I am not still contented with innumerable long letters I have sent to so many religious thinkers in India and abroad. If it were possible, I would have run down to each of the greatest religious highest souls, or any religion and any country or any nation. I would have tapped their doors even in the midst of night, and waited fine hours till they called me, and under every pressure from my little sell I would have entreated them and all of us, as are serious and willing and finally would have seriously talked together for hours and days, ta arrive at some most agreeable lines, on which to set up the skeleton of a Universal Religion's frame work.
However, we all truly Universal Religionists, are locked up in most unapproachable, distant most cells by Satan, working through materialism, inividualism and atheism. This world itself, I have found to be the greatest Babel Tower, where none correctly reads or understands the mind and heart of the other, nor is the speech and language being interpreted in the same spirit as the speaker. I have found language to be quite a poor means of communication, especially while trying to transfer the subtlest shades of sublime thoughts and emotions of religion. We have the least assistance or sympathy, encouragement or appreciation from the general humanity, for whom in fact we have lived and dedicated our lives, minds and hearts. There is, therefore, absolutely very little hope of reaping the harvest of our sown see during our own life. This is one of the greatest reasons, why religion alone can bring into existence, an entirely transformed patter mankind, which is surely not the work of a single man of al but of so many men working for so many quarters and centuries, from generation to generation, in succession, with inheritance, and mild moral persuasive and appealing controlling suggestive mental and soul power.
All the same, let me clear as much as I can, through the most ineffective poor instrumentality of a paper, pen, post and press, in respect of how far Mai-ism has been most favorable and suitable to the new age, as its acceptable Universal World Religion. The most practical measure, is that of, any two highest religious thinking souls, being brought together in personal contact, or in frequent long hours, open-minded interview, or being closeted together, (each one in communion with one's own God for some few hours in solitude) and finally, drawing up certain valuable conclusions on comparing notes of all sided aspects that is many times more fruitful than any number of temporary Congresses or routinistic societies. (It need not be mentioned again and again, that under Mai-ism, who-ever is one's own God, referred to above i.e. during closetting together, is immaterial.) Please remember in this connection, that, Mai-ism has its own certain special characteristics, which require all impartial and experienced deep religious thinkers to think upon, most meditatively.
In fact, I cannot myself understand, why I should have called Maiism a religion. In absence of any better denomination, I have called it Mai-ism, and Mai-ism, the Universal Religion. It is not the creation of a fad. It is not the same pattern, on which all individual religions have been cast, only with a little change here and there. Of course, the working of the principle of any religious machinery is impossible to be something never heard before. All the same, Mai-ism is not based on the very same principles, at least in the external forms, which each individual religion usually shows at its first sight. Surely, as everyone knows, there can be nothing entirely new under the sun, at least in the matters of religiosity and spirituality. All the same, there are vast differences of the elementary fundamentals, ways, methods, beliefs, etc. The finalmost truth is the same. But the way and the life differs. Simplest figure of 9 is derived through several calculations, as 4+5, or 10-1, or 3x3, or 90 = 10., involving innumerable additions, subtractions, multiplications and divisions. Final result remaining surely the same, there are easy or complicated, short or long, ways and methods, Naturally enough, the higher and higher you go over a pyramid, any two points of any two different facets to be much nearer each other. Of course, in that sense, Maiism at the points nearest to the apex, cannot be an entirely different heterogeneous thing from all individual religions. It may alca clearly seen that, looked from the highest point of view N cannot be entirely unconcerned with, and quite dissimilar individual religions.
The main characteristics of Mai-ism are as under :
(a) It would look, for instance, quite strange, as stated in Main Mother's Message, page 5 - that even one who does not believe in God but does believe in common tie of humanity and practises service and extends love to all is a Mai-ist, (with some locus standi under religion), Mai-ism accepts you, even if you only have the universal outlook and live the life of universal love and universal service, to the extent of your possibility and practicability.
(b) Without diving deep into the subtleties of Mai-ism, some religionists have asked superficially, “Why do you add one more religion to the already too many that have sufficiently confused the world?'' The reply to such hasty conclusion is what I stated above, viz., that it is not a religion in exactly the same sense as all individual religions have so far been. Overcrowding is possible, only when different individualities of the very same nature, variety and pattern, are huddled together. Only a single student studying Latin in a College does not over-crowd all other language classes.
