People worship in different ways or in different places. Temples, churches, Mosques and Gurudwaras are some places where people go to pray. You must also know that there are many different religions such as Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Islam and Sikhism. People who follow these religions have different names for God. They worship Him different. By leaning about different religions, you will understand God better.
There no difference
Hemachandra was a great Jain monk. He was learned and wise. He became a great friend of king kumara pal of Gujarat. The king took his advice on all matters. The priests and ministers of the king became jealous of Hemachandra. They were afraid that king would stop listening to them. They wanted the king o be angry with Hemachandra.
So they told the king, `Hemachandra is not a true man of God. He insults our God’s’. The king did not believe them. The ministers said, `O king! If you invite him to the Shiva temple and order him to bow to the idol, you will understand’. They thought that Hemachandra, being a Jain, would not bow to the idol of Shiva. This would surely make the king angry with him.
The king sent for Hemachandra. He said, `come, let us go to the Shiva temple.’ Hemachandra gladly agreed. The priests and ministers too went along. They did not want to miss the fun. King Kumar pal told Hemachandra to bow to the idol.
Hemachandra did not hesitate. He bowed to the idol and said, `I bow to that God who gives love and destroys evil. I see no difference between Vishnu, Shiva and Jina’. King Kumar pal was thrilled. Can you guess how the priests and ministers felt!
Understand
Hemachandra knew that there were many different religions, but that God is one. People call Him by different names, their prayers are different, and they worship in different ways. But whatever you call Him-Allah, Vishnu, Shiva, Jehovah, Jina-God is one. Only the names are different.
Religions help us to understand God. The ways might be different but they all lead to the same place. We must follow our own religion sincerely. But we must also try to understand the religious ways of others, if we do this; we will realize that all religions teach the same lessons- how to be kind, truthful and loving. They tell us how we can become good human beings. By understanding other religions, we come closer to God. We also learn to love and respect our fellow beings. By loving others, we serve God.
*Little deed of kindness, little words of love, helps make earth happy, like the heaven above.
Love is a beautiful gift of God. All living creatures- whether human beings, birds or animals are feel love. So do you, do not you? It many are towards your parents, friends or your pets.
Love means caring and showing understanding, being there when someone is in need and being a true friend. God loves those who love all.
Be kind to all God’s creatures, it’s what he asks of you. To make their lives more pleasant, do all that you can do. Whenever they may come for protection or for food, do what you can to help them, and spread a little good. Beautiful made all the butterflies and bees.
And if the falling sparrow, so tenderly He heeds, he surely will reward you, for all your loving deeds.
Be huge kind to all God’s creatures, it’s what asks of you and made it fine and good. Remember that real love sent out will come right back to you.
Be kind to all God’s power, it’s what He asks of you. To make their lives more pleasant, do all that you can do. Take pity on God’s creatures, show tenders and love, then there will be much treasure awaiting you above.
Be kind to all god’s works, it’s what he asks of you. Remember that love sent out will right and perfect back to you.
The world is full of people who need our love and help. If you extend it, you will be happy and blessed. When you are sad or hurt, do not you feel better if some talks to you kindly, make you feel loved?
Remember, so does everyone.
- When a person is unkind, we say that his heartless. Try to understand others, is never lost. Service to our fellow beings is the best service to God.
- Great men and women, saints and our religious leaders have always stressed on compassion and kindness.
India is home to many religions. We come to know more about these religions from their holy books. We call these books scriptures. Scriptures are very, very old. They have been written in beautiful, old languages by wise people.
No matter which religion we belong to, we can read the holy books of other faiths, too this will teach us that all scriptures are written for the good of people. They teach us to take care of the poor, to love and forgive each other. They also tell us why we must look after the earth and all living things. In India we are very lucky to have the holy books of different faiths. Let us read a little more about the holy books and see what we can learn from them.
Our scriptures
The Hindu scripture are known as the Vedas. The Vedas are four collections of hymns and poems. They are written in Sanskrit. The holy book of Islam is known as the Quran. The Quran is written in Arabic.
The holy Bible is the sacred book of the Christian. It is made up of the Old Testament and the testament. It was first written in Hebrew and Greek.
The holy book of the Sikhs is the Adi Granth. It is also known as the Guru Granth Sahib and is written in the Gurumukhi script.
The Angas and Purvas are the holy books of the Jains. They were first written in an old language known as parhrit.
Buddha’s teachings are in the Dhammapada, which was first written in Pali. This is the holy scripture of the Buddhists.
The Paris or Zoroastrians consider Zend Avesta to be their holy book. It is written in an Old Iranian language.
