The True Religion

A religion is an organization or school of thought which tries to define and practice the correct relationship between the Creator and the creations and that among the creations themselves.

If you agree that a super genius is behind all the visible and invisible forces and phenomena in the universe, worship of this Supreme Being is inevitable. Not that God is pleased when He is praised, but prayer will strengthen your inner self.

If you always keep yourself in the shade, you can never enjoy the invigorating caress of the sun. On the other hand, if you move out to the open, you will be surprised how you are vitalized. Similarly, if you worship the Ultimate Being, you will find His wonderful Grace descending on you. God never bothers or cares whether you pray or not, it is up to you to choose.

The three major modern religions- Judaism, Christianity and Islam- are all anthropocentric, that is, they consider man as the crown of all creations. All other life forms and resources on earth were created for his benefit. In fact, it is this short-sighted philosophy that encouraged man to cut down trees, destroy forests, dam up rivers, bore into the belly of the earth in search of oil and minerals.

Hinduism and its offshoots- Jainism and Buddhism- on the other hand, are pantheistic. They believe that all life forms are sacred and equally important as human beings. Mountains and rivers have souls and are therefore sacred. Trees and other living things have imperishable souls and therefore deserve respect. Man is but one of the billions of life forms on earth and, in the cycle of rebirths, you may reincarnate and reappear on earth after death as an animal or a tree.

Looked down upon as primitive and superstitious by the followers of modern religions, Hinduism has, in fact, greater depth and relevance. A true Hindu will think twice before clearing a forest because, for him, trees are live things with souls and to destroy them is a sin.

Religions, modern or ancient, have invariably set rules and codes of conduct, assigning to each person rights as well as responsibilities so that society functions without friction and strife. Apparently, most of these rules of conduct vary from region to region and religion to religion. But in essence, religious rules stand for the dignity of the individual and the smooth functioning of the society.

But conventional religions have miserably failed in addressing the challenges the modern life has thrown up. For example, all religions condemn killing of a man. But no religion speaks against the cutting down of a tree. In the modern day context, the killing of a tree is more heinous a crime than killing a human being in that the former crime affects only a given community, but the latter the whole life on earth. In those far off days, when the founders of religions lived and preached, human life was not as complex as it is today. Therefore, the tenets and codes formulated by them addressed problems faced by a rather primitive society. Priests destined to carry the torches lit by the founders have always been bigoted and selfish people who always stood in the way of progress and enlightenment. Instead of reforming religious principles to suit the needs of changing times, they have always tried to chain society to old customs and ancient practices.

Almost all the dos and don’ts prescribed by ancient religions are, to a great extent, applicable even in the modern day scenario. For example, not much can be withdrawn from the Ten Commandments prescribed by Moses without peril to a modern society. But, much more needs to be added to them so that human life may go on without great danger.

Obviously, the ecological and environmental concerns all the right thinking persons are worried about should be incorporated into the religious principles. People should be warned against modifying nature to satisfy the avarice of man. Nobody has the right to transform the planet to suit the short sighted goals of egoistic people. The planet should be preserved as the Creator fashioned it: any attempt to the contrary is a sin for which the human race will have to face collective punishment.

All forms of life on earth should be given equal respect. In his megalomania and insatiable hedonism, man has already trampled upon the sacredness of fellow organisms. Oceans, mountains, glaciers, rivers, rocks and forests are equally sacred. All the animate and inanimate phenomena in the world are the expressions of the Ultimate Wisdom, and to destroy them and tamper with them are great sins which the humanity will have to answer for.

To worship God is to preserve nature as it is, and to destroy nature will be rebelling against Him as angels did in the Bible account.

I know such preaching will be a cry in the wilderness but it is the ultimate truth: by ignoring it man will be inviting the wrath of the Great Wisdom of Nature.