The word ‘religion’ contains the prefix ‘re.’ ‘Re’ means doing something again. The other part of the word connotes ‘unifying’. Religion may be thus interpreted as reunion, the renunciation of two entities separated by time or the restoration of their original organic unity. Jivatma and Paramatma have lost their fundamental oneness. Karmic factors have created a duality between the Atma and Brahman. The restoration of the primal unity of Atma and Paramatma through self-realisation is the primary function of religion.
This process of reunification of Atma with Paramatma is an arduous sadhana (Spiritual practice). An analogy might be useful here. The water in the sea evaporates on account of the sun’s heat, forming clouds. These clouds float in the sky until they are again condensed into water drops by cool winds. The vast ocean consists of an infinite quantity of water. A small volume of water becomes a cloud and comes down as rain. This rain water becomes a stream. A number of streams mingle together to become a large river which flows down mountains and through valleys. Finally, the river reunites with the ocean. Similarly, we are alienated from Ishvara, the repository of illimitable grace. We have gone through many incarnations and the recurring cycles of births and deaths. The journey of the embodied soul follows a similar pattern until it merges with the universal soul. (SSB 1979, pp. 77-78)