Shivani looks at the various boundaries that are set up by religion and society. She explores how to banish boundaries, exclusively for Different Truths.

“When you call yourself an Indian, a Muslim, a Christian, European or anything else, you are being violent. Do you see why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest of humankind. When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence” ~ J Krishnamurti

Boundaries as explained to a student are just mere seclusion, a separation, a difference, and if we really come to think about it, there are millions of boundaries in the society and the age we live in. Here I am not only talking about discrimination, racism, sexism, etc. but also things seemingly as minimalistic as our daily beliefs, the type of clothes worn to a wedding, to a funeral, for a ‘traditional’ event, things that we overlook, the silent boundaries, that change our visions, our perspectives.

Our culture is diverse. Many traditions are followed. Is our culture just diverse or is it just the boundaries? For example, when a child is born in a Hindu family, it becomes a natural assumption that the child is going to be following that certain religion and is going to have that specific surname.

What is the religion in the first place? Well, to define, is to limit so we can take it as a belief system. A system where a human being finds peace, it gives a purpose, a feeling of solace, its faith and trust, its power.

So, if a child is born and grows up in a Hindu family, is it not right for the child to grow up exploring all belief systems and see where the child’s peace is found? And following a religion does not only mean worshipping in the differently designed holy places and wearing different clothes at religious events and going by a script, written ages back. It also means a form of commitment, a faith in the working of the universe, because to be honest I still believe, religions are boundaries. There is a huge power that controls our entire existence and since there is nothing more infinite than the universe, as far as we know, it is the “fascinations of the universe”.

Our existence is not defined by how loud our bhajans or prayers echo in the air, it is defined by nature. Everything is in the hands of nature.

Boundaries cannot be broken or banished in a day, but we can surely try, it’s just a matter of acceptance and fluidity in our changing times. It all comes down to how we train our minds. That is what they call a perspective.

Visual by Different Truths

Shivani Singh

Shivani Singh is a 15-year-old student, currently studying in Delhi in 11th grade. She is an alumnus of Mayo College Girls’ School. She composes poems, prose, articles, short stories and more. She is also passionate about instrumental music and singing. She published her first poetry book, ‘The Divine Reality’, at the age of 14 . She aspires to become an architect and a bestselling author.