Only spirituality can stop the world from turning it into a nasty place.

[Sunil singh]

As I find it at my personal level, all religions have been often simplified by their followers for the convenience of mass-appreciation. There was nothing wrong in simplifying a body of beliefs in a world where people have always been at different levels of perception. Unfortunately, for various reasons that simplification was not always made available to the lay believer with an honest intent. Some people began to claim themselves closer to God and, by default, closer to their respective religions.

Gradually, a rot set in. Religions started losing their soothing and healing effect among their followers and began to kick start serious types of differences of opinions, culminating into communal riots and even full-fledged wars. Obviously, it was a period when religions began to be misunderstood as a mere body of rituals and orthodox beliefs. Truth on my side and falsehood on the other became the most dominant thought-current in almost all religions.Worldwide, the divisive role of religions had begun ! The world started turning into a nasty place. Believers began to look upon other believers as phoney, and the element of self-love began to plague most of the religions.

If this world is to have a happy future, religions, and I must repeat, all religions will have to be understood and practised as just different spiritual journeys, cutting across colours, creeds, regions, languages, cultures and civilizations, towards the same destination of self-realization or enlightenment ! That's the only way out of the bitterness and dogmatic self-righteousness that have been so intense in history, and have now started assuming scary forms and gaining in sinister strength in our times. Every person should have a personal spiritual journey within the overall framework of the religion of his birth or choice. The fact of a soul within all of us which is pure, full of love and of tremendous potential, must be recognised and experienced by each and every human being in his or her life. This very acceptance of a soul within us and realization of it's separate existence from the material cobwebs, we are so deeply and helplessly caught in, has the great potential of lifting us off to a humanitarian world-view and a sweet mindscape of love, peace and harmony. The acceptance and realization, mentioned above, must be at one's own personal level and must grow out of our own spiritual unrest. It can't be imported into a mind which hasn't done any home-work in this direction and which is not prepared to let the light in. That's why, nobody can ever be a spiritual guru or mentor in a real sense. It may sound shocking but it's true. In fact, it's a huge and multi-dimensional illusion that enlightenment can ever be a matter of spoon-feeding ! One can easily or with little effort become a professor of religions and spiritual things but no person can ever transport another person or even himself to the heavenly realization of being absolutely free, happy and harmonious because it has to be always a personal effort and an inner achivement.

Since enlightenment is not an easy achievement, so despite being within the reach of every soul, it requires conciderable personal focus and effort in a right direction. Hope can play a big role here. Faith may be of immense value but it must be monitored with due care because deviations are always lurking round the corner. All spiritual questions must be asked with complete integrity and all answers to them must be internalized with greater integrity. Above all, it must be admitted, once and for all, that there are several authentic roads to the same destination. So, travellers must not engage in needless disputes, arguementations and fights !

What's most vital to the health of any religion is the number of people making personal endeavour in their spiritual quest. This alone can turn billions of bitter and inane human beings into peaceful and loving citizens of this world and turn them into a class of people who will never be gullible enough to succumb to the divisive influences of any religion under any degree of a crafty persuasion. If it ever happens, the world will witness the wonderful scenario of freedom of terror-free and violence-free societies for the first time in human history. If it's not done speedily on a global scale, the danger of mutual-annihilation will continue to haunt this world. Let's accept, my dear friends, that time is running out !

[Motorcycle Hippy Al]

Sunil, for sharing Your Words of Wisdom!

[Sunil singh]

Hi Maria,
Your comment on my blog " only spirituality....a nasty place " is quite perceptive. It comes closest to what I myself feel about this matter. Your words " Sometimes I feel scared of human beings. I'd rather live away from "society", but in peace. Life on its own is a miracle." thrilled me with the feeling and thought they are pregnant with ! Thanks a lot for sharing.

[Sunil singh]

Hi Al,
Your comment on my blog " only spirituality....a nasty place " through a beautiful picture, bearing Mahatma Gandhi's noble words, is really very encouraging, and sounds like almost the last words on the issue under consideration. Thanks for sharing.

[Motorcycle Hippy Al]

Maria,

[Maria Trinidad Mitre]

Beautiful, Al!! :) ♥

[Motorcycle Hippy Al]

[Maria Trinidad Mitre]

Time is indeed running out... I refuse to lose hope... but every time I look around, I see more violence and aggression than awakening... Facts regarding crime, environment, poverty, politics are not very encouraging really... Nevertheless, I notice that when one connects to the purity of the heart and knows unconditional love, there is an effect which spreads to a few around us. But I wonder... How many others are looking into their souls rather than into a screen or a shop window? How many choose a simple life over a buy-whatever-is-on-offer one? Such blindness... searching for happiness somewhere else, looking up to unachievable artificial role-models, looking away from things that matter, pretending not to see that our neighbor next door might be starving or freezing to death. Sometimes I feel scared of human beings. I'd rather live away from "society", but in peace. Life on its own is a miracle. All that we are searching for is right here, within ourselves. If only we were to stop this madness for a moment in order to look inside...

[Motorcycle Hippy Al]

Sunil, that is why I use visuals, as I am a one finger typer. There is something to that saying "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" but I am learning more wisdom "Thanks" to Your Wise words, so keep on typing them.
Namaste, Al

[Sunil singh]

Hi Al,
Thanks for sharing two very meaningful pictures and quoting me ......" the world will witness the wonderful scenario of freedom of terror-free and violence-free societies".... You have made me feel guilty of wasting so many words :) LOL
Regards,
Sunil

[Motorcycle Hippy Al]

......" the world will witness the wonderful scenario of freedom of terror-free and violence-free societies"....