I think the deep, profound, meaning of all religions is, very very deep down, the correct one. I believe that, deep down, all religions come from the same understanding, and the same message that wants to be transmitted: that there is something higher than the material world, that there is a creating force, that this creating force manifests through love (be aware that my definition of love may not be exactly the same as yours, more on that). And that it can be perceived best without all the external noises and external distractions.

That is all true. Religions attempt to keep, protect and disseminate this great truth as much as possible. And that is beautiful, however, it is done the WRONG WAY. For so many reasons. First of all, I know many ”religious people” (common people, not priests for example) and I am saddened when, following my basic question related to why the believe in the Christian god, I very often receive answers such as ”well because my parents believe in god so so do I”, ”all my family and friends are Christians and I do not want to be an outcast, I want to fit in”, ” I am scared to know that we are all alone so I prefer to believe there is something else”. There is no real feeling or deep truth, just blind tradition. The way that ”faith” in a ”god” is transmitted is, in fact, all wrong. Very few individuals actually search deep inside themselves for the meaning of god (which is what spiritual people do, more on that later), most just blindly follow religions, simply depending on which country they are born in, which literally dictates ways of life and instills dogmas without really explaining what is behind them, mostly attempting to justify them on as ”written in the Bible/Koran” etc etc. And people get brainwashed in believing that that is the truth. By nature and survival mechanisms, human beings greatly adapt to their environment, and will extremely often take what all parents and peers take for granted and as true for granted and truth as well, without many questions asked. Why? well, to be accepted for sure and feel part of a group, and also because they don’t even realize that there are things they need to question. For example how many of you even asked yourselves why do people shake hands when meeting? Why do we touch glasses before drinking? You don’t really know why people do it, but most everybody does it, so you do it too. Of course there are sociological reason behind it, that may have been somewhat understandable in the medieval age, but unless you are Putin and always on the watch for people who try to kill you, there is little reason now, yet people still do it, and not even a thought on why. And this the same for most common and accepted beliefs.

So, religions, especially in states that give it the upmost importance, aim at forcing people (in worst cases, but mostly strongly recommends) to unquestionably believe in a god and to follow certain behavior rules. No need to search for it inside yourself, just know that is the way it is. What happens is a total mess. The true meaning of religions gets completely lost, people blindly follow these rules totally missing the point on the real reason why, follow what is written in books that have been for sure wrongly translated over and over again, are mostly unhappy and not aligned with what they really would like to do with their life, and simply do not get it.

Also, unfortunately, religion is being used by rulers to control and shape individuals as well. Installing fear, through an external god that will punish you if you do not behave a certain way, is an easy way to ensure people blindly and out of fear act in a certain way. Stigma is also very powerful, how many people feel almost forced to get married (which is a religious ritual) in order to avoid the shame from family and peers of being unmarried at a certain age? How many people, in certain groups, are rejected by their peers of family if do not practice religion?

How many people are stuck living a life that they do not want, that they do not understand, that they force on themselves, without even realizing it? How many people start feeling frustrated and lost, and manifest these emotions through anger, rigidness, lack of kindness and lack of understanding for themselves and their family? That is the opposite of what religion was all about, but everybody forgot it and people are just stuck in a vicious cycle.

And now…what is spirituality? ahh… big question. I would say that, simply put, it is the intimate and personal search for the truth. It is not made of dogmas, it is not made of strict rules dictated by an another person or institutions, is it a personal journey. Of course, there are many tips and recommendations that have been transmitted through books and ancient practices that aim at helping the discovery of this truth. But these are supposed to be recommended and not imposed, otherwise even spiritual practices can become dogmatic and inflexible and can miss the point of the actual truth.

And so what is the truth and how do you get there? ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 🙂