All major religions offer a deep, underlying, fundamental, unity amid apparent diversity; they

prescribe specific ways to live in peaceful coexistence, for self-development and ultimate fulfilment of life. Religions have five distinctly different domains, though not watertight: rituals, mythology, ethics, philosophy and spirituality. The external appearance or body of any religion lies in rituals and its operating limbs are in mythology, while its backbone consists of ethical principles, its brain is in philosophy and its heart is in spirituality. Rituals and mythology are dependent on the faith of followers; ethics and philosophy are based on rationality and

reasoning, while spirituality flowers from esoteric and experiential wisdom. Hence, religions are simultaneously based on faith, intellect and wisdom. Many people confuse mutually complementary rituals and mythology as the essence of religion, and they rarely want to venture beyond these two elementary means to an end, even at the cost of fanaticism. Since these are based on followers’ faith, religious bigotry and fanaticism are usually rooted in these two. But Swami Vivekananda said that a wise person could never be fanatic as he is always open. He also advised all to move forward for progressive realisation. The backbone of any religion lies

in its ethical principles designed for peaceful coexistence in society and self-development, which enables followers to be better human beings with a sense of fraternity, honesty, empathy, humility, love, purity, truthfulness, nonviolence and benevolence. The philosophical part, the brain of a religion, theoretically concerns existential enigma of creation and Creator. It includes man’s eternal quest for true identity, origin, destination and purpose.

Answer the following questions from the above passage-

1. How many areas of religion are there and explain its operation ?

2. How are ethics and philosophy based and what is the basis of religion ?

3. How do people understand rituals and Mythology ?

4. What did Swami Vivekananda say in his view ?

5. How does religion help one become a better human ?