Topic 12

Religion- It is the most mis-interpreted term in the world. One says he is a Hindu, one says he is a Buddhist, one says he is a Sikh, One says he is a Christian and one says he is a Muslim, but why doesn't any one say that he is a human. what is this Religion that eveyone talks about? Why does man give it so much importance. Why does he forget the basic comprehension of the word 'Religion'? I try to address these in my own words.

From the time innumerable man's quest to study, the nature, its beingness, its un-understandable powers and its secrets did not stop. From the time he came into existence he spent most of his life trying to understand what mysteries are going around him, what is He? and Who is He?

But the answers are unknown. He did not succeed in finding solutions for his quests. And for all those unsolvable quests, he made one super power responsible. That is God.

Man kept on praying him to give him the power to understand the nature, its secrests, why he came here and what is his role on this physical world. Generations were lost and new generations have evolved, time passed, world changed, but the basic nature of man did not change, that is, to understand what is he, from where he came, what is he meant for.

The practice, of man praying God, to make him understand what he is all about, did migrate from one generation to another generation instinctly. Settlements evolved at different parts of the world. Their habitats changed, their colour changed, their language changed, their attitude changed, people at different places evolved differently. But still, there is something common in all of them. That is Human Nature. Trying to understand things around him is part of man's nature.

He did not stop that. It continued on and on till the time he encountered another human being doing the same thing what he is doing, but in a different way. There came to the role the real Human Nature. The desire to dominate, the desire to conquer and the desire to classify him and make him heard as a separate entity.

So, how can he make himself different to the others he encountered, what is the basic difference?

The first most distinguishable feature that he can find is, the way of living. And in order for him to classify these ways of living he found another entity, that is, name. When he found it he started naming himself in addition to naming others. He named according to the way he lived, the way he behaved, the food he ate and more importantly the way he prayed.

After giving it a name he has to specify it what it is called, unsure of what it is. He has to find another name to his classifications, the name / word that classifies all of the other names he classified people under. He found it, and that is the Religion.

Soon after he found it, he forget the essence of it, he forgot the fact that he found it only to name the classifications and not to differentiate them. He forgot the fact that it is just a word that classifies people how they live and pray. He forgot the fact that he used to pray and he met other human beings who were doing the same thing, when he did not have a name for himself.

His classifications eloquently made everyone to persuade themselves with the thought that they have something called religion bestowed upon them and it is important for them to propagate it and abide by it, even though God never dictated them to do so. People called themselves Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, Muslims and other, with innumerable names.

This is what religion is. It is just a name given to the way people live. It is just a name given to the way people pray God. No one follows this fact. Everyone thinks that he is praying his own God, named under his own religion.

People pray everyday, they pray everyday to God to give them good day, to grant them money, to bless them with power, to make their opponents lose before them! but no one really prays Him with pure devotion.

The original comprehension of the word religion which is, unselfish pure devotion, humanity, that God is one and He is the whole creation, have been forgotten.

So, why to care about those classifications, which does not convey the true meaning of what they are meant for. Why can't we forget the word 'Religion'. We can. We can forget the word and make our minds free of religion. Religion doesn't preach us anything. It only develops ego in us against people who pray God differently to how we pray. The only preachings that can be done are done by God, through his unexplainable powers.

Bhagwadgeeta says, "rivers take birth as small streams, they will become canals, they pass through rough terrains, they submerge life in them, they give birth to new life in them, they chisel of mountains, they become furious and at last they submerge in the sea. Life is no different to it. It takes physical form in different ways, it emanates itself and makes itself beautiful and heard, it tries to destroy its fellow creatures, it will also try to help its fellow creatures, it will leave its memories and unites itself in the super power GOD."

Bhagwadgeeta also said, "out of crores and crores of living beings that are born on earth, only a few tens will try to reach God and out of them only one will be able to reach Him. Man's destiny on this planet is to help his fellow beings and surrender all his actions to God with pure devotion and achieve salvation."

So, why to classify ourselves with different names of Religions. Why to think we are praying different God's.

The fact is we all pray one God. God is one. He is present all over the creation. He is present in each and every atom in this universe, he is present in each and every cell of living things. He is the whole universe. There is no name for him. There is no physical form for him. He exists in each and every form.

We have to realise this. We have to forget that we are praying God with a name. Even if we pray God with a name, we should not think that he is different. He is the one whom every other living being on earth prays.

So, lets forget religion. The only religion that can be thought of is 'Humanity'. Lets pullout ourselves out of ignorance. Let's enlighten ourselves with pure devotion to God. Let's help our fellow beings. Let's surrender ourselves to God, try to achieve salvation and get freed from the cycle of life and death.

V Rama Aravind.
2005/09/22.