It is true that when human beings face problems, they come together despite their differences. As the phrase goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”, if two parties have a common enemy, they can work with each other to resolve their problems.

And I think religion does three things very effectively: 

It divides people. 

It controls people. 

It deludes people.

Ask a religious person if they accept being in a relationship that leads to marriage with another person who is not of the same religion. The answer will be no. Then yes, religion separates people. However, I don't think the problem is with religion /itself as it is not a person or a physical being that can take decisions be in control etc... Rather the problem is with human’s greed and love for power in addition to insecurities that lead them to be extremists and not willing to accept others.

Religion is nothing but a way of life. It helps people to be kind to each other and focus on being good. That's the whole and soul of any religion. But unfortunately now it has become a tool by means of which hatred is widespread. Religion being a sensitive topic, attracts everyone when called upon for its need. This particular attribute of the aspect has attracted cruel minded people to misuse it. For the record, the biggest cause of death in this planet is due to religious wars till date.

A person who follows any religion would not be a cause for any discrimination or would allow any divisions among fellow human beings. A person who has a sound mind and soul would never do that. But in today's world we know that kind of person is very rare. We should nurture our next generation to look beyond the differences for the greater good, that's the only thing left to us right now.

It is true that when human beings face problems, they come together despite their differences. As the phrase goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”, if two parties have a common enemy, they can work with each other to resolve their problems.

In October 2013, Cyclone Phailin hit Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and caused immense damage. When such a calamity befell India, people of India came forward to help their fellow citizens.

Funds started pouring in from all parts of India and many organisations such as the ISKCON Food Relief Foundation and Google came forward to offer their help – the ISKCON Food Relief Foundation distributed food to the victims and Google set up a Crisis Response team to assist the Indian government in its rescue and rehabilitation missions.

It is sad to note that only when problems arise do people show care and concern to their fellow citizens; under normal circumstances, one only witness’s apathy. In this day and age, some people are so money-minded that “unity” does not exist in their dictionaries.

In fact, they believe in the saying “every man for himself”. In view of the increasing population, India’s list of environmental problems seems to be growing with each passing day; yet, people seem to be nonchalant of the impact of their activities on the environment.

In Indian cities, we witness the indiscriminate disposal of waste on land and in water. People are not willing to work together to solve this problem and they push the blame on the government.

So, it is evident from the aforementioned points that it is not in all circumstances that people stand united. Only when people feel the impact of some problem do they come together to solve it, in the case of Cyclone Phailin. The destruction caused by Cyclone Phailin was evident, which is why people stood united.