When we see that, there is something greater than ourselves in our lives, something that holds power beyond our comprehension, then our vision expands and we begin to perceive this world differently.
This vision helps us believe in greater forces of the cosmos that control events and outcomes, these forces precede over life. When our focus moves away from our limited selves to something greater than us, we step into the realm of spirituality.
Just by accepting that ‘there are greater forces in nature’ we should not qualify ourselves as spiritual people. Only when a meaningful connection is established with this greatness and this connection is strengthened through our thoughts, emotions and actions we begin to perceive its divine nature. We begin to see its involvement in everything in the world.
The essence of divinity unfolds as we awaken to the realization that everything emanates directly from the boundless expanse of this greatness or is intricately connected with it. As our connection with the divine deepens and evolves into a profound relationship, we become attuned to the currents of its power and the unfolding of the providence. In this communion, we encounter something ineffable, beyond the grasp of words. It evokes within us a sense of awe, reverence, and admiration towards this cosmic magnificence. A longing, or perhaps even a curiosity arises within us, compelling us to seek a clearer understanding.
The human mind, ever eager to unravel meaning and establish associations, embarks upon the journey of discovery, driven by the fundamental question: What / Who is this divine presence that permeates all existence?
Throughout human history, establishing, nourishing and furthering this meaningful connection with the divine has been the pure-goal of true spiritual seekers that led to particular systems of faiths and worships called religions.
Religions developed into complex frameworks for individuals to understand the world, their place in it and their relationship with the divine. Though we don’t have a universally accepted definition of religion, here are the broad concepts that make up any religion - Beliefs, religious leaders, practices and rituals, sacred texts, community of believers and religious institutions.
The ambition of religion is to convince the ordinary folk about the divine and this is the most difficult part because it involves accepting certain truths without tangible evidence or direct proof. Thus religions stand on the pillars of belief, faith, conviction and trust. All of this is vested on the mighty shoulders of the religious leaders who are often intermediaries between the followers and the divine. They interpret religious texts and teachings and help individuals understand and apply them in their lives.
The rituals and practices are aimed at connecting with the divine and expressing devotion. This also includes practices like festivals, ceremonies, pilgrimages etc that foster a sense of shared identity, a sense of belonging to a community of believers. Now comes the part of governing this community through moral and ethical frameworks that provides a social structure that defines behavior and conduct of the followers. To further this purpose an authoritative source of religious teachings and guidance is employed - the sacred texts. Most sacred texts of any organized religion often contain narratives, moral codes, rituals, prayers, and wisdom that shape understanding of the believers and help them live a meaningful life.
Now comes the bigger question, who has the authority over what is considered the authority in any religion, the answer is - a religious institution that governs its believers which is often spearheaded by religious leaders. Thus the role of an institution becomes crucial in becoming a provider, caretaker and controller of its community in every way. In order to achieve their goals, religious institutions need resources of every kind. For every resource to be well utilized, the resources need to be managed and thus religion begins to enter the domain of organization and the challenges that come with it. Religious leaders too begin to multitask as the leaders of these organizations.
Thus, what started as a framework for understanding the meaning and purpose of life slowly moves into the domain of social cohesion with an ethical framework and the pure intent of religion is often diluted with personal agendas like extremism in the name of preserving traditions and values, dogmatism and intolerance towards other belief systems. We have ample examples of religion being associated with historic injustices of unthinkable scale, this includes perpetuating gender inequality, suppression of critical thinking, persecution of religious minorities, colonization, forced conversions and even religious wars. Though it is very crucial to separate the actions of individuals and groups from the teachings and values of the religion itself, somewhere it begins to feel that in the current times, the pure purpose of religion is largely defeated.
This is not a criticism of religious individuals or ardent followers of religions in their true form. Distorted religions have only left us with big room for doubts and questions, they have shown us the face of intolerance, rigidity, conflicts, abuse of power and authority. The distortions have contaminated the body of wisdom to an extent that it is possibly stagnated with outdated, contradicting or inconsistent information leading us to doubt the authenticity of the tenet itself.
So, you see, what is diverse is twisted to mean fundamental differences and based on this distortion, religious tenets appear to take sides, they become conditional.
Islam sends you to hell for being a Hindu
And the Christian heavens are shut against you
Hindu religion does not convert or invade
Its tenets are a way of life and so it stayed
Until narrow minded adherence and unholy ways
Misled people who were easy preys.
This is the story of most non-invasive religions,
faiths, creeds, movements and traditions
All the true tenets certainly implore the collapse of their tainted mantles
and strength to their uncorrupt core”
It is very important for a seeker to distinguish between the core religion and its distortion in order to gain from the precious spiritual resources within each religious framework.
