Religion
...unique and no matter what an individual's background, culture or beliefs may be, it is their differences that allow each person to react to experiences in their own special way. Although we are all very different, most of us had religious experiences at some point in our lives. The way in which we interpret these experiences is dependent on who we are as individuals.
Three well-known men, Gandhi, Siddhartha and Malcolm X, each have had personal experiences with religion and have went on to share these experiences and their philosophies on life with the world.
Siddhartha grew up in India and was taught the Hindu teachings by his father, although as a young man he questioned the Hindu beliefs and sought out to find himself and religion. He spent years as a Samana, a "self-exile of society living in self-denial," with his good friend Govinda.
As a Samana, Siddhartha was introduced to Buddhism, but still did not find the religious fulfillment that he yearned for. Siddhartha had to live a life of sin before making peace with himself, but was able to find true happiness and the meaning of life through following no one's teachings except his own through his experiences.
Before leaving his family to search for religious fulfillment, Siddhartha wanted to rid himself of worldly possessions and did so by giving a poor man his clothes. He also believed strongly in the concept of "The Self," shutting himself off from society, destroying all attachments: "When all the Self was conquered and dead, when all passions and desires were silent, then the last must awaken, the innermost of Being that is no longer Self - the great secret!". He did this because he believed that by destroying attachments to the outside world, he would be able to find himself more easily.
In his journey, Siddhartha discovered that he was unable to part with his Self' and realized that he...
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