Religiosity

Religiosity by The Persian Poet Rumi, circa 1200’s CE

One day a son asked his father, “Which is the best world religion?”
He answered, “None! This does no longer concern me!”
Upon son’s persistence, the father further enlightened’ I give merit to no religiosity,
Since when a new religion is declared, it only intensifies human misery.
It repeats enmity & hatred, and again inflicts “holy wars” relied on self-righteousness, the new religion ubiquitously sheds blood of the innocents, over & over again
Thence, I am neither a Muslim, nor a Christian, nor a Jew, since I instead, obey thinking, tinkering, logic and rationales.
Wisdom impels me to embrace happiness through co-existence with all humanity
Paradoxically, religion commands that the bloods of the infidels,
When shed would yield the soldiers [of God] sweetest rewards in the hereafter
Beheld, diverse bodied minds are also equal humans, Perplexed as to why any religion should write off as legitimate slain?
Now you know son why I have no faith in world religions,
It is so to avoid shedding blood, or inflicting injustice on my human peers.
Thence my advice to you son, is to follow your own conscientiousness and judgement,
To attain the ultimate supreme wisdom anchored on the golden rule of treating others as you wish to be treated.
And anchored on spiritual humanisms of good thoughts, good words and good deeds.
To remain in solidarity and comradely with all humanity, as that is the best religion of them all.
Alas, in search for God, I visited the synagogue, church, and the mosque,
I finally found God through self-actualization within the most sacred temple:
God is in my heart, within the limitless walls of love for all life.

Translated in part from Rumi’s original poem and amended by Pirouz Azadi

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This post was written by Pirouz Azadi