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Belief, Religion And Spirituality

Discussion in 'Snippets of Life (Non-Fiction)' started by HariLakhera, Nov 22, 2020.

  1. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    Belief,Religion, and Spirituality

    This is how Religion, Belief and Spirituality is defined by Wikipedia

    Religion= Cultural system of designated behaviors and practices. There are as many organized religions for as behaviors and practices.

    Belief = a state of mind that thinks in the existence of something without empirical evidence like Gods and ghosts. Each individual mind may think differently and conditioning helps to organize

    Spirituality = No clarity. Some 27 definitions with not much in common. Opposite of western materialism. A blend of humanistic psychology, mystical and esoteric traditions and eastern religions. Provides an alternative to institutionalized religion.

    Secularity = Not being exclusively allied with or against any religion

    So here we are. All the three suffer from unclarity and undesirability. Gandhi, Vivekananda, and Tagore were in many ways apart but global concept of Spirituality was crucial to them for transformation looking for traditions and science co exists.


    The easiest one to own is spirituality because it is like each to his or her own. Most importantly it cannot be organized.

    It is so confusing: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism?


    Religion manufactured, invented or constructed?


    Christianity and Islam will always be considered foreign religions in India?


    Hinduism again in linked to Indus valley civilization, foreigners who settled here. The original inhabitants were Dravidian?


    Western Countries treated us a backward because of our traditions?



    What do you say?
     
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  2. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Belief is an admission of lack of knowledge. When you say "I believe so" it is a euphemism for "I don't know".Religion and spirituality are two opposite poles. Religion is being imprisoned in a belief system with its attendant dogmas, rituals, and superstitions. Spirituality is a psychological state of freedom. Freedom from beliefs, the diktts of religion. It is a state of mind that makes you take the middle path on the road of life. Maintaining balance, looking at joys and sorrows with equanimity. It doesn't offer packaged solutions like religions. Actually, atheists who are free from belief can be more spiritual than theists.
     
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  3. kaluputti

    kaluputti Platinum IL'ite

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    "Western Countries treated us a backward because of our traditions?"
    All countries have culture, superstitions...all religions follow certain traditions...we only have to read about each country in depth or watch it's TV documentary shows.

    During centuries of oppression, we allowed ourselves to be looted , pushed from the being called 'the golden bird' to utter poverty, and then even after freedom, to be brainwashed into thinking that we are uncivilized, were fed false history ,lacked the modern means of communication to know anything outside of our own place, more than anything else, Hinduism accommodating one and all, and much more ....everything made us subservient & the westerners to think and treat us like that.

    Swami vivekananda, the patriotic saint, after the death of his. Guru, renounced the world and became a wandering monk, travelled from Kashmir to Kanyakumari on foot. As a teenager, hough he had a western education, was never disconnected from our rich culture and spiritual heritage and had been a keen reader of Veda, Upanishad, Purana and Bhagavad Gita and other scriptural texts.He is said to have wept on seeing the conditions prevalent in Colonial India. Like Gandhiji he decided to work for reviving the glory of India. But the the more pitiable situation is that we still have not come out of it.
     
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  4. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    I fully agree. Yet the question again arises, do spiritualists believe in a super power or it is just the opposite of materialism? There is no clear cut definition. Saying I believe in religion but do not believe in rituals is neither here nor there. Saying I believe in spiritualism but do not believe in super power is again neither here nor there, because spiritualism comes from the world spirit.
     
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  5. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    I think western countries have that opinion because of our orthodox rituals, cast system and so on. Even Vivekananda did not believe in those rituals. His Guru Ramakrishna Paramhansa was a Tantric and Vivekananda did not approve of his views. West applauded him for his modern views on spirituality which was close to their own thinking. He became famous in India only after his success in the west.
     
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  6. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Hariji as I have already said spirituality has nothing to do with belief. It is a psychologicl state.As an atheist I will hold back my videws on religion but spiritual state is what thr Buddha called Nirvana and Buddha didnot mention any God even once.
     
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  7. GregoriaBoul

    GregoriaBoul Silver IL'ite

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    It is always a good choice and a state of mind that makes you take the middle path on the road of life.
     
  8. Thyagarajan

    Thyagarajan IL Hall of Fame

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    :hello: Kudos to yet another brilliant & short crisp essay that gives rise to profound contemplation but cogent answers to your ultimate questions eludes the mind.

