So there actually ARE multiple paths to reach God, to find
Him. Each path IS actually different from the rest. Just because I am on a
different path than someone else I am in no position to assume that I am right
and the other person is wrong or vice versa. May be I am wrong and he is right.
May be he is wrong and I am right. May be we are both right. May be we are both
wrong.
There are certain things, certain beliefs, certain ways that
ARE right and some that ARE wrong. But it is not our job to judge people and
label them as deviant or righteous. Not at all. We are in no position for that.
Only one who is in such a position is God Himself. It is up to him to decide
who is righteous and who is deviant. Who is going to hell and who is going to heaven? Because He knows what lies within peoples' hearts while we don't. Our job is to acquire knowledge and educate ourselves so that we can learn and
decide by ourselves what is right for us to do or believe and what is not. Because
how else will we be able to develop our beliefs and values. But the first thing
that we must learn before learning to distinguish between right and wrong is
that whatever knowledge I acquire it SHOULD NOT make me judgmental towards
others.
The thing is that knowledge is never constant. It evolves. It
evolves and the process of evolution is never ending. As your knowledge evolves,
your understanding of what’s right and what’s wrong changes. What today you
think is wrong, tomorrow you will probably think that the same thing is right
and vice versa. So never mock anyone for their beliefs or the ways that they follow because
tomorrow it is possible for you to find yourself sharing their beliefs and ways.
Lets say you disagree with someone on a certain matter. Lets say they ARE actually wrong and you ARE actually right
about that matter. And you mock them or judge them or assume that because of
their ignorance regarding this particular matter they are going to be doomed. They
are lost. And so you look down upon them. What if there are certain acts of theirs due to which they are dearer
to God than you are. May be they give away more charity than you do. May be you
give 10% of your income and they give 50% of theirs. May be they volunteer to
help the needy despite their tough routine when you prefer to stay in bed and
chill. May be they are much more compassionate than you are. May be they don’t judge
people and think or speak ill of them like you do. May be they love God more
than you do. May be they are more devout to God in their hearts than you can
ever be. May be their hearts contain more compassion than yours ever can. May be they don't dress up as 'religiously' as you do but they are more honest in their personal and professional dealings or matters than you are. May be they never lie. May be they never cheat. You don’t
know everything about them. You don’t know what’s in their hearts. You are NO
ONE to judge them or make the assumption that they are doomed or deviant or
lost. NO. Not at all. You can disagree with them but you can’t judge them and
so you shouldn’t.
Last but not the least. This does not apply to religion only but also to every other aspect of your life.