(c) Whereas all religions, till now, have worked on the in creating diversities out of unity, here is an entirely reverse goal object, purpose and measure, and move in the opposite direction channelizing all diversities towards unity. Whereas all 1 religions represent centrifugal forces, which result in their flying away from the centre, Mai-ism represents the centripetal forces, which would result in all individual religions rushing towards the centre. Although the object in view is just the reverse, its working on the same lines as the individual religions becomes indispensable, in as much as it would only then be able to counteract the poisonous effect of the past. Any antidote to any poison, given inadvertently or purposely through a medicine, is again required to be, although of an entirely reverse nature, through medicine, and medicine alone. A diamond alone can cut a diamond. Even when the direction has to be reversed, any train's work, carrying hundreds of passengers, has to be done by a different train alone, although the second train is required to be a herculean train, and running in a different direction. It is therefore, that the philosophy and movement of Mai -ism fall under the nomenclature of a religion, even though, as stated above, it does not insist on some belief in the very existence of God. And yet while this is being broadly stated, let there be no misunderstanding that Mai-ism is a religion of no God. Just the reverse. The spring of surviving stamina and security of Mai-ism sprays itself from Godliness itself through goodness givingn-ess and greatness (vide World's need page 4.) .
The main-most difference is, there is no compulsion and no pressure, and no misunderstandings-creation for them, that of themselves feel no need of a God. Mai - ism is eagerly anxious to take them upon its shoulders. Just the reverse of 'no God', it depends fully for its success, only on God's grace, only on Mai's grace. However, it tries to provide various ways, means and teachings for all classes of persons at different stages of evolution. Mai-ism is not for confusing, discouraging or expelling them, that fall below a certain ideal rigid standard; but gradually lifting everyone from one's own stage to higher and higher stages.
(d) The next thing to note is that Mai-ism is all inclusive, as stated in the very first page of " Mother's Message", where it states, that Mai-ism is the Universal Religion without caste, creed or colour.
With full respect to and following one's own religion, without departure, one can be a Hindu Mai-ist, a Christian Maiist , Muslim Mai-ist, a Buddha Mai-ist, etc.
(e) Mother Mai has always been discussed to be sexless or beyond sex, and hence, Mai-ism has absolutely nothing to object against Fai-ism. If at all in future any such religion is given by God Almighty to the world, as stated in Mai-ism, Mai or Fai is the very same Almighty, who has the aspect of Mai or Fai, according as the devotees and worshippers desire.
(f) It has been also very clearly stated under Mai-ism, that anyone can simultaneously have his own individual religion for individual purposes ( for his preliminary evolution ), with quite a smooth and harmonious living in the midst of his own society, and yet, without the least conflict, he can have the Universal Religion, which is meant for universal purposes, and for higher evolution, as well. That is so because the purposes, aims and objects, fields and duties, associations, environments and problems of individual religion and universal religion are entirely different. There is absolutely no conflict, unless either of them is twisted to bear wrong, untrue and half-distorted interpretations. Mai-ism says that we never find any portion of our body working against the well-being of the whole body itself. Whenever either the universal religion or individual religion interprets any truth, as in contradiction to the well-being of the Universal Religion or any individual religion, surely, it must be inferred that there is something wrong somewhere, in the interpretation. And that can be at once remedied, if the whole and all parts are mutually interconnected and united. These parts have always to be fully harmonious with one another and also with the whole.
Surely, the highest religious thinkers have gradually arrive the stage of visualising the need of a Universal Religion, as the federation of all. What Mai-ism puts before the world is a third requirement, viz., that the Universal Religion has to be a full fledged religion, to serve as the federator of all religions.
(g) Further, Mai is the Mother or the Spirit, or what the Christians imagine and call, “The Holy Ghost”. Mai is the Mother of all and of any deity and of any worshipper. It is the God of any religion and even of any imaginary God of any conception.
(h) Another feature of Mai-ism is that it believes the world cannot have the benefits of a Universal Religion, unless, it is entwined around a Universally accepted God. A Union of Ferocious lions wishing to tear each other, most united with one another cannot be brought into existence, simply as a result of mere wishes of idealists, or by a flock of bleating lambs.
