should
be born a Jew.
These great souls are signposts on the way.
That's all they are. They say, "Onward, brothers!"
We cling to them; never want to move. We don't want
to think; we want others to think for us. The messengers
fulfill their mission. They ask to be up and doing.
A hundred years later we cling to the message and
go to sleep.
Talking about faith and belief and doctrine is easy,
but it's so difficult to build character and stem
the tide of the senses. We succumb. We become hypocrites.
Religion isn't a doctrine, not a rule. It's a process.
That's all. Doctrines and rules are all for exercise.
With exercise we get strong and at last break the
bonds and become free. Doctrine is of no use except
for gymnastics. Through exercise the soul becomes
perfect.
That exercise is stopped when you say, "I
believe."
"Whenever virtue subsides and immorality abounds,
I take human form. In every age I come for the salvation
of the good, for the destruction of the wicked,
for the establishment of spirituality." Such
are the great messengers of light. They are our
great teachers, our elder brothers. But we must
go our own way!
