A Message of Peace — Page 23
M ESSAGE OF P EACE 23 and have been accepted by millions of people in all parts of the world, and love for them and their greatness has been firmly established in any one part of the world, and further that this state of devotion and love for them has endured the test of time, is evidence enough of their truthfulness. Had they not been from God, they could not have been accepted on such a wide scale by millions upon millions of hearts. God does not bestow such honour upon those whom He favours not. If an imposter aspires to occupy their position, he is soon brought to ruin. By virtue of the same logic, we believe the Vedas to be divine in origin and we consider their saints to be venerable and holy. We do so despite our observation that Vedic teaching has not succeeded, nor could it ever succeed, in turning any section of its followers into true worshippers of God. The people in this country who worship idols, fire, the sun, the Ganges, or thousands of deities, or who are adherents of Jainism or the Shakat faith, all claim their religion to origi- nate from the Vedas. The Vedas are so vague that they permit all sects to deduce from them whatsoever they wish. However, in accordance with what we are taught by God, we believe that the original Vedas were not man’s fabrication. A human fabrication lacks the power to establish a lasting order. Although we do not find any mention of stone worship in the Vedas, without a doubt, Vedic teaching is full of the mention of the worship of fire, air, water, the moon, the sun, and so on. There is no verse which prohibits the worship of these objects. Who is to say that the older sects of Hindus are false and only the new sect of A ry a s is the true one? People who, by referring to the Vedas, worship these objects, are armed