Every night as I put my little Smera to sleep, I say a prayer thanking
god for the things he has blessed us with. Now that she has become big she has
started saying her prayers herself. It goes something like this. “Thank you God
for the food we eat, thank you god the playground we have, for cheese and chocolate
milk Mamma gives and for the Lego that daddy will get me on my birthday. Could
you also give me Queen Elsa dress and a big cake? Thank you for everything!!”
Much as it sounds funny, but she is god’s blessed child to have a good
childhood for she has good health, good school, healthy food and a home to live
in. There are so many who are struggling for their sustenance of the very basic
called – Life!
Image: corbis.com |
What angers me the most is that we humans are ready to kill each in
the name of our religion. And I don’t believe in religions, I only believe in
the existence of God and humanity for all. All these religious upheaval
happening across the world makes me wonder what are becoming into. I am a Hindu
by birth, married to a Christian, lives in an Islamic country but in all of
this religion has no importance in my life. I do go to the temple, church,
mosque or gurdwara only for one reason they give me peace.
The Quran says, ‘There shall be no compulsion in the matter of faith.
Distinct is the way of guidance now from error.’ There is great wisdom hidden
in this line, our actions defines our intention and we people will receive only
what we intended. Then why not wish for good things for everyone, peace and
happiness, wouldn’t the world become a better place then?
We humans fight in the name of Allah, Jesus, Ram, Krishna
but have we ever thought what the god wants from us. Whether one believes in a
religion or not, but we all appreciate true act of kindness and compassion. To
truly understand the God we people should stop debating about scriptures and
religious texts; this only lets down our faith in the almighty!
Dalai Lama once said, “Our prime purpose in this life is to help
others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”
If we have lost our feeling of peace and harmony, it is because that
we have put out of our minds that we all are a part of the very same god. I was
reading something Bulleh Shah, the great Sufi philosopher once said,
“Break down the mosque, break down the
temple
Break down whatever there is besides;
But never break a human heart
That is where God himself resides.”
Let's keep our eyes and ears open, help those who need us. Stand for
what is Right and I am sure our good intentions will somehow find the right
path! But if this to happen it has to start with me and my family!
True, god stays in the heart, regardless of religion:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Rahul .... so nice to see your comment after such a long time !!
DeleteHey Sangeetha,
ReplyDeleteI understand and respect the feelings with which you have written this post. It takes courage to write the way you did, opening up yourself and your experiences along with bringing out a greater facet of the issue - increasing religious intolerance that is spreading across the Indian society.
Sharing my thoughts that are in sync with your conclusion in this blog: I believe in religion and in God. I have lived as a Hindu and would like nothing in life to change that. In every aspect of my life, religion has its sanctity. I pray before I eat food. I pray before I sleep. I pray before i begin work. I chant mantras while washing the dishes or just before I make an important presentation. I will pray for my son's tests, important milestones. I will rather die than eat beef but I don't have a problem if the person next to me eats it. I believe that every thought and action is packed with either positive or negative energy. My beliefs teach me how to keep the positive energy working for me and yes, these beliefs are for me to live through, not for others. To expect others to follow my beliefs is obviously illogical and unreasonable. To force my religion on others is even worse and that has never been the purpose of any religion.
So here's what I belive: Respect others' beliefs and let people live the way they want to.
Swapana - you have so beautifully summarised the true essence of Hinduism and people like you make the world a better place to live in!
DeleteI'm not a believer. My wife is a devout Catholic. Our views don't generate any conflict; we respect each other's beliefs.
ReplyDeletePrayer has psychological benefits. In fact, prayer is a psychological exercise. I don't discourage people from their prayers.
My problem has always been with the way religion is misused and it is misused all too frequently.
That's is also where my frustration lies.. I once went for a bible class with a friend .. The priest read out a verse and asked people of their opinion and everyone's understanding of the verse was very different from what I had understood. But the good part was no one forced their thoughts.
DeleteI have a problem when an ideology forced upon or used for selfish interest. I believe in the existence God and that he is present in all of us.
Even if people stop hurting each other for their selfish interests, the works would see much peace.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Shaivi !!
DeleteFor a tender opening such as that, your post raises far reaching questions. Religion was invented as a tool of social control and psychological succour. Most religions are past their useful lives. That is why what we see today is a convoluted effort to justify a self-fulfilling prophecy. Allow me to quote Salman Rushdie here, "“Something was badly amiss with the spiritual life of the planet...Too many demons inside people claiming to believe in God.” ~Salman Rushdie, (The Satanic Verses)
ReplyDeleteUSP so beautifully concluded, humanity is losing to selfish desires and power!!
DeleteThis is such an important issue, especially as parents, and how we pass on this message of oneness of all religions will be the most important thing we do. Sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Subho da :D
Deletevery well written Sangeeta....God bless!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mehroo
DeleteSangeeta, loved the post! Often, we mindlessly pass on our beliefs and even behaviors like tolerance and intolerance to our children. To teach them to respect each other's faith is one of the best lessons we can teach our children.
ReplyDeleteYou've put such a big smile on face .. I am glad they are good-hearted people like yourself .. makes my faith stronger !!
Deletethought provoking writing, we should treat humanity as our only religion
ReplyDeleteabsolutely Cifar ..
DeleteAww your daughter's prayer is the sweetest. If only people retained their basic innocence and learn to accept others as they are we'd be in a much happier place. If only they learnt more from their children!
ReplyDeleteAmen !! I am sure Tulika there are more people like you ..
DeleteVery nicely written Sangeeta. It is sad people still fight in the name of religion although first and main teaching of all religions is to be good to others.
ReplyDeleteTrue Nidhi, if only we just remember this .. it would be so nice !!
DeleteWell written. If only people of different faiths realized the Oneness of God's existence and lived tolerantly, the world would be such a better place!
ReplyDeleteAmen it's possible ... I am sure my faith in god is not lost .. he shall guide us :D
DeleteAll religions preach the same lessons and all religions are abused in the same way too. My religion is superior to yours and so on and so forth. I am a christian by birth married to a hindu. My mom in law will take me around filled with pride that I am a hindu now, its so sad that they cant see I am happy in any religion because I believe in doing good and trying to lead a life filled with positivism. God bless little Smera and when I say God bless for those who might pounce on you I mean all the Gods from the all the religions in the world.
ReplyDeleteAthenas - I experience the same .. my mum and father in law love to come with me to the temple and I love to visit churches, Ajmer Sharif happens to be my favorite and the kadha prasad at the Bangla Sahib is worth every bit of the seva done there :D
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing you story ... I feel so happy for you !!
I love her little prayer!! So cute!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post ever.All religions are same its humans who divide them and this should be stopped....your post is touchy.keep posting lots more........
ReplyDelete