Religion has been existent since mankind and has always been the driving force for our actions . It is so strange that there are so many religions and the corresponding beliefs in place and most of them claim that their path is to the road to divine blessings of the almighty. Such has been the affects of these religious practices that there have been wars in the name of religion for centuries and to some extent we see rifts and fights in the name of religion even today.
It makes one wonder what is right and what is wrong. Is going to a temple with folded hands in front of a lord the right way to worship? , or bowing your head in front of almighty at a mosque, or a gurudwara.or a temple …the list goes on. There are sacred places of each and every religion and there are innumerable visitors thronging to these places. Now isn’t it true that each of these places has that something different about them that people go there in huge numbers, be it the Makkah and Madina for the Muslims, Amarnath and Shirdi for Hindus, various churches which the Christians visit; we all would agree that there is a certain kind of divine presence in each of these places that people find their wishes fulfilled ,hearts and minds cleansed and sins forgiven. Isn’t the huge list enough fact that God or Allah or Bhagwan isn’t some one who is bounded by the walls of a mosque, temple or a church. Isn’t it still clear that god is still listening to you, even if you call yourself a Hindu, or a Muslim or a Christian or Buddhist etc? The only explanation I have for this could be that we haven’t realized or understood the almighty god, his grace and his divinity even after years of existence of the mankind.
But then there are other people who believe that the concept of god was created by mankind as an explanation for all the things man never understood. The diseases, floods, calamities and anything which has harmed mankind where looked upon to as the wrath of gods anger. Today with the help of technology there has been a better understanding of most things, but what still makes us believe that god is not just a concept is the very idea of creation of this world which is so perfect and harmonious. Each and every thing here has a purpose of its own and is been doing that for years. The rising and setting of the sun and the moon, the blue sky, the green trees all seem to have settled down in a particular harmonious existence. Can we say that all this is just a chance, because a few gases mixed? Or some things happened just by co incidence? The creation of man was just a fluke? Each and every part of our body has a meaning, a job, to enhance our chances of survival, is this all a fluke? Or the creation of the almighty, who with his great powers has created a masterpiece called the world.???
These questions if answered can change the face of humanity in a good way or a bad way and probably that’s the reason why these answers are still not with us, because it would disturb the harmony, the balance we live in. Remember we need both the good and the bad to coexist to maintain this balance.
While we ponder on the same questions which the mind has asked for years and years, let’s get back to religious places. Of all the stories behind these places and explanations as to why these places are special, there is one thought of rational explanation which seems to be the most convincing. The most striking thing one notices about the sacred places is the peace, the silence. Probably it’s the atmosphere which cultivates a desire in us to work to fulfill our wishes and hence we feel our prarthanas or duas or prayers have been answered. This leads to one conclusion that whatever it may be about the name of the religions or the way of prayers or your beliefs….the creator resides in the heart of his creation.
