A religion is a set of practices and beliefs that help people create a better connection with a God or any supreme leader with the hope of living a healthy and prosperous life. Religion is something that can also establish a connection with other people (who have similar beliefs) and just makes people better human beings based on discipline and things like donating to charities and feeding the poor.
At the same time, religion is also something that has separated people from the outside world because of individuals saying things like, “If you don’t join our religion, God will not appreciate you.” It has led to many religions saying that their version of God is the only right version, but at the same time, there are over 4,200 religions in the world how can anyone claim that their God is the only right one? I do agree that there is one God, but I believe that all the religions in the world lead to that one God because every religion share similarities within their beliefs and customs and also because when thinking about it, everyone thinks of the same qualities in that supreme leader.
To begin, religions lead back to the same God because God is thought as pretty much the same figure in every religion. When people think of God, what characteristics are present? Think about it, in every religion, God is always presented as the supreme being who created the world. He wants people to love and respect Him, and He gives people the link to a better life. I don’t think I have heard of any instance in where God is not an influential being and hates and despises other people.
Who is God?
Sure, there are people who think God is not the same because of the certain requirements that He wants his followers to do and how people perceive the appearance of God differently, but at the same time, people don’t know exactly what God really looks like. Because we are all born into different landscapes, different environments, and into different cultures, we see God as something similar to what we see around us. Therefore, God in each region of the world has set rules to abide by in their environments to protect them from possible harm.
For example, Hinduism restricts its followers from eating beef because cow is sacred and Islam restricts its followers from eating pork because it was considered sloppy and dirty to consume. I don’t think it’s a good idea to kill God’s gift to the people. God may show different standards for each religion, but He is just trying to make people love and respect Him and He just wants them to have a healthy life. He is the same God who gives out standards, but just puts out different standards to help people live a better life in their environment. God may be perceived differently in some religions, but He is still presented as the same figure in every religion.
However, despite there being multiple religions being followed by people around the world, the rituals, customs, festivals and celebrations within each seem to have overlapping methods and ideas. Pandit Dasa, a celebrated meditation expert who has dedicated his life to learning about the similarities and differences about religions, explains, “Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset on Ramadan” and Catholics fast on lent and on Good Friday to reduce the focus on our physical bodies and to concentrate on our spiritual selves and our relationship with God.”
Therefore, the evidence strongly suggests that the traditions that different religions follow must also be similar.
Think about it, would God really be happy if people forced others to join their religion through inhumane acts? Why would God encourage behavior where the lives of innocent people are at stake just because their opinions are different? Each individual is different from another. Each culture’s identity is different from the others. Yet the morals and values being passed down through all religions teach us to use our differences to spread peace and happiness around the world. Religion is a tool that was not created to cause chaos, war, and blood but to help everyone see that our core values and intentions are all the same despite who we are and where we are from.
Rijal is currently at Renton, Washington, USA.
