Hi Jitendra,........ My previous post was to pose an idea that reflects Mccoys sentiments. That Religion is a construct to deeper expression so to answer the question in your first post
Is religion important or to spiritual development?
I believe it CAN be important. It is for some and isn't for others.
Whatever path you follow, there are basic principals throughout that help the individual live a rich and meaningful life.
I like the idea of Sufism for its defined as The Religion of the Heart.
"Sufism is the religion of the heart, the religion in which the most important thing is to seek God in the heart of mankind."
"The first way is to recognize God the divine in every person, and to care for every person with whom we come in contact, in our thought, speech, and action."
"The next way of practicing this religion is to think of the feeling of the person who is not at the moment before us. "
"The third way of realizing the Sufi principle is to recognize in one's own feeling the feeling of God, and to realize every impulse that rises in one's heart as a direction from God."
Although I'm not sure I necessarily understand or agree with everything being shared above- I do share certain values found in sufism. It's also interesting to note that there are people who claim a particular path without understanding the depth of the religion they've decided to follow. It's because of this you'll find many branches within the same religion that more and more conform to someones own idea of what it means to live a deeper life. A life that reflects their inner sanctum.
The individuals quoted in my previous post come from two seemingly different paths... Christianity and Satanism yet the words and emotions in which they share are so closely related that you can't help but wonder, what are these people tapping into? I think there's something here to take note of... That God has many names and religion is another tool created by man as an aid to understanding things we classify as spiritual.
There's a lot to discuss when it comes to religion as we're most aware. My thinking is more a long the lines.... I am me. That's my path.
I appreciate your quotIng some of the sufi tenets. The Hindu religion also contains the force of attraction and repulsion (God and Satan) all in one. However there is an important difference here. Whereas the force of good and evil is all contained in God in Hindusim since God created everything... in Christianity those forces are in eternal opposition. In Hindusim those forces can be transcended by first following kindness to others and love for God and through meditation and spiritual practice eventually rising above both our ideas of (Satan) and (God) and seeing that it is all a cosmic illusion. Just a play of forces which creates this cosmic movie show.
Buddhism is a rather radical departure from God and Satan in the sense that the the acceptance of both these ideas are also only ideas and principles and that there is no need to accept either of these concepts but instead reach enlightenement and drop all our preconcieved ideas of religion, God, Satan etc.
In our path to rise above both evil and good we are taught to follow the path of good and kindness until we rise above the 'idea' of good and evil. This is done through meditation and spiritual practice and service.
Steve
