30 January 2015 - QA 4

Gurudev, you have compared religion and spirituality to a banana and its peel. Isn’t the banana peel important to protect the banana inside?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Correct! Religion has its place. I am not a communist or an atheist who would say religion should be done away with. But what is the point of having a skin if there is no banana inside? If there is no substance, no human values, no compassion, no love, no sense of belongingness; holding onto the rituals and just the outer identity of religion which has become the cause of more and more conflicts in the world today, is useless. This is what I was talking about.

Religion has a place, let it be there. Your weddings are done according to your religion. Your naming ceremony is done according to religion. Your cremation is done according to religion. But do not let religion swallow or eat up the basics of spirituality - love, compassion, a sense of belongingness and humility. These values are what we call spirituality.