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Thursday 11 September 2008

Religion..?



Religion- a "mixture of opposites", it has become. Religion has always been an age-old problem; right from early civilizations to the pre-Renaissance and Dark Age era, through to this very day. It is high time we become rationalised in our thoughts and look to religion for enlightenment. I welcome any sane discussion on this...


God- the omnipresent One. "God"- what does this word bring to your mind? A mélange, shall we say- compassion and love to fear and power, to force, magic and sacrifice? What relevance does "God" have in the world of today. A world where corruption and materialism vie for the lions share. From a time of "My God is more powerful than your God!", to "There is no God; it is all Science."; we were and still are- skeptics. Earlier, we doubted the 'other' Gods powers and now, we are skeptic about the very word "God". Have we changed? I leave it to you...

Now before you start thinking, let me make some 'disclaimers'- This is no homily on atheism. And neither am I trying to preach the 'prophecised faith'. This is just a rant of an Earthling [read- human being] who is pretty much bewildered by all that he has observed in his life thus far. That said, and if you are still interested, read on.

Most (if not all!) religions speak of love, the path of righteousness and tolerance. Religions, therefore, have a common goal- to unite people in the quest for what is right. A classic example would be how Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa [is said to have] practiced the major faiths and realized that all of them lead to the same goal. May be some faiths do speak of 'honor' killings... May be the over-zealous follower in you wants to be glorified by beheading a heretic? Think- May be you have made some serious misinterpretation of sacred text? Now I ask- does this religion you claim to follow also say that you are bestowed with all powers to be the 'Overseer' of this planet? Since when did your 'God' require an agent? Nonsense...

Hypocrisy- thy name is mankind. Sadly, that is what the human race is about. Did that last line p*ss you off..? "How the hell can you make that statement? What makes you think I am a hypocrite? May be you are, but not me!" Oh yeah... May be you are not... But you are not the majority for sure! That reminds me... When you pray, do you close your eyes and strike a deal with Him? And try make a bargain out of it? What would you call that, friend?

I am not here to teach you the art of praying... I wish to make one more statement- the needs of the hour. Rational thinking and humanism. The clever crow of today will not drop stones to raise water; it will use a straw. And here's another tithing- l'eau, Jal, Paani, Water... Don't they look, feel and taste the same? The same substance is being called by different names. It is pretty much identical to how God is addressed by different names. Be not a fanatical follower of your religion. Religion should bring peace to your soul; not rabid anguish that, there is this live heretic near you nor that there is this 'new' God who can send yours to Kingdom Come! Please, be human. That is how you have been born. And it is time you grow up and live your life as one too.
---
An afterthought from yours truly;
"You can think of God in which ever way you like. After all, you have created Him for a point of reference in your existence. You secretly like to have someone on your side always. So, you have God. You always want His help. Good. When you want His help, you even bribe Him. You haven't ever asked Him what He wants. Is He happy with you? Does He enjoy your company? Doesn't He find your constant demands for this and that boring? After all, He has given you the whole world to play in and the whole mankind to play with. Then why aren't you satisfied?"

And here's some more food for thought;

You certainly have the right for prescribed activities but never at anytime in their results.- The Gita

Kindness to His creatures reaches
His mighty throne sooner than anything else in the world.- Leo Tolstoy


I had to practise each religion for a time — Hinduism, Islām, Christianity. Furthermore, I followed the paths of the Śāktas, Vaishnavas, and Vedāntists. I realized that there is only one God toward whom all are travelling; but the paths are different.Truth is one; only It is called by different names. All people are seeking the same Truth; the variance is due to climate, temperament, and name. But this very thing is at the root of the friction among sects, their misunderstandings and quarrels. This is why people injure and kill one another, and shed blood, in the name of religion. But this is not good. Everyone is going toward God. They will all realize Him if they have sincerity and longing of heart.- Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

30 comments:

Si_Lee said...

brilliant analogy with water ...you drew it ?
and nice article
put it on jagruti also later

Kartz said...

Will do. Btw, why did you ask me to put this up? I still think it can do with some editing... Am still wondering what else to add, actually... Glad you liked it...

Matangi Mawley said...

Not commenting, yet- but yes-
u have an award.. do visit my blog for details!

Kartz said...

Merci beaucoup.. :)

AV said...

nice place u hav here.. u know wat? i actually loved wat ur teacher had said. it answered some of my questions in some wierd way.
( http://apensievetoofull.blogspot.com/2008/07/god-helps-but-how.html )

Kartz said...

@av
Welcome to Contorted Reality...

Anonymous said...

Neat post again!

GOD is omnipresent and omnipotent and all-compassing...but GOD still needs to be bribed everyday by humans...GOD needs money from devotees for GOD's well-being...to keep GOD's temple/church/mosque/abode clean and smart...GOD needs devotees who donate food in various forms -- milk/ghee/rice/butter/whatever...GOD likes being fed non-veg too once a while -- a live hen/goat...GOD needs to be dressed in jewels and silks and all that...

And yea...there are GODS...and they all tell their devotees not to follow the other one...sounds more like politicians :P


BAH! Poor priests (of all religions)...all they do is preach (and feel bad that GOD is damn demanding?!) :D

And Kartz, pls check the link yu leave on other blogs when yu comment...there's an error in it. It goes to http://kartzonline.blogspot.como/ ...yu might want to make it ".com" :D

Kartz said...

Well, I type too fast. :)

Thanks for dropping by.

Anonymous said...

thanks for visiting ma blog :)
That I agree God is different frm religion, and