DO RELIGIOUS PEOPLE BECOME MORE SELF-CENTERED WITH TIME?

Religion has been the hand to hold for a lot of people. For some, it is the last ray of hope; for some, it is one for all situations. Man has mind and conscience; he can wonder about his being. Humans are wired to be contented, to be freed from the worries about his future and to arrive at tranquility. And to attain this tranquility, most people choose religion.

As one chooses a religious way of life, a lot of changes ensue. Devoting much of their time thinking about the soul, meditating or involved in rituals and ceremonies, they tend to care less for their loved ones and unknowingly, distances themselves from everything materialistic, even their relations. It can be seen that with the passing of time, they tend to become more and more self-centered.

Even though it’s not true in the case of all the people, some tend to be over-attached to the lifestyle that has been portrayed to be what spirituality calls for. The rituals and rites of passage provide not only a sense of tradition, but more importantly, they seem to stimulate a sense of purpose and meaning.  The quest for finding the purpose of life becomes the purpose of their lives and all the thoughts set out towards achieving true understanding of the soul.

Spending time for their rituals and ceremonies become common as they move farther away from the people close to them as detachment starts to have a strong grip on the everyday life. Even though this is a difficult process, it is much easier for the ones who have chosen this path as it is deliberate. But for the others involved, it is not that easy. It is something that is forced upon them and adjusting to it only becomes more and more difficult with each passing day because it is not something they covet.

Religion is considered to be essential for man to develop materially and spiritually in his own world and to reach the stage of true humanity. But more and more people who chose the religious path unfortunately become self-centered and detached from the outside world. It is something we cannot deem as right or wrong and have to deal with when someone close to us chooses to do so.

If a person is dependent on their time for whatever domestic reasons, they have to start finding an alternative. If it’s more of spending quality time with them for relationship building, talking it out to them to spare some time could help. But at the end of the day, it’s a path an individual chooses, and what we can do is respect the choice because every individual has a right to live a life of their choice. And though easier said than done, this would be the only way to deal with such a situation.