Strong, heartfelt and surprisingly easy to remember words of Yuri Levitansky are remembered by many representatives of the generation born in the USSR. Poems became popular after the release of the movie "Don't be afraid, I'm with you." Romantic, imbued with the spirit of freedom, they immediately pop up in memory when it comes to choosing a person's life and spiritual path.
“Everyone chooses for himself
Woman, religion, road.
Serve the devil or the prophet -
Everyone chooses for himself."
Which way to choose? And will this choice be deliberate? Most often, a person is not given such a choice from the cradle. Depending on the place of birth, the nationality of the family, or its social status, the newborn is a priori brought up in the traditions that are accepted in his circle.
Even during the period of militant atheism, parents managed to secretly baptize their children. Since birth, society has been trying to "drive" the personality into a certain framework. It is believed that the very fact of baptism already determines a person's belonging to the Christian faith. But this is not a free choice. After all, the baby does not realize why some strange, mysterious manipulation is performed with him.
A person grows up, wears a cross or another symbol of his faith, but this does not mean that he believes in the doctrine that was imposed on him at birth. Why not give the individual the opportunity to choose what to believe in? After reaching a certain age, most people begin to think about the eternal questions: “Who am I? What is my purpose in this life? Is there someone Supreme and who controls this world? A person begins to look for truth and realizes that it cannot be limited by the framework of religion alone, truth cannot be imposed.
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Over time, a person comes to the logical conclusion that wearing the attributes of faith does not make him closer to the truth, does not give him answers to global questions, and blind faith does not make him smarter, cleaner and happier. An inquisitive and intelligent person very quickly understands the difference between Faith and religion. The first one gives a person unlimited opportunities for self-knowledge and knowledge of the surrounding reality. Religion, on the other hand, drives outdated dogmas and rules into a rigid framework. Religion is just one of the handy tools for managing the masses.
To believe or not to believe in the Higher Forces is a personal matter for everyone, depending on his level of culture, education and self-awareness. Atheism or denial of God or gods is a life position that has the right to exist, like others. But psychologists say that "pure" atheists practically do not exist. Even those who call themselves such are most likely agnostics, that is, doubters. After all, "if there were no God, he should have been invented!"
Indeed, it’s boring to live only with material interests and not be interested in the spiritual. Such a person is limited, as well as one who blindly follows religious dogmas. This is not to say that one of the world's religions is better than the other. Each has its own positive aspects, as well as its own prohibitions, "oddities", restrictions. But a free person has the right to choose for himself what restrictions to impose on himself, so you need to give him this right, and not "attach" to faith at an early age, when he still does not understand anything.
Svetlana was born into a family of "hereditary atheists". Even her great-grandmother, who moved from the village to the capital at the beginning of the 20th century, was not truly a “believer”. She did not know prayers and did not know how to be baptized. The girl's mother worked as a teacher, so she was in no hurry to baptize her daughter when she was born.
The girl began to take an early interest in matters of religion and faith. She read a lot, mainly atheistic literature, which told in detail about where all world religions originated, the meaning of religious rituals and the traditions of believers. They exposed in detail the church "miracles" created by the hands of the clergy themselves. But, despite the mountains of popular science literature read in childhood, Svetlana did not become an atheist. On the contrary, when such an opportunity arose in our country, the girl became interested in various spiritual practices, meditation and studied “religious life” from the inside.
Over time, Svetlana realized that she was “cramped” within the framework of any religion. Each of them imposes on a person a lot of conditional restrictions, seeks to completely take over his soul and mind. In essence, to control a person, to make him obedient and weak-willed.
Svetlana did not adhere to any religious doctrine, she was simply interested in discovering something new for herself, expanding the boundaries of consciousness and learning about the world. One day she happened to visit Haifa, where she visited the Bahai Temple. The woman has long dreamed of getting to this place, and her dream has come true. She arrived there as part of a large excursion group. As soon as Svetlana entered the vaults of the temple, a strange feeling seized her. The legs seemed to be rooted to the soft carpet that covered the floor. (In Bahaism, it is customary to take off your shoes when entering the temple.) The girl felt her hair on the crown of her head move from the powerful flow of energy from head to toe.
In the silence of the temple, filled with the scent of blooming roses, she realized what really is unity with the Higher Power. In no church, Svetlana did not manage to experience anything like this. She seemed to have dropped out of reality for a few minutes, and when she returned from a meditative state, she felt extraordinary lightness and a surge of strength.
When she left the Temple, the caretakers who were in charge of the flow of tourists exchanged glances. One of them, silently and with a bow, handed her a bright booklet in Russian. Svetlana's companions on the excursion were surprised - they were not offered such an advertising brochure. There were only two booklets. One was given to Light, the other to her companion. The girl also left the Temple with an enlightened face. Then Sveta exchanged impressions with her, and they realized that they had experienced the same feelings of purification, delight and unity with Heaven.
Even before reading the brochure, Svetlana was aware of the basic principles of Bahá'íism. She knew that the Bahai Temple is a place with very strong energy, and that the Bahai religion itself is peaceful and positive. Its followers advocate universal world equality, the unity of all religions, the eradication of evil and poverty. The Bahá'í religion, unlike other denominations, gives equal rights to both men and women. She does not deny science and highly values the moral principles of building society. “This is why this religion will never become a world religion,” Svetlana jokingly told her companion, and she agreed with her. Too humane and utopian ideas are preached by Bahá'ís in our fragmented, authoritarian, and prejudiced world.
The feeling of warmth and tranquility that descended on Svetlana in the Bahai Temple, she tried to keep in her soul as long as possible. Every time she had to experience difficult and unpleasant moments in her life, she recalled the miraculous warmth that passed through her when she turned to Heaven. As soon as she closed her eyes, she again plunged into the awe-inspiring silence of the Temple, felt the warmth of the soft carpet under her bare feet and breathed in the scent of hundreds of roses. A few minutes of this meditation helped her to restore her mental balance.
No, Svetlana did not become an active follower of the Bahá'í religion, but after visiting the Temple, she became even more strengthened in her personal Faith. The belief that it depends only on us which road to choose. And this choice should be deliberate, and not imposed from birth.