“Religion is regarded by the common people as true,
by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.”

—Seneca the Younger

It is an irony in the times of today, religion which was taught to us as a way to enlightenment and self-discovery has been used as a tool for causing destruction and taking people’s lives.

Religion shows us the path to spirituality, provides answers, living in harmony with our inner self and others. It gives us the strength and hope to overcome our troubled times.

It is a pity that in a country like India where so many religions co-exists in harmony, there are fundamentalists who create havoc in the name of the religion that leads to communal clashes and humanity is made to pay. Very often, it is the political will that determines the fate of religion. All this appears strange in a land where all the festivities are celebrated by people from all walks of life.

No religion talks about war bringing peace. People, who fight in the name of religion, don’t know much about the same. We use religion to hate each other and not the other way round. Nowadays, faith has taken a back seat as everyone is trying to project themselves as saviors of the community, when the fact is they have their own hidden agendas. Some do it to seek the vote bank and some for personal vendetta.

Somewhere, we are guilty for all this as we turn a blind eye to what is happening around us. The truth of the hour is unless we do something about this, it will keep going on. Religion does not talks about which caste or community you belong to. It merely shows us the path.

It’s for us to decide how we follow it, by faith or by motive?