Peace through Religion

A lot of individuals are deeply religious. They go to the place of worship regularly, perform fasts and rituals with great sincerity and are very particular about following certain principles related to their religion. Some people however do these things with a motive. It is either fear of divine retribution if these rituals are not performed. Or it is the lure of material benefits that accrue by performing these rituals. For example, if I do not do this ritual, I will be punished. Or if I do this ritual I will be rewarded by 'God' with this. Well, to each his own. But I do not subscribe to these lines of thinking. The 'divine element', whatever form it takes cannot have passions that mortals have. This 'force' cannot be pleased or angered by us doing or not doing certain things. These are misconceptions that have been foisted on the laity of different religions by the powers-that-be. For me, religion is intensely personal. Rituals are a means to be at peace with myself. Because I feel 'pure' before, during and after them. For me rituals are not a way of pleasing any 'God' or getting material benefits. They are not even a means to cure me of my health problems. The entire experience of religious rituals is a cleansing of my mind. To be at peace with myself. taken from: http://stanford.wellsphere.com/kidney-failure-article/peace-through-religion/256410