What is Religion
When we observe riots, wars and battles that take place in the name of religion, it makes us think , do we really need something called religion at all?
Many raise this question with pain, concern and an element of doubt.
‘All destructive arsenal such as nuclear bomb, hydrogen bomb, biological warfare, are the result of scientific developments!’ Aren’t they?
Diseases are many because doctors are plenty.
Like the manifestation of truth in the above statements, there is also truth in practice of religion.
The house is in darkness. Out of anger, if one enters it, one is bound to tumble on various items of furniture. Getting annoyed, throwing the furniture out the house….are not solutions. The reason for the fall is not the furniture, but the darkness. So what has to be thrown out is not the furniture. Once we light the lamp, darkness will disappear and so too will the problem.
Religion was not created to cause riots and confusion. It was created to provide peace. Religion was not meant to divide human beings. It was created to unite human beings.
In Sufi literature, there is a story.
There was a noble tailor, who has transformed into a great sage. The king came to pay his obeisance. The king gifted him golden scissors, encrusted with diamonds. But the sage refused to accept it.
The king was worried that he was not able to help the sage. So he asked him, ‘What can I give you that would be of use to you?’
The sage replied, ‘Give me a needle!’
The king at once arranged for a needle and presented it to the sage. Humbly he waited for the sage’s response. The sage said, ‘The reason why I refused your gift of scissors is it cuts and divides. Our minds are like scissors that cut and divide. But the needle would stitch, it would join and unite! Our hearts are like needles which join and unite.’
Today humanity is in need of a needle and not scissors!
At this juncture an incident that took place in the life of Mahatma Gandhi needs a mention.
It was during the partition of India. Hindus and Muslims were killing each other in Bengal. It was horrifying sight to see blood flowing like a stream on the streets.
A middle aged man came and fell at the feet of Mahatma Gandhi and began to cry. ‘I am a sinner. I have killed many with my own hands. I will surely go to hell!!’ he sobbed, uncontrollably.
What happened was; this man’s son was cut into pieces in the religious riot. He was so enraged. With revenge on his mind, he set out to destroy many of the other religion. He killed many in the process, out of sheer rage and hatred. Only after a youth of his own community fell down and died in his presence did he realise the magnitude of his sinful deed. Filled with a tremendous sense of guilt, he fell at the feet of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji lifted him from the ground and said, ‘Nothing is lost yet! There is still one chance for you to atone and go to heaven!’
‘What? Can I really go to heaven?’ asked the man, with a disturbed mind. Gandhiji looked into his eyes and said compassionately, ‘Do adopt an orphaned child from the community you hate. Treat him as your own. Bring him up, educate him and develop him into a great person. This is the way to make amends for your sin, the way for you to reach heaven!’
We should understand something profound from this incident. We should not misunderstand what Gandhiji meant. By killing many people of a particular community we hate, then adopting an orphaned child of that community, we will not be absolved of the cruelty inflicted on humanity. There can be no pardon for taking someone’s life intentionally.
On the other hand, if a person sincerely regrets his gory acts and reforms himself, he would surely accept the other religion with love. He may even practice that religion.
All religions say this loud and clear: one must love and respect others. The message is found in Gita, Koran, Bible, and all scriptures from the various religions of the world. Only the wordings are different.
The little we can do is to take an oath:
‘Which ever religion one belongs to, one shall love and respect all human beings,’
Then, there would be no chaos and conflict, not only on the basis of religion, but also on caste, creed, race….
Om Namah Shivay
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