When you know your true Self, you will know God and you will be free!
This
morning’s papers run a story saying the famous music composer Ilayaraja’s son,
Yuvan Shankar Raja, has embraced Islam. It would have been good had the story
merely reported a happening, an event – even though, strictly, that is
avoidable! But one paper goes on to speculate if Yuvan’s father had an issue
with his choice. And that, I believe, was totally uncalled for. What choices
people make with regard to their Life, especially in the context of their
religious leanings, is, really nobody’s business!
The
story, however, got me thinking on a different plane. There’s often this
confusion between religion and spirituality. Most people use these words
interchangeably.
Conceptually,
they may well be right. But in reality and practice the two take different approaches
– albeit to the same end!
Spirituality
is the flowering of internal awareness. It is deeply personal, intense and
liberates the seeker. You set out on the spiritual journey – seeking God,
seeking answers to many existential questions, seeking to know why pain and
suffering have to be endured – but you really end up finding yourself, your
true Self.
Religion
attempts to deliver all of this, but fails miserably. Not because religion is bad
or ineffective. In fact, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism,
Judaism, Jainism – you name them, each of them is so beautiful. They are profound
and empowering. But the champions of religion, the high priests, are devious
and divisive. Promising salvation and deliverance unto an external God, they
divide humanity and drive people to becoming mindlessly ritualistic. Which is
why people have an issue with other peoples’ religious choices. Think about it:
people don’t have an issue with what shirt you are wearing, but why do they get
alarmed with the mere mention of your religious preference? All the fanaticism
about finding God and trying to establish one religion as superior to another
is the cause for all disharmony in the world. Religion doesn’t make your Life
any better – it binds you and holds you hostage, making you “fear” God! In
fact, the way it is championed and practised today, religion makes bad
spaghetti out of a very good concept. The truth is, you – and I – were not born
with a religious affiliation. You were born human. You have the same amount of
blood – 5.5 liters, just the same as anyone else. And that blood is red in
color – for everyone, irrespective of what religion they follow!
It
is said that religion is for those who want to go to heaven – and spirituality
is for those who have been to hell! There’s a great meaning in that seemingly
light-hearted truth. Again it’s a matter of personal choice. If you want to
understand Life and experience bliss, if you want freedom from suffering and
you want lasting inner peace, then understand your true Self. If you want balms
for your pain, if you want just a reassurance that “you will be taken care of”,
if you want to “feel good” and bask in the presence of godmen and godwomen – follow
the rituals that your religion’s leaders prescribe. Neither path is wrong.
Neither approach is right. Ultimately, what works for you is always the best!
I
simply love Swami Ramkrishna Paramahamsa’s (1836~1886) words in this context: “Even
if you have faith in the 330 million Gods that you worship, and no faith in
yourself, there’s no salvation for you!” This really sums it all up. Your search for meaning, be it through a pilgrimage to the
world’s holiest sites, or through a simple, inward journey, will ultimately
bring you to yourself! Your true Self. In knowing and understanding that Self,
you encounter your God. And you will be free!
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