Sofia E.

Vitali

BELIEFS & ACTS

One of the main reasons for which I will always be grateful to my mother is for letting me
decide which religion I wanted to belong to. Even though my family is Roman Catholic, she
did not baptize me either force me to receive Holy Communion. She thought that those were
decisions I had to take by myself; and I can only thank her for being so wise, with absolutely
no intention to mean that being Christian is a heavy sentence imposed by parents.
I ended up not believing in God, or the Bible, or the Church, but still, I do believe there is
something bigger than us. It would be extremely self-centred of us humans to believe that
there is no such thing as a major force. Which or what is that major force or divine entity, I do
not know, but I can surely live with the doubt. Nevertheless I am not proud to confess that I
find it extremely difficult to understand most of the religious communitys beliefs and
behaviours, as well as where those beliefs come from and why people believe that.
But what I find it highly disturbing and intriguing, is that usually, what is preached or
believed is clearly inconsistent in deeds. It seems like the mere fact of believing is enough to
act as pleased. Religious people are unbelievably persistent about only embracing and
following their doctrine. But being so focused on the mystical side and on following the
proper steps, seems to make them forget about the basic common sense deeds, like giving
other religions the considerable respect and relevance they deserve.
Tolerance, indeed! It is all about tolerance! I can hardly understand the burning need that
religious groups have to stand out, to be the best and the only ones. Uncountable are the
bloody revolutions and wars that had taken place over history as a result of friction between
different religions. And even nowadays we can witness disputes of this type. How is it
possible that such catastrophic events occur in the name of a devotion that is considered
sacred and that is meant to bring nothing but peace to the soul? It is utterly senseless. If you
observe the purposes of every single doctrine, you will realize that essentially, they all share a
purpose, which is to find peace. If they all preach for the same, why is it that there is so much
conflict and hatred between them? Is it possible that the real purpose of religions is far away
from being to find peace?
And what about people defining themselves as completely religious, but then behaving in
despicable ways, and afterwards, going to church to ask for forgiveness? Asking for mercy
does not make them turn time back and behave correctly. Hypocrisy, indeed! If those are not
hypocritical attitudes, what are they? And this is the reason why I profusely thank my mother
for not choosing my religion. She saved me facing a few dilemmas. But above all, she made
me develop what I consider a truly extraordinary quality, a personality that allows me to
believe in whatever I want, with no limitations. As Tilopa (an Indian tantric practitioner and
mahasiddha) said long time ago Have a mind that is open to everything and attached to
nothing