The Virus of Ignorance

I wrote about divine revelation last week, on Revelation Day. This week I'm going to explore why religion can inspire huge swaths of humanity towards greatness, and paradoxically, it is also the reason for violence between believers and non-believers.

Religion unlocks the spiritual dimension in all of us. A little bit of religion can be a dangerous thing, because once the spirit is unleashed, it thinks that it is the mightiest force in the universe.  Like first love, religious feelings can feel very right.  If these passions are channelled towards the right direction, great things can come about. A person can be inspired to greatness, with all his good qualities amplified. Cathedrals and civilisations are built this way.

But if the religious person has insecurities and prejudices, coupled with ignorance, then that little bit of spiritual awakening can turn a person into a bigot. It is easy to be carried away by the romance of religion--that sense of superiority and empowerment that one draws from a community of believers. Religion sometimes short-circuits the mind and turn a person into an ugly zealot, capable of hatred and violence of the most terrible kind.

A religious person who exhibits saintly virtues is one whose innate goodness has been made manifest through the practise religion. Religion accentuates and transform them into powerful qualities that make these souls charismatic leaders of their communities.  But because all humans are ultimately flawed, these elevated beings, if and when they fall, they fall hard.

Good religious leaders are never attention seekers. They are sought after because of their wisdom. But they have the self-awareness and humility to know the limited extent of their knowledge and influence.  They know that truth is strong enough to stand on its own without needing to shout from the pulpit. Wisdom is a tree that bears fruit a the right time. It is not a volcano that erupts violently with fire and brimstone.

All religions are man-made institutions. They are built to perpetuate some spiritual truths, which are not the monopoly of any group or sect.  Like different schools of art or music, they celebrate different aspects of the aesthetic impulse. It is also no surprise that all religions inspired great works of art and architecture. Religion expands the realm of consciousness and offers us glimpses of beauty and insight, that transcends the seemingly meaningless world of the mundane.

The true spiritual seeker, like an astute connoisseur of art, seeks and celebrates all religious traditions, appreciating them as diverse expressions of the divine spirit. Doctrinal differences are nothing but a testimony to the richness of human experience and our feeble attempts to express its verisimilitude.

Religion, art, culture and politics are part of the humanity. And as human beings, we live to socialise, philosophise and romanticise. Sometimes we get caught up in the passionate fervour of it all; sometimes we bicker foolishly over trivialities and other times we are completely blinded by our intolerance and ignorance that we are driven to settle them with blood. 

Sadly, ignorance is often spread by preachers in the name of religion. Dogma, superstition and bigotry are implanted into eager young minds, seeking meaning and truth. Ignorance, couched in religious garb, is a virus that kills, literally. Only an open mind, exposed to the whole gamut of human knowledge, acquires the resistance against such attacks. May we all have the strength and resilience to acquire the immunity that is wisdom.