Voltaire said 'If god did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him'. Whoever we are, whatever god means to us, ours is a society that is built on religion. Our life is centered on religion, especially in India, where every event in life is given a religious and ritualistic significance. Do I think religion is necessary? I think yes, since it is the only thing that keeps our society from disintegration. Whether we admit or not, our sense of morality and justice and virtue comes directly from religion and destroying religion will destroy ourselves. Epics, stories and ancient writings explain to us what is right and wrong, what is good and evil. We generally fear the unknown and gods are definitely a mystery to us and we fear them too. If we do wrong, we will be punished and who will punish us- the gods will. This is a very simple belief, but quite effective. God is the manifestation of our hopes, an enforcer of true justice, a protector of the righteous and the one who brings the corrupt to the right path and forgives them and gives them an opportunity to recant their sins.
Now that the need for religion and its gods has been discussed, I would like to discuss about places of worship.
Is there really a need for them? I say yes, we humans are incapable of remembering words, but images stick with us better- We remember faces, not names. The symbol for peace and nuclear disarmament that we see in t-shirts and lockets was created just for this purpose- the creator of the symbol felt they needed a symbol to drive home their message and to unite the masses and bring them together. One image works far better than a thousand speeches and temples (any place of religious worship) are places to provide an imagery of god or to represent god.
But a perfect believer need not go to any place of worship as he/she will be capable of finding god in everything(A philosophy that I have found in the Hindu belief, I do not know of other faiths). For such a person, a temple is just another place where god resides, but that is the only place where those who cannot find perfect belief can see god. I do not know what perfect faith is, but I guess it involves loving, respecting and treating everyone and everything fairly and unselfishly. I do not think I will ever be capable of this since I am bound to myself, to my own senses, desires, idiosyncrasies, narrow and selfish views and my own efforts to survive and succeed in this world.
As there is a perfect believer, there is also the question of a true god, a god who provides and nourishes and protects his/her/its folk. There is an obvious manifestation of this- our country (and our world). It provides us with everything we need (the only problem we take more than what we need. We want to satisfy our greed), protects us and makes us what we are. (I wish I could say the entire world because I do not really believe in nations. Boundaries and a sense of nationalism prevent us from becoming true believers since we see rivals or enemies or competing economies when we bring nationalities into the picture and we are unable to bring unselfish love into our faith.) Since a boundary free world is never going to be a possibility (which is quite unfortunate), I must accept that fact and proceed further. So, our country provides for us, protects us and only asks one thing in return- love your country and fight for it when duty calls- which is actually a plea to love your brethren unselfishly and to do what is necessary to preserve country for the future generations and ourselves. Patriotism is worshipping our god and we become true believers and I am sure it is something we can all do.
In a country where politicians build statues, issue statements and make train journeys announcing their simple lifestyles, where armed men (under various names- goondas, naxalites, dacoits) determine the lifespan of citizens, where the depth of a persons pocket can determine his power and influence and all this is one huge consortium- worshipping and supporting the country comes about only when there is a cricket match. People say 'vande mataram' and 'jai hind', but whom and what are they really worshipping and supporting? Our country must be our god, its citizens the children of god and all deserving fair and unselfish treatment, respect and love. Love, camaraderie and respect must overcome greed, lust for power and selfishness, only then will we have a world devoid of poverty and suffering and war and conflicts, disease, hunger and inequality.
God, belief and patriotism- all must come together to make this a better world.
3 comments:
I don’t believe in God neither do I think religion is necessary (If you wish you can call me –and others who share my views - atheists but that somehow puts an unnecessary barrier for free flow of ideas).
Religion and God concept came into existence due to two reasons
1.Imperfect knowledge of our universe (like how universe began, how life began, why there is natural disasters,why sun rises every day, why eclipses occur etc) and the fear of unknown.
2. The need for having a code of conduct in the society.
But in the as world progressed there we have come up with better (or rather more efficient) ways of achieving the same goals.
