Do Only Indians Attain Liberation? The True Role of Scriptures

Question

I have a slightly different question.
Will only the people of Bharat (India) attain liberation, since they have read scriptures like the Valmiki Ramayana, Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, or Bhagavata Purana? What about people in the rest of the world who haven’t studied these spiritual texts—will they not be able to become free?

Answer

Liberation has nothing to do with scriptures.
The scriptures are simply tools of assistance—they help us on the path to liberation. But they are not the source of liberation itself.

Even if someone has never read any scripture at all—suppose they know nothing about the Ramayana or Gita—but within themselves they have ended their ego, removed anger, and conquered desires and other vices, then liberation is absolutely possible for them too.

The real work is to finish off one’s vices—lust, anger, greed, ego. If a person, using their own inner wisdom (pragya), can destroy these without any scripture, then what need is there for the scriptures?

Scriptures are only guides—they point the way.
Imagine I’m traveling from here to Delhi. Along the road there are milestone signs: “4 km left… 3 km left.” They just guide me, helping me know how far I’ve come. But even if I don’t look at those signs, as long as I keep walking, I’ll still reach Delhi, won’t I?

In the same way, the scriptures are like those milestones—they assist us with direction.
But the walking, the journey—that, we have to do ourselves.