Richard visited Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, the beautiful Lord who appeared in the role of a man to teach by His own example. He was ideal in all respects-as a son, husband, student, friend, brother and a king. All of these attributes of Lord Rama were meant to teach us the responsibilities we have in our relationships and to endear our hearts to love the Lord.
Seeing many temples, palaces and thousands of pilgrims at Ayodhya, Richard felt he had entered a royal kingdom. Richard was however shocked to discover the actual site of Lord Rama’s birth to be an abandoned mosque, enclosed by coils of barbed wire fencing and patrolled by soldiers armed with rifles. Richard learnt that a Moghul conqueror had built a mosque in the place where Lord Rama’s magnificient palace stood, and since then Hindus and Muslims had battled over ownership of the land. Finally government had seized control and military guarded the site.
Richard recalled similar tensions brewing in Jerusalem at the disputed Dome of the Rock, which is held as sacred by Muslims, Jews as well as the Christians. In his travels looking for God, Richard had discovered unique beauty in all of the world’s religions. But he realized that hateful aggression in the name God is also a sad reality of this world. It is the way of those attached to external forms without understanding the essence. The essence is one, unconditional love of God. The symptoms of any true follower are faith, self-control, love and compassion. Richard watched in wonder a soldier in full military attire offering worship to the painting of Lord Rama at the disputed site.
Many people feel that the world would be better off without religion. Their sentiments can be understood considering that the modern times have seen large-scale violence in the name of religion. But is religion the only cause of violence? The last century witnessed people fighting over practically every issue, including nationalism, regionalism, language, even sports. Most of the wars in recent times, and throughout history at large, have been fought due to greed for wealth and power. Religion is just used as a convenient scapegoat by the powers that be to conceal their grossly materialistic motivations. If religion had been the singular cause of violence, then the countries where atheism was the national ideal should have been free from violence? Facts hardly agree with this conclusion, as can be seen from the history of the East bloc countries.
Another common question that arises is does the human being really need religion? The universally accepted goal of life is the quest for happiness. When man neglects or rejects religion, then, consciously or unconsciously, his conception of his own self becomes “a lump of chemicals which has by chance come alive”. The quest for happiness then degenerates into a savage struggle for carnal enjoyment. Such a conception of life is individually frustrating & globally disastrous.
The fundamental need of the individual is love; everyone wants to love and be loved. Radhanath Swami explains that real religion and spirituality imparts an individual with the vision to see the cosmos in the proper perspective and to live in harmony with it. Quoting the non-sectarian Vedic texts, he says that actual self is anti-material; our material body is animated by a spiritual particle called the atma or the soul. The supreme spiritual being who animates the entire cosmos is called the Paramatma or the Supersoul. And the relationship between the two – the soul and the Supersoul – is explained to be that of loving service, somewhat like that between a son and a father. This loving relationship exists eternally in the highest realm called the spiritual world. When the soul refuses to be in harmony with the will of the Supreme, this relationship is temporarily obscured. The soul is then placed in the realm of matter, which is the place where all of us currently reside. Radhanath Swami further explains that genuine spirituality is meant to awaken the soul to his original spiritual identity. This is affected through a harmonious combination of philosophy and religion, which constitute the two rails on which spirituality runs. The philosophy aspect of spirituality involves the study and understanding of matter, spirit and the controller of both – the Supreme. And the religion aspect involves the following of certain rules and regulations, which bring about the actual realization and experience of the spiritual realm.
Richard also read English translation of the Ramayana, containing the life and teachings of Lord Rama. He began to slowly find his heart irresistibly drawn towards personal qualities of the Lord. Reading about the loving exchanges between Rama and His devotees drew Richard’s mind closer to the path of devotion.
Source: http://www.radhanath-swami.net/is-religion-for-violence-or-peace/religion-violence-peace
