The Dark Side Of Religion

What is Religion?
It’s a noun.
“The belief in and worship of a super human controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.
That’s what Wikipedia or any other source you refer gives the definition of Religion.
What according to us is Religion?
The answer as well as the opinion differs from person to person.
The major religions of the world are Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Confucianism, Christianity, Taoism and Judaism.
There are a group of people called Atheists who neither believe in the concept of religion nor existence of God.
Spirituality is something they are not accustomed to nor it is their cup of tea.
I am a Shia Muslim, and i practice Islam which directs me to perform namaz (prayer) 5 times a day, offer Zakat (Charity), Fasting In Ramadan, Hajj (Pilgrimage) etc.
From the times immemorial, Religion has been hailed as a platform for unifying people, spreading the message of love, peace and brotherhood.
But the history has altogether a different story to tell.
The crusades were a series of holy wars which were fought between 1095 until late 1291 CE.
The conflicts between French protestants and Roman catholics resulted in a religious war.
Many battles were fought across the history on the basis of Religion as a result of which millions of people would die.
This is not the concept of religion that i perceived.
I have always believed that religion is a source of Knowledge, Wisdom and Spirituality. And not a platform for hate, bloodshed and carnage.
Recently i was reading a book which depicts the life of Swami Vivekananda.
The author Romain Rolland wonderfully narrated Swami Vivekananda’s teachings and his concept of “World Religion”.
“The intensest love that humanity has known has come from religion, and the most diabolical hatred that humanity has known has come from religion.
The noblest words of Peace the world has ever heard have come from men on the religious plane, and the bitterest denunciation the world has ever known has been uttered by religious men.
No other human motive has deluged the world with bloodshed as much as religion; at the same time, nothing has brought into existence so many asylums and hospitals for poors.”
After reading the section, i understood one thing that no religion promotes hatred, bigotry and butchering of innocent people.
There are devils and obscurantists in every religion who portray themselves as saints, messiahs and protectors of respective religions.
It is important for us to identify and reject these people who instill fear, hatred and mistrust in the heart of innocent people and turn them against each other.
We all need to boycott and reject their ideologies and follow the religion of “Humanity” which represents love, compassion and brotherhood.