Why We Need Religion

     Don't get me wrong, I'm neither a fanatic, nor an atheist, and definitely not agnostic. I just have a very liberal view towards religion, at least I like to think that I do. Have I read The Shrimad Bhagavad Gita? In detail. The Holy Bible and The Holy Quran? A few excerpts, yes. What I have understood out of each of these holy books, is that they communicate the same things, probably in different ways. One of these things they all abide by is 'There is only one God of this Universe'. You may have heard this being true in the case of Christianity and Islam. But Hinduism? Don't we have a lot of deities? 33 to be precise?

     Contrary to the '33 crore' misconception, in reality, the term ‘trayastrimsati koti’ as quoted in the Atharva Veda, Yajur Veda, and Satapatha-brahmana, is often misunderstood as 33 Crore. However, 'koti' in Sanskrit has two meanings - ‘supreme’ and 'crore'. Hence the basic fact that Hinduism has 33 Supreme Gods and not 33 Crore Gods is lost in translation. Even this is slightly debatable if we go by the theory which will follow in the next paragraph.

     I went slightly awry with the last explanation, but I felt it was necessary to clear that first. Coming back to the concept of monotheism which seems bizarre in Hinduism, it is important to note that Hinduism has evolve from the Ancient Vedic Religion, when Adi Shankaracharya united different streams and cultures and sects emerged. Hence, in the Vedic times the term Hindu was non existent. Vedic religion was based on deep philosophical and practical thinking. Worshiping many different deities did not even exist then. Hence, whatever verses from Vedas are recited in relation of classical Hinduism were written much before its evolution.

     Now that we have established that, the concept of God in the Vedic period would describe or explain the different phenomena occurring in the universe. The 'Gods' - Bramha,Vishnu, Mahesh (Shiva) were created to explain creation, sustenance and destruction of universe respectively. Similarly, more Gods were created for representing the energies in nature: Pavan (wind), Agni (fire), Varuna (Rain) etc. and a female half of the Parmatma (the Ultimate God) - Adi Shakti. The 33 crore deity concept could be attributed to the identification of 330 million different natural phenomena and forms of energy that were represented by corresponding Gods, all aimed at understanding the universe and how it works.

     The evolution of the Hinduism as we know today coincides with decline of Buddhism in India, when due to the dominance of Buddhism Adi Shankaracharya found it necessary to modify the traditional religious practices in the Vedic religion and make them simpler and easier to identify with common masses through idol worship, like that of many figures from Ramayana and Mahabharata like Rama, Krishna, Hanuman, etc. 

     The Vedas, the cradle of present day Hinduism, thus talk of One Parmatma - the Supreme God, who has neither a form nor a gender, but a state, a consciousness, which is similar to the Islamic concept of Allah, who is without a body. Now let's talk about the concept of God in Islam. As goes the popular verse:

لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله

lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāh, muḥammadur rasūlu-llāh

There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.

     This does not mean that the religion says that there is only one God named Allah. 'Allah' in Arabic means 'God'. So the actual translation is : 'There is no god but God. Muhammad is the messenger of God.' Does not seem so fanatic now, does it? Again, the concept of One God, whose messengers span religions, regions and beings.

     There are many such similarities between Hinduism and Islam, Islam and Christianity, Hinduism and Christianity, and the other religions of the world. For example,

Bhagavad Gita: They who worship me with true devotion are in me and I in them. (Ch. VI. 29)
New Testament, Bible: I in them, thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one. (John XVII. 23)

Bhagavad Gita: Be assured that he who worships me, perishes not. (Ch. IX. 31)
New Testament, Bible: He that believeth in me shall never perish, but shall have eternal life. (John III. 5)

Bhagavad Gita: I am the beginning and the middle and the end of things. (Ch. X. 20)
New Testament, Bible: I am Alpha, Omega, the beginning and the ending. (Rev. I. 8)

     We can go on and on with such similarities. But these similarities are not enough to ensure that religion, which is actually a way of life, is free to be practised by anyone and everyone in the world. Sadly, many religions have been interpreted horribly, to the point of exploitation and violence, examples of which need not be mentioned to the well informed reader.

     Then what needs to be done to maintain religious harmony in the world? Have one true religion? No, we have seen the terrorizing ways of ensuring that. Then can it be achieved by practising some of the principles mentioned in these books? After all, aren't these mere moral guidance? They do not have to replace the civil laws governing our countries. Nor will reading a religious book other than yours change your religion. Then why can't we follow the religion that suits us? If each religion claims in all its clichéd-ness that it is 'a way of life', why force someone at gunpoint to follow your religion just because you have interpreted your own religion terribly wrong?

     Religion guides us, sometimes even binds us together. It makes us disciplined and tolerant. No religion advocates killing others for salvation, or mistreating women, or inciting others into uncouth conduct. So please follow any of the 5 pillars of Islam even if you are a Christian, if it suits your ideals, or give charity out of your income if it gives you joy, even if you are a Hindu, or spread joy and cheer during Christmas even if you are a Muslim. 

     All said and done, every religion has evolved over a long period of time. There are many paths to attain enlightenment and only some of them are through God.