1. Logical thinking (basically science) is doing a wonderful job describing our universe and how it works. By science I don’t mean only what happened after 16th-17th centuries, rather it is a process from the very beginning of our existence in which we or some of us think rationally and logically instead of jumping into conclusions based on fear and wild fantasies. Think how weird it would have been if Newton did not do his ground breaking work on gravity instead choosing to think of it as some occult forces on work backed by some crazy myths) (and I don’t think there is a war going on between religion and war,it is just that we are lifting the fog of ignorance. We had to start from somewhere and religion was our starting point. But we have to move on instead of choosing to keep our blinds shut even when fog has lifted.
2.Need for having a code of conduct was fulfilled by religion when we were learning how to live together as a civilised society, that is before we had a set of strict rules and effective law keeping mechanism.(Even after nation states came religion was endorsed by kings and rulers since science had not developed well and also since it was easier to control a group of people with something as fanatical as religion).But times have changed, I think a rapist or a murderer or a thief would do better to think of the punishment he would receive from the court of law instead of thinking how he will get fried in hell if he commits the crime he is about to do. It is time for us to think in terms of one world and universal brotherhood instead of narrow-minded religions.
....
1. Our life is cantered on religion -Really? How many of us really think of God or Karma during our mundane routines. It is only during senseless rituals and idolatry that we care to think about them.
2. It is the only thing that keeps our society from disintegration - again "Really?" Religion creates divisions (just like those created by race, gender, nations).As in any discriminatory system the majority section and the upper classes enjoys the benefits and the minority lurks under fear ('religion is opiate") .Its common culture of a group of people - of which religion may or may not be- a part that bind them together as a community , of. But religion is an outdated inheritance from the past. It is time we threw it out of the window like we did -or are doing-with casteism, superstitions, racial and gender discrimination etc.
3. Our sense of morality and justice and virtue comes directly from religion-That is a false belief. Even without religion man can be moral. There need not be an eye in the sky to remind him to do well. If you think in evolutionary terms Homo sapiens being weaker than most other species of similar size find it mutually beneficial to live in communities and help each other. So it’s almost as if morality and justice is there in our gene (this idea is explained clearly in ‘God Delusion’ written by eminent evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins).
Most of the problems in our world arises because we have not actively followed the path of universal brotherhood (an idea which came relatively late compared to idea of God and Religion) since we are a rush to satisfy our desires, ["since I am bound to myself, to my own senses, desires, idiosyncrasies, narrow and selfish views and my own efforts to survive and succeed in this world” ]That is the problem with each one of us, if we realize this then half the problems in our world will be solved).And even with religion see how immoral and virtue less our world has become. So religion is a really an inefficient and out dated concept. (We need to ‘optimize’ (:P) it with logical thinking)
4. I believe even patriotism (not independence and selfreliance) is a kind of narrow-minded feeling nourished by emotional blackmailing. If you are so stubborn to keep the idea of God alive somehow then It is more open-minded to take Earth (not world) as God as pantheists do .And if everyone could do that then we may achieve the dream of 'one world' (I believe national boundaries will vanish some day, may be centuries later, if we are able to survive till then)
Faith is inevitable. Sometimes logical reasoning is not what keeps you moving. Its faith that shows a ray of hope for a brighter day. Faith can do wonders and miracles. The very base of every religion is total faith. Science may explain the laws of the universe. But it cannot invent a machine that can cheer us up when we are upset, nor can it bring satisfaction and peace. Inner problems cannot be solved by science and in such situations you need something to guide you and give you hope. That is the role of religion. Religion is not about a God who sits somewhere up in heaven, punishing the wrong doers and blessing the good ones. Religion is a way of life. In case of a dilemma, religion helps you make a choice. Its your choices that make you. Religion is not about a power in the universe. It is that which guides you to use the emormous potential within you.
The blog is well-expressed and exhibits a clear flow of thoughts. It explains the role and necessity of religion and how it effects us in all walks of life. The way patriotism is brought into the discussion is very creative.
Post a Comment