... It is very interesting to note that people in the communities mentioned never encouraged their children to get involved with religious practices. They thought that before religion, the child must have a trained mind in order not to fall into devotional traps, but analyze, discriminate, and choose by his or her own free will.
The voice of church was formed only by mature people between the ages of 30-40. Children were not advised to attend so-called Sunday school or Bible classes. They were encouraged to read about heroes, history and myths, to study the sciences and to engage in sports.
The people of the communities used to think that religious doctrines and Bible study would precondition the child's mind to such a degree that he or she would not be able to free himself from the limitations of the doctrines, dogmas, and traditional influences and thus would not try to approach life through his independent logic and reasoning.
When a child became interested in religious ideas, they used to give him broad outlines. On one occasion when I asked one of my teachers about Christ, he said, "All that I can tell you about Him is that He lived a life of beauty, goodness, truth, and simplicity. And as you live such a life you will not need to know what other people say about Him, because your Soul will be in contact with Him." This small conversation saved my life. After that, I looked at Christ's teaching as a living experience rather than a dogma, a doctrine, or theology which all seemed to me a waste of time.
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Real religion is a communication between you and the highest you can reach. Such communication can be possible without an organized religion. Whenever we teach beauty and truth and express goodness through our sacrificial service, we contact the Highest.
Unfortunately the religious movements of today are brain-washing processes consisting of social gatherings, politics, business and good times. Children must not be led by organized religions, but by ideals, ideas and visions of the religions.
It is not good to lead children into religious practices which will mold their attitude to life, but we can give them higher principles to live by without religion. We can bring the beauty revealed by great Saviors, without channeling it through an organized religion. An organized religion is separative and cannot create superior beings.
It is not good to lead children into religious conflict but give them the essence of the religions without the feeling of separatism and pride, and teach them virtues and higher principles to live by. We can bring the beauty revealed by great Saviors without instilling antagonistic attitudes in the children.
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Our religious teaching prevents children from contacting New Age ideas, for religions try to evaluate everything through their own belief and thus miss the new revelation. In many, many ages the children have gone through religious experiences, and most of them are ready for visions which are more inclusive and human than what they had before. The children are sometimes different seeds from different realms, and we force them to bloom as the flower we want them to be. This is the greatest catastrophe, for you are preventing that child from bringing out his own beauty and thus fulfilling his own destiny. It is wise never to give them religious or nationalistic lectures or practices. Try to help them discipline their bodies, emotions and minds and then allow them to have their own responses to the Almighty Life. Any imposed teaching is a step backward on the path of evolution.
We can show religion as a relationship between man and God, between the subjective and objective world, between the past and the whole. But in teaching it we must also find out why the religions failed in creating an ideal humanity, and where they failed, and how much must be replaced of that which is obsolete, until we come to the conclusion that "new wine needs new bottles" , as Christ said.
Many religious people will not agree with this concept, but wether they agree or not, the New Religion, the nature of which is synthesis, is already in the process of formation. It will take time to be a strong influence in the life of humanity, through those who already overcome their separativeness.
-Torkom Saraydarian
Woman, Torch of the Future
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