"The Prophet" By Khalil Gibran: On Religion

"Your daily life is your temple and your religion." This audio chapter called "On religion" is from the book "The Prophet" by Khalil Gibran. The old priest asks the prophet to speak of religion. The prophet removes the biases yet points to what is essential in it.

Transcript

On religion and an old priest said speak to us of religion and he said have I spoken this day of odd else is not religion all deeds and all reflection and that which is neither deed nor reflection but the wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul even while the hands hue the stone or tend the loom who can separate his faith from his actions or his belief from his occupations who can spread his hours before him saying this for God and this for myself this for my soul and this other for my body all your hours are wings that beat through space from self to self he who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked the wind and the Sun will tear no holes in his skin and he who defines his conduct by ethics in prisons his song bird in a cage the free song comes not through bars and wires and he to whom worshipping is a window to open but also to shut has not yet visited the house of his soul whose windows are from dawn to dawn your daily life is your temple and your religion whenever you enter into it take with you your all take the plow and the forge and the mullet and the loot the things you have fashioned in necessity or for delight for in river you cannot rise above your achievements nor fall lower than your failures and take with you all men for in adoration you cannot fly higher than their hopes nor humble yourself lower than their despair and if you would know God be not therefore a solver of riddles rather look about you and you shall see him playing with your children and look into space you shall see him walking in the cloud out stretching his arms in the lightning and descending in rain you shall see him smiling in flowers then rising and waving his hands in trees