What does accepting the "Creed" give us?

We need clarity about our spiritual goals and beliefs. Often to move forward on the Path of Liberation and the path of ordinary life, we need to understand, comprehend and articulate for ourselves what we believe, what we follow, what we rely on, and what we make the foundation of our soul.

Accepting a Creed sums up the years, if not lives, of our spiritual search and opens the way to a new being, understanding, and way of life. It should not be seen as some public ritual of "conversion to Hinduism," Advaita Vedanta, Tantrism, Shivaism, etc., although outwardly, it seems so.

Think of it as a deep, personal, sacred feeling, and an appeal to your spiritual heart, to the God within you. It is not the acceptance of some dogma but rather the words of the soul's sincere declaration of love to God. It begins a divine dance of the soul with God, inviting him to dance. Generally speaking, in Advaita, it is the beginning of belief in oneself, in one's original divine potential.

(From the satsangs of Swami Vishnudevananda Giri)