The Messiah Herald Issue 07 August 2017 | Page 4

COVER STORY THE MORTALITY OF RELIGIONS The original purpose of a religion was to establish a connection between human beings and God. T HERE IS NO DOUBT THAT religion has a significant part to play in the state of perpetual turmoil that dominates our society today. Atheists and agnostics are growing in number day-by-day as people become disenchanted with their religions; on the other end of the spectrum, the surge in religious extremism in the past two decades has become a dire issue for global leaders. This begs the question: has religion always had a pernicious effect on humanity - and if not, why is it now? In His book, The Religion of God (Divine Love), His Divine Eminence Lord Ra Riaz Gohar Shahi says, ‘The religions established through celestial scriptures are correct, provided they have not been adulterated.’ The Spiritual Human Anatomy A human being consists of many spirits and sub-spirits. Below is a diagram depicting the main souls inside the human body. In every human being, there are elements that spiritually link him to nature. There are three terrestrial spirits that form the human body: the mineral spirit, the bio-spirit and the botanical spirit. Due to these spirits, man feels close to mountains, animals and trees. The celestial spirits in the human breast enable man to access the angelic realms. Furthermore, man has the ability to accommodate God in him. Learn more about the spiritual human anatomy and the functions of each spirit in The Religion of God (Divine Love). The original purpose of a religion was to establish a connection between human beings and God. Its secondary aim was to improve the society it was introduced in and bring it more in synch with the laws of God. This is why, historically, there have always been two aspects of a religion: the inner dimension and the outer dimension. These two dimensions have been necessary for the implementation of religions because we human beings are compound creatures. We all have a body and we consider it to be our reality. However, this body is simply a container for our Main Human Soul and its auxiliary spirits. Our reality is based on the life of these souls, not the body. The outer dimension of a religion has to do with maintaining the cleanliness of the body and governing the society. The outer dimension of the religion is like the skin of a potato: the real substance is to be found when you peel it off. The inner dimension of the religion, spirituality, concerns itself with the activation and enlightenment of the souls through divine energy. It is the core of the religion. Without it, the practice of that religion is futile. If a religion no longer has a spiritual system, it cannot connect its followers with God. 4 5