Religion And Spirituality (Reflection)

Religion is irrelevant

If it isn’t part of social fabric. 

Spirituality is irrelevant

If it is not conscious of unifying principle of Universe.

God is irrelevant

If we can’t feel It’s influence upon our life.

Reflections Upon Visits To Ancient temples

This time upon our visit to India we visited many ancient temples with my brother and Bhabi. Upon my arrival to U.S. my son asked “ Did you feel spirituality in those temples. I simply said “no”.  Adding that I like to visit those ancient temples for their architecture, and to connect with our cultural heritage. Reading the history of those temples I marvel at the vision and experiences of those highly spiritualized saints who realized something which we don’t and how their spiritual revelations shaped our ways of worship and inspired the creations of these marvelous places of worship where art, music, science, mathematics and spiritual Sadhna all were fostered equally.

Those temples are the monuments of different times when religion, culture and politics were all mixed together. Everyday life was build around those temples. Visiting these places always reenforces the thought in me that spiritually is not something apart and different from everyday life. One must feel it either everywhere or no where. Now a days even religion and spirituality are being divided. It is like dividing the soul and body. To me it stems from our divisive nature. 

In religion and spirituality much stress is laid over oneness. Bowing for ten seconds to deity’s  darshan with thousands of devotees in line I may not feel it, walking on streets I may not feel it but as soon as I take a little time to think of the inner, inherent singular energy of those people, circling the temple grounds with me I understand a little more about our spiritual thought. Devotion to one omnipresent God with many forms. The idea of our connectivity to each other. It is a charge filled with deep emotions. At times positive or negative or simply neutral. My spirituality depends on how I respond to it and connect to it any where or everywhere. Looking at those temples I connect with my past heritage but looking at traffic I connect to those people sitting behind those wheels. Beyond my family, beyond my friends a strong positive energy of billion people cutting and flowing through air above the dust and pollution or whatever negative emotions one wants to place in there. It surpasses all! It is an experience rooted in strong belief of unity of our culture and religion with every day life. Perhaps it was the same thought that created Char Dhams in four corners of India. We visited one ‘Rameshwaram’ in our recent trip! Blessed me!

3. 6. 2018