I follow Hinduism. I pray to the
idols in the temple. I celebrate Diwali, Pongal, Dhasara and many other
festivals. I share sweets with my friends during these festivals.
My best friend is a Muslim. He believes
in one god and in non-idol worship. He celebrates Ramzan, Bakrid and many other
festivals. I have heard many of my other friends talking about the taste of the
Biryani during these festivals in his home (Being a vegetarian I couldn’t
afford to take the offer).
One of my friends is a Christian.
She goes to church every Sunday, celebrates Christmas, Easter and many other
festivals. I have tasted the Christmas and Easter cakes myself and they were
really awesome.
When we were born, we were just
blood and flesh. There was no religion inscribed into any of us. But forgive
the society; we were brought into a cycle of belief. It is for the good, I should
say. Religion gives us a belief beyond the existence of man. We are given a path to follow. We are taught to love, live and thank someone beyond, which help us beyond the four walls of a temple or a church or a mosque.
We are born in a secular country
which respects the culture and tradition of all religions equally. My stand is that, you need not
accept others beliefs. You don’t even have to be secular at all. But remember,
others have the same right too. This does not imply that anyone can disrespect any religion because they are not following it.
Religious tolerance comes naturally to people
who really admire their beliefs. People who fear their existence alone, admits
violence as their weapon. So if disrespect towards other religions is purely based on fear that the religion would die, then even your own religion would never accept you. A religion never fears. It knows it will be followed. It knows it will have followers. Because, it shows the path of love and beyond.
And to be precise,
I am a Hindu who desperately wants
to end my last breath at Kasi.
I am a Muslim who wants to perform
the Hujj Yatra before I die.
I am a Christian who wants to attend
the Mass every Sunday.
I am a Sikh who wants to keep the
beard and hair uncut throughout my life.
I am a Jew, I even follow
Buddhism and Jainism. I am a Parsi too and the list goes on and on.
After experiencing to be all,
I am proud to accept I have my own beliefs. I am not secular at all. I declare
myself to be a religious extremist, only that my religion being Humanity and my
belief being love and compassion- A lesson thought by all these religions.
So, What is your religion?
~A dedication to Gandhi, the same
man who inspired me to write this.
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