Claims and Teachings - Ahmad The Promised Messiah and Mahdi — Page 141
141 Are all Religions fr*om God ? THE following letter was written by the Promised Messiah in answer to an old Hindu friend who wrote to him that all reli- gions were from God and that salvation not being the rnonoply of any particular religion, a man could attain to it by following any religion. The letter runs thus : It has given rne much pleasure to learn that you have an interest in the all-important question of religion. In fact since this world is like an inn and its inhabitants only travellers who must go back to their real home sooner or later, it is the duty of every one of us to give the deepest consideration to. the questions of religion and belief. It is also oar duty that if a religion is proved to our satisfaction to be from God and a path is known to us*as the path of the pleasure of God, we should choose that religion and walk in that path fearless of every disgrace and dishonor and regardless of cue ties of close relationship or of the attractions of kindred and wealth. In this manner did the righ- teous always act and in the cause of truth they bore all sorts of sufferings and persecutions. In the world we witness false beliefs prevailing along with true ones and wicked deeds practised along with good ones. But the righteous should shun every falsehood. and evil. For instance, it is alleged by a certain section of the Hindu community that the Vedas inculcate the doctrine that in case a wife bears no offspring for some years after marriage or gives birth only to female children, her husband should invite a stranger to have carnal knowledge of her, and that this process should be continued until the wife bears eleven male children from the stranger's seed. The followers of the Sakat mat who also trace their religious principles to the Yedas have their religious festivals characterized by horrible scenes of incest and adultery, and they hold these