religious-philosophy

I don__ want to take away anybody__ religion, but simply to make them see what religion really means.

Religion is not a book, it is not an institution, and it is not even a person. True Religion is realization of the self.

The religion that I advocate, and so did the mortal humans known as Jesus, Buddha and Nanak, is the religion of love, compassion and self-realization.

Your religion is whatever makes you a better human being.

It is your existential responsibility to raise your child as a human being above everything else _ catholic, muslim, jew, asian, caucasian or whatever.

Due to the monstrous activity of a handful of extremists, the majority of the human society has been conditioned to believe that the term 'musalman' is somehow synonymous with terrorism. But the reality is, the term 'musalman' refers to someone with 'musallam iman,' that means, a pure conscience. Thus any individual whose conscience is pure and clear, is a musalman or muslim, regardless of socio-religious background. Likewise, any human being who loves his or her neighbor is a Christian. Hence, scriptures can't define your religion, only your actions with other people do.

Those who preach bookish religion are the greatest atheists of all, because they don__ have the slightest idea of neither God nor religion. Their beloved religion is their book. And their God is in the doctrines.

One who does not believe in the self is an atheist. If you believe in yourself, then you are the most religious person on earth.

Historical experiences of this absolute godliness gave rise to all the scriptures in the world. Hence, the scriptures themselves don__ account for the actual globally prevalent psychological element of faith or divinity in the human society. Faith is a crucial evolutionary trait of the human mind, selected by Mother Nature as an internal coping- mechanism.

At a cellular level of the human mind, Islamophobia is not really a matter of social stigma, rather it is a natural biological fear response of the general human mind, conditioned through countless pairings between terrorist attacks (unconditioned stimulus) and their apparent association with Islam (conditioned stimulus). Hence, Islamophobia cannot be eradicated completely, unless that pairing is severed and thereafter the conditioned stimulus of Islam is paired with something optimistic such as the heartwarming works of the 13th century Persian Muslim poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi.

Indoctrination is dangerous.

God is nature__ anti-dote to misery.

A religious individual may most gloriously carry out his or her own rituals, as a part of his or her cultural identity, but the moment, that person starts to build a wall of separation between the self and the rest of humanity, coaxed by the textual commands of a scripture, the healthy religiousness turns into dangerous fundamentalism, which is a threat to both the self and the society.

The point is, being a Christian does not mean hating or belittling the non-Christians. Being a Muslim does not mean hating or belittling the non-Muslims. Being an Atheist does not mean hating or belittling the religious people. In a civilized society, diversity in religious orientation should be the reason for celebration, not the cause for hatred and differentiation.

But when a man draws a lifeless thing into his passionate longing for dialogue, lending it independence and as it were a soul, then there may dawn in him the presentiment of a world-wide dialogue with the world-happening that steps up to him even in his environment, which consists partially of things. Or do you seriously think that the giving and taking of signs halts on the threshold of that business where an honest and open spirit is found?

To explain God after merely reading the scriptures is like explaining the city of New York after seeing it only in a map.

Do you prefer to be with people who glow with love and compassion or those who burn with anger fueled by religious doctrine or political ideology?

The book-learned preacher who carries the badge of authority, is by no means religious.