"One should not maintain any animosity towards the followers of other religions"




The following is an excerpt from 
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's Jaiva Dharma, chapter 8.

Nityānanda dāsa: How should a Vaiṣṇava behave towards the followers of other religions?

Bābājī: The instruction of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.26) is:

nārāyaṇa-kalāḥ śāntāḥ
bhajanti hy anasūyavaḥ

Those who are free from the propensity to slander others and who are fully peaceful worship Śrī Nārāyaṇa and His plenary portions.

There is no dharma other than vaiṣṇava-dharma. All other dharmas that are or ever will be propagated in the world are either steps on the staircase of vaiṣṇava-dharma or else distortions of it. Those dharmas that are steps leading to bhakti should be respected in proportion to their degree of purity.

One should not bear any malice towards dharmas that are distortions of bhakti, but one should focus exclusively on the cultivation of one’s own devotional truths. One should not maintain any animosity towards the followers of other religions. When the time is ripe, the followers of various other dharmas will become Vaiṣṇavas easily. Of this there is no doubt.




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