Religion is a mysterious force.

It is both positive and negative

simultaneously. It gives peace to the soul, but at the same time it
destroys peace as well. Religion is responsible for great civilizations
and awesome architecture, but conflicts among religions destroy not
only those cultural monuments but also the human race itself.
Religion's power comes from its total irrationality and a blind
concept of loyalty. Almost every religion except some Eastern ones
claim that each has the Truth and every other religion or faith is
misguided. Often an argument is placed forth that there can't be
more than one Truth. 'There is one Truth and there are several other
misrepresentations of Truth,' they say.

When I was in graduate school, a professor of anthropology gave a

definition of religion as it is understood in the contemporary world.
He said 'religion' is what I practice and 'cult' is what my enemy
practices. The Jews thought that the non-Jews (whom they called
Gentiles) worshipped a false God, and to this day they don't think
that Jesus Christ is a messiah from Yahweh, although Christianity
became a major world religion. The Moslems think that there is no
God but Allah. Sects within Hinduism think either Vishnu or Siva is
the supreme God. The Buddha said that there was no God, but
unfortunately he himself was elevated to Image worship along with
a host of other Buddhist Gods/Deities.

In our contemporary civilization the common man cares less for God
or religion. The attendance in church/synagogue/temple/mosque is
relatively small when compared to the population who are
indifferent to religion. The danger for society comes from the
believers, particularly the fundamentalists. If we objectively look at
the fundamentalist movements in religion, it will be apparent they
are the troublemakers. They have very little tolerance towards other
faiths and live in the belief that they alone got it right. More often
than not, the fundamentalists are obsessed on their respective Gods
and they spent their entire lives ridiculing other faiths and try to
convert non-believers. A classic example in our time is Bin Laden
who calls the Christians and Jews 'infidels'. Bin Laden thinks it is the
duty of every Moslem to wage a holy war against the infidels.

Although most religions may speak of tolerance and acceptance of

other faiths, there are deep problems. One's faith is ingrained in the
blood and even penetrates one's bone marrow. It is emotionally
impossible for a Jew to accept Jesus, or a Moslem to accept Krishna.
As I pointed out earlier, religion is irrational; you and I are tied to a
particular faith because of past life memories.

I am glad that in the some countries we have evolved a political

system that separates the church from the state. Such a separation
is indeed the beginning of a New World Order. I pray the formless
and nameless Almighty will do some miracles to make this
separation to happen all over the world.

In the final analysis, the ideal would be to define the Almighty as

Light and Love. I think the above definition of God would help to lay
the foundation for a Universal Religion. I would be delighted if the
United Nations would consider promoting this World Religion of Love
and Light. - Siva Baba