FAITH

 Faith and religion are not the same. being religious and being spiritual are also different.  Are they the two sides of the same coin? No. It is not necessary for a believer to belong to any organised religion. One can be religious, do the poojas and chant the slokas. being spiritual is to be a seeker. Faith and worship are empowering, not in a magical way but in a psychological way. The act of prayer or being in faith is what matters. Whom you pray or what chants you chant doesn't matter at all. At all! 

I am not coming to the oneness of God. One can worship a stone, or a laminated picture of a deity or a formless god which you believe listens. People even worship gurus alive and dead, animals, the mother who hasn't lost her virginity, imaginary forms like Ganesh and Narasimha, etc, etc. It is from the very act of faith that one drains strength and courage.

These thoughts came to me when I attended a yoga session that I believed was a secular enterprise. I realised that the trainer is a devotee of the founder. The founder is of course a spiritual person who came up with certain techniques of breathing exercises. In that sense, he is an entrepreneur and yogi which doesn't qualify him to be worshipped though he deserves respect. This made me think, why not I worship my mother, who wishes only goodwill for me, or a teacher I respect, or a writer I adore? 

Then, the gods which I worship who come in the religious literature, aren't they flawed? Aren't religious institutions flawed? Does justice always prevail? Are they listening to my prayers? Or is it me myself invoked to act in the desired, or feared way through my own act of prayer?