(i) In the matter of selection of the conception of the Universal God, nothing can be so very natural, easily follow-able, and familiar, as the parental conception; and further, in as much as father is justice and mother is mercy, and yet further, inasmuch the world needs, in the modern age, God's mercy, Motherhood of God is, at least in the belief of Mai-ism, most preferable. In respect of the selection of God from the point of parentage, fatherhood or motherhood, the world has to be extremely practical to be fully deriving every exaltation. "There is no religion higher than truth" and mere notions of man-made decisions regarding our courtesies or their reverses of vulgarisms should not deter the world from holding final truths fully in front of one's face.
From this viewpoint it is fully certain that the certainty about a certain mother parentage is a fully provable truth with undeniable evidence of witness from any maternity home. Any nurse and any doctor would boldly certify the mother of a certain baby, to be a certain woman. In the other case it is all only a matter of assumed chastity, custom, guardianship responsibility, social courtesy and responsibility-fixing legal provision and world's procedure.
Further for societies, in which there are no customs of marriages, the fatherhood determination problem hangs in the air. Even in rarest cases where the guardianship of an unprotected baby comes into question, human nature and compassionate impartial judgement of public leaders and judges mostly decide the issue in favour of the child in the guardianship of the baby's mother. Fatherhood had its day. The world now needs a drastic overhauling change of the following of the fatherhood ideal has now been only flogging the dead horse. Let the new age have a new religion individual but universal, and let it have a new God, who is Father alone, but Mother- Father God.
(j) If the universe is to be made a happy family, there is no other conception as efficient as the Universal Mother.
(k) Mai-ism wants thinking people to realize that God is God, man is man, religion is religion and a mere society is a society,
There is no guarantee as safe and certain as God and religion, for being remunerated in respect of any service and sacrifice, in the interest of anyone of the whole humanity. Rain is rain and a gardener's water-sprinkling can is a can. This is being stated in respect of what man and even superman can do and what God Almighty can do. Man cannot give life to the smallest bug once killed, whereas God has been creating millions of even human lives, every second.
(l) Mai-ism clearly states that the teaching of service, and sacrifice, without any the smallest idea of a return, is only an ideal. Of course, the higher and higher anyone rises, his selflessness, desirelessness, relishlessness and non-attachment goes on increasing from nothingness to maximum; but that is an actual, hard, uphill task, and nothing is more ridiculous, than to make a pre- assumption of what is a to be achieved through religiosity, God's grace and Guru’s guidance. Mai-ism’s aim and object is to collect, preserve and create every divinity dust grain from every religion and any corner of the world, while fully maintaining any one's individual religion intact. Any subtle reader of Mai-ism literature will see that a certain principle has been clearly stated and accepted. It is that, texts of prayers, language thereof, details of ceremony and modes of worshipping, etc. have to be accepted and introduced in any Mai center or institute according as the Mai-ists of the particular centre unanimously decide, with full independence and discretion, be they of any religion. This has been most clearly stated in "Mother's Message" on page 13 under the practical measures of Mai-ists, It reads as under :
Some of the practical measures for true Mai-ists are : (9) Constructing, opening, or encouraging to open Mother's Lodges, Temples, Homes and Colonies under any denomination religious, national or communal, of any people, in any place.
(m) What Mai - ism wants may be better explained by a long illustration. Just have the picture of the father's many mansions and warehouses of innumerable mangoes of all varieties grown up in all parts of our vastest world. Mai - ism has seen that the world has been since long suffering from the worst cholera of devilishness, because people eat rotten corroded, spoiled and disease - spreading mangoes. Mai - ism has therefore undertaken the work of separating divinity-smelling, health-giving mangoes from the spoiled and infected mangoes. Mai - ism does not stop with sorting out mangoes alone. It applies the same test to all diseases - spreading fruits as well, say, guavas, plantains, apples, etc. Mai - ism holds forth one biggest imaginable basket. Best-ness and health - giving-ness is the test, and practically the only test for any fruit for being picked up and placed in constant and continued contactual association with equally best fruits. Practically, that is the only test of best fruits, for being entrusted to the Best Preserver of the whole universe (the Universal Most Merciful Mother Mai). The shape, the colour, the size, the nature and degree of relishfulness or sweetness, place or person, in respect of any fruit, are all simply secondary considerations. It is enough that the fruit is not corroded and not disease-creating and does not turn all other fruits to be dangerous, with the destruction work, say, as of gnaw-worms.
