Rebuttal to Hindu Ascetic Ramakrishna's Theory "Yata Mat Tata Path" - [Part 1]

Introduction:

Hindus have often tried to pose the charming theory of their mystic personality "Ramakrishna Paramahamsa" which is *Yata Mat Tata Path*.

It is a Bengali term **যত মত তত পথ** which means "As many faiths, so many paths".

=> What does the theory say:

The theory says that if you take any path like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and so on, you will at the end reach to the same goal. The theory invented by Ramakrishna was later preached by his most famous disciple Swami Vivekananda.

In the website of "Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission", it is stated like this way,

"....Sri Ramakrishna recognized the differences among religions but showed that, **in spite of these differences, they lead to the same Ultimate Goal**. This is the meaning of his famous maxim, Yato mat, tato path, “As many faiths, so many paths”.

Apart from this, Swami Vivekananda also held that the religions of the world are expressions of one eternal Universal Religion....."[1]

Swami Vivekananda also said in his speech like this way,

"We believe not only in universal toleration, but **we accept all religions as true**......

I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings:

“As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, ***the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee.*** ”[2]

=> Our Response:

We are trying to give the rebuttal from a quite number of ways below.

i. How can you say all the ways are same when the goals are different??? :

If Ramakrishna did not comment on Islam, we may not say anything. But as he twisted his theology with Islam, we have to give the response.

In the Ideology of Ramakrishna, it is said,
.
"1. **God realization is the ultimate goal of life**:

One of the important discoveries made in ancient India was that **the universe arises from and is sustained by infinite consciousness called Brahman**.

It has both impersonal and personal aspects. The personal aspect is known by different names, such as God, Ishvar, Jehovah and so on.

**Realization of this Ultimate Reality is the true goal of life**, for that alone can give us everlasting fulfilment and peace.

2. Potential **divinity of the soul**:

**Brahman is immanent in all beings as the Atman which is man's true self and source of all happiness**.

But owing to ignorance, he identifies himself with his body and mind and runs after sense pleasures. This is the cause of all evil and suffering. As ignorance is removed, the Atman manifests itself more and more.

**This manifestation of potential divinity is the essence of true religion.** " [3]

In short, "Brahman" is the source of everything and "Atman"(Soul) can be considered as the part of "Brahman" as "Atman" comes from the same "Brahman".

This is stated in Hindu Scriptures like this way:

"He(Brahman), desiring to produce beings of many kinds **from his own body**….”

(Manusmriti, 01:08)

“.....**He(Brahman) is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him**”

(Bhagabat Gita, 8:22)

"And when you have thus learned the truth, you will know that **all living beings are but part of Me**—and that they are in Me, and are Mine."

(Bhagabat Gita, 4:35)

This Brahman is considered as divine or eternal and as Atman comes from Brahman, Atman is also eternal.

"**For the soul(Atman) there is never birth nor death**. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain."

(Bhagabat Gita, 2:20)

Vedanta Philosophy is saying that from Brahman, Atman comes and this eternal Atman lives inside every worldly creature. So worldly bodies can be damagable but eternal Atman is not damagable. Atman just leaves the worldly body after its worldly death and enters a new body specially before the birth of a child.

Swami Vivekananda concludes this process like this way,

"The Hindu believes that every soul(Atman) is a circle whose circumference is nowhere, but whose centre is located in the body, and that **death means the change of this centre from body to body**. Nor is the soul bound by the conditions of matter. In its very essence it is free, unbounded, holy, pure, and perfect..."[4]

So this theory suggests that all things in the Universe are therefore not seperate creation but "Barhman". For our ignorance, we think that we are separate creation whereas all things are the manifestation of the same Brahman.

