Actress Aparna Balamurali, who got a big break with the Fahadh Faasil-starrer Maheshinte Prathikaaram writes for Onmanorama, on the importance of being human.
“Many a times, I come across this word 'religion' and end up thinking more about what exactly it is and why is it being followed! This might be a childish thought but I write this with a child's mind.”
“Religion is something divine - a part of our life. The different religions of the world are basically different means to help us come to a common end: falling in love with God. And with that we aim to radiate love and joy through our words and actions, and inspire others to become similar sharers of love and joy.”
“But far from such things, many use their religious faith as a means, not to transcend, but to feed their egos. For many, religion is not a means to increase their faith in God, but rather is a means to prove their own superiority over others. In the wake of many things that is happening in our society I wonder how far religion should rule our lives? Why are we fighting? Why are we fighting in the name of God? Is that what he want from us?”
“The recent Chennai floods was a eye-opener for many of us. I felt when the talks and violence on religion were at its peak, it was God himself who showed his anger through the massive flood.”
“The adversity of Chennai Floods revealed the true ‘enemies’ and true ‘friends’ to the struggling people, screaming for life. Be it risking one’s own life to save many more, sharing our own homes with the homeless or distributing food and connecting relatives with their missing ones, the tales of extraordinary human spirit are endless. When tragedy struck, it brought together the rich, poor, educated and abandoned with a response of brotherhood, compassion and love unparalleled. All we wanted were HELPING HANDS. I was so surprised to see the sudden reply of God on how things should really work.”
“Where was religion then? And why was there no question of religion? Because the city saw the biggest example of unity in diversity through the adversity where the only religion was humanity.”
“Let's not fight for religion. But let us take all good things that religion has taught us as its all about how you behave as a HUMAN BEING.”
(Monday Motivation is a weekly column from celebs, where they share experiences from life, which help you to brush away Monday-morning blues and start the week with a bang, full of hope and energy.)