(n) If I like mangoes, I need not crush a plantain under my feet, nor be an idiot to assert that, because I am a mango - appreciator, all others over whom I may have my hold, should be all appreciators of mangoes alone. Nor should it be, that because I am a mango-appreciator, I should refuse to eat or even see an apple. A true Marist would rather look for the health-givingness and relishfulness in any fruit, that happens to be in his contact.
To put it in plainest words, Mai-ism is for godliness, universality, goodness, morality, mercy, justice, virtue and best men to men relationship, wherever and in whatever form it may be found. Mai-ism is for minimisation of all man-made degenerating differences. Mai-ism has yet further, to provide for the consolidation, preservation and future procreation of these attributes, for the welfare, peace, prosperity and happiness of the new age. This sort of work can never be done unless, through the agency of a religion, because, it is such a long process that it requires to be carried out with developments from time to time with the intact, continuity of not one life time, but of quarters or one-thirds of a century, or, at least, say, thirty years. This work has to be carried out from age to age, pedigree to pedigree, and generation to generation. The world's progressiveness is so very trivial, and the goal is so very distant, that quite a long continuity of sameness, with the force of an inheritance, is indispensable. And that can be had and preserved, under the unworldly selflessness of religion alone.
Religious development, as achieved in so many various aspects, spiritual, scriptural, religious, moral and social, has to be preserved and progressed with much greater zeal, service, sacrifice, patience and hard conscientious working, which is many times much more laborious, taxing and self-mortifying, than that of the past times and the sweet will-working of individuals, societies or institutes. It is religion alone, which can serve as the constantly working machinery, which has been moulding millions of men in a particular mentality, to be thinking and living in the same specified and chalked out way, at the very same time. It is also religion alone, that can generate the required force for millions of the new age to be inheriting and imitating the very same attributes or the ages before them.
In one word, Mai-ism aspires to create and bring into existence, a certain new pattern of humanity, which believes in certain particular attributes and ways of living and beliefs, etc.
These attributes can be summed up in the one simplest formula of the most powerful and greatest welfare-creating fewest fundamental highest truths. Mai-ism is based on such a simple formula of fewest words of greatest spiritual efficacy. Mai-ism means (1) universality (2) love (3) service (4) devotion () unconditional cheerful self-surrender and (6) the spiritual co-equal status of man and woman, with the full understanding of their mutual inevitable interdependence and interpenetration, and therefore, with the realisation of the indispensability of the spiritual, sanctified, selfless unification.
The emblem that has been selected by Mai-ism is that of the ancestral well-known Swastik. It is not the same as that of the Nazis. And there should be no confusion at all, in as much as the four arms have been specifically explained as love, service, devotion and surrender, The horizontal and vertical axes respectively represent (1) universality and spirituality, or the best man to man of human being to human being relationship, and (2) the sanctified unification and spiritual oneness of man and woman, or husband and wife, both respectively.
In the absence of innumerable experiences of ups and downs, catastrophes and open injustices tyrannies of the wicked world, many of the new materialistic world, (with wealth, woman, profit and pleasure as the highest aims of life and living), believe that to be most courteous and sympathetic with the world's past glory, let some honorific nominal value, of a sentimental nature, be retained for virtue, morality, best character and conduct, etc. However that much, the nominal reverence, is enough by itself; and the world may dispense with the nuisances of God and Religion. And even morality and virtue. Some further think. if at all God and religion are necessary, people themselves, individually. are intelligent, educated, sufficiently scripture-proficient and competent enough to create their own God and their own religion. These small-witted persons have no idea that they will be simply shifting the whole evil and misery from its present form to the worst evil of hundreds of Gods and hundreds of religions tried to be thrust into the world. Each one would be smashing another to establish one's own supremacy through his own God and religion, The only remedy therefore, is that the world should have a God and Religion which is most acceptable to the greatest number of religious thinking persons.
