The religion of the Bharatiyas is the most ancient in origin. Having regard to its vedic basis, it has been described as hinduism. The essence of this faith is its universality as expressed in the saying: ‘may all the people everywhere be happy’ (Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu). The bharatiya faith laid stress on the happiness of everyone. The objective of islam, the religion of the muslims, is also the same. In persian, ‘Islam’ means ‘surrender’ or ‘peace. The inner meaning of this term is that man should surrender to god and live in peace with his fellowmen. The holy book of islam, the quran, contains many sacred precepts. Salat is one such precept. It enjoins one to worship god with steady faith. Another precept is zakat, which enjoins the believer to practise charity for relieving fellow - beings in need or distress. In the scriptures of the Bharatiyas, a similar duty has been laid down in the saying ‘It is meritorious to help others and it is sinful to cause harm to others’ (paropakaraya punyaya papaya para pidanam). (D3 , p. 178)

In Islam, the expression ‘Salam’’ is used as a form of greeting. ‘Sa’ in this term signifies the combined expression of ‘Salokya, samipya, sarupya, and sayujya’ (Seeing the Divine, having a vision of the form of the Divine, nearing the Divine and merging in the Divine). When these four experiences are combined and merged into one, (La signifying merger), you have ‘Salam’(the merging of the many in the one). (SS Jan ’92, p. 2)

All founders of religions have heard this impersonal Voice of God revealing the Atma that activates the entire Creation. Just as the Vedas (revealed sacred scriptures) were ‘heard’ and propagated as ‘heard’ (Sruti), the Quran too was ‘heard’ by Hazrat Muhammad. The Quran has Salat and Zakat as the two eyes. Salat means prayer; Zakat means charity. Those who consider charity as a high duty and elevate their consciousness through prayers and continuous meditation on God are Muslims. Islam is a word, which denotes not a particular religion but a state of mind, the state of total surrender to the Will of God. Islam means dedication, surrender, peace, tranquillity.

Islam denotes the social community whose members have achieved supreme peace through surrender to the All Merciful, All-Powerful God and who have vowed to live in peace with their fellowmen. Later, it came to be applied to communities that considered themselves separate and different and so hostile to the rest. Islam taught something higher. It directed attention to the One in the Many, the Unity in Diversity and led people to the Reality named God.

Every human being has three needs: food, clothing and shelter. Seeking to fulfil them, man has developed a variety of foods to fill his little stomach ignoring the purpose of eating them. Clothing has to be worn to protect the body from cold. But we are attaching enormously exaggerated value to clothing. Of course, one must have a house to live in and lay the body down for rest. The Muslim, Gibran, asks why build these gigantic dwellings then? They are erected not for oneself but to hoard one’s treasure and riches. Gibran says these mansions are tombs erected by the dead for the living.

Hazrath Muhammad announced the message of God that he had heard to the town men of Mecca. At that time, people did not give heed to the Divine Declarations. They forced him to leave the place. But, Hazrath Muhammad knew that truth will win and God will prevail. He knew that the insult and injury were only for the body; the Atma can never be hurt. The Ramzan month is set apart for the holy task of bringing into memory and practice the teachings that Hazrath Muhammad conveyed and attaining that stage of unity and purity which is truly Divine. Islam gives importance to the Moon, which regulates the months. Hindus consider the Moon as the deity presiding over the mind. With the darshan of the New Moon, the Ramzan fast begins and when the New Moon is seen again, the fast ends. ‘Fast’ does not consist in merely desisting from food and drink. The fast starts at sunrise and is broken only after sunset and is observed most rigorously.

Waking as early as three or four, in the BrahmaMuhurta, prayer is started, and throughout the day, the constant presence of God is sought to be experienced. This is the meaning of Upavasa (fast). Also, during the Ramzan month, rivalry is avoided, hatred is suspended. Husband and wife live apart though in the same home, mother and children both follow the same spiritual regimen and an atmosphere of brotherhood is maintained. The body, the senses and the mind are subject to rigorous discipline. Periods of fast comprising a month are prescribed in all religions. The Hindhus observe it in Magha and Shravana months. Zoroastrians and Christians have allotted for themselves months for the same purpose.

The Quran lays down that all men should cultivate the sense of unity, of interdependence, of selfless love and of the immanence of Divinity. Generally, all men take food of some kind or other for the body five times a day: an early cup of coffee in bed, breakfast two hours later, a heavy lunch at noon, tea at four and a fat dinner at nine. Islam prescribes food for the spiritual nature of man and directs that it be taken five times day, as prayer. For the arousal of the Atmic consciousness, for earning spiritual joy and for promoting the manifestation of Atmic illumination, prayer is prescribed as many as five times a day, from the dawn of discretion up to the moment of death.

Prayer, in Islam, is also a congregational activity. Prayer in a group produces beneficial vibrations. Islam promises a greater flow of ecstasy when God is adored by a huge concourse of yearning hearts. All of them bow low at the sight of the Masjid. They sit in rows on their bended knees and lean forward until their palms and foreheads touch the ground in humble submission to God’s Will. Misunderstanding, conflict and enmity should not disturb the serenity of the occasion.

Thus Islam emphasises the One in the Many, the urge for God, which manifests in various degrees in various minds. Unity is the basic teaching of every religion. Faith in Unity is cardinal. Without it, no system of belief and conduct can be a religion. God is One and the teachings in all faiths that exalt Him are all of Love, Compassion, Tolerance and Sympathy. The tragedy is neither the Muhammadans, nor the Hindus, nor the followers of other religions are practising these qualities in daily life.

Islam teaches that God’s Grace can be won through justice and religious living; wealth scholarship and power cannot earn it. Holy Love alone can please the Lord. This is the message of every religion. But mankind has ignored this crucial point. Ramzan brings together in bonds of love kith and kin, near and far, friend and foe. This type of negligence is happening in every religion. The followers adopt the rules they like and break those which they find exacting. So, they become narrow-minded and crooked. And, they rationalise their defects and justify their defects and justify their failings. They have become habituated to this practice of self-deceit.

Since Islam means surrender to God, all who in a spirit of surrender and dedication, live in peace and harmony in society, do really speaking, belong to Islam. Islam insists on full co-ordination between thought, word and deed. Muslim holy men and sages have been emphasising that we must inquire into the validity of the ‘I’ which feels it is the body and the ‘I’ which feels it is the mind and reach the conclusion that the real ‘I’ is the Self yearning for the Omni self, God. The Ramzan month, the fast and the prayers are designed to awaken and manifest this realisation. Whichever may be the religion, its emphasis is on unity, harmony, and equal-mindedness. Therefore, cultivate love, tolerance and compassion, and demonstrate the Truth in the every day activity. This is the Message I give you with My Blessings. (SSS Vol.16, pp. 79-83)

Islam means dedication, surrender, peace, tranquility. Islam denotes the social community whose members have achieved supreme peace through surrender to the All- Merciful God and who have vowed to live in peace with their fellowmen. Later, it came to be applied to communities that considered themselves separate and different and so hostile to the rest. Islam taught something higher. It directed attention to the One in the Many, the Unity in Diversity and led people to the Reality named God. (LS, pp. 69-70)