What religion has taught me in life.

I have told you about my trip to India, today I want to share what I learned on that trip. Earlier today I was talking to an old friend about why I had gone to India for two months. My response to her was "because India was the capital of my religion Hinduism." We had a pleasant conversation about spirituality, life and moving forward, the way we always had over the years. In the end when I thanked her for not forgetting about me, she said something very comforting to me "the important thing was not let a relationship ever die." I'm a thinker. This got me thinking. Why was India even better than just being Hinduism's biggest capital? India taught me something not just about Hinduism, but something much more important. It reminded me why religion was important to me in the first place.

This journey taught me lots of things. It made me believe in good again. Not through any acts of my own. Through the acts and generosity of others. Say what you will about India, but the truth is you will meet atleast one person on that trip that you would trust everything with. Because whatever you did, whatever you saw, there was always at least one place you saw positivity, in all the great and not so great situations - The Human Spirit was alive and well. People move forward in India regardless of their situation. They keep their religion, their families/friends, their spirit. While there regardless of where I went, I got to experiences festivals like Durga Puja in Bengal, or spend Eid in Jammu Kashmir or visit the some pretty holy places, within India such as Murudeshwara, The Golden Temple, The Basilica Of BomJesus, Spituk Gompa, Anjana Parvath, or Maitreya Statue built in 1 B.C. It wasn't that my trip was designed to visit those places. I was just in India backing packing and going to places that I or the group wanted. And on my journey I would just came about these places as waypoints of religion. Main reason is that the people of India are very, very religious. It actually  reminds me of my childhood, where religion was a part of everyday life . In all situations I saw I people moving forward with family and friends and making the most of what they had. I was a tourist and there was no getting around that. But I talked to the locals and enjoyed some very interesting things along the way, some a little flat our weird. But by interacting with all of those people I learned why they were so religious. All these people were from many different religions. But the fact of the matter is they all prayed to God and the words of God. The word of God - regardless of how it gets to you always has something profounding and uplifting to say to you. That's the power in the words of God.

What was the reason that I followed religion? The answer is simple: when life got tough, something that would inspire me to just move forward one step more were God's words. Didn't matter who said them or how they got there the important thing was they were words of God, and that was the positivity I needed. When all faith was lost, the positivity that I needed came from religion. Here's the funny thing, I grew in the United States of America, and I didn't just get my words from God through Hinduism alone, I got them from my friends, neighbors and business collegues for different faiths. What religion has taught me in life, what religion has always meant to me in life is positivity.

In my mind we spend so much time bickering about the details of religion, or whether other religious are right/wrong,  that we forget the simple message that each one trys to teach, Be Good and Think Positive. Good things and good people will gravitate towards you on their own. I had another wonderful conversation on Monday night where someone told me that by connecting with people that have positive thoughts you are able to send out more positivity in the world. So the next time you start thinking negatively about something ask yourself one question, "Has [insert name of your personal religion here] always taught me be a good human being, do good and think about things from a positive point of view?

DoGOOD in this world. Smile more often. And just respect every person you meet. Oh India you and I will meet again some day soon. . . .

Love all and let the light within shine bright.
@digitalhindu
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