Goodness is weakness in the modern materialistic world. Goodness therefore, to survive, needs the protection of godliness, not simply of an individual Deity or any individual God, of any individual religion or nation, but that of the finalmost, absolute, all pervading omnipotent God, say, as Universal Mother Mai
In fact, as stated on page 16 in information about International Religious Federation (IRF) Japan, by Maiji as its Sub-Councillorin-Chief,..................
(8) The highest religious man, so long as he does not believe in the world as a one whole unit, is under a delusion about his praying to Almighty God. He is worshipping not 'God', but the 'Reflection of God', in the light of his own conception.
He has been worshipping not a real God, but a partial reflectional and conceptional God, God whom he himself has created in his own mind according to his own imagination, or which his mind has created for him, for his consolation and satisfaction, (9) The truest God can never be conceived except as the Creator of the Whole Universe, and He can never be exclusively attached to one's own Religion or Nation, as against all other Religions or Nations. I cannot conceive at least, that my Mother Mai, will hand over a poison drug to one of the sons to kill another. How are other Gods of other religions, I am not authorized to speak about. That can best be said by authorities of those religions.
The differences between men and men are mostly of the nature of the opposite pairs of good and evil, godliness and godlessness, virtue and vice, mercy and cruelty, selflessness and selfishness, surrender to God and rebelliousness, reverence and obedience to spiritual teachers, parents, elders, masters, rulers, etc. or belittlement and insolence, harassment by children, disobedience by juniors and rebelliousness by the ruled, etc.
Mai-ism is for deciding once for all, to which basket, whether to the religious museum basket, or Municipal rubbish basket, a certain fruit naturally belongs, and Mai-ism is for consolidating all best fruits with minimization of all small differences, which are comparatively quite trivial. It is only man's own mind, that plays all mischief, in the matter of making a mountain of a molehill difference.
It is that very human mind, which can as well, easily develop the magnanimity, of making least of any existing differences. In one word, there is no superman, however great, who can serve as a sure guarantee, as God and religion, as stated before, and there is no machinery as powerful as religion, which can shape and govern millions at the same time, and mold humanity for ages after ages, to the same pattern of a certain set of universally acceptable, peaceful, happiness creating, harmonious living principles.
The definition about Mai's names, forms and aspects is so very wide, that anyone say, believing only in his own conscience, or only in nature, divine law, or evolution, etc., can find his own conception accepted and included in the broadest definition of Mai. Anyone can figuratively be a worshipper of Mai in any one form, one chooses. This will be clear on going through the definition of Mai in the commencement page, the second one itself, (page two) of Mai Sahasranama, or Mother's Thousand Names.
Just broaden, widen and universalize the interpretations and you will be extremely happy to have the complete, broadened, rational, universalized, whole outlook of Mai-ism. Let us take one instance. Just try to have the full picture of the two requirements of devotion and unconditional cheerful self surrender. Remain fully contented with your belief of no God. Mai-ism does not disturb you. However, apply these two principles to any persons, whom, so to say in a figurative sense, you have been worshipping. Let him or her be your hero or heroine, your ideal, your imitation object, your idol. The said two attitudes as recommended under Mai-ism on being fully practised, and fulfilled, will result in your conviction, that, at least, your own life, world and universe has been turned to happify you, as in Heaven.
Surely, it is most difficult for even deep thinkers, to believe that all the different varieties of emotions, actions, attitudes, conducts, characters, intensities, desires, etc. can be elevated, merely through two words of Love and Service. However, extremely deep thinking along with the most profound experience, will gradually lead you to conclude, that love is such a mysterious force, that, there is no exaggeration when it is stated that “God is love”. Yet further, it may be seen that virtues and vices, attitudes and conducts, good, bad or indifferent, and even temperaments, are all finally attributable to either neutrality or hatred or love, towards the person dealt with. It need not be stated again and again, that Mai is the mightiest form, aspect and ideal of the highest divine love.
~ MAI SWARUP MAI MARKAND : [THE FOUNDER OF UNIVERSAL RELIGION MAIISM]
Extract from the book :
MAI-ISM ALLEGIANCE INITIATION MAI ADHERENTS' OATH BOOK'S EIGHTH CHAPTER [Edition 1965]
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