Dr. Rajesh Bhola
India
Dec 21, 2012
India
Dec 21, 2012
Generally people come
to believe that subscribing to some religion, and living a spiritual
life, will obviate the need to grieve or face suffering. Religion
gives us courage to face adversity with dignity. When we do so, it
becomes an experience that strengthens our spirit, and returns us to
reality. The idea that religion or spirituality will be a kind of
insurance policy, which will ensure that we do not have to experience
grief again, is spiritual immaturity. In fact religions tell us that
whatever we encounter, we should meet it the with fullness of spirit. The last thing we want is to be unmoved by what we meet on our journey.
There
is common apathy to religion these days – especially among the
'educated'. They are no longer willing to act just on faith – believing
that the quality of their action alone will ensure that it contributes
to good in the world. It is not so much that modern society has stopped
believing in the God idea; we have just replaced God by Man. We have
put people centre stage, and expect that, either individually or
collectively, we will solve all problems and right all the wrongs.
The separate-self ego tempts us to think we can play God. It tempts us
to judge others, to try to control them, and even rule over them. We
should realise that consequences will follow from our own actions, good
or bad. There is no God factor in this.
Religion,
despite its share of problems, serves an immense purpose. The rituals,
the practices and the norms, supposed to be the dictates of God, show us
our place and worth. Religion is a reminder of human limitations.
Being put in our places by something more powerful than us is not a
humiliation. Rather, it has to be accepted as a way out of the chaotic,
overambitious lives we live.
Many
people have abandoned religion, and pinned their hopes on the advance
of science, as a new route to human salvation. Science, however, offers
no better answers. In itself, science is indifferent. The continuous
application of science does not solve moral dilemmas. It does not
address the struggle of the human heart. The basic reality is that
science matters not because it helps us to master parts of nature and
the world, but because it tells us that we will never be able to master
nature, or the world.
The true purpose of religion is not to force people to idolize a person, or to worship a person or thing or place, but to help
people understand that the Divinity we should worship is the Eternal
Divine Light-Energy-Source of our existence, the Universal
Consciousness, and the Omnipresent Great Spirit-Parent of all. The
true purpose of religion is not to enable a certain person(s) to rule
and play God(s). Rather, it is to help people recognise how and why all
human beings are related, as children of God. Today mankind wants to test the veracity of the claims of various religions on the touchstone of reason. For the rationalists, religion, God and miracles are delusions of the gullible mind.
But
imagine what the world would have been without the idea of God. The
profoundest danger to life in a godless society will be that it will
lack any reference to the transcendent. Without the idea of God,
human beings will be tempted to take the psychological centre-stage,
assuming themselves to be the commander of their destinies, rapaciously
destroying nature, and trampling upon everything. In such a situation we
will ignore the order, the rhythm of life on this earth. We will
tamper with the natural cycle. A godless world will become highly
disorganised, giving humanity a heady feeling that they are at the
zenith of history. In this nightmarish scenario, there will be many a
megalomaniac assuming a God-like disposition, making the lives of other
fellow beings miserable.
Religion,
thus, works as a great leveller. Religion has a meaning and a purpose
as a spiritual school, that teaches us how to live in unified harmony,
in peace, and in love with our fellow human beings on this planet –
enjoying in togetherness the symphony being played by mother nature. The whole purpose of religion is to facilitate love and compassion, patience, tolerance, humility, and forgiveness. Religions are supposed to help us realise that all human beings are equal joint heirs to their divine inheritance, which is the abundant and harmonious life on this earth. We
should have faith that this mortal body is but a temporary temple of
the spirit-soul, which will live on in the after-life. Some religions
teach that when the spirit-soul is fully evolved and ready, having
reached a state of pure, universal love for all, it graduates to eternal
life in the heavenly realm.
Dr. Rajesh Bhola is President of Spastic Society of Gurgaon and is working for the cause of children with
autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities
for more than 20 years
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