From My Spiritual Diary-36:

· Work is truly worship if it is done for others. The highest religion is living for others. At first, people look for God in temples and mosques outside of themselves. Finally, they discover that’s all that exists is God. The difference is only in the degree of manifestation. The goal of life is to realize the unity of existence, that the same being is in you and me; the difference is artificial and false. When this sense of unity dawns, love overflows all barriers, uniting all. This is yoga (union) in full. This is the consummation that man aspires to. He is no longer a fragment. He is the whole; he is All. This is bhuma, the ultimat in man’s growth; this is his destiny. India has always regarded this development as the highest goal of life. Political power, high social standing, money, scholarship – all these are nothing compared to this kind of development. This is the highest., the best, the most prized state lf being. Real peace, happiness, the sense of fulfillment, is in this state. Nothing short of this can satisfy man. The Kingdom of Heaven, NIRVANA, IMMORTALITY – these are various inadequate names applied to this state. One has to experience it to know what it is like. (Swami Lokeswarananda)
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· Whosoever that practices religion is endowed with more merits and less demerits. Mere formalism is not religion. Sectarianism is the negation of religion. True religion eliminates hatred, jealousy, greed, pride and selfishness. It engenders love of all beings, service to mankind and accommodativeness to the views and beliefs of the others. Self-denial, calmness and the adoration of the Almighty are its characteristics. (Swami Chidbhavananda)
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· Practice of religion is the supreme purpose of the human birth. (Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa)