Meaning and concept of religion: An insight into the lives of Mahatma Gandhi and APJ Abdul Kalam

The term ‘religion’ has transcended centuries in the Indian History, and has been used for attainment of rights, justice, peace and harmony among people of different cultures . This term has been used to cause unrest, separation of sects, bloodshed resulting in communal violence. Its definition in simple terms refers to a belief or faith in a supernatural creation which can be different for different people. But the extent of belief in each case remains ambiguous as its impact can be a gateway for diversity, or can be a cause of having a deleterious scar towards progress of a nation. Waltor Houston Clark stated that ‘‘religion more than any other human function satisfies the need for meaning’’ (419) .This paper tries to look into the lives of Mahatma Gandhi and APJ Abdul Kalam and will analyse their religious background, their outlooks and stand points on different religions, and the exact meaning they want to convey through the idea of religion from their autobiography