One starts to pursue religion as a means of achieving peace and contentment.

Every religion disseminates information about what is good and harmful in its own unique way. Religion is a system of beliefs or faith. Since the law of nature dictates that when one does terrible deeds, he charges demerit karma, which brings him unhappiness; however, if he does good deeds, he charges merit karma, which provides him happiness, it teaches us to leave bad things and adopt the good things instead.

The world is a place where many different religions are practised, including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and others. Everyone discovers a religion that is suitable for themselves depending on their level of spiritual growth - one that they feel complements their worldview, That which he believes to be true, which leads to their entrenchment in it.

  • Religion is all about doing something: you have to worship God, recite the Lord's name constantly, carry out rituals, say prayers, practice repentance, meditate, renounce your wife and children, your home and property, your money, and all of your possessions, and you also have to perform a lot of penance. In general, any action is always accompanied by a great deal of tension and pressure.
  • For whatever reason, when one doesn't accomplish what he sets out to do, a great deal of worry and panic also naturally and promptly erupt within him, making him exceedingly restless.
  • Without a doubt, one binds merit karmas by performing nice activities. However, one must take a new birth and enter this world to reap the benefits of these merit karmas. To reap the rewards of one's merit karmic deeds, one must endure the excruciating pain of birth and death.
  • Additionally, the results of good deeds usually take the shape of fleeting happiness in this life. When temporary happiness comes to an end, it causes enormous suffering.
  • Even when one is enjoying such joy, he does feel content for a while, but eventually, he becomes exhausted and seeks out other sources of joy. For untold numbers of souls, this process never ends.

At that point, the inner spiritual quest for lasting happiness begins...

One understands that Lord Mahavir, Lord Ram, Lord Krishna, or whichever God he is currently worshipping - they achieved something beyond the intellect, beyond the ego, beyond what worldly people are capable of; they achieved something that kept them always happy no matter what the outer circumstances be, and that is why we worship them as God.
After many births, as one progresses organically along his path of spiritual development, he finally comes to the understanding that "all things of the world are temporary, and the happiness derived from them is also temporary" via his experiences. This insight sparks in him a spiritual quest for lasting happiness. At this moment, he longs to go there, to follow God, and then to become one with Him. However, he is unsure of how.

So the quest to find a source of lasting happiness begins...

One day, the Gnani, the Enlightened One, appears in front of him as Nature puts an end to his hunt.

He learns from the Gnani that he had always thought, believed, and said, "I am doing religion, I am worshipping, I am performing meditation," while engaging in religious activity. Who, though, is this I?

I'm not who I really am. "Who am I then?"

And that is where spirituality starts.

Spirituality is the understanding of how to arrive at Self-realization, or the understanding of "Who Am I?"

Between religion and spirituality, there is a significant distinction. Religion provides us with information that enables us to distinguish between good and bad, as well as motivates us to reject the bad and embrace the good. In contrast, there is no need to give up anything or adopt anything in spirituality. To experience "Who really am I?" and "Who really is the doer of the good and evil things?" spirituality teaches us to transcend dualism, distinction, and discrimination of good and bad.