Let us again see the portion from the Ideology of Ramakrishna which has already been stated above-

***But owing to ignorance, he identifies himself with his body and mind and runs after sense pleasures. This is the cause of all evil and suffering. As ignorance is removed, the Atman manifests itself more and more.***

So, here a point can be understood that Vedanta Philosophy is not introducting us to any Ultimate One True Creator. Rather, it rejects the concept that this universe is a creation and for this, thinking the universe as "creation" is actually our illusion. Vivekananda rejects the concept of the Ultimate One Creator like this way,

".....if they are all created, why does a just and merciful God create one happy and another unhappy, why is He so partial? Nor would it mend matters in the least to hold that those who are miserable in this life will be happy in a future one. Why should a man be miserable even here in the reign of a just and merciful God?

In the second place, ***the idea of a creator God does not explain the anomaly***, but simply expresses the cruel fiat of an all-powerful being...."[5]

From this point of view, Vedanta is saying that the universe is actually a manifestation of Brahman or in other words, it is a transformation of the *portion of Brahman*(Atman).

According to physics, the whole amount of matter and energy is fixed. It can not be created or destroyed, just can be transformed from one to another.

Now if a chair is made of wood of a tree, then the chair is actually a transformation of the wood of the tree, it is not actually a new creation in the universe. Here wood is raw material and chair is a new product, but both the elements or the matter of chair or wood is fixed. So making chair is not actually a new creation.

Similarly, if the universe which comes through the transformation of the portion of Brahman, then it will also not be considered a new creation. Here like the wood of the chair, we can also consider the Brahman just as raw material, not any Creator.

So it is very clear that **Vedanta fails to say about the ultimate Creator**.

Now remind it again. What is the ultimate goal according to the theory of Ramakrishna?

**Realization of the Brahman**

But we are seeing that *Brahman* is not the Ultimate Creator. So, how can Ramakrishna conclude that the goal in the way of Islam is to realise such a Brahman who has not created anything???

Any Muslim who has a basic knowledge of Islam can tell you that Allah does not transform His own portion to make the universe. Allah is the Ultimate Creator of everything Who has created out of nothing.

Allah says in the glorious Quran,

"....So (it will be) for Allah creates what He wills. When He has decreed something, He says to it only: "Be!" and it is."

(The Noble Quran, 3:47)

"....Glorified (and Exalted be He above all that they associate with Him). When He decrees a thing, He only says to it, "Be!" and it is."

(The Noble Quran, 19:35)

"The Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it: "Be!" - and it is."

(The Noble Quran, 2:117)

"Verily, His Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, "Be!" and it is!"

(The Noble Quran, 36:82)

"He it is Who gives life and causes death. And when He decides upon a thing He says to it only: "Be!" and it is."

(The Noble Quran, 40:68)

So it's very clear that Allah is not any Brahman or Atman rather Allah is the Ultimate Creator of everything Who just commands whenever He wants and the creation comes into existence out of nothing.

So realization of Brahman can not be the goal of a Muslim. Allah clearly says the purpose of His creation in the Quran.

"And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone)."

(The Noble Quran, 51:56)

So the ultimate goal of a Muslim is not to realize any imaginary Brahman, but to worship Allah alone by submitting his will to Him.

“Say: “Truly, my prayer and my service of sacrifice, my life and my death, are [all] for Allah, the Cherisher of the Worlds””

(Al-Quran, 6:162)

So it is very clear that either Ramakrishna did not understand Islam perfectly or if the Hindus claim that Ramakrishna's mystic power is so great that he could get the knowledge of everything, then we will say, he was a liar who lies about Islam.

(To be continued)

__________________________

References:

[1] http://www.belurmath.org/Ideology.htm
[2] https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Complete_Works_of_Swami_Vivekananda/Volume_1/Addresses_at_The_Parliament_of_Religions/Response_to_Welcome
[3] http://www.belurmath.org/Ideology.htm
[4] https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Complete_Works_of_Swami_Vivekananda/Volume_1/Addresses_at_The_Parliament_of_Religions/Paper_on_Hinduism
[5] https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Complete_Works_of_Swami_Vivekananda/Volume_1/Addresses_at_The_Parliament_of_Religions/Paper_on_Hinduism

Read the next part here:

Rebuttal to Hindu Ascetic Ramakrishna's Theory "Yata Mat Tata Path" - Part 2