Wednesday 19 October 2005

Whats it all about then?



Well back to the drudgery err I mean challenges of work after a welcome break.

I often wonder about the world's major religions. I mean if I were born in Pakistan I would most probably be Muslim. I would think that the way of Islam is the ONLY way to reach God. If I were born in India I'd be Hindu, in Tibet - I'd be a Budhist, in Israel - a Jew and in Texas a born again Christian. In each case the dogma would tell me that their belief system is the one correct way e.g. the only path to salvation is through Jesus Christ.

Being from Northern Ireland, I have seen how divisive religion can be and that is just within Christianity! The way I see it is that each of the afore mentioned paths teach compassion,patience and tolerance for others and the detachment from worldly posessions. It reminds me of this description of the world's religions

A blind person who touches a small part of an elephant (e.g. the ear, the tail, or the foot) experiences a very different piece of the elephant than a person who touches a different piece. Theyre are all touching the same elephant but experiencing different parts of it. The same holds for world religions as different ways of experiencing the transcendent.

A.

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