Tuesday, December 18, 2007

On God, faith, and Immortality

The core of religious faith is that mystic feeling that unites man with God. It is only in relation to the Creator, and the purpose which that Creator has fixed for His creatures, that human existence has any meaning. This state of spiritual communion can be brought about and maintained by means of meditation and prayer. And this is the reason why various religions have so much stressed the importance of worship. In reality, there is only one religion, the religion of God. The purpose of God in creating man has been, and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His Presence.

Many people live their lives without ever reflecting on life itself or its meaning for them. Their lives may be full of activities. They may marry, have children, run a business, or become scientists or musicians, without ever obtaining any degree of understanding of why they do these things. Their lives have no overall purpose to give meaning to separate events, and they may have no clear idea of their own nature or identity, of who they really are.

The ultimate aim in life of every human soul should be to attain moral and spiritual excellence--to align one's inner being and outward behavior with the will of an all-loving Creator. That each individual has been bestowed with a unique destiny by God--a destiny which unfolds in accordance with the free exercise of the choices and opportunities presented in life. In particular, it is through the moral exercise of our divinely conferred free will that opportunities are provided for spiritual advancement.

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