Month: November 2016

Since this is my one hundredth post, I want to begin with a message rooted in Christian teaching, devoid of political motives or worldly affiliations. This is to highlight the powerful influence of political affiliations on spirituality, which has been, is, and will continue to be, a detriment to all religions.

A while back, I found an old Christian magazine called Awake!, dated December 22, 1988. I kept it because I wanted to write about an article I found intriguing, and now I finally am.

On page 22, there is an article titled “Religion and the World.” Page 23 poses a question that I will quote verbatim:

“Can a religion be approved by God when its clergymen bless men of war?”

The article goes on to assert that national rulers will ultimately destroy the religions of the world. The Bible points to this outcome. Throughout the centuries, false religion has been deeply involved in the political affairs of nations, even though Jesus said regarding his true disciples: “They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.” (John 17:16) Because of hobnobbing with the world, false religion is depicted in the Bible as a prostitute, or harlot, who has not been faithful to God. A Bible prophecy says: “Come, I will show you the judgment upon the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication.” (Revelation 17:1-2, 18)

This “great harlot” is like a woman caught selling sexual favors in return for high-level government influence. Her punishment fits the crime. God will cause a sudden, foreboding change of heart among her former lovers. The Bible explains that the kings, or political rulers of the world, “will hate the harlot and will make her devastated and naked, and will eat up her fleshy parts and will completely burn her with fire. For God put it into their hearts to carry out his thought.” (Revelation 17:12, 16-17)

End quote.

To some religious people, politics is a passionate pursuit, yet their religious leaders have long warned about its dangers. Today, the Pope has altered his message to adapt to changing times. When I look at American politics, the large crowds at Donald Trump’s rallies demonstrate that politics have twisted spiritual values. Regardless of his character and behavior, it seems he will become president. I can only hope he governs with wisdom and compassion, and that his previous actions were merely a means to an end.

Personally, I believe that if you are a Republican and a devout churchgoer, logically, you should support Democrats. Real spirituality lies in the values Democrats uphold, such as social help for the needy. Paying taxes to help those in need is noble and spiritual. If you have been taught that doing spiritual things is socialist, you have been misled by politics. It is hard to understand how spiritual values have been misconstrued as non-religious and non-spiritual.

If a system stands for the masses but destroys individual rights, it is against spirituality. We consume resources throughout our lives and pass on, yet our desire to accumulate never dies, even though our bodies do. I wrote an article called “Reciprocation,” where I explained that we believe we achieve everything ourselves, yet everything is done after we take a breath of free oxygen. Thus, reciprocation is a duty we all have. If paying a small part of your income is reciprocation, so be it. It is not just smart but necessary to reciprocate, as it is a matter between the individual and the source, not exclusively for other human beings.

Select and study any governing system, and you will find they predominantly violate individual rights, not because of spirituality but because of politics. Even if they claim to act in God’s name, harsh punishments for expressing opinions are common. Such systems control through fear, which is unacceptable and spiritually bankrupt. Injustice against even one person is against spirituality, especially when done in God’s name.

I believe these systems are worse than others because they use God’s name to control and violate individual rights, directly opposing spirituality. Other ruling systems are founded on politics and openly admit it.

I strongly believe religions should not be used as political systems because we cannot fully understand God with our limited brain capacity. Thus, religions should stay out of politics entirely. They will eventually have to align with political power, and spirituality will be compromised.

Another issue is that religions often conflict with today’s governing systems, particularly regarding equal human rights. Believing you are superior to non-believers or followers of another faith creates prejudice, preventing acceptance of equal rights for others. The state should uphold a constitution that provides equal human rights and considers prejudice and racism criminal behavior.

When people like Bill Gates, Bono, or Edward Snowden transcend religious and national boundaries for the greater good, they embody spirituality regardless of their belief system.

My writing aims to raise awareness and point out the errors we make, both as individuals and as groups.

Here is another quote from the same article about religion and the world:

“Stay neutral regarding worldly politics while looking to God’s Kingdom for the remedy.

Jesus commanded neutrality and pointed to God’s kingdom, saying: ‘My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendant would have fought that I should be delivered up [to an unjust death sentence].’ (John 18:36) Jesus also told the apostle Peter, when Peter took up a weapon in his defense: ‘Return your sword to its place, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword.’ (Matthew 26:52)”

End quote.

If Jesus was against even picking up a sword, how did we get from there to the Crusades and modern-day religious wars? It’s all politics. Why do religions believe in harsh punishments for petty crimes, and why did it take two thousand years to stop judging homosexuals or divorcees? The teachings of Jesus about human rights have taken too long to effect change, and many black marks remain on the face of humanity due to religions.

Law and order should be based on equal human rights. Religions should let politicians do their job and stay out of political systems altogether, but the problem lies in our nature. I have been discussing the politics of the sense of belonging since I started this blog.

If our sense of belonging is tied to our physical core, it is influenced by our hormones, making our religious politics volatile. As individuals, we must make decisions beyond our physical urges. This higher level of living is something parents practice, balancing children’s enjoyment of life with control. Our leaders need to adopt this approach, but unfortunately, they often lead their populations into destructive behaviors driven by the politics of belonging.

I discussed this in an article called “Five Bucks.” When people pool their resources, they create politics, whether in a family, community, nation, race, or religion. Differences of opinion are inevitable, leading to politics.

Can religion and politics go hand in hand? I strongly believe and say no, because spirituality is about truth, and the essence of politics is twisting the truth. How can we keep religious groups out of worldly politics? Jesus tried and failed. It is up to us, as individuals, to make this change. If you are not in a position of power, it may be hard to see your influence, but even small contributions matter.

Even in personal relationships like marriage, the politics of power can emerge. Domination is more related to upbringing than genetics. When groups of people pool their resources, political parties form inevitably. Therefore, we need political systems with equal human rights and a clear constitutional mandate to prevent deviations from these rights. Populations worldwide are changing, with the internet playing a significant role. The nutraceutical industry has long criticized pharmaceuticals, and now pharmaceuticals are fighting back. We are caught between two large entities vying for control, using the politics of fear liberally. Liberals argue that once opened, the can of worms cannot be closed, yet leaders like Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran and the Saudi regime manage to do so. America, despite its imperfections, promotes democracy.

Despite its flaws, democracy is currently the best system humanity has. We are better off than under kingdoms, dictatorships, or authoritarian regimes, including religious ones. Injustice in the name of God is inevitable when ruling millions. A society’s constitution should be based on equal human rights, allowing individuals to challenge even the governing party in court for injustices.

A while back, someone posted a story on Facebook in Urdu, which inspired me to write this blog. I will try to translate it, but since there was no author’s name, I will quote it as “author unknown.”

And I quote:

“One day, a teacher told his students to prepare for an exam. He gave each of them a paper with some questions. When all the students received their papers, he said to flip the paper over and write about whatever was on the back. The students were surprised to see that nothing was written on the other side, except for a black dot in the middle of the paper.

Confused, the students did their best to write about the black dot. When they finished, the teacher collected the papers and read them aloud to the class. Every student had focused solely on the black dot.

After reading all the papers, the teacher explained to the silent class: ‘I am not going to grade these papers. I wanted to give you something to think about. None of you wrote about the white part of the paper; everyone focused on the dot.

In real life, we all focus on the black spots as well. Life is a gift from God, filled with reasons to be happy, like love and looking after each other. But we tend to focus only on the black dots—health problems, poverty, bad relationships, or unfulfilled expectations. In the face of life’s gifts, these black dots are insignificant, yet they have the power to cloud our minds. Look at life beyond these black dots. Appreciate every moment and blessing. Be happy, spread happiness, and encourage others to be happy.'”

End quote.

