THREE LECTURES ON SPIRITUAL UNFOLDMENT & THREE LECTURES ON PHILOSOPHY OF WORK (Vedânta Philosophy) (Timeless Wisdom Collection Book 680)

Every religion can be divided into two parts, one of which may be called the non essential and the other the essential.
Doctrines, dogmas, rituals, ceremonies, and mythology of all the organized religious creeds come under the head of the non essential. It is not meant by this that they are useless; on the contrary, the very fact of their existence proves that they are helpful and necessary at certain stages of progress. What I mean is, that it cannot be said that they are absolutely necessary for making one live a purely spiritual life. A man or a woman may be highly spiritual without performing any of the rituals and ceremonies ordained, either by the scriptures of the world, or by any religious hierarchy. A man or a woman may be truly religious without believing in any creed, doctrine, dogma, or mythology. Those who think that these non essentials are indispensable for attaining to the ultimate goal of religion, have not yet grasped the fundamental principles that underlie all religions; they mistake the non essential for the essential; they cannot discriminate the one from the other; they lack the insight of spiritual illumination. Those who understand the essentials of religion and strictly follow them in their every day life do not disturb themselves about the non essentials; these simple and sincere souls alone reach the goal of religion by the shortest way possible.
The essentials of religion are principally two: Self knowledge and Self control. Self knowledge means knowledge of the higher Self, the divine nature of man; and self control is the restraint of the lower self or selfish nature. True knowledge of the divine Self comes when the lower self is subdued. In ancient times, Greek philosophers understood these two as the essentials of religion, therefore over the temple entrance at Delphi the phrase “Know Thyself” was so conspicuously engraven. Heraclitus, the earliest Greek philosopher, interpreted this motto by saying: “It behooves all men to know themselves and to exercise self control.”