Benefits of Religion
"Each religion has helped mankind. Paganism increased in man the light of beauty, the largeness and height of his life, his aim at a many-sided perfection; Christianity gave him some vision of divine love and charity; Buddhism has shown him a noble way to be wiser, gentler, purer, Judaism and Islam how to be religiously faithful in action and zealously devoted to God; Hinduism has opened to him the largest and profoundest spiritual possibilities. "
- Sri Aurobindo (Essays in Philosophy and Yoga, p.211)
Religion has often been a vehicle for intolerance and fundamentalism. Religion has been used as an excuse for persecution and war. But, religion in its purest form has provided many benefits for man and humanity.
Benefits of Religion
Teachings of Goodwill.
"We must be bright and cheerful. Long faces do not make religion. Religion should be the most joyful thing in the world, because it is the best."
- Swami Vivekananda
Within religion there are teachings of goodwill to fellow men. The loftiest teachings of religion teach us to love even our enemy.
Man's Thirst for the Unknowable.
The religious urge to discover more about life has never left man. From primitive civilisations to the acme of Western civilisation, there have always been people unsatistifed with a purely materialistic interpretation of life. This has encouraged people to give priority to an inner life of prayer and meditation as well as outer achivements.
Selfless Service
Religious teachings emphasise the need for serving fellow man. The loftiest teaching is to do this selfless service without expectation of reward or praise. True, we often fail to work entirely selflessly. But, the divine religion teaches a feeling of oneness and identification.
Religious Music
Within the context of religion, some of the most profound, moving and sublime music has been created. Even a non-religious person can appreciate the divine sacred music of Beethoven, Bach or Schubert. In Indian and asiatic religion there is a similar strand of richly devotional music.
Religious Art
"Religion, like poetry, is not a mere idea, it is expression. The self-expression of God is in the endless variety of creation; and our attitude toward the Infinite Being must also in its expression have a variety of individuality - ceaseless and unending."
- Rabindranath Tagore
During the renaissance, it was often organised religion which was the greatest patron of the arts. The Catholic church patronised some of the greatest works of Michelangelo such as the Sistine Chapel and the Pieta. The purest form of religion encourages the highest expression of the Divine through artistic form.
Religious Poetry.
Within every religion there is some imperfection. But, there are also teachings and culture which help lift up man to live a better, more fulfilling, more selfless life. This is not to say that religion is indispensable. One may live a deeply spiritual life, without being attached to a particular organised religion.