Dear Editor,
No true religion “divides” or “manifests” in itself unnecessary rituals, dogmas and superstitious. A true religion is neither the opium of the people nor a spurious faith propagated by some selfish, self-styed baba of a dera. It is a rational way of living and spiritual attitude of pious people having belief in God, who is the creator, controller and sustainer of the universe and whose joyous presence lies everywhere. They practice philanthropy and love fellow human beings and maintain social unity. Life without religion is meaningless. It is because of living a moral life based on religious principles that one gets spiritual welfare. No true religion exhorts its votaries to hate the followers of another faith. Guru Gobind Singh said: Maanas ki zaat, sabhai ekey paih channbo (know you all that the caste of mankind is one). In his last historic Khutbah (sermon), the Prophet declared that he crushed under his feet till doom’s day the desecration of human life and terminated the bloodletting of the days of ignorance forever. The fanatics, who assert the supremacy of their belief on another faith and hurt the susceptibilities of its adherents and indulge in communal violence, are irreligiously religious. A Persian poet has said: Dar hairtam ke dushmani-e-kufr-o-deen chirast/Az yak charaagh Kaaba-o-butkhaana raushanast (I wonder, why there is enmity between heathenism and faith when both Kaaba and idol temple are illuminated by the same lamp, ie divine light).
Bhagwan Singh
via-e-mail