Profound wisdom, yet so simply expressed. I am taking it to the next level because I believe that God must take physical form to be helpful to the ordinary human individual. People who believe in God acknowledge that He created the universe and trillions of galaxies, yet they often ignore the importance of the individual, causing people to lose their self-respect. The significance of the individual can be recognized by observing dead planets, ghost towns, and desolate spots on Earth.

In answering someone’s prayers, an individual becomes an integral part of God’s plan. Yet, collectively, we fail to see, accept, or acknowledge the importance and responsibilities of the individual. The reasons are politically charged religions and the promotion of a sense of belonging that diminishes the individual.

Sure, God exists, but how does His existence benefit the individual and humanity as a whole? The answer lies within personal responsibility. Each individual must explore their spirituality rather than blindly following inherited beliefs.

If an individual plays a role in God’s work, why don’t we acknowledge it? The answer isn’t found in spirituality because we use politics to manipulate God. The individual, blinded by the political strength of belonging, cannot see clearly. The problem lies within the individual’s personal belief system.

When you stray from spirituality and follow the political arm of religion, you avoid questioning even nonsensical teachings because you’ve been told these are God’s words. I believe humanity and God are evolving entities. This evolution is evident when we look at our progress from the past to the present. However, religious extremism and nationalism persist, causing people to kill each other over ancestral knowledge.

Believing in God without doubt means accepting His will in all circumstances, not just when it suits us politically. We must stop harshly punishing people in God’s name and resist following religious leaders blindly.

If you believe in evolution, existing knowledge becomes a foundation for future growth, even in religion. From the beginning, knowledge has evolved, yet religious politics continue to incite violence. This happens because we egotistically cling to religious knowledge, separating ourselves from God and humanity. Instead of addressing problems as black dots, we try to solve everything with religious knowledge, even issues unrelated to spirituality. Seeking perfection should be a personal goal, ensuring black dots remain dots and do not become black holes that drain life.

As mortal beings, we cannot afford to sacrifice happiness for things we will eventually leave behind. When you let a dot become a black hole, you are being self-destructive. You must take charge of your life, balancing all aspects, including the sense of belonging and religious beliefs. Half-knowledge is dangerous, ruining you mentally and spiritually, robbing you of happiness.

Spirituality reflects the reality of God, existing beyond political boundaries, whether nationalistic or religious. Human beings are central to all actions, but nothing is achieved without the support of nature. For example, oxygen is beyond anyone’s control, and nothing can be done by a dead person. God’s work is performed by living humans, so as evolving beings, our knowledge must constantly change. This is why people follow different paths and belief systems, even within the same religion.

Sometimes we stick to the same path due to personal insecurities, even when changes come from God. The question of how much influence we really have arises. It’s easy to dismiss God’s existence to avoid straining our minds, but as mortals, it’s our duty to find happiness and contentment in this temporary life. A belief system helps us understand balance and responsibility, enabling us to reciprocate during our temporary stay. If you overextend yourself, you cannot be an effective leader of your own life. Confusion arises over how much is enough, so don’t let a dot become a black hole that drains your life.

Cultural traditions, trends, customs, and even religious duties can rob you of happiness and contentment instead of providing these precious jewels. Ultimately, the responsibility for a fulfilling life rests on the individual.

Adding happiness and contentment is crucial to a mortal life, as is transforming black holes into dots. This is your personal and spiritual responsibility. One day, my son wanted to play a card game called War, but I was busy. I suggested he play solo, using his left and right hands. When he started, he wanted one side to win, so I reminded him that both sides were his, and he needed to play fair.

Valuing yourself is the first step to living a balanced life. You are the CEO and the one connected to the source. You carry both sides within yourself, and it’s your job to balance them. Reciprocate while living for yourself because this life is temporary. Enjoy it while you’re alive. If you live your life like a worker bee, God might say that you had free will to do justice. If you failed to do justice to yourself, it was your choice. A group will always want you to be subservient, living like a hamster on a wheel. You can choose this out of a blind sense of belonging, but it is still your choice, and you can make yourself insignificant.

