Pick up needles By Swami Sukhabodhananda, Deccan Herald, December 31, 2005
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jan12006/panorama When we observe clashes, riots and wars in the name of religion, we are forced to question the very need of it. Many raise this question with pain, concern and uncertainty. "All destructive weapons such as nuclear bombs, hydrogen bombs and biological weapons, are the result of scientific developments, aren't they?" Diseases are many because doctors are plenty. Like the manifestation of truth in the above statements, there is also truth in the practice of religion. It is pitch dark inside the house. Anyone who enters the house and moves about without caution is bound to bump against things and get injured. Getting annoyed and throwing the furniture out of the house are not solutions. The reason for the injury is not the furniture, but the darkness. So what has to be thrown out is not the furniture. Once we light the lamp, darkness will disappear and so too will the possibility of injury. Religion was never created to cause riots and confusion. It was created to provide peace. Religion was not meant to divide human beings. It was created to unite human beings. In Sufi literature, there is a story. There was a noble tailor, who had transformed himself into a great sage. The king came to pay his obeisance. The king gifted him with a pair of golden scissors, encrusted with diamonds. But the sage refused to accept it. The king was worried that his gift was not of use to the sage. So he asked him, "What can I give you that would be of use to you?" The sage replied, "Give me a needle!" The king at once arranged for a needle and presented it to the sage. Humbly, he waited for the sage's response. The sage said, "What a pair of scissors does is to cut and divide. Our minds are like scissors that cut and divide. But the job of a needle is to stitch, it joins and unites. Our hearts should be like needles which join and unite." Today, humanity is in dire need of needles, not scissors. Times may have passed; but the relevance of the sage's message remains. All religions say this loud and clear - one must love and respect others. This message is found in Gita, Koran, Bible, and all scriptures from various religions. What we can do is to take an oath, "whichever religion I belong to, I shall love and respect all human beings." Then, there will be no chaos or conflict, on the basis of religion, caste, creed or race. -- This is ZESTGlobal. Post articles on international affairs to [email protected] If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTGlobal by sending a blank mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/join/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
