WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES THAT
CHARACTERIZE A UNIVERSAL RELIGION?

1) The universe as moving in cycles of wave forms. Rising and falling, it undergoes ever recurring successions of birth, preservation and disintegration.

2) Divine intelligence is working behind and within the universe. Transcendence, infinite, undivided and unchanging, this is the driving force behind creation.

3) Dualism and monism are both authentic. Reality can be experienced as the personal God as well as the Impersonal Absolute. Some will experience it as a personal Masculine and others as Feminine. However, when consciousness transcends creation, we perceive the impersonal Ground out of which everything arises.

4) History shows us a recurring divine descent of incarnations and prophets, all speaking of "The Omnipresent" either in devotional language or in the impersonal language of the philosopher.

5) Caught up in surface feelings and ideas of separation and limitation, every life form is subject to the psychological law of cause and effect (karma, in Sanskrit). This gives rise to cycles of life, death and rebirth. Throughout, each entity is altering its destiny and gradually evolving amidst all of its actions and reactions.

6) All beings are maturing, always in the direction of this Transcendent Source. Consciousness is always trying to open out into this larger Reality. Every being will ultimately open out into a higher knowing, freedom and love.

7) Our modern emphasis on rational, objective thinking is an essential part of this process. Through this unifying process, we’re regaining control over our lives and breaking free of collective superstitions.

8) Secular affirmations and insights (vedas) are encouraged. “I'm strong and successful.” "I've power and potential." These are feelings we have to nurture. However, we have to go deeper. “I'm rooted in the source of the whole knowing process.” "There is only One Reality, and I'm one with That." "I am a child of God, and share in His strength and love." These kinds of affirmation transform our lives in the deepest way.

9) There are endless paths to this Higher goal. Each person has his or her own approach. However, all paths, fall into four broad areas.
a) Some come to a higher state of knowing through love and devotion to a personal God: "The Way of the Saint." b) Others come to Reality by way of unselfish action: "The Way of the Hero." c) Some come to the Impersonal through the power of reason: "The Way of the Sage." d) And finally, there are some who approach Reality through the path of meditation: "The Way of the Mystic."