Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 337
The last week of December 1905 337 the sciences and arts are known only to the worldly. A religious Mu s le h [Reformer] makes a general reform related to the com- mon welfare. Arya— As with all the things nature has given us that fulfil our other needs, similarly, for spiritual knowledge, nature has given us one thing, and that is the Vedas. It is the task of the Arya Sam a j to spread the teachings of the Vedas. The Promised Messiah as — What is the ultimate point to which the teachings of the Vedas lead? Arya— Development of the body, society, and development of the soul. The Promised Messiah as — What is spiritual progress? Arya— To attain salvation. The Promised Messiah as — This is everyone’s claim. However, there is a sense of making a claim that is limited to being simply a thought or a conjecture that we have done this work. But there should be a distinctive character to it by which a distinction may be made whether there is salvation in it or not. Well, at this time, I do not attack the teachings of the Vedas. Assume that all that teaching is good, but it may be an imitation of something. For example, Japan has become a power at this time, but all their work is a copy of Europe. Similarly, Parsis say that Zend Avesta is older than the Vedas and some things in the Vedas are similar. So now the question is if a person follows the words of the Vedas, acquires it as knowledge in a philosophical sense, but does not consider the Vedas as a revealed book nor maintain