I wanted to start a new religion since I was about eight years old. Thanks to Magsaysay Award winner Mr. Arvind Kejriwal , I saw the folly my childhood desire.
It was my naive nature that made me think that I could ‘invent’ a religion that would solve all conflicts across all religions . Mr. Kejriwal’s AAP taught me – one political party to clean the political system – is not a practicality . Adding an extra political party or religion to the already existing pantheon of religions or political parties would only benefit the priests and the politicians founding the system. The system itself would not heal.
It was a bitter realisation.
I got over it as another realisation dawned on me.
Our mind’s association with the word ‘religion’ has somewhat similar to ‘rituals and practices’. This ritualistic perception of personal religion has corroded the real purpose behind starting any religion in the first place.
The Prophets preached to tell common men that God was well within every man’s reach. They enumerated simple means that everyone could follow , if they wanted to find God. Jesus or Muhammad or Buddha were God-realised souls. They realised the Truth and found it was basically love that could transcended boundaries of flesh and enabled the soul to touch base with its Creator. Essentially, there is no Prophet who preached anything more than, or less than or different from love and compassion to realise God’s essence.
What these Champions of humanity believed would lead to mass-enlightenment back fired over time. Religion , became a set of parroted instructions ; each to be recited loudly over the others.
These days, whenever I come across Aam Aadmi Party’s famous symbol for cleanliness , I thank the Almighty for the ever strong Optimism – and wonder when is the next spring-cleaning due.