The most important thing for us to do in our present state of living is to first practise becoming true human beings. The practice of our religion then, will bring us Ananda, bliss, that we all deserve as real children of God, says OSWALD PEREIRA
We often hear the phrase “Practising Hindu,” “Practising Christian” or “Practising Muslim” to describe a person who visits the temple, church or mosque regularly and prays there to the God that he or she believes in.
Hindu religious practices include devotion (bhakti), worship (puja), sacrificial rites (yajna), meditation and yoga. A practising Christian goes to church to attend holy Mass at least once a week, and prays regularly at home. He also donates a percentage of his income to the poor.
Followers of Islam are called Muslims. The word Islam means “submission to the will of God.” The five pillars or tenets of Islam are faith, prayers, alms, fasting and pilgrimage. A practising Muslim prays five times a day and adheres to the other tenets of Islam.
Born in a Christian family, I was a regular churchgoer as a youngster. I also prayed devoutly at home, alone, and along with my family members. That made me a good, practising Christian lad. So strong was my faith and assimilation of Christ’s teachings that I scored the highest marks in religion in class.
As I grew up and came face-to-face with the fanaticism in the church and the claim to exclusivity of Christianity ꟷ Christ is the only way to heaven ꟷ my faith fell by the wayside. My attendance at church plummeted and, soon, I joined the ranks of non-practising Christians.
Non-attendance at church was considered a grievous betrayal of faith. I came to bear the unholy tag of “sinner,” who would burn in the fires of hell. I felt rather unsettled in life, as my “holy” friends, relatives and siblings, settled down in “holy matrimony,” ꟷ the reward for being “practising Christians.”
Of course, there were some evangelical souls of the fairer sex, who offered to “reform” me and repair my faith so that I returned to the ritual of weekly mass in Church and became a practising Christian again ꟷ fully fit to be a good husband.
Fortunately or unfortunately, that was not to be … I ended up marrying a girl out of the Christian faith in a civil ceremony, ringing the death knell of me ever being a practising Christian. In fact, according to Church dogma ꟷ and so did devout, practising Christians pronounce ꟷ I was “living in sin,” as my marriage was considered “illegitimate” by the Church.
The church, however, did not persecute me. Priests in holy robes or cassocks continued to be my friends. The pastor, head of the St. Mary’s Church in Noida, where I live, came visiting every second day, until he went away to do a doctorate in theology, in addition to the 12 years he had already spent in studying the scriptures in the seminary. He never mentioned religion to me or attempted to bring me back to the practising Christian fold.
One day, after seeking my consent, he had the nuns of the nearby Assisi Convent School, with some other Christian men and women, come over to celebrate Mass at our home. The nuns, I felt, were not walking but floating in the air, looking so beatific and joyful.
One of them, who seemed to be the head or “Mother Superior,” quietly presented me a copy of the New Testament without uttering a word. There was no talk of church or returning to it.
Till this day, I continue to be a non-practising Christian. I have tried to be spiritual without being religious. There’s been some progress on the first aspect. But the road to spirituality is a long journey.
I believe everyone has the right to practise his or her religion ꟷ or to not practise it.
Every community has the right to build their own places of worship. But the moment we claim that our temple, church or mosque, is better or the best one, and the others are not as good, we cease to be practising Hindus, Christians or Muslims.
The simple Truth is that one God resides everywhere, whether in a temple, a church or a mosque.
God has the same smile for a Hindu, Christian, a Muslim or person of any other faith. His Light shines on each one of them, now and through eternity.
The most important thing for us to do in our present state of living is to first practise becoming true human beings ꟷ then the practise of our religion, will bring us Ananda or bliss that we all deserve as real children of God.
Oswald Pereira, a senior journalist, has also written eight books, including The Newsroom Mafia, Chaddi Buddies, The Krishna-Christ Connexion, How to Create Miracles in Our Daily Life and Crime Patrol: The Most Thrilling Stories. Oswald is a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, and practises Kriya Yoga.
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Brilliant reflection and discovering the finest gem Oswald ji.
To practice becoming a true humanbeing is the real goal of a man.
Humanbeing is the worthiest of creations. A human only has a mind to think fix a vision and offer oneself with that visualization.
Religion, cast, creed all are superimposed on one being.
Behind that illusion remains true spirit, which is pure, universal and reflecting the rays of creator.
As a worldly being in our mundane external activity, we have difference. We eat, wear believe and follow different variable colours, and behave differently.
But our spiritual journey which takes shape within all of us, which is invisible and which really lead our soul, is almost identical.
Describing the spiritual activities of Christians, Muslims and Hindus you have described them so vividly and eloquently. One who reflects deeply into your words shall find uniformity in spiritual practices in all the three religions.
Under the shabby cover of our religion we all are same, reflections of supreme consciousness, the creator, whom we address as Allah, God or Mahaprabhu.
Once one understands that one has been awarded this life of Humanbeing only to practice love, ignoring the absurd negative guidance of mind, has immense possibilities to realize the truth and reside in a space of absolute ecstatic ananda.
One can smile like a fully bloomed flower and can inspire the world outside him with a simmering flavour.
Thank you for articulating your words and thoughts in a beautiful manner which glows with light & universal love.
Manas Das Jee, thank you so much for elaborating and value-adding with so many insights on the subject matter. Indeed, “To practice becoming a true human being is the real goal of a man.”
A very beautiful write up, the best one from you recently Oswald ji. I got moved really going through it 🙏
Spirituality as I see it, is the original blessing we all are born with but the blessed few can only feel it’s fine play and succeed in making it a vehicle of not merely personal growth but also make this growth process instrumental in serving the entire humanity.
However, the discovery of this very blessing is experiential in proportion to our level of maturity which is a very wonderful, soul-deep process in making since our genesis. The sincere most seeker remains open ended always as an avid learner and hence understands that spirituality is a realm of eternal novelty and relishes the taste of not merely getting engaged in this self exploration but more than that strikes a fusion with the whole gamut of existence, making his universality perfectly complete. This as such is the hallmark of a genuinely spiritual person who transcends the restrictions, strictures and all the limitations set by faiths, religions and beliefs.
However religion is an institutionalised teaching of code of conduct that we inherit from collective consciousness which is full of rituals, dos, and don’ts, विधि और निषेध, as it is said about it.
But, the goal of most advanced religions as such is directed at the discovery of Self, which lies at the heart of Spirituality. For, it is an undeniable fact that inasmuch as we succeed in reaching the innermost layers of our subjective consciousness, verily in same proportion we reach out to humanity outside. Having this understanding only we grow as true human beings with the faculty of care, compassion and karuna and then only our religiosity becomes genuinely complete.
Rituals and practices are merely means to that end and it would not be an overstatement to say that, getting engaged in these ritualistic process we merely float on the surface and miss the heart of the matter, which is Spirituality.
To sum it up, Spirituality asks us to discover the underlying Truth of our existence which is not only universal but perfectly democratic.
Religion too, in its essence, (as originally revealed by a prophet or as systematised by seers of our Sanatan Rishi Sanskriti), asks us to discover this very underlying Truth of our existence.
As Saint Tulsidas sums up the definition of Religion so simply and so succinctly that one can not find any way to improvise it:
He says: “धर्म ना दूसर सत्य समाना”
There is no Religion other than Truth.
Truth alone is Religion and of course so is Spirituality.
Sreemad Bhagabat too begins and ends with this bold declaration:
“सत्यम परम धीमहि”
“We contemplate upon Paramatma, the embodiment of Truth, The One & Only All abiding Reality.”
Truly, this is the only goal of all the Religions as well as Spirituality, there is absolutely no doubt about it.