The modern habit of doing ceremonial things unceremoniously is no proof of humility; rather it proves the offender’s inability to forget himself in the rite, and his readiness to spoil for everyone else the proper pleasure of ritual.
Those who are ignorant of the supreme purpose of life will never be able to attain nirvana (liberation) in spite of their observance of the vratas (vows) and niyamas (rules) of religious conduct and practice of shila (celibacy) and tapas (penance).
Only that, which influences everyone everywhere equally is the blessing of God
like sun, moon, air, water and human life. How could having different scriptures
and diverse beliefs for various religions ever be termed as being religious?
-Deep Trivedi
I like the silent church before the service begins, better than any preaching.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Self-Reliance and Other Essays"
A priest once quoted to me the Roman saying that a religion is dead when the priests laugh at each other across the altar. I always laugh at the altar, be it Christian, Hindu, or Buddhist, because real religion is the transformation of anxiety into laughter.
-Alan Wilson Watts
One of the truly bad effects of religion is that it teaches us that it is a virtue to be satisfied with not understanding.
-Richard Dawkins
"The God Delusion"
The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshiped anything but himself.
-Richard Francis Burton
The minute you get a religion you stop thinking. Believe in one thing too much and you have no room for new ideas.
-Ray Bradbury
"The October Country"
Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand.
-Karl Marx
I hate organized religion. I hate that people use it to justify their crappy, bigoted beliefs.
-Hannah Harrington
"Saving June"
