Differences

How do we account for the differences in culture, religion and ethnicity? It seems that like a great river which orginates from a snow clad mountain and then distributes itself into many tributaries and distributaries, this great ocean of humanity has divided itself again and again and has permeated many different civilizations, just like rivers and rivulets do. Just as all the tributaries and distributaries of the great river meets at sea, so will this vast ocean of humanity converge somewhere, despite all the differences, despite all intolerance and hatred and violence. It will converge in a vast ocean of supreme consciousness, of grand unification, therein lies its destiny.
What is Difference? What is the meaning of religion and cultural difference? On a larger scale, it is nothing. Ramakrishna Paramhansa described this difference using a beautiful parable - Imagine a big sweet water pond, having several steps in various directions. On one side somebody is drinking water and is calling it "water", somebody else is drinking the same water from another side and calling it "Pani", somebody else is drinking from another side and calling it "wasser", but they are drinking the same substance, only they are quarelling amongst themselves the name. That is as childish as the prevailing practices that we have of extolling the virtues of one religion and culture over others and deriding others. We all need to learn from each other, learn from the differences. As long as the differences exist, we live. In the absence of the same, we decay and perish. Just as Ramakrishna said - " Jato Mat Tato Path" - i.e. More the differences of opinion, more the number of paths to salvation.