Approaching the West — Page 70
A pproaching the West—70 human life–starting from the conception of a child in a mother’s womb, baby’s birth, growth of a child into adulthood, dietary regulations, what is permissible and what is forbidden, marriage, parenting, old age and finally the death and the rituals how to dispose of the dead body. The religious measures and injunctions, if followed sincerely and obediently, give the hope to their followers to have a better life even after death. If the religious law is broken, it constitutes a sin; and committing a sin contains drastic consequences for the believer in this life and in the life to come! Unless forgiven by a Higher Authority or saved through the Divine Grace, the earthly life and the next life are believed to become very unpleasant! The religious law (of any belief-system), therefore, is taken very seriously by its sincere followers!! The Divinely inspired or revealed scriptures, such as the Vedas, the Torah, the Gospels, all the other inspired books of the Bible, and the Qur’ ā n have created deep social, economical, political and psychological effects on their adherents. Lives of millions of individuals, character of numerous communities, and features of many cultures and civilizations have been shaped–directly and indirectly–by the dictates of religious laws! Administrations and judiciary systems have been founded on many religious precepts. Rules of war and peace have been drawn from the Holy Books. Empires have been created and demolished in the name of, or for the sake of, a particular organized religion! However, historically speaking, the religious law has also been misused by religious men in authority as well as by politicians to gain individual and/or collective (self-centered)