Raja Yoga (the Yoga Sūtras with commentary) — trans. Swami Vivekananda (1896)

All ou£ knowledge is based upon experier.cc. V/hrJ we call inferential knowledge, in which wc go from the less general to the more general, or from the general to the particular, has experience as its basis. In what are called the exact sciences, people easily find the truth, because it appeals to the particular experiences of every human being. ' The scientist does not tell you to believe in anything, but he has certain results which come from his own experiences, and reasoning on these experiences, when he asks us to believe in his conclusions, he appeals to some universal experience of humanity. In every exact science there is a universal basis which is common to all humanity, so that Ave can at once see the truth or the fallacy of the conclusions drav*-n therefrom. Now, the question is, has religion any such basis or not ? I shall have to answer the question both in the affirmative and in the negative. Religion, as it is generally taught all over the world, is said to be based upon faith and behef, and, in most cases, consists only of different sets of theories, and that is the reason why we find all these various religions quarrelling with each other. These theories, again, are based upon belief. One man says 2there is a great Being sitting above the clouds and governing the whole universe, and he asks me to believe that, solely on the authority of his assertion. In the same way I may have my own ideas, which I am asking others to believe, and if they ask a reason, I cannot ;;upply the-m .with any. This is why religion and metaphysical phrtobciphy have a bad name nowadays. Every educated ni an •seams to say: " Oh, these religions are only l)undles of theories without any standard to judge them by, each man preaching his own pet ideas." At the same time I must tell you that there is a basis of universal belief in religion, governing all these different theories, and all the varying ideas of different sects of men in diflerent countries. Going to the basis of them wc fmd that they also are based upon uni\ersal experiences.