Religion is a mysterious force. It is both positive and negative simultaneously. It gives peace to the soul, but at the same time it destroys peace as well. Religion is responsible for great civilizations and awesome architecture, but conflicts among religions destroy not only those cultural monuments but also the human race itself. Religion's power comes from its total irrationality and a blind concept of loyalty. Almost every religion except some Eastern ones claim that each has the Truth and every other religion or faith is misguided. Often an argument is placed forth that there can't be more than one Truth. 'There is one Truth and there are several other misrepresentations of Truth,' they say.
When I was in graduate school, a professor of anthropology gave a definition of religion as it is understood in the contemporary world. He said 'religion' is what I practice and 'cult' is what my enemy practices. The Jews thought that the non-Jews (whom they called Gentiles) worshipped a false God, and to this day they don't think that Jesus Christ is a messiah from Yahweh, although Christianity became a major world religion. The Moslems think that there is no God but Allah. Sects within Hinduism think either Vishnu or Siva is the supreme God. The Buddha said that there was no God, but unfortunately he himself was elevated to Image worship along with a host of other Buddhist Gods/Deities.
In our contemporary civilization the common man cares less for God or religion. The attendance in church/synagogue/temple/mosque is relatively small when compared to the population who are indifferent to religion. The danger for society comes from the believers, particularly the fundamentalists. If we objectively look at the fundamentalist movements in religion, it will be apparent they are the troublemakers. They have very little tolerance towards other faiths and live in the belief that they alone got it right. More often than not, the fundamentalists are obsessed on their respective Gods and they spent their entire lives ridiculing other faiths and try to convert non-believers. A classic example in our time is Bin Laden who calls the Christians and Jews 'infidels'. Bin Laden thinks it is the duty of every Moslem to wage a holy war against the infidels.
Although most religions may speak of tolerance and acceptance of other faiths, there are deep problems. One's faith is ingrained in the blood and even penetrates one's bone marrow. It is emotionally impossible for a Jew to accept Jesus, or a Moslem to accept Krishna. As I pointed out earlier, religion is irrational; you and I are tied to a particular faith because of past life memories.
I am glad that in the some countries we have evolved a political system that separates the church from the state. Such a separation is indeed the beginning of a New World Order. I pray the formless and nameless Almighty will do some miracles to make this separation to happen all over the world.
In the final analysis, the ideal would be to define the Almighty as Light and Love. I think the above definition of God would help to lay the foundation for a Universal Religion. I would be delighted if the United Nations would consider promoting this World Religion of Love and Light. - Siva Baba
