True religion needs no definition. It is not in any sense a system of beliefs and practices. It is not a product of reasoning and does not derive from logic. True religion is not a side echo of culture and it was not invented by a man intimidated by ignorance. Religion cannot be conferred by a sacrament. Religion cannot be lost or taken away from anyone. It cannot be learned, inherited from ancestors, or forced by force. True religion is not conditioned by external stimuli; from the outside, it cannot be judged either.
True religion is not manifest in the midst of mystical experience; it is not born of extrasensory meditation or contemplation. Religion is not the privilege of the elect; it is not dependent on the place of birth, and it does not compete for degrees of initiation. In essence, religion does not produce fanaticism or intolerance, does not make you better than others. Such a religion is the property of the human race as a whole, but the perception of it can be, and still is, merely human.
True religion lives and can grow, not by perception or feeling, but by faith and insight. You will not discover religion by looking up to the heavens, but you will see it in the lives of your fellows. Religion is not founded on a passive sense of discovering God and it is not an empty assurance of eternal life. Religion is not for the satisfaction of curiosity, it is not the way to bliss the mind. Though they go hand in hand, religion is not morality, nor the voice of conscience. It is not a measure of the ability to judge beauty, nor is it an aversion to ugliness. True religion does not compel the pursuit of ever-increasing experience, nor does it need to discover new facts. Religion reveals the latest spiritual meanings of facts already known.
True religion does not threaten or blackmail and does not exert pressure with fear. Religion never detracts from sincere human effort. Religious experience does not flow from evidence of faith; it is not dependent on tradition or authority. True religion does not escape the duty of solving the problems of daily living; therefore it does not place anything on the shoulders of angels. Angels are no more favorable to those who flaunt their religion. Religion does not advocate moral indolence or spiritual idleness. It does not feed on the naive hope of immediately obtaining perfect character. Religion does not lead to social isolation nor does it form initiated groups. True religion never destroys the sense of humor.
Religious faith is a personal wholehearted response to spiritual guidance and not blind faith in the words of the guides. Religion teaches maturity. It does not grow out of threats of punishment for sins or promises of future rewards in the afterlife. Religion does not limit. It does not take anything away from human existence, but adds new meanings to all life. Primitive religions evolve their concepts of God to conform to the actual state of the human heart. True religion demands that the human heart be changed in response to divine concepts.
Religion never gets rich when the so-called miraculous things appear. It does not demand admiration. True religion does not dabble in magic, and God never presents miracles as proof of His authority. True religion is not about money or power. It does not need temples or relics. Religion builds man and humanity and is changing dynamically. It is always and permanently based on the personal experience of people seeking God.
The consciousness of the impulse to be like God is not true religion. The feelings of the emotion to worship God are not true religion. The knowledge of the conviction to forsake self and serve God is not true religion. The wisdom of the reasoning that this religion is the best of all is not religion as a personal and spiritual experience. True religion has reference to destiny and reality of attainment as well as to the reality and idealism of that which is wholeheartedly faith-accepted. And all of this must be made personal to us by the revelation of the Spirit of Truth.
160:5.13 (1782.4)