Religion or Spirituality

My friend Ali and I share strong disagreement on the topic of religion and spirituality. I do not even know why we argue because it’s like debating over which taste better, mangoes or pineapples. They are not comparable. He is still caught up in the dogma that was handed down to him by his cultural circumstances while I have since left those beliefs behind in an attempt to forge my own path and make my own personal connection to Divine Source. He accuses me, unfairly, of not knowing who, by his definition, God is, and even went as far as to say he is concerned about my Soul. My what? Who gave him that burden to carry? Pray tell.

I see Ali as living in constant fear of a death that may catch him ill-prepared to meet his master. To me, he is like someone dangling over a pit of fire that, on his departure from this physical plane will results in his life's cords being cut and him falling into eternal damnation. He keeps chasing for a connection that is outside of himself. He keeps hoping that the books and the building, the wine and the bread, the fear and the reverence will get him what he seeks.

I am sure that there is an Ali in your life. Refusing to see what is directly under his nose. Looking outside for what is inside. Unhappy. Unfulfilled. Yearning to be saved.

You get angry and then saddened because you know that you have to leave Ali to find his own way.
You cannot clear the path for him.
You cannot argue anymore.

You simply hope that he gets it before it gets him.