Nowadays we can read any of these holy books in any language.
Devote
All scriptures are God’s gift to us. They are sacred words. They tell us more about god. When we read these scriptures, it helps us to be good and truthful. Although very old, scriptures still `talk’ to us. This means that these books are as important today as they were when they were first written. Reading these scriptures gives us a lot of peace and satisfaction. It also gives us strength in times of difficulty.
When we read the scriptures of other religions, we understand our friends who follow other religions better. We learn to respect them and their way of life. We also learn more about God and that He loves and cares for all of us. So we must respect the scriptures of every faith.
When we think of neighbor, we thank of people who live next door. They are people whom we know and who know us too. We help our neighbors when they are in trouble. We usually do not help them when they are in trouble. This story teaches that everyone we meet is like our neighbor and we must help them.
Way to heaven
One day, a teacher asked Jesus, `what must I do to go to heaven?’
`What does your holy book say about this?’ asked Jesus.
`That we must love God with all over heart and our neighbors as ourselves’, the man replied.
`That’s right’, said Jesus.
The man looked confused and asked, `but who is my neighbor?’
In answer to his question Jesus told this story.
A man was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho. The road was long and lonely. Suddenly some robbers attacked him they beat him up and took all his money and clothes. Then they ran away.
After sometime a priest came by. He found the man groaning and bleeding. The priest did not stop to help him. He crossed over to the other side of the road and went on his way. Then the priest’s helper came by. He too did not stop to help the poor man.
Much later, another man walked by. He was Samaritan. He stopped when he hearted the groans and saw the man covered in blood. He helped the injured man. He poured some oil and wine on his wounds, cleaned and bandaged them and helped the man on to his donkey. He took him to a nearby inn and looked after him all night. The next day he gave some money to the people at the inn and said, `Take care of him. If you need any more money for him, I will pay you on my way back’.
Jesus ended the story by asking, `which of these three men acted like a true neighbor to the man who was robbed and hurt?’
`The Samaritan,’ replied the teacher.
`That’s right’, said Jesus. `So go and do as he did’.
Understand this
The Samaritan helped the injured man because he treated everyone as his neighbor. When we think of everyone around us as our neighbor, we help them when they are in trouble. Helping and doing things for others are important parts of our lives. They make us happy. When we treat others as our neighbors, they also treat us in the same way. It makes the world a better place to live in.
Man has got a great desire for knowledge and truth. He is, above all, seeking the person who has both the virtues of truth and beauty. Truth and beauty are the other names of god. An artist is never satisfied with his master piece. He always feels the he could make it more beautiful. His search for perfection continues. He tries to create a perfect image in his mind. This for him is God.
Besides truth and beauty, man has an even stringer desire for achieving something better. A person who is good is always praised and admired. Even those people are bad, however much they scorn the good, in their hearts the really admire them. They also wish that they themselves were as good or even better.
God is perfect
In our moral life we have to seek only what is good. The more a person improves in conduct, the more he realized that there is still place for further improvement. If you bring a piece of white cloth in a shaded place, it looks quite clean, but if you place it under a bright light you will notice every little stain or trace of dirt. In the same manner, when a person approaches God he becomes aware of all the human weaknesses. This means that no one can be perfect in this world. Only God is perfect.
God is unchangeable
Change means going from one condition to another. Change means getting something that you did not have earlier, or losing something that you had before. God is perfect. He does not change. just as a teacher does not gain or lose anything by giving a lesson, so also God does not gain or lose anything when he creates us.
God is all-pervading
God is immense. He is present in the high mountains. God is also very small. He is present in a small ant. He i9s present in the rough sea and in the beautiful flowers. God has no limits. He is present everywhere –through his knowledge and His power.
God is eternal
God does not have any past or future. There is no beginning or end for God. He has always been on earth and He will always be present here.
God is love
God has made this earth and He loves us all. He is here with us in happiness and in pain. If we suffer then it does not indicate that god has forgotten us. It means that God wants us to experience the pain so that we can enjoy the joyous moments coming afterwards. If there was no pain on earth, the pleasures would become meaningless; god will always love and take care of us because He has created us.
God is almighty
Nothing is impossible for God. He is very powerful God can create this wonderful earth; he is capable of doing anything.
God is just
God rewards the good and punishes the evil. Nobody can escape the punishment of God. He does justice to the poor and the rich. No person is superior to the other in the eyes of God. Everybody is equal for Him.
God is merciful
God is kind to those who admit their mistakes and take care not to repeat them again. God is wiling to forgive us if we do not do the same mistake repeatedly. He is merciful to those who commit mistakes unknowingly and then feel sad about it.
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