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Summary of Question:	What Is The True Value Of Religion?
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Wednesday, 3/20/2002 7:34 PM MDT

Hello to all.I have a simple question which i suspect may not render a simple answer.Why do we have religion?It seems in the world today that religion is the sole or main reason for many conflicts and war.Ireland,Palestine and Former Yugoslavia are all the most recent examples of long-term warfare and atrocities all in the name of religious beliefs.The list of previous religious conflicts is endless and I will refrain from going into them.

I live by 2 rules which have stood me in good stead...treat others the way you would wish to be treated and secondly, do not hurt anybody in any way.
I consider myself to be a good person with a great life.However, I see friends,relatives and others in my life who constantly do others and themselves wrong and do hypocritical things, but yet feel that by going to a Gurdwara once a week or even 5,6 or 7 times a week that they are 'good' people.Why can't they and others live a life ruled by common sense rather than ruled by a belief system that many of them flaunt and disregard anyway.Let's face it, if all of the religions were successful, as most claim to be often preaching the value of forgiveness and love,the world would be a very peaceful place...but it is not.If people would only listen to reason and common sense, their lives would be less hampered and more enjoyable.
It is possible to be a good person without religion.
Finally, I also believe in the theory that all religion is borne out of human fear of death.We are the only living creatures on this earth that are fully aware of their own mortality...this is why some of us felt the need to make ourselves BELIEVE, or live in blind hope without actual proof, that there is something better out there for us...something with a bigger plan and meaning....something or someone who will make everything seem worthwhile...God even.
Maybe,after all is said and done,just maybe....we are just like every other thing on this earth...we are born,we live for a while,then we're gone.
The circle of life.Simple.
Thanks for your time and thoughts.

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Ahhh..religion...the great paradox of humanity.

All religions begin with a person or a group of people who have found something extraordinary about the human condition-which is, if we look deeply into the nature of reality and our selves, we find the One Spirit at the heart of it all. Actually, this connection with the One Spirit helps a person overcome the fear of death-and that is spirituality's incredible power. When one really sees the TRUTH of reality, death no longer has any meaning. Change comes, transition happens, but death ceases to exist.

Now-people are people and what happens is that out of a spiritual practice to experience the One Spirit comes a relgion-and religion is very different from spirituality. Religion is a structure- a set of beliefs, a social heirarchy-that, ideally, should preserve spiritual truth and experience for future generations. But in the Kali Yug, ego distorts everything and the worst distortion is when ego uses religion to exploit others, dominate others, feel superior to others, steal, kill, etc. and so forth. Religions are simply used as an excuse for inexcuseable behavior and one response to this has been-well, why bother with religions at all?

Here's the problem. If you get rid of religion, ego would still exist and people would find other excuses to act superior, dominate, exploit and kill each other. Religion isn't the problem. Ego is. And the paradox lies in the fact that every religion houses some spiritual truth that, if honestly practiced and followed, would rid people of their ego. So-spirituality can heal us, but religion can actually makes the problems worse. Isn't God insane that He made it this way?

Many people are coming to the conclusion that we need to find a way to be spiritual, not religious, for exactly the reasons you are discussing in your letter. It's about the way we treat one another, not about what we believe. And the funny thing is - this is exactly what the Siri Guru Granth Sahib teaches. Guru Nanaak said in Japji no one will ever truly know God's extent, so don't make "knowing what God is" it the focus of your practice. The SGGS also says, "If you want to see God, break no one's heart." So-you are living as a very excellent spiritual Sikh and don't worry about religious Sikhs because at least if they show up to Gurdwara 6 or 7 times a week-God is giving them a chance to wake up and see the world differently.

Well-I hope this has given you another perspective on the value of spirituality, at any rate.

Wahe Guru Ji Ka Khalsa,
Wahe Guru Ji Ki Fateh.

Sincerely,

GPK