Religion

Last edited Sat Jan 19, 2019, 10:41 AM - Edit history (1)

I have previously posted this poem/prayer from Rabia Basri (a Muslim saint and Sufi mystic) several times, but I do so again because I feel that it sums up my personal beliefs concerning heaven and hell:

O God! If I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell
and if I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise.
But if I worship You for Your Own sake,
grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty.

In other words, if my goal in life is simply to avoid going to hell and/or trying to "win" heaven, then I am only doing so out of self-interest.

I am being self-centered, not other-centered.

Therefore, I believe that if there is a god, then she/he/it wants me to worship him/her/it by taking care of others, especially those who need help: the sick, the dying, the hungry, the scared, the lonely, the imprisoned, those who are suffering and in pain.

I also believe that this includes taking care of the earth, to preserve and protect it for the future generations of plants, animals, and people who will follow me.

Anyway, those are just my thoughts on this - thank you again for posting!

Wishing you well and peace.

Tim