Religion is a Terrible and a Beautiful thing

Religion is a terrible and a beautiful thing.

It gives you a foundation about what is right and wrong, but at the same time it boxes you in. It can define your identity, and at the same time it can suppress your personality.

Everyone’s perception of religion is different. Some like to be spoon fed what was taught by religious leaders, religious institutions, their parents or peers. It is very rarely people tend to think outside the box; the idea has been formulated in their mind that ‘what is familiar is the only virtuous thing’. But at the same time there are some who question what is right, what is wrong and if there is only ‘one true religion’ in this world.

I’ve never been a fan of worshiping things or obeying orders without understanding first, the principles behind it. You can probably understand my stand on religion by that single sentence. Freedom to think for myself, freedom to express myself is important to me. To elaborate you could say that blind faith is not my idea of religion.

So what do I love about religion? Well the best thing for me are the stories; stories full of life lessons. Mesmerizing stories about people who lived in lust, love, passion and also people who lived virtuously, and how they either ruined their lives or prospered through the introduction of religion to their lives.

From Moses who went through the parted red sea; saving his followers from death, to Buddha who tamed Angulimala; the man who cut off the fingers of the people he killed, to a woman who cut off her curtains to drape around her body in filial piety to Allah; so her body would be safe from the lecherous looks of men, to Rama who crossed an ocean to save his beloved Sita from the cunning Ravana; which gave birth to the Deepavali festival; all sorts of religions offer beautiful and terrible stories. To see the repetition of human mistakes, human adaptability, human humility as well as extreme pride that refrains them changing themselves for the better, makes you understand how the world has always worked.

I don’t believe that there is only one true religion. Most religions basically guide you as to how to live as a decent human being. For me personally, reincarnation nor heavens nor a perdition don’t matter. I will live the life that has been given to me now, as a good human being.

Layanvi Tennakoon (21) is a Sinhalese Buddhist from Kandy, Sri Lanka. She works as a part-time invigilator, and she is also a student. Most of all, she is a free-thinking woman.