    Why only in India? So also many other countries. in Sri Lanka too Christianity and Hinduism are considered foreign religions. So also in China. Wonder what is the purport of this statement here!

    According to HisHoliness Kanchi Seer, the entire present Russia, Afghanistan, and part of China and south east Asia were all combined called Bharath boomi and there are evidences of presence of Hinduism in those countries from time immemorial.

    Every Russian is a Hindu.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_the_Seven_Rishis#:~:text=The Temple of the Seven,of the Big Dipper constellation

    Quote from my friend - blogger Karthik in quora (.) I have heard it from Kanchi Sankaracharya. He has devotees across the globe. Once, a Russian professor named Ribakov, who was a staunch devotee of Maha Periyava(Sankaracharya), came to India to Kanchipuram to the Sankara Mutt. He was very much attracted by the Hindu culture and he followed it. He worshipped Hindu gods, he wore chandan or vibuthi on his forehead and he performed all the rituals. Once, when he met Periyava at Kanchi Mutt and when he talked to him, he said that he want to live his entire life as Hindu. Maha Periyava asked him if the Russians speak a language mixed with Russian and Sanskrit, and the professor’s answer was “yes”. Periyava gave him the reason that during ancient times, Russia was called Rishivarsham. It was the place where Rishis like Yagnavalkiar ran Vedic research centres and It was the place where many Rishis performed Tapas. So, as the professor was from the land of Rishis, he was given the name “Rishi” by Maha Periyava.(.) unquote


    Western countries and Germany and few European countries stole valuable information both scientific and medicine and did enormous research with Sanskrit literature of ancient India. They had rehashed those truths and renamed it as if they had discovered or invented both in science and medicine.

    Hating Indians for traditions is disproved from the figures of Indians working in west and Europe by the quantum employed in research and engineering including space science. In fact they have awed by the sheer intelligence of Indians presentand past and ancient. How come Indian’s get HI B visas and eventually turn naturalised citizens of the adopted country?

    IMHO world has come this far, only because of varieties of religions old and new. Some new isms sprung up within every nation that proclaim liberation before or after prosperity!

    Who ever turns mouthpiece of charismatic leader forms great followers or disciples and start collecting cash for propagation and dissemination his or her favourite leaders’ dogmas paving way for new isms and monies collected used behind the curtain for purposes that harms others.
    This is manufactured religion.

    When a group suffers due to natural causes like tsunami deluge plague some one emerges as a leader and instruct what to do and not . He becomes star soon and his followers invent a religion and such men emerges as Demi god commanding milk abhishekam to his or her larger than life size cut outs. KUSHBU THE ACTRESS HAS A TEMPLE IN TRICHY and her followers started khushubism. Some other senior stars have their fans to do similar practices and they too form isms and we have isms in isms. This religion is more prominent in TN. THESE ARE CONSTRUCTED religions.

    Both theists atheists agnostics all centres around “I & mind “ which are researched beyond belief by Bhagwan Ramana Maharishi who avers religion and practises nothing to do with spirituality and a spiritual person need not be religious.

    Religion belief spiritual seemingly inter related but distinctly differs from each other. Beliefs can include superstitions and it may be atrocious as in African practices like abracadabra. Eisenstein states Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. All these in a nutshell put a man in utter confusion leading to be indifferent to all isms and be a social animal. Animals do not believe in any religion andam not sure whether they are thirst or atheist or agnostic.

    Sorry for this long FB. Just scrambled thoughts downloaded and feeling light .
     
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  9. Balajee

    Balajee IL Hall of Fame

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    Tyagu sir, science and religion are the opposite pole of a spectrum and the twain shall never meet. Religion is about believing and science is about questioning. Science in the true sense is opposed to the very idea of belief and refuses to accept anything without proof, without empirical evidence. Religion is all about believing dogmas and rituals passed on from generation to generation. Even if some religious leaders raise questions, it is within the framework of their particular belief systems.
     
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  10. HariLakhera

    HariLakhera Platinum IL'ite

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    Many thanks for your point by point feedback. I will try to express myself as convincingly as possible within ()


    ( I am happy that you could throw more light on the subject. The subject so vast and complex and already heaves and volumes have been written and will be written before we know the truth and this is the gift of reasoning given to us by someone we still do not know or need not know)

    Regards.
     
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