Since our childhood we have been brought up to understand that there is only one God; religions are just but different routes to reach that one God, that no matter what route we take, our destination is the same. However, when I look at the world today why do I see that while we do take diverse routes we behave as though we are looking towards different ends?
We have, down the line, lost the sense of what we are actually looking for. We have started paying more attention to the route that we are taking and consequently the importance of the destination is completely forgotten. Today religion has become the root cause of most of our trials and tribulations as a society. Everyone wants to impose their own religion on the other person. Why don’t we realise that the trip that we are on called “life” is a trip that we have to take individually, not as a group. So by forcing the other person to change his or her beliefs is not doing any good to you or to anybody for that matter.
As per social norm, every person is born into one religion or the other. A set of beliefs and traditions is inculcated in the minds since childhood. And the personality of the being is a combination of those beliefs and traditions and learnings. Why should we find the need to change another person’s belief system? We forget the axiom, Live and Let Live, which is when everything goes for a toss. We tend to start believing that our way of thinking is the only correct way of thinking, and that everyone else should start thinking the way we do.
Religious extremism stems from this school of thought. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share your views with them. We ourselves are on a journey that we have never taken before, so who are we to say that the road the other person has taken is wrong? It is very easy to comment on what wrong we see the other person doing. But how often do we look into our own selves and try to find the whole lot of wrongs that we may have done or maybe are still doing?
I am following a particular religion. And my neighbour a different religion. What or who gives me the right to say that mine is the only correct religion? And that the religion my neighbour is following is wrong?
I am no religious expert, nor am I an accomplished historian, but common sense is my strong point. I would like to explain my stand with the help of an example. Let’s say that I am watching a sport that I have never played ever, baseball, for instance. How would I know if the pitcher is throwing the ball in the correct manner or wrong manner? Who am I to pass judgment on the players on their method of playing or how can I say if any player is cheating? Similarly, if I haven’t followed a particular religion, how can I say that there is something wrong with it? That their set of beliefs is wrong or right?
We should keep one thing in our minds, just like how we would not like anyone telling us that our religion is faulty and wrong, similarly it would offend people from other faiths if we make any negative comments about theirs.
Why do we try to change others when we should be starting by changing our inner selves first?
