Path is not really important. But …

Imagine that there is a hill and you would like to have a view of the surrounding from the top of the hill. If you are energetic, you may climb the hill. Or you can take an uphill path that ultimately takes you to the top. You can ride on a mule and make your journey easy. Or if you can afford, you can even take a chopper and reach the top almost without effort.

But did you notice something? No matter how you reached the top, the view from the top is one and the same!

The saints, prophets, monks and rishis of every religion – whether it is Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism or ancient Indian – all reached the same top, some through faith and devotion, some through meditation and some through intellectual enquiry. All of them had a glimpse of the same view no matter how they reached there. The path they took is just a matter of suitability and convenience. 

So don’t give too much of emphasis on the path you take. Choose what is suitable to you, the one you can afford, the one you are comfortable with. If you are sincere enough, you will ultimately reach the same top no matter the path.

But watch out. You may come across people on your way, people who have never reached the top, who don’t know the path, but who merely pretend to have known, have reached, and take you on a long trip round and round the hill, never ever reaching the top!.