In Geeta it is said by Lord Krishna that our body is like chariot whose faith and Belief are its two wheels. Our intelligence or thoughts are like horses. The soul is the charioteer, who reins these horses and embodied mind is perceiver sitting in the chariot who experiences the divinity of the spiritual path.
Scholars indicate that fundamental religious quest of our life is self discovery besides make this life meaningful and experience divinity along with getting freedom from cycle of birth and death, where does the religion stand? What does is mean by religion?
I was awestruck when during my factual research about religion came face to face with an amazing fact that there are six major demographic regions where myriad religions and several “ism” are followed irrespective of language of communication. More difficult is the answer to question; how many decades ago religion started taking shape. Needless to say, it must be quite different from what is prevailing today. The metamorphosis that occurred was sometimes good, sometimes bad and sometimes frightening as violent religious conflicts brought mankind to its knees.
Even if we go into the question whether God exists or not, most of the world religions believe that as a living process, life is eternal and its source is one who some may call God, Allah, Ishwar or Tao. Religion is very complex process helping us connects with divinity of God or absolute one who with his infinite cosmic power created this entire universe. It is the process interacting continuously with us to move closer with the infinite creator and experience its divinity.
Again unless all entities like body, mind intelligence and behavior are involved in this cognitive thought process whose faith and Belief are dynamic wheels, we cannot understand the idea of God or religion in totality. Religion encompasses cultural traditions, ethics, practices related to spiritual faith and personal convictions. Historical developments, origin of social and psychological roots also are part of religion. Religion also includes Fictional religion, alternative beliefs, mysticism, ritualism, and esotericism. The list is endless.
Rigidity in faith and belief is nothing but conditioning of mind where fourth dimension that is time is not taken into consideration. Water stagnant in any storage place for a few days starts stinking and becomes breading ground for all kind of decease causing germs and bacteria. Conditioning cannot get brought about instantaneously. This process starts taking shape over a period of time. Social customs, religious festivals and rules created by community of people and groups provide framework to conditioning. Hence religion which was observed or followed 3000 years ago is not adopted today and what we are practicing today would find space in history tomorrow.
Man’s conditions of life, his perceptions and outlook, his attitude of mind, both toward himself and toward any possible Creator, have all changed so enormously in the last sixty or seventy years that we face an almost a new situation. Hence every individual who underestimates the dynamism of religion will have to accept that faith and belief should not be inflexible like our stubborn habits, where a particular habit once gets well established prevents other changes occurring in the brain. Hence it is by understanding faith and belief in particular, we can truly understand religion of today.
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