To be religious

The purpose of being religious is to be a seeker of truth.

Then, people find truth in religion, in science etc. And they all have truth.

However, it isn't dichotemous, there isn't this truth, that truth. There isn't that religion, this religion. It's all one. There are man made boundaries that prevent us from exploring and embracing the truth in other traditions. Veils.

If we should have a truth, we should proclaim that truth, and offer it to others, as you would priceless jewels to a king. For, what is more valuable than truth?

Finding truth, embracing a religion. It's not a black and white process. It's a journey - a search for truth (we're all seekers). When we stop this search, thats when truths multiply and veils form. And if we find a truth greater than the one we possessed before, what else is there to do other than embracing this greater truth?

That is sacrifice - giving up something smaller for something greater - because we may not recognize its true worth at first.

And why to accept a religion? But to recognize truth in its origin, and truth with regards to its purpose.

The purpose of religion --
"God's purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is twofold. The first is to liberate the children of men from the darkness of ignorance, and guide them to the light of true understanding. The second is to ensure the peace and tranquillity of mankind, and provide all the means by which they can be established." (Baha'u'llah)

So, it is to enkindle the spiritual nature/qualities of our souls and enable the establishment of peace in our civilization.

There's a book - the Seven Valleys (by Baha'u'llah), which explores the spiritual jpurney of the human soul. The first stage of the journey is through the first valley - the valley of search. Here are some of my favourite quotations from this valley:

"The steed of this Valley is patience; without patience the wayfarer on this journey will reach nowhere and attain no goal. Nor should he ever be downhearted; if he strive for a hundred thousand years and yet fail to behold the beauty of the Friend, he should not falter...No bond shall hold them back, and no counsel shall deter them.

"It is incumbent on these servants that they cleanse the heart—which is the wellspring of divine treasures—from every marking, and that they turn away from imitation, which is following the traces of their forefathers and sires, and shut the door of friendliness and enmity upon all the people of the earth.

"The true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his quest, and the lover hath no desire save union with his beloved. Nor shall the seeker reach his goal unless he sacrifice all things. That is, whatever he hath seen, and heard, and understood, all must he set at naught, that he may enter the realm of the spirit, which is the City of God. Labor is needed, if we are to seek Him; ardor is needed, if we are to drink of the honey of reunion with Him; and if we taste of this cup, we shall cast away the world."