We don’t need a religion which tells us what to believe but prohibits us to question. We don’t need a religion which insists without any proof that the whole world must follow it. – Maria Wirth
Before answering this question, let’s first find out what we need.
We need to know how to live life in the best possible way to be happy, healthy, confident, strong and capable, and how to live in harmony with others and nature.
And we need to find answers to important, basic questions, like: What is the purpose of life? Where did we come from? Where will we go from here? What is this world made of? And most important: Who are we?
Our present day science doesn’t give us the necessary guidance, nor does it give answers to these questions, as it still is in its infancy exploring consciousness.
Our conscience is no doubt helpful in living a good, moral life. Yet it does not help us much in diving into the mysteries behind this universe and our own persons.
Religion is considered the authority in this realm, but it has gravely failed us. In fact, it may have even deceived us right from the start less than 2000 years ago. By “religion” I mean here the two biggest religions—Christianity and Islam—which have almost four billion members. Both claim to be the only “true” religion and won’t allow any debate on this. So naturally, other traditions are considered as inferior, even if they are listed as “religions”.
Why do I say that religion has deceived us? Because these two religions claim that they know the full truth, but how can there be two different full truths? Moreover, how can religion, which is meant to help humanity, turn out to be most harmful for humanity—with millions mentally enslaved and even killed in its name?
So do we need religion?
No. We don’t need a religion which tells us what to believe but prohibits us to question. We don’t need a religion which insists without any proof that the whole world must follow it. We don’t need a religion which tells us to look down on others for the sole reason that they are not members of “our” religion. And definitely we do not need a religion which condones or even encourages killing of others in the name of religion—which has happened far too often over many centuries.
So if neither science nor religion can help us what to do?
Luckily the knowledge how to live life in the best possible way is available and also the answers to the above basic questions. It was “seen” by the ancient Rishis and memorised and preserved in the brains of long lines of Brahmin families over many thousands of years. This knowledge does not have any of the above mentioned flaws. It makes sense, encourages questioning and does not divide humanity.
I mean the Vedas of India.
We do need Vedic knowledge. It is vast, too vast to mention here. It even includes what to eat or how to conduct the affairs of the state. Yet the most important point is this:
The subtle essence in all is one and the same. The best description is sat-chit-ananda—being blissfully aware. This is the real “thing”. It is the truth. And we are one with it.
To discover this is the goal of life and its fulfilment.- Maria Wirth Blog, 20 Nov 2017
» Maria Wirth is a German psychologist who has lived in Uttarakhand for decades.
Filed under: india | Tagged: abrahamic religions, intolerance, religious intolerance, religious pluralism, rishis, vedic religion | 1 Comment »
