Wikipedia: A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. Many religions have narratives, symbols, and sacred histories that aim to explain the meaning of life, the origin of life, or the Universe.
“Indian religion has always felt that since the minds, the temperaments and the intellectual affinities of men are unlimited in their variety, a perfect liberty of thought and of worship must be allowed to the individual in his approach to the Infinite.” – Sri Aurobindo.
ENTHEOS – Enthuse about God (Theos), is a platform for interfaith dialogue which accepts different articles from our contributors and viewers on the topic on our fundamental oneness and rediscovery of the spirituality within.
Have I spoken this day of aught else? Is not religion all deeds and all reflection? – Kahlil Gibran. Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself – George Carlin.
youtube: What is Sanatana Dharma, Sri Aurobindo, 1909
link: God Without, God Within – Vrekham, Satprem, Dalal et al, SAMA Integral Yoga Playlist
youtube: Set Man Free – J Krishnamurthi Playlist
youtube: Why So Many Gods, Who Am I – Hinduism Playlist
See the Hindu religion is the only one that allows you to think of God in a variety of different ways. Not just father in heaven, like Christianity. Mommy in heaven. Why not mommy? Mommies are sweeter, kinder, cuddlier – Jay Lakhani
Christianity taught us love, Buddhism spiritual discipline, Hinduism spiritual democracy and Islam social order. – Religion, Shasa, 2017
Grant him the understanding that each man is free to choose his religion, that none is superior to the other, that each man understands the will of God according to his own nature and the truth of his being.Harmony Movement Prayer – Shasa, Nov 2015
Dear Theist, I hope someday you’ll understand my love for God. It’s no different than my love for Life, and all that is in it. My religion is no different from yours – it’s just that I can understand yours, but you can’t mine. And because you can’t understand it, you don’t think its the same as yours. And since your so sure your’s is correct, you think mine is wrong. Sweetheart, its all the same – religion just means love of life! – Shasa, 2005
We can either approach this new world understanding by clearing away the encrustations of religion, or ignoring it altogether and coming up with new paradigms – Spirituality instead of Religion, and a Cosmic Divine instead of a God. Whatever we call it, man has discovered Liberty, Equality and Freedom and no-one has forgotten the universal message of Love, borne by Krishna, Buddha, Christ and Mohammed. We all have a value system that is becoming more and more accepting and tolerant of one another. – Reconciling Quality, Shasa, Aug 2015
What with the fast-pacedness and our inability to have wholistic, meaningful lives, we’ve allowed ourselves to be influenced by forces we should have heeded not. Let’s unblock ourselves, focus on connecting with the primal forces, the healing energies, the cosmic love. Let’s all agree to leave the bodies of our Churches, Temples and Mosques, when necessary, but to cling more tightly to the spirit of that universal message. – Islam Not Atheism, Shasa, Oct 2013
And this guy has had enough. and he yells at us to stop. But they’ve got him lock stock and barrel. For now he becomes the devil, come to play tricks on us and cheat us of our place in Heaven. at least so they make us believe. – Religious Appeal, Shasa, Feb 2005
At the core of our website is a belief in the universality that exists in all religions. As they passed through the dark ages, these all became encrusted with untruths and have been diluted by unscrupulous people with ulterior motives. As we become one world and continue living in a new Age of Illumination, it falls upon us to remove the crud and learn to live in peace and harmony. Or, to put it in the words of Aurobindo:
THE WORLD abounds with scriptures sacred and profane, with revelations and half-revelations, with religions and philosophies, sects and schools and systems. To these the many minds of a half-ripe knowledge or no knowledge at all attach themselves with exclusiveness and passion and will have it that this or the other book is alone the eternal Word of God and all others are either impostures or at best imperfectly inspired, that this or that philosophy is the last word of the reasoning intellect and other systems are either errors or saved only by such partial truth in them as links them to the one true philosophical cult.
The major surviving religions are (in order of appearance): Hinduism (Vedic Belief or Sanatana Dharma, read as knowledge), Paganism ?, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity (read as love) and Islam (read as peace).
There are also smaller religions like Sikhism and Jainism which are thought of more as offshoots of Hinduism. Please read this article which throws some light on the caste system in Hinduism.
Our writing is aimed at expounding the core beliefs and helping others understand it from an integration perspective, as Swami Vivekananda puts it: upon the banner of every religion will soon be written in spite of resistance: “Help and not fight,” “Assimilation and not Destruction,” “Harmony and Peace and not Dissension.”
We leave you with some quotes (all prefixed by * are from wikiquote).
* Religion is a great force — the only real motive force in the world; but what you fellows don’t understand is that you must get at a man through his own religion and not through yours. – George Bernard Shaw
* All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man’s life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom. – Albert Einstein
* have you considered any of the other major religions? They’re all pretty much the same.
* Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.
* So many gods, so many creeds — So many paths that wind and wind While just the art of being kind Is all the sad world needs.
* Such religion as there can be in modern life, every individual will have to salvage from the churches for himself.
* Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned.
* Religion, in its purity, is not so much a pursuit as a temper; or rather it is a temper, leading to the pursuit of all that is high and holy. Its foundation is faith; its action, works; its temper, holiness; its aim, obedience to God in improvement of self, and benevolence to men.
* All noblest things are religious,— not temples and martyrdoms only, but the best books, pictures, poetry, statues, and music.
* Human things must be known to be loved; but Divine things must be loved to be known. – Blaise Pascal
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