When we observe riots, wars, and battles that take place in the name of religion, it makes us to ask, do we need something called religion at all?
Many raise this question with pain, concern and an element of doubt.
‘All destructive arsenal such as nuclear bomb, hydrogen bomb, biological warfare, are the result of scientific developments!’ Aren’t they?
Diseases are many because doctors are plenty.
Like the manifestation of truth in the above statements, there is also truth in the practice of religion.
The house is in darkness. Out of anger, if one enters it, one is bound to tumble on various items of furniture. Getting annoyed, throwing the furniture out of the house … are not solutions. The reason for the fall is not the furniture, but the darkness. So what has to be thrown out is not the furniture. Once we light the lamp, darkness will disappear and so too will the problems.
Religion was never created to cause riots and confusion. It was created to provide peace. Religion was not meant to divide human beings. It was created to unite human beings!
In Sufi literature, there is a story. There was a noble tailor, who had transformed himself into a great sage. The King came to pay his obeisance. The king gifted him golden scissors, encrusted with diamonds. But the sage refused to accept it.
The king was worried that he was not able to help the sage. So he asked him, ‘What can I give you that would be of use to you?’
The sage replied, ‘Give me a needle!’
The king at once arranged for a needle and presented it to the sage. Humbly, he waited for the sage’s response. The sage said, ‘The reason why I refused your gift of scissors is because it cuts and divides. Our minds are like scissors that cut and divide. But the needle would stitch, it would join and unite! Our hearts are like needles which join and unite.’
Today, humanity is in need of a needle and not scissors! Times may have passed; but the relevance of the sage’s message is valid even today. True religious leaders would not speak in a way that would divide human beings. Those who speak in such manner cannot be the leaders of religion. But unfortunately, it is not so….
Swami Sukhabodhananda is the founder and Chairman of Prasanna Trust. He is a respected spiritual leader in the country who is often referred to as the ‘Corporate Guru.’