Fear vs Love - Path to the One
India has always been a land of deep spirituality. For centuries, we have built a remarkable culture of coexistence—where multiple religions, philosophies, and ways of life not only live side by side but enrich one another. This beautiful country gives every individual the freedom to worship in their own way. Here, divinity is seen in all forms: in animals, trees, rivers, stones. Name any form, and you will likely find a deity in India represented through it.
Religion forms an importance part of this country's evolution and history. At its core, Religion is meant to elevate us - from weakness to strength, from doubt to faith, from hatred to love, from bondage to freedom. Since retreating to Himalayas to realize God is not everyone's cup of tea, practical daily rituals emerged over the years to make it easier for ordinary human beings to realize the ever present immortal Supreme. For example, Morning prayers help center the mind and give a positive start to the day. Offering gratitude for our meals cultivates humility. Fasting on certain days teaches us restraint and discipline. These practices were created as simple tools to raise human consciousness.
Rituals, in their essence, are well intentioned. Most of the times. Until they are not.
With the explosion of the internet, many self-styled “gurus” have taken these rituals to absurd extremes to attract more 'customers'. Suddenly, everything needs a ritual: wear this color for luck, wear this ring to avoid misfortune, sleep facing a certain direction, don’t travel on certain days, eat this and avoid that. Some even suggest shubh muhurat for lifesaving surgeries. These prescriptions don’t just make us superstitious—they make us fearful. The more we practice these superstitions, the more fearful we become of God.
From our childhoods, many of us have been told - "Be a good person. Be God-fearing". But what does fear truly mean? Fear is a survival emotion—meant to trigger fight or flight when we face danger. Fear itself is not bad. But fear of God?
Is God unknown to us? Yes - until we realize Him. Is God going to harm us? This is an interesting question. Most religious priests, pastors, pundits tell us that we should do good or be ready to face the wrath of God. Wrath of God! Wrath! What a harsh violent word. What a violent way of describing the ever-loving Father of all! If all the manifested forms are riddled with some or other impurity, it will be safe to assume that the unmanifest form of Existence has to be pure. Can someone who is pure and pristine be capable of fury, anger, punishment? No. Absolutely Not!
What we interpret as God's fury is nothing but a result of our own Karma. We can't see in this lifetime what we have done in the past to deserve the fury but surely God has no role in this, and we must not drag God into a Karma created by us. It's our and only our doing. The good and bad results that we get in this lifetime are our own creation. We can give ourselves both credit and discredit for our outcomes. But God...He has nothing to do with it. He will not interfere in us getting the fruits of our good karma. He will also not interfere in the punishments of bad Karma.
We must remember, we are the children of the Divine. We are ourselves the manifested forms of The Unmanifest. He is us and we are Him. How can we then fear Him? He is pure. He is whole. He is Perfection. He is ever forgiving and ever loving. He is Love.
To those of you who fear God, try loving God instead. Replace fear and subservience with Love. Love God with your whole being, Love every creation of God. Become Love. Be brave and live bravely. Live spontaneously. Once you truly love God, there is no chance that you will do bad deeds. Being good and kind will become your nature. You will be a good person without needing to be conscious about doing good. It will become part of your unconscious; Goodness will become automatic and unintentional.
Only when fear dissolves does freedom arise. And freedom is nothing but becoming divine yourself.
Thanks for reading! Always be brave and kind!
Follow me on Gudiya Ki Duniya (gudiyakiduniya8.blogspot.com) for more on life, love and fitness.
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