Religion and Philosophy

“When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That’s my religion.”
-Abraham Lincoln

This quote by the famous American president best defines religion according to me. Religion is a set of beliefs and practices that one follows in his daily life. It does not need the armrest of a god. There are an ample amount of examples in the past and the present to supply this statement with the proof. These are best known as non- theistic religions. For instance, Buddhism and Jainism are two of the most followed religions in the world but they do not cater to the idea of a superior being or god. Most of their practices are based on their philosophy about how to live a better life. They talk about cessation of suffering and the ways to attain it. Most of their teaching focuses on living harmoniously and compassionately in this world and not achieve an afterlife or heaven. Though nothing remains peaceful for too long in this world. Fanaticism catches up with every belief like a growing termite in a book-shelf and it only rests when it has destroyed everything good.

A community best known for the principles of peace and harmony has appalled the world with one of the most gruesome incidents of ethnic cleansing in the world. Rohingya Muslims have become one of the most persecuted communities in Myanmar. The doctrine of non-violence preached by the Buddhist thinkers seems to have lost its touch in the present world when we come across such incidents. This is just one of the many instances of twisting the meaning of the word ‘Religion’.

Religion is perhaps the most misunderstood word in the present world. The biggest irony of this word is that everyone wants a god for their religions but no one wants to follow the preachings of that god. Around the world, different religions are being used by people in power to accomplish their own goals. They divide and sympathize with the majority making the minority an antagonist in the real world. While talking about the present day conflicts due to religion one can’t deny the fact that it’s a war of ideologies, words and holy sermons. You can take out the guns, bombs, and terrorists out of the equation but how would you take out the ideas in their brain. When looking at the present situation of religious fanatism one needs to remember that it’s easy to kill a person but not easy to kill an idea. An idea multiplies. It conquers.

We as philosophers and thinkers need to see that the right idea multiplies. The right idea conquers. Religion is a choice, the one which is often carried as the legacy to our future generations. So when we are choosing an ideology on the basis of religion we need to ponder upon the subject that would it be relevant in the future world. Are these principles flexible or rigid? I believe, no principles should be made if they are not able to inculcate in our daily life. So before choosing a religion and adopting its principles, we need to see the practicality of those principles. Don’t adopt a practice that you can’t follow. If only people adopted teachings and preachings of their religion without any ruining modifications, the world would have been a better place.

Written by:

Yashi Sharma

Student of BA (Hons) Philosophy, Year III

Disclaimer – The views expressed in this blog are the author’s own and does not represent the ideology of the whole organization