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Written by Administrator
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Religion is a way of life. Some call it a science of life. It is much more than a means of combatting anxiety. Psychiatrists insist that a person develops defence mechanisms to get over stress created by conditions in the environment. Anxiety may be a temporary phase due to failure of
adaptation. Religion makes a person strive for higher knowledge and higher values of life. Although it is commonly held that religion is a search for and worship of God. This definition is too simplistic. As humans we may not even be conscious for what we are looking for. He or she may not have been to a Church, Temple, Mosque or Gurudwara. He or she may not have prayed to God. In informal discussions we find a number of intellectuals say that they do not believe in God. These statements are meaningless. We very often make statements without thinking. In essence religion is the pursuit of truth, love, beauty and power of the creator. A dedicated scientist, devoted physician, an artist, a nurse, a social worker or anyone else who works dispassionately without desire of gains, is a religious person in reality. We are human beings and imagine God to be human. It will be foolish to confine the immense creative power in a shroud. We are told that God is omnipotent and omnipresent. Yet we cannot see him with our eyes. It is possible to know God indirectly. It is common knowledge that the universe functions according to definite laws. The stars and planets follow definite courses. Astronomers say that even these are constantly in a process of evolution and destruction. On the earth we find definite cycles of weather, changes in day and night of definite pattern. Creation and destruction of life also follows certain rules. Among human beings, births and deaths have been described as temporary phases in the journey of this soul towards its evolution. Our intelligence is limited , we cannot know all we want to. It may be argued that it is futile to make efforts to grasp what we cannot hold. At times religion has been thought to be a pursuit of a mad person. There is a very fine line dividing sanity from insanity. The lover of God is oblivious of the environment, he knows not hunger, pain or cold. Some say religion is not for the common person who is worried about food, clothing and shelter. But irrespective of socio-economic status there is always a craving deep down which we cannot define. Even after having achieved what we want , we are not happy. There is no inner peace. We are not in harmony. Religion brings this peace this harmony. The creative power (God) is in every living being. It is the very life of the living being. We say " She is very beautiful ". The beauty is God. The melody in the singers voice is God. The dexterity in the artist’s hand is God. The beauty and fragrance of the flower is God. The intellect in the scientist is God. When a person is dying, his families depart, we say he has been taken by God. Religion is not a matter confined to some rituals. It is the practice of detachment, control of sense organs, control of ego. It is devotion, love and selfless service. While carrying out the responsibilities of daily life, religion is the unshorn realization of the aim of life which is denial of self and the search of higher knowledge.
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