ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Man and Universe Chapter 3: Religious Faith The foregoing discussion has made it clear that without having an ideal and faith man cannot pass a healthy life nor can he render a fruitful service to humanity and human culture. A man not having an ideal and faith will either be submerged in self-seeking or will be converted into a lifeless robot groping in darkness and not knowing his duty in respect of the moral and social questions of life.

He will perforce show queer reaction to such questions. A man who adheres to a school, an ideology or faith, knows his responsibility clearly. But a man whose responsibility is not made clear by a school or a system, will pass his life in bewilderment and will sometimes be drawn to this direction and sometimes to that. He will become an incongruous being. In, fact there cannot be two opinions about the necessity of being attached to a definite school or an ideology.

It is important to note that it is religious faith alone that can convert a man into a true believer and can suppress his selfishness and self-seeking under the impact of a doctrine and an ideology. Religious faith creates in the individual a sort of unqualified submission so that he can no longer entertain any doubt even about the most trivial doctrines of his school.

He holds his school dear to his heart, regards his life without it as meaningless and absurd and supports his ideology with zeal and fervour. Distinctions of Religious Faith Religious tendencies impel man to make efforts even at the cost of his natural and individualistic feelings. He sometimes sacrifices his life and his social position for the sake of his faith. This is possible only when the ideal of a man attains an aspect of sanctity and gains absolute control of his existence.

It is religious force alone which imparts sanctity to an ideal and imposes its authority on man. It is true that often people sacrifice their life, their property and all that is dear to them not for the sake of any ideal or religious faith but under the pressure of psychological complexes, malice, revenge or as a severe reaction to the feeling of being oppressed and suppressed. Such cases are common in every part of the world.

But there is a difference between a religious and a non-religious ideal. As the involvement of religious belief imparts sanctity to an ideal, sacrifices are made for the sake of it most voluntarily and naturally.