December 17, 2025
I know the word religion can evoke different feelings. For some, it is synonymous with devotion. For others, with conflict, dogma, or imposition. But there is an original, deep, and universal meaning that precedes any institution: the reconnection of the soul with the Absolute. This is what I call vertical religion.
This understanding does not arise from a system created by human beings, nor from a doctrine imposed by external authority. It arises from direct experience with Truth. This is the axis of Sanatana Dharma: eternal knowledge that points the way back to our essence.
I invite you to read this article of mine to better understand what vertical religion is about.
Sanatana means eternal. Dharma is the cosmic order that sustains life. Together, they reveal the universal science of union—what all traditions, in one way or another, have tried to express. Time, place, and culture do not matter: what is eternal flows through all eras.
The ancient sages encoded this knowledge in scriptures and synthesized its essence in works such as the Bhagavad Gita. But before they were texts, they were living transmissions.
Each word carried the breath of those who had awakened to this reality. This is so in India, in the Amazon, and in any authentic tradition. Forms change, but Truth is always the same.
This truth teaches that there are not two ultimate realities. The Source is one. That is why loving God and loving one another remain eternal commandments, valid to this day. When lived in practice, they dissolve the illusion of separation and reveal true union—similar to what exists between the Sun and its rays.
Still, throughout history, many have tried to imprison this knowledge within the limits of dogma. Thus arose practices of conversion, fear, guilt, and bargaining with the divine. This is horizontal religion: that which arises from the human mind and seeks to control through the promise of salvation. It points to God, but it will rarely lead someone to Him.
In horizontal religion, a problem is created and then a solution is offered. The person is convinced that they are wrong, lost, sinful, and is then invited to submit in order to be accepted. This is a distortion of the divine attribute of power, because it does not lead to freedom, but to dependence. Horizontal religion is a social phenomenon, created by the human mind to regulate life in society—which does not mean that one cannot learn human values or even evolve within that context. But there are limitations.
I have observed that as the planet’s coefficient of light increases, distortions become more visible. What was once accepted without question is now seen clearly. I consider this a great advance, for it is light revealing the shadows so that they may be transformed.
Vertical religion is the opposite of this. It does not force, threaten, or condition. It awakens. It does not depend on an institution, a temple, a name, or a specific master. It can happen in the silence of the heart, in contact with nature, in true listening, in the moment you connect with yourself.
This verticality arises when all mental representations of God begin to fall away. It is no longer about believing in a concept, but about perceiving the action of Presence in you and through you. God becomes the one who sees through your eyes, who speaks through your mouth, who loves through your gestures.
From this point on, it does not matter whether you approach Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, a master of the Vedic tradition, or the Amazon rainforest. What matters is the essence: the path of love. Love is the universal solvent of the soul’s afflictions. It is the direct expression of Truth. Where there is love, there is God. And where there is fear, this love cannot flourish.
Therefore, Sanatana Dharma can be understood as the Eternal Religion, because it points us to the living experience of union. This is what sustains the parampara tradition—the transmission from master to disciple, from heart to heart, like from a father to a son.
What is most fascinating is to see how universal this transmission is. I myself encountered the same principle in the forest that I found in the Himalayas. Different paths, different codifications, different languages —but the same light. This confirms what many sages have already declared: God is one, and Truth is one.
Vertical religion is this direct bridge to the Real. It is the return to the axis, communion with the Love that has always dwelled within you. It does not promise a path without challenges, but it offers the clarity to cross them with awareness.
Namaste
Prem Baba
