Article -One Divine Source, Many Messengers: The Universal Truth

One Divine Source, Many Messengers: The Universal Truth Article -One Divine Source, Many Messengers: The Universal Truth

Messengers Of Truth

“Most dharmic traditions have a founding guru or prophet who acts as the first spiritual guide of the faith. For instance, in Islam, Allah is said to have sent forth prophets to all corners of the world at different periods in history. The Quran mentions twenty-five prophets by name, but the actual number who received divine revelations is believed to be much higher.

One Divine Source

The similarities we find across religious gurus, prophets, or sacred texts are not mere coincidences but serve as proof that all spiritual paths originate from the same divine source. The reason we observe differences in religions is not because these spiritual leaders received different messages from the Almighty, but because each interpreted the divine teachings differently based on their unique cultural and historical contexts in which they established their spiritual movements.

Divine Messenger

One of the key characteristics of great spiritual masters was their humility in refusing to claim divine status, considering themselves merely as messengers or channels of the divine. Spiritual teachers like Buddha, Jesus, and Prophet Muhammad emphasized not their own personalities but the teachings that had been revealed to them by the supreme source. It is this divine source that we are meant to revere, not the human medium through which the teachings were transmitted.

Divine Source

Prophets and gurus convey God’s message to humanity, while priests and spiritual guides help devotees connect with the divine. Priests are expected to maintain ritual purity, lead disciplined lives, dedicate time to studying scriptures and performing prayers to serve as intermediaries between ordinary humans and the sacred divine. However, over the centuries, many false spiritual leaders have emerged claiming divine powers, misusing their influence over devotees, promoting blind faith, and often engaging in financial exploitation with false promises of moksha or salvation. Due to such corruption, some spiritual communities have chosen to eliminate formal clergy and intermediary leaders, returning directly to the original source.

Universal Truth

While genuine spiritual guides can play valuable roles in our spiritual journey, it’s crucial to remember that they too are human beings, and their words should not be followed without proper discernment. Before placing our complete trust, we must ensure we are not being misled by fake godmen or fraudulent spiritual leaders.

About the author

Akhilesh Gupta

Akhil Gupta is the founder and director of Universal Enlightenment Forum, a 501(c)3 corporation. He has been associated with Harvard University since 2015, first as a fellow at Advanced Leadership Initiative and later as an Impact Leader in residence in 2023. Akhil currently serves on The Dean’s Leadership Council at Harvard Divinity School, on the Advisory Board of Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program, and on the Advisory Board of Harvard’s Chan Initiative on Health and Homelessness.
He is the author of two books “Bridges Across Humanity” published in 2023 and “To Flourish is To Love Learn Play” to be published in December 2025.He was inspired to write these books while studying at Harvard University.
Prior to Harvard, he was the founder Chairman of Blackstone India & Senior Managing Director of The Blackstone Group. He also served in senior positions at Reliance Industries Limited and Hindustan Unilever
Akhil has a B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology and an MBA from Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. He served on the Advisory Council of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University from 2014 to 2021

See All Commonalities Across Religions