CHENNAI: Any religion, if taken fanatically, is poison, noted the Gyalwang Drukpa, the leader of the 1,000 monastery-strong independent Drukpa order of Buddhism.
Fanaticism and fanatical leaders are the primary reasons why religions are causes of strife often, the Gyalwang Drukpa said during the first session of ThinkEdu15 on Saturday, while speaking his mind about the pitfalls of fanaticism in an address about the current disconnect between human beings and the world.
All religions are good when they are about spirituality, he said. However, “If you follow a particular religion and are fanatical about its beliefs, if you don’t keep an open mind about it, then the religion becomes a poison,” he said.
“Fanaticism makes your religion toxic, it really, truly makes you sick,” he added.
The Buddhist leader sought to highlight the disconnect between the spiritual need and what is being provided through our educational system. It is this disconnect, he said, that is the greatest problem of modern education. “We have become more and more like robots. When children come back from school, they go straight to their laptops or iPads, there is no time to kiss their mama or papa. Husbands and wives have no time for each other. They are tired after making lots of money,” he said.