The Purpose Of Religious Practices
Radhanath Swami
Spiritual Activist | Author | Philanthropist. Account run by the office of His Holiness Radhanath Swami
Everyone is looking for pleasure. The question arises that if our aim is pleasure and if the world is designed to frustrate our attempts to attain pleasure, then what is the hope? Therefore God, personally descends into this world simply to reveal the way by which we can not only attain true happiness and peace but also perfect our life. The Bhagavad Gita teaches the process by which we can achieve the highest joy of bhakti yoga and share it with others.
Today, in the name of religion, people are so caught up in rituals, conventions, and obligations that they are deluded from the real purpose of religion – transformation of consciousness. Transformation of greed to generosity, egoism to humility, vengeance to forgiveness, agitation to peace and hate to love. All of this naturally happens when we revive our eternal relationship with the absolute truth, God.
Furthermore, there is so much division and disunity. To help us rise above all externality, egoism, selfishness, and greed, and understand that the real pleasure we’re seeking is unmotivated, unconditional love, is the purpose of religious practices.