Love, Religion, and Humanity

Suchana Das Bandhan

Before you start reading, please keep in mind that the topic of this article is quite controversial. Some of you may not agree with my perspectives, and that is fine; I am not asking for everyone to approve my viewpoints. All I ask is that- please keep an open mind while reading. The content is not meant to offend anyone, therefore, I apologize if anything in this article upsets you.

When we are asked to describe love, we all have different answers and opinions on what love really is. As someone who is studying Neuroscience and Psychology, my definition of love is primarily based on the functions of neuro-transmitters and neural pathways in the brain (a lot of complex science)! But in general, most people agree on the fact that parents love their children, children love their parents, we love our friends, extended families, neighbours, pets, etc. Love knows no boundaries, no conditions. There are so many synonyms for love in so many different languages- Valobasha, Pyaar, Mohabbat, Prem, the list goes on.

Now, if love is such an amazing and universal feeling, why do we humans become so picky when it comes to who we love? Why does the talk of religion, age, gender, culture come up when two people want to spend their lives together? Are we not all humans? Don’t we all come into this world to make a difference, have a good life, and spend it with a special person?

Especially when it comes to the Bengali culture, parents become over-protective towards their children in terms of their marriage. That is a great thing; parents are supposed to be involved in their child’s marriage. But, if their child has chosen a partner of a different religion or background, why does it become an issue? Other families start pointing fingers and laughing, the parents become emotionally disturbed, the child falls into a dilemma of what to do- should they make their own life happy or their parents’ lives happy? Why does this situation have to occur? It’s not like the child has chosen an animal to get married to. It is still a human, just from a different belief system. And now the main topic, why are there so many different belief systems, even though they are all the same?

In the Bengali culture, the two religions that clash the most are Hinduism and Islam. Why does this happen? The answer is- because people do not read the Holy Books or scriptures, and have no idea what to follow, so they look at the media and make assumptions about almost everything. In the Upanishad (a Hindu sacred scripture), it is stated that “He is One. Of Him there are neither parents nor lord. There is no likeness of Him. His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye.” In the Vedas, it is written that “Na tasya pratima asti = There is no image of Him. Shudhama poapvidham = He is body-less and pure.” As we all know, Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world. The words in the Hindu Holy books have been repeated in the Bible for the Christians, Quran for the Muslims, and the Torah for the Jews. All of these Holy books convey the same message- that there is only one God. Muslims are known for chanting “La ilah illaAllah” which means there is no deity but God. These same words are written in Sanskrit in the Vedas, Upanishads, and yet, Hindus are creating deities and worshipping idols, despite being told not to commit idolatry by their own sacred books. There are more similarities in these religions than there are differences.

A lot of us (I hope) have watched the movie PK by Amir Khan. He portrayed how someone can simply paint a stone red and people will worship that, even though it is not God. So what are we all doing? We are creating statues out of clay and other materials, with human features. How do we know that our Gods and Goddesses have 5 fingers on each hand, 2 eyes, 2 ears, etc., just like an average human? If we cannot even stare straight at the Sun for too long, how can we stare at the God who has created everything in the earth? Why are we putting so much food and milk in front of statues instead of giving charity or feeding the homeless and the starving people? If we made the statues of God, does that mean we are God because we created them? How can we make little figures of the Almighty who has created everything in this world and beyond? Should we not pray to the Almighty God alone and thank Him for our lives and praise His work? Instead of going to the temples to buy expensive Sarees and gossiping and partying as if we are in a club, should we not be bowing our heads to the Unseen who has created us all?

Due to the media’s influence, people are becoming biased and only seeing things from one side of the story. Do you not realize that the media is twisting your thoughts to make you think certain ways? Timothy McVeigh killed 168 and injured over 600 people in 1995, and he is white; does that mean all white men are killers? The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was an extremist terrorist group who upheld Christian values; does that mean all Christians are terrorists? The ISIS is a militant group created by the USA government (please watch news documentaries where it is revealed that members of the ISIS are not even real Muslims, it is all a conspiracy to gain money and power); does that mean all Muslims are terrorists? How can we base our assumptions about an entire population based on the actions of a few people? Is it the religion that makes us good or bad or is it ourselves as a person that we are good or bad? Is it a rule that if you are a Hindu you are good but if you are Muslim you are bad? Does your “goodness” or “badness” depend on your religion or your personality? Please think about these questions when you judge someone. Remember, it is our choices that make us who we are, not our religions.

Where has humanity gone? We are constantly judging people based on their appearances, cultures, religions, etc. How can we be so judgmental towards God’s creations? Now that I have explained a few of the similarities in the religions, why is there still ongoing debate about who is right and who is wrong? When both religions are saying the exact same thing, why is there so much division? If a Hindu person and a Muslim person want to be together, the whole world turns against them and tries to stop them. Why? Are they both not humans? Do they both not love each other? And where is their label that they are Hindu or Muslim? If I show you two men, one man with a gun in his hand and the other man with a candy in his hand, can you tell me who is Muslim and who is Hindu just by looking at what is in their hand? No, you cannot. Having a gun or candy in your hand does not make you neither a Hindu nor a Muslim. There is no label on our bodies that define who we are. Most of us, regardless of religions, agree that there is one God, one Super-Power who created us all, who we pray to in different ways. If we can come to this agreement, then why do we badmouth the people whose children have chosen to marry someone of a different religion or background? Colour of skin, method of praying, why does any of this matter when two people are genuinely in love with each other and want to keep each other happy? Should the parents not be happy for their child? Shouldn’t the parents do what they can to make their child happy? Instead of breaking families, shouldn’t we be making families? Living happily ever after with each other in our society?

Please educate yourselves on the Holy books, the actual reality of the world, instead of listening to the media about who are the bad guys. We are all humans, we are not against each other. We should be working together, living together, trying to make peace. Please do not make wars. Please do not divide between religions or backgrounds, try to be a human, lend a hand, and be a brother/sister to others. It really hurts a person if they cannot be with someone that they love just because that person does not share the same beliefs. We all have the same features- eyes, hands, feet, etc.  Find the similarities between yourselves instead of finding the differences.