Religions are space-time capsules. They are both esoteric knowledge bearers as well as provide a socio-cultural framework for the humanity to exist and prosper with law and order. It is not necessary that religions preserve their pristine state or prevalence in the society with the passage of time. Since man is a social animal, the religion in the land may get diluted with the influence of other cultures and mindsets. Also with the change in times, the original set of ordinances may no longer be relevant at a later time in the same land.
I will take the case of Sikhism as a pointer. The religion of the Sikhs was formed in turbulent times when the marauding invaders from the warring tribes of Afghanistan would repeatedly attack and plunder the farming class in the Punjab province. As is the case with Dharma, when the times are not fair and things go beyond conventional justice, the inner pathos of the suffering farmers gave birth to Guru Nanak. He first addressed the basic doubt of higher power by building in the locals a faith in God. This he achieved thru a series of miracles, clean logic and surrender.
Next he addressed the prevailing issue of defending the land from invaders. He gave Five instructions to be followed by every Sikh if he wants to have the grace of God in his favor and reap the fruits of his toil. Here are the five musts at that time:
1) Not to cut the hair and wear a turban to hold it in place – when locks of hair fall behind on the neck it is very difficult for the blade of the sword to head someone from behind.
2) Keep a comb – to prevent knots in the hair and to maintain it
3) Wear an iron Khada (thick bracelet) – since the Sikhs didn’t have armor, the khada would protect the right wrist while fighting.
4) Wear kacha (a tight loincloth) – to let the sexual energies to higher centers and also fight in abandon as do wrestlers.
5) Always be armed with Kirpan – ensure self protection
In those times & in that land, it made perfect sense to follow these as they were rules only to ensure security. But as time has gone by and guns have replaced swords following these rules is no longer a matter of importance for survival. They have become tools of social identity which has no relevance to present times.
Yes the faith and the belief system can remain for ever since it is not space-time dependent. In fact the belief system is ever so valid even today that one may follow the spiritual guidelines provided by the Sikh masters to better life both for oneself and the society at large.
I WOULD LIKE TO ENRICH THIS WITH AN ANECDOTE but I can’t recall now!
This same type of logic to overcome the prevalent circumstances can be seen in every religion.
In Islam there are seemingly vague rules but if the times and place it evolved is considered then everything makes scientific sense. The word Islam means “submission” or the total surrender of oneself to God, an adherent of Islam is known as a Muslim, meaning “one who submits [to God] “.The word Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. The land near Jerusalem were the prophet lived had very scarce water.
1) Circumcision: to prevent infection of the genitals since water as a commodity to bathe was scarce
2) Don’t consume pigs: these were bearers of ringworm since the same waterfronts were used by both for their cleaning activities.
3) Multiple wives: since there was a culture of aggression in those regions youth used to routinely killed and to maintain the male: female ratio it became necessary to wed the widows and also first time brides to beget more children to provide lives for war.
4) for the same reasons as above they welcomed the birth of children especially boys as later they would contribute to the cause of war- don’t say no to children as they are God’s gifts.
5) Wearing of the traditional black Burkha ensured that the good or bad energies are absorbed by the lady to prevent any harm to the men since the men were in the minds of the wives’. Also this ensured prevention of sexual vibes from fellow beings thus maintains chastity.
Thus In every religion the essence is the same – only depending on the land, time and circumstances, various lifestyles evolved. Hence we as rational beings can drop the blind following of a religion whose validity is questionable after 2000 years.
If each of the religions is held to flame of reason, all the frills will be reduced to ashes except the core principle of how to be a better human being in the society. And this is achieved by loving oneself first and then God’s creation. If this is done then one will automatically come closer to his own higher state which ultimately is being God itself.