Remember, you are not a born sinner nor an insignificant entity. Do not become a sacrificial lamb for tradition, custom, or politically charged religious wars. You are alive to keep God alive and to help others. Each of us can help fulfill others’ prayers, and even if you get paid, you are maintaining God’s physical world.

If you are a religious leader, help others without preaching prejudice and hatred, which can lead to spiritual crimes. Be a person of God for all humanity, not just the chosen few. This selection has nothing to do with spirituality; it is pure politics. Preach spirituality and filter out politics, even if it is in the Quran or Bible. We must evolve with changing times. If we are killing each other, we are not understanding spirituality or are politically twisting it to fit our group’s agenda.

We cannot kill each other over a belief system because God physically survives through living human beings. Killing someone doing God’s work is against His will. Our knowledge must evolve to keep God’s world functioning, not destroy it. We all have the duty to advance our knowledge, turning religious extremism, nationalism, and racism from black holes into dots. Focus on the white page of spirituality, God, and humanity as a whole.

 

I am going to start this with a quote from Kabir:

“The drop in the ocean, everybody knows. The ocean in the drop, a rare one does.”

If you look at the human being spiritually, you will find that each and every one of us contains an ocean, even a vast space. This incredible machine, the human body and mind, has been undermined not only by political groups but by individuals themselves. This phenomenon has enabled us to achieve mathematically correct scientific feats, like traveling to space without wings and predicting storms to save lives instead of sacrificing to appease God. We have come a long way, and it is only the beginning.

If you, as an individual, feel insecure, it is not because of who you are but because of who you have been made into. If you wholeheartedly accept your mortality and believe in God, you lose all fears and related insecurities simultaneously, becoming a spiritual being who contains God within.

It does not matter where on Earth you are born or live. If you pass the test of being human, you are a first-class citizen of the planet. The present-day circumstances of humanity inspire me to state the truth according to the best of my knowledge.

Let’s start with India. If you are a Hindu nationalist or protectionist, you may think Kashmir is part of India. Yet India itself is a place where many nationalities and religions coexist, making everyone a first-class citizen. If someone is treated as a second-class citizen, it is against equal human rights, and the conflict is political, not spiritual. The same applies to Israel: if Palestinians are treated as second-class citizens, it is against equal human rights. If you are Shia or Sunni and have been fighting and killing each other for over a thousand years in a political war, you are prejudiced and do not believe in equal human rights; you need to get with the times. These conflicts have nothing to do with the spiritual side of religion. No killing is spiritual, even if called for by religious leaders. It is all about the politics of belonging and lost love.

Lost love is one of the biggest dead dogs of the problem (read: dead dog). It is a perpetual and constant component of our conflicts, fueling the fire of hatred and killings. It is not going to stop by the actions of political or religious leaders, because they are the cause of our passionate religious wars. It has to come from the individual, from the bottom up. If each of us starts to question the politics of our groups and stops fueling conflicts with emotional fire, there is a chance for peace on Earth. But before this happens, the individual must become a computer runner, not a computer or the data.

Each of us is born as a computer runner with the gift of a brand-new computer. Our families, communities, nations, and religions start to install data in us as our education, expecting us to take the identity of this installed data. For instance, if you are born Sikh, the elders want you to grow a beard, not cut your hair, and become a Sikh. If you are born into a Muslim family, you are expected to go to the mosque, pray five times a day, believe in God and Prophet Muhammad, and follow everything said fifteen hundred years ago. If you are born Christian, you are taught to believe in Jesus as the son of God and whatever he said two thousand years ago, and so on. This is all education, and education for an evolving human being is nothing more than data. The real identity is not even the computer itself; it is the person who gets a name after birth, the computer runner. This human being, who lives in a body (a computer), accepts knowledge as data, making them more than the computer and the data. This spiritual entity, taking physical form at birth, can be called a human being. But what is that spiritual entity? Since as individuals with single bodies that have limitations and mortality, we don’t feel strong and able, we tend to gather and feel strength in numbers. Our logic has been twisted with the politics of belonging to a group, yet it is one whole big entity or organism you can call God or the source. Just like our cells die and are produced in our bodies, we as individuals go through the same process as part of the body of God. Now, that is the identity of the entity. But when, why, and how did the individual lose that identity? If you, as an individual, can come out of the sense of belonging to your group and join humanity as a whole, you can easily feel the connection and understand who you are.

