by Nanda Karunanayake

Created on: August 10, 2009

Religion is giving a direction and we have to find the path without opinions and fixed views. Religion offers many views and ways of seeing and believing so how is it that we must approach the various religious messages without opinions and views?

Every religious teacher has brought a message and we often mistake the messenger as the message. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." - John 14:6 (NKJV) ) So it is not surprising to find that Christians believe that the only Way to Salvation is through Jesus. In Buddhism the Buddha was very clear in saying that a person must be responsible for his or her own salvation and that no one can intercede on another's behalf. So who is right?

Every valid religious teaching shows the way to the same thing, a status of the eternal, deathlessness.

In any religion there is no place for anger, jealousy, ill will, envy and resentment. People who start quarrelling over or boasting about the superiority of his or her religion cannot understand the taste of religion. Why these negative attributes such as anger, jealousy etc. prevent the tasting of religion?

Fruits have different forms and different names. When you squeeze them and take the liquid the forms are gone and the names too disappear and only the taste remains. The flavour can be experienced and that cannot be described by the vocabulary of words in any language.

The religion can be expressed through sympathy, kindness, service to others with no expectations, brotherliness, peace and love. If people are practicing true meaning of religious virtues, there cannot be wars, turmoil, destructions but remains only peace. Why?

Unconditional love and forgiveness are laws of the universe that are inter connected and that allow all of us to live harmoniously. Act of forgiveness open our hearts up to experience greater love in our heart/minds and strengthen our relationships to create harmony in our interactions with others in society.

Love is the core of any religion but people quarrel against the other religion for the sake of religion. This is so because of ignorance. People are waging war to protect their religion and this is the ego that is in the forefront and misleading the individuals.

How can you hate others or other religions when the core of your religion itself is love ? How can a person kill in the name of defending love?

Ordinary love and hate are both sides of the same

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