The Lens of Misunderstanding: A Tale of Religion and Humanity
Imagine this: one day, your family gets into a conflict with an unknown family. Your family tells you, "Stay away from them; they’re bad people." Without thinking much, you believe them and start assuming that everyone in that family is bad. It feels normal because our minds naturally tend to generalize.
But now consider another scenario—what if that conflict happens with your best friend’s family?
Your family might tell you not to talk to your best friend, but you won’t listen to them. Why? Because you know that just because one member of that family is in the wrong doesn’t mean the entire family is bad. This logic seems obvious, doesn’t it?
Now, let’s try to understand this analogy from the perspective of religion.
The Birth of a Misunderstanding
In our society, if some people from a particular religion do something wrong, we quickly assume that everyone from that religion must be the same. We take the negativity of one individual or group and paint the entire community with the same brush.
But is this true? No. Every religion, like every family, has good and bad people. What makes the difference is our personal connection.
The Best Friend Perspective
When it comes to your best friend, you don’t distance yourself from them because you know them. You don’t judge their entire family based on the actions of one member. You understand that one person’s mistake doesn’t define the character of the entire family.
But in the case of religion, we don’t let our minds work with the same fairness. That’s because we rarely get the opportunity to form personal connections with people from other religions.
The Gap Between Religion and Humanity
This is how the cycle of hate begins:
1. Judging Without Knowing: Blaming an entire religion or community for the wrong actions of a few individuals.
2. Lack of Empathy: When we don’t spend time with people from other religions, we fail to understand their perspectives.
3. Fear and Division: Misunderstandings and hatred push communities further apart.
It becomes a chain reaction, where one misunderstanding gives rise to another.
The Love Lens Solution
Where there is a cycle of hate, there can also be a new perspective of love. The Love Lens teaches one simple principle:
Don’t judge an entire religion or community by the actions of a few individuals or groups. Every religion is like an extended family, with both good and bad people.
If some people from a religion are in the wrong, it doesn’t mean everyone in that religion is the same. Try to understand each person as an individual with their own perspective.
Just as you wouldn’t break your connection with your best friend, we should strive to build positive connections with people from every religion.
Final Thought
The only way to escape the jungle of misunderstandings is to view things through the lens of humanity. A small change in perspective can make a big difference:
"Just as one family member’s mistake doesn’t define the entire family, the mistakes of a few people from a religion don’t define the whole community."
If we truly understand this, we can break the cycle of hatred and create a new society—one where religion doesn’t divide but unites.