All human knowledge has been, is, and will be in an evolutionary process until we reach our God-given potential. Until then, we have been, are, and will be proven wrong over and over, regardless of our love and strong sense of belonging to our groups.

If you have passed a genetic test to be a human being, you are not just a computer but a computer runner, meaning you are a spiritual entity and a physical being simultaneously. You are above all the education and data you have been installed with. If you demote or reduce yourself to just the data, you will choose extremism and be passionate about your existing knowledge. Yet logically, you are an evolving entity. If you don’t believe me, just look around and see all the progress human beings have made.

When you fall victim to the politics of belonging or become enraged because of lost love, you let the data become your identity. This is where you become a drop in the ocean, a common knowledge. Yet you are the computer runner, the one who is spiritually aware and carries an ocean and even space within. I wrote a blog a while back titled “Five Bucks” (read: Five Bucks). That fiver is the ocean and even the space, yet it has been ignored by human populations and even by the individual.

I wholeheartedly believe if that fiver disappears, the number turns out to be zero. So regardless of what God possesses, it becomes insignificant. Thus, the human individual is the ocean in a drop. If you feel insignificant, it is not because of God; it is because of the data you have received. Your feelings of insignificance have everything to do with the out-of-control politics of belonging to your group. Every religion, nation, and “ism” of human population promotes the weakness of the individual so he/she can be controlled. In Christianity, some even preach that you are a born sinner. What does that do to one’s self-esteem? Contrary to that, try, test, and taste belonging to humanity as a whole. Live and let live with equal human rights. Then, and only then, will you feel your importance and know you are deeply connected to the source.

The problem is the data we collect from the beginning. Just look at the education systems of our nations. Every school in the world gives first education in religion and nationalism. Each group promotes that their way of living, whether traditions, customs, ways of governing, or worshiping, is better than everyone else’s in the world. This is the foundational cause of prejudice, an outdated political propaganda. Even religions are connected to the politics of groups, yet they should be the path to spirituality, God, and humanity as a whole.

I believe our group politics is causing chaos for God, humanity, and spirituality. Picture yourself as a cell in the functioning human body, where the brain says, “I am the one keeping the body alive and functioning.” It appears that way, but not quite. The heart jumps in and says, “I supply the life-giving blood, so I am the most important one.” Then the lungs say, “I give you oxygen, so without me, you can’t survive.” The liver and kidneys jump in and say, “We clean you up, so without that, you can’t function.” By then, the colon has had enough and says, “You are all full of it. I am the one supplying you the nutrition.” The arms and legs complain that they don’t like living in this bickering and chaos. This has been, is, and will be the status of humanity for a long time unless we put our act together and learn we need each other to create a functioning body. Whether you believe in God or not, whether male or female, gay or straight, black, white, brown, yellow, or belong to any nation or religion is not as important as being a human being.

Sure, God exists, but how does existence carry on and become useful to humanity? To find the answer to this question is an individual’s personal responsibility, rather than relying on what we have been taught or told.

If an individual is playing a role in God’s work, then why don’t we want to accept and understand that? The answer is not in religion but in spirituality, because as a group, we use our politics to use God. Since the individual is blinded by the political strength of belonging, he/she can’t see clearly. The problem lies in the individual’s personal belief system.

When you stray from spirituality and become a follower of the political arm of religion, you don’t want to question any knowledge because you have been told that these words are God’s words. Yet human beings are evolving entities, and the proof is in the pudding. Just look around—where we were, where we are today, and where we are going. Nothing is the same except religious extremism.

If you believe in God without a doubt, you accept and continue believing in God’s will. God forbid you stop punishing people and stop listening to the Mullahs or the priests. If you believe in evolution equally in all departments of life, the existing knowledge is the stepping stone for our future. Yes, it has been that way from the beginning, yet the politics of religion still leads us to kill each other over it. It is because we start to believe in our religious knowledge egotistically, and we separate ourselves from God and humanity as individuals.

As mortal beings, we can’t afford to sacrifice happiness over something we are going to leave behind. When you make a mole into a mountain for yourself and fall victim to being self-destructive, you have a duty to take charge and become the CEO of your life. You can rule all departments, including the sense of belonging to your nation or religion. Half-knowledge is a dangerous thing for a human being. It not only ruins you mentally and spiritually, but it also has the potential to rob you of happiness and health. Without health and happiness, nothing is successful, not even your religious belief.

Since spirituality is the reality of God, who exists regardless of the political boundaries of religion, I believe human beings are the cause and effect of everything good and bad in nature. But we can’t even move a finger or breathe without the help of nature. For instance, oxygen is not in anyone’s control, and nothing gets done by human beings if they are dead. So, God’s work is done by living human beings. That is why people have different paths—some on the bad to make people realize what good is, and the good to realize what bad is. Does this mean humans choose to be good and bad? Yes, it is ingrained within all of us, with the ability to choose. If you go to the core, you have a divided triangle: spiritual being and physical being. Since we are encased in three kinds of love: passionate love, instinctive love, and universal love, we fall victim when we are robbed of any kind of love. So, whatever dominates within the individual comes out.

Sometimes we want to stay on the same path while changes are coming from God. So, the discussion of how much say we really have begins. It is too simple to say that God does not exist, so some don’t want to strain their brains. Yet, as a mortal individual, it’s our duty to figure out how to live this temporary life with some happiness and contentment. That cannot be done without a belief system. A belief system helps us know the balance and responsibility to reciprocate during our visit. You can disregard the existence of God, but how would you disregard your personal decency related to the spiritual side, which helps you help others while you exist?

This “how much” can be confusing, so don’t make a mole into a mountain. It will suck the life out of you regardless of your belief system. For instance, cultural traditions, trends, customs, and even religious duties have the potential to rob you of happiness and contentment. So, at the end of the day, the responsibilities of mortal life rest on the shoulders of the beholder.

Adding happiness and contentment is fundamentally crucial and a personal responsibility of the individual because of mortality. Value yourself because you are the one who carries God within—or, I should say, the ocean, space, and everything in between. You are not a born sinner, nor are you insignificant, so don’t become a sacrificial lamb for any tradition, custom, or politically charged religious war.

You have a direct connection to the source. That is why you are alive. If you help others in any way, even if you get paid, you are keeping God’s physical world running. If you are a Mullah or a priest, sure, you are helping others, but preaching prejudice can lead someone to commit spiritual crimes. Be the man or woman of God who is for all mankind, or humanity equally, not for the chosen few. This selection has nothing to do with spirituality; it is purely political. So, preach all the spirituality you can and strain out the politics from your belief systems. Yes, even if it says so in the Quran or Bible. We all have to evolve with our changing times. Plain and simple, we just can’t kill each other over a belief system because we are an evolving entity. Our knowledge should evolve with time to keep God’s world working instead of destroying it. Collectively and individually, we all have the duty to wipe off the black marks of spiritual crimes committed by our ancestors. We need to clean the face of humanity from the politics of belonging to particular groups, join hands, and unite with humanity as a whole so we can individually and collectively reach our spiritual potential.