Religion is said to be the bridge between man and God! All religions are great and have their distinctive approaches. A religion cannot be called religion if it does not change man for the better! By following a faith or religion one should turn over a new leaf and conduct himself in righteous path! Religion has the onerous task of uniting people, not dividing them! When we look at the history of religions, we are shocked to see the disservice it has done more than the unification of people in society! All religions are similar to different rivers flowing in different directions but to the same goal, the ocean! “ Akasath patitam toyam yatha gacchati sagaram sarva Deva namaskaram Kesavam prati gacchati”-- Like the rainwater, falling from the skies flows towards the sea, all prayers reach Lord Kesava- God. The ways and means are different but the goal or destination is one and the same. Unfortunately this fundamental aspect of religion is totally forgotten and meaningless differences and squabbles have tainted every religion on the surface of earth! All religions preach love and compassion to all creatures. Are we following this simple but the most important tenet of religion? We have to search our own hearts for an answer to this question!
“ Love for the Lord should not degenerate into fanaticism and hatred of other names and forms” declares Bhagawan Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba. But this is what exactly has happened in history! The religious wars called jihad, between the Muslims and the Christians for Jerusalem, the birthplace of Jesus, have taken the toll of the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives! The fight for Jerusalem has not ended yet! It is the bone of contention between Israel and Palestine today! Death and destruction continues even today! The fight between Shias and Sunnis of Islam that has surfaced recently has shocked the entire world! The arrival of ISIS has spread death and destruction to many countries in the Middle East! The noble ideals and principles of Islam have been misinterpreted and demolished even in front of our eyes! Conversion, loot, abductions, brutal beheadings, and extortions have become the order of the day! India has become the victim of terrorism from Pakistan! Muslims think that their religion is the greatest and want to islamize the entire globe! Of course,India has seen conversion from the time of the Moghuls!
Christianity is no better! The differences between Protestantism and Catholicism are too common to be overlooked! When protestants came to throne in England they persecuted the Catholics! In reply, the Catholics persecuted the Protestants when they came to power! Charles the first of England, notorious for his evil acts was hanged in the tower of London! The Parliament rebelled against the king and he had to die an ignoble death! Having gained entry into India through the East India Company, the British consolidated their rule and started conversion of Indians to Christianity like the Muslim rulers! They say that their religion is the best and Jesus alone is the Savior! Muslims call all others as kafirs! There is an attempt to denigrate Hinduism and its numerous Gods worshipped by the Hindus! The silent and steady conversion of Hindus to Christianity has created a lot of trouble in society! Militant Hindus have objected to these conversions and a few of these new Christians are being reconverted to Hinduism! Why this over enthusiasm for conversion? Why not Christians remain without converting others to their religion? Thus there is a distinct religious fanaticism in Islam as well as Christianity! When they clash with Hindu beliefs and religion, riots break out and unnecessary disturbances occur!
The greatness of India is its unity in diversity! It has absorbed and assimilated Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism and others into its vast fabric. Yet it has retained its individuality! No other religion could influence the core of Indian psyche! India had its own problems with religion! Buddhism, born in India, was against the time old Vedic religion and it was wiped out by the influence and preachings of the three great Acharyas, Sankara, Ramanuja, and Madhva! Even here, differences exist. Sankara established Advaita or Monism while Ramanuja founded Vishishtadvaita, or qualified Monism and Madhva established Dvaita system of philosophy. Sankara devised six modes of worship--Vaishnavam, Saktam,Kaumaram Ganapatyam, Sauram, and Saivam which are followed by many in the country! There are also clashes between the Saivites and Vaishnavites! The traces of Jainism in South India were totally destroyed by the Nayanmars of the South since Saivism and Jainism clashed! Saivism reigned supreme in the South!
Though religions are different God is one and we are all children of the self same Providence! We say God is love and love is God! But it is not practised seriously! Religions preach love, compassion, righteousness. brotherhood, tolerance, nonviolence and proper understanding! If we follow these ideals no other religion is required! The world today is divided by religions! Let us not perpetuate this division and lead the the world into turmoil! We are badly in need of peace for the world and peace of mind for every Individual! Let us forget all differences between religions and endeavor for the unity of all religions and meaningful existence!
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