Despite the enormous leaps made by science and technology, society continues to live surrounded by fear & uncertainty. Conflict has stemmed throughout the globe, sprouted solely by opposing religious convictions. The mere difference in once faith has not only caused disharmony amongst neighboring people in the same geographical area, but has also caused disharmony amongst people separated by thousands of miles of water. Loss of life due to disturbances that result from faith related quarrels is unimaginable and on the rise. The majority of civil disturbances are faith related, where one side claims to have been hurt by the other. As a result enormous amount of monies is spent for security in 'religious' processions & celebrations because of fear from attacks of disruption. Still, bloodshed, loss of life, and destruction of property invariably occur. The ironic thing here is that we strive to maintain serenity during 'religious' events: religious events which themselves preach peace.

The question arises, "Why do we spend millions of dollars and countless hours to maintain peace during religious events?" - For the simple reason that we are primarily concerned with protecting our religious symbols & rituals and have definitely abandoned the application of the morals and values represented by those symbols/rituals. We have left ourselves to only be preachers, rather than practical followers of what we preach. For example, all religions in some shape or form advocate the phrase 'all men are created equally.' Imagine if the followers of these religions actually lived by this saying. With the money saved from trying to maintain peace during religious events, along with the new found practicality of our religious convictions, we would be able to provide all the basic amenities for the down trodden and under privileged. It would be a huge accomplishment and one with obvious benefits. However it is first necessary to realize without doubt that all men are created equally.

During the past summer I participated in a blood donation camp in one of the metropolitan cities where people from all class, color & creed were present. While the donation was in progress, it was a wonderful site that those participating were temporarily united on a common platform irrespective of their faith affiliation. On my way out, I passed by the laboratory where all the donated blood was collected. I could not resist the temptation to engage in conversation with the medical officer. I asked the officer whether he found any difference in the blood collected from various people of different faiths and origins. The officer stated that it is not possible to identify the blood samples, therefore the bags had to labeled and identified. The message here was the eternal truth, 'all men are created equal'.

As stated above, every faith some how identifies and lends credence to the above statement. We hear and read statements like 'my brethren', 'love thy neighbor' etc. Do we really believe and practice the above statements? Do we really treat people of another faith in a brotherly fashion? If we do then why the chaos? Do we only believe in our faith but vigorously fail to practice and live by it? Are we only concerned with safe guarding the religious signs, places and rituals that are associated with our faith with utter disregard to the statement 'all men are created equal'? We do believe in religion and faith but are not religious and faithful. Have we conveniently distanced ourselves from the real religion and faith of universal brotherhood? Have we been misled to disregard other faiths and thoughts?

All the above questions arise because surely faith and religion have failed to discipline society. Such a failed and undisciplined social structure existed in India almost five hundred years ago when Guru Nanak was born in 1469. He was a person of high intellect and wide vision; therefore he sensed the ubiquitous practice of rituals, rites and human sacrifices to please various deities. Our society was in social upheaval & chaos. Injustice, inequality, corruption, cast system, discrimination in all forms and superstitious beliefs were rampant, just to mention a few. The common man (ignorant & illiterate) was exploited to the maximum by the then all-powerful clergy, a group of people who falsely claimed to be special messengers of the Almighty. Guru Nanak preached a way of life, life full of love and compassion for others. He taught that the laws of nature are the 'Will Of God'. I sincerely do not want to be-little this article by writing that Guru Nanak started a new and different religion / faith, because the word 'different' by definition would put me a class apart from others; and this contradicts Guru Nanak's teachings, because his way of life was based on 'all men are created equal'. He emphasized the need to look beyond the external rituals and rites, and that it is more important to be religious and faithful than just to protect the symbols of one's religion.

Surely we all believe in one Almighty creator. Human being can be visualized as a drop in the ocean, where the ocean is akin to the creator. Understandably a drop is infinitesimally small in all dimensions when compared to the ocean; similarly human being is finite compared to the infinite Almighty. How can we in our wildest of dreams even dare to attempt to define the Almighty? We are all created equal; the anatomic and physiological laws are the same from birth to death. Why cannot we all adopt one faith and religion most appropriately called 'humanism'? In pursuit of our religious rituals and rites we have distanced ourselves from the Almighty. Under humanism we can work for the benefit of the society as a whole. Let us make our mission to transform the underprivileged and minority communities and individuals into informed and vibrant members of society through civic, educational and personal development programs, by fostering active participation in social and economic activity.

Under the faith of 'humanism' we can create avenues for networking like-minded organizations to establish and nurture meaningful projects and dialogues (social, cultural and political) to promote harmony, understanding and reciprocity in our villages, towns and cities. We can form a coalition of organizations and individuals, who share a common vision based on the belief that there is no greater endeavor than to serve, empower and uplift fellow beings. The core of our philosophy is an unwavering commitment to civic service and social progress on behalf of the common good. We seek to fulfill our mission not only by informing, educating and uplifting our fellow beings but also by participating in cross-cultural and political exchanges to ensure that the promises and benefits of democracy are realized by all. The development of enlightened and progressive societies can be made possible by socially conscious groups of people who make a commitment to develop and direct human potential. Our work, efforts and achievements must stand as a testament to our faith in this vision.