Thursday, December 8, 2011

Misconception of the Spiritual Pursuit of Happiness

You've probably heard of the time when an ardent atheist or agnostic person receives news that he/she has terminal cancer and suddenly resorts to remembering God or are found reading the Bible in their hospital room. Why the sudden change?

Well, maybe because many such people, if not everyone, try to find comfort, relaxation, satisfaction, or happiness in believing that some greater force is out there that is going to take care of them, no matter what. Religion might mean something different for everyone, but usually, followers of any faith follow it because they find those characteristics listed above in their faiths, whether that faith is represented through idols, through the Trinity, through the Noble Eight Fold Path etc.

Yet, even in our spiritual pursuit of happiness, tensions exist. There has always been great tension between religions. Because of our relations with the Middle East and events around the Arab Spring, the crusade of this century seems to deal mostly with Islam.

Being a Muslim, I get asked many questions: To name a few recent ones - “How come you don’t wear the veil?”, “If you got a chance to go to Hajj, would you?”, “People who aren’t in your sect, do you believe they’re going to hell?”, “Do you pray 5 times a day?”

I’m not at all annoyed with these questions, especially since they’re asked by well-informed, nice and bright people. In fact, I love people who are curious, but I actually find it a bit funny that there is even a need to ask me such questions. Chances are that your answer to the question is probably what my religion teaches me too, because they're basically the same belief. Granted, specifics cause the nuanced differences, but I hope people grasp the overall big picture. Let’s just take one question for example, “How come you don’t wear the veil?”, a specific detail of the religion. I mean, I could tell you straight up, "No, I don't," but, again, let's also not forget the big picture. When I say "No," I don't undermine the emphasis of modesty, which is a key virtue in Islam, and in most religions I know (Nuns wear a veil, Many Jews wear the Yarmulke, etc.). Wearing the veil is one's choice; some might feel they're being modest with it, some might feel modest without it. But the virtue that religion teaches is modesty: that's the big picture that connects all of us, in this particular case.

I feel like sometimes, in the midst of small details of each religion, we forget that ALL faiths are literally the SAME. There is really no other way to put it. Each religion, especially the Abrahamic faiths, puts emphasis on the same values. The gist of any faith is to 1) remember God, 2) Live Morally, and 3) be happy and make others happy. No religion teaches any different than the gist above; the subtle nuisances categorize us and blind us from seeing the overarching unity of all faiths.

I'd argue that even if you categorize yourself as un-religious or atheist; if you lead your life morally, you're also very similar to me and other religious beings because leading an ethical life is, I believe, a way of remembering God's words, therefore, remembering God, in my opinion.

So why the constant tension....?