When natural disasters create havoc and bring untold misery in the form of death and destruction in their trail, one can also notice an outpouring of kindness and compassion. One could see it during the unprecedented flood in Kerala in 2018. The extraordinary and deadly landslide in Wayanad at the end of July 2024 is one of the worst natural disasters that the state of Kerala has witnessed. According to a Free Press (Indore edition) news report on August 7, the death toll reached 402 and 170 people are still missing from Mundakkai and Chooralmala as per official records. Manorama news on August 4 reported that 1208 houses were destroyed in the multiple landslides that took place in Wayanad.

Amidst the widespread devastation in Wayanad, a beacon of hope emerged in the form of extraordinary acts of compassion and courage. A team of four forest officers embarked on a perilous journey deep into the forest, braving heavy rain and rugged terrain to rescue a tribal family, which included four toddlers between one and four. The family was stranded in a cave atop a hill overlooking a deep gorge, and it took over four and a half hours of arduous trekking for the team to reach them. Their selfless act of bravery is a testament to the human spirit in the face of adversity.

The Telegraph on August 4 carried the story of the heroic act of Prajesh of Chooralmala. Despite warnings from friends, he made three perilous trips up and down a dark and treacherous hill with his jeep to rescue people immediately after landslides hit Mundakkai, 3 km uphill from Chooralmala, around 1 am on Tuesday, July 30. On his third trip, he and his jeep were swept away by the landslide and water before reaching Chooralmala. A Facebook post by Jamshid Pallipuram, a volunteer from Chooralmala, brought to light the story of Prajesh. "Some people appear in disaster zones and they value the lives of others above their own," wrote Jamshid.

Another heartrending story is that of Bhavana and her husband, Sajin Parekkara of Idukki in Kerala. This story was also carried by the Telegraph on August 2. When Bhavana, a young mother, heard that many babies had lost their mothers in the Wayanad landslide, she immediately decided to travel from her native place, Idukki, to Wayanad, a distance of 350 km, along with her husband. The mother of a four-month-old and a four-year-old decided to feed the motherless babies with her own breast milk. "I am the mother of two little children. I can imagine the situation when children are left without their mothers. That is what drove me to this decision," Bhavana told a television channel in her native place. She also said, "My husband was very supportive when I told him."

History is a witness to the fact that religion often brings out the best in human beings in many situations and motivates people to be altruistic, kind and compassionate. Many philanthropic organisations emerged from the motivation given by the noble teachings of religions. The teachings of Jesus, especially Jesus' empathy for the poor and the abandoned in society, motivated Mother Teresa to start her mission to care for the destitute people. Currently, 5750 sisters of the Missionaries of Charity (MC), a congregation started by Mother Teresa, are rendering their selfless services in more than 90 countries of the world.

"We, the missionaries of Charity Sisters, give wholehearted and free service to the poorest of the poor irrespective of social class, creed, religion or nationality, according to the needs of the places in which our houses are located", the website of the MC Sisters writes about the mission of the Congregation.

Religion also sometimes brings out the worst in humans, and that is why conflicts and wars take place between the followers of different religions, resulting in death and destruction. Examples are crusades spanning about 200 years between the followers of Islam and Christianity, the Saxon wars, European wars between the Catholic and Protestant countries of Europe, and the long-drawn war in Sudan on the basis of two religions, Islam and Christianity. Communal riots between Muslims and Hindus have often been taking place in India since its independence in 1947. In the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat, more than 1000 people died, and more than 1,50,000 were displaced.

Why does religion, which is supposed to be a blessing for humanity, often become a curse? Why are people killed in the name of God and religion? There could be broadly three reasons for religious conflicts and wars. Distortions and deviations in religions over time due to the development of ritualism, legalism, and dogmatism, as well as the vested interests of religious leaders, especially the priestly class, could be the first reason. Serious deviations and distortions have taken place in all religions.

Most religions were started as societal reforms, often to liberate people from superstitions and blind faith. For example, Jesus did not start any religion. What he started was a way of life, based on certain core values, as described in the Sermon on the Mount. He was highly critical of the distortions in Judaism, the religion into which he was born, and the religious leaders of his time. In the Bible, Jesus lambasts Pharisees and teachers of law for their hypocrisy, exploitation of people, thirst for power and positions, etc. He bluntly told them that they were misleading people.

The result of distortions and deviations is the evolution of rituals, religious laws and dogmas and attributing overriding importance to them to the neglect of the original teachings of the religion. Ritualism, legalism and dogmatism overtake the core values like forgiveness and reconciliation, sensitivity and compassion, justice, non-discrimination etc. The means for spiritual growth become the ends in themselves. In other words, the RELIGIOSITY of rituals overtakes the SPIRITUALITY of practising the core values. At this stage, fundamentalism creeps into religion, transforming it inhuman. That is why religious fundamentalists of all religions have no hesitation to resort to hatred, violence and murder. In fact, they perpetuate violence in the name of God and religion.

The second reason for conflicts and wars in religions is the politicisation of religion, using religion for political mobilisation in view of capturing power and remaining in power. As religion is highly emotive, rulers and politicians make use of it as a tool for polarising people. For example, the BJP in India has been freely using religion for mobilising and polarising the majority Hindu community against the minority communities, Muslims and Christians. The generous support of the BJP governments at the centre and in the states to promote the Hindu religion through building/renovating temples, erecting statues, and organising mega religious functions is nothing but blatantly favouring a particular religion in view of polarising them. The Ayodhya Movement that culminated in the demolition of Babri Masjid and the construction of a new Ram Mandir in its place was a gross misuse of religion by the BJP.

In the process of politicising religion, religious leaders receive favours and privileges from the ruling party. After the BJP came to power at the centre in 2014, some Hindu religious leaders were given Z-category security. During the Middle Ages, the Church and the state married for the mutual benefit of both.

The third reason for religious conflicts could be commercialisation, which is using religion to make money. Jesus got angry in the Jerusalem temple and drew away traders and money changers from the temple, saying, "My Temple will be called a house of prayer, but you have turned it into a den of thieves!" Jesus was reacting to the commercialisation of religion because people were grossly exploited due to a nexus between priests and traders. There could be competition among religions in developing and attracting people to pilgrim centres. Pilgrimage in all religions in India has become religious tourism, an excellent means to make money.

A cumulative effect of the three factors is divisions in religions and fights among the different factions within the same religion. Two examples are the fights between Protestants and Catholics after the Reformation and between Shias and Sunnis in Islam. According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, there are more than 200 Christian denominations in the US and a staggering 45,000 globally. Each one of these denominations claims to be the true Christianity.

Founders of most of the religions emphasised the divine nature of human beings that was lost due to some mistakes or sins. The Bible says that human beings are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27). They taught people how to restore the original nature of human beings that was lost due to deviations by reconnecting with God, the source of life. They brought humanness to the centre of religion.

The new commandment of Jesus is to love one another. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Jesus emphasises the need to see God in human beings and serve them selflessly in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the Parable of Last Judgement, and the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. The significance of the three parables is that God is to be seen primarily in human beings, and service to human beings without any selfish motive is the most preferred form of worship.

The root cause of all religious conflicts is the failure to see God in human beings and a misplaced emphasis on rituals, devotions, prayers, pilgrimages, etc. The latter is only a means for spiritual growth. The essence of spirituality is practising the core values and ideals taught by religions. The outflowing of kindness, empathy, and compassion during natural calamities like the deadly landslide in Wayanad is an invitation to the followers of all religions to become spiritual by bringing humanness to the centre of religion.