Religious People Can Make This Earth Peaceful

It is a historically known fact that more killings and violence have occurred in the name of religion than all other causes put together. From time immemorial, so called religious leaders have exploited the religious sensibilities of people, resulting in wars that have killed the weak and the innocent.

The war of Karbala, crucification of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice of the Sikh Gurus serve as examples of religious fanaticism which has only given birth to more hatred, violence, revenge, intolerance and in more recent times, terrorism. Human beings have forgotten about the commonalities that bind them, and have instead built walls that are so tight and that define them into groups known as Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs, and not as one creation of the supreme Lord. The demolition of the Babri Masjid mosque in Ayodhya and the violence that followed, is a ghastly example of the deeds of misguided fanatics showing religious fervor in the most irreligious ways. They have degraded the lofty ideals for which Lord Rama is worshipped. It is a shame that religious leaders could not arrive at such a moment to present a amicable solution to the crisis.

In our scriptures, there is a story of war between a Goddess and Raktsabeej demon. It has been said that as long as she beheaded him and his blood fell on the earth, another Raktsbeej was born instantly. After beheading him she drank all his blood, which meant that she ingested the poison of hatred to end the hate monger. So it is the duty of all heads of religions to devor the poison of hate themselves and to teach love and tolerance to all people. If you open any religious text, there is no mention anywhere of the word hatred. All the holy books preach love, forgiveness, peace and tranquility.

Let us put our hearts and minds together and bring all people under the one umbrella of their own humanity, and show youths such as suicide bombers who are read to give their lives to kill people, the right way to live. I am absolutely convinced that no missile, bomb or bullet can end terrorism. Only correct religious teachings of mutual tolerance and love can end the ugly face of terrorism and bring peace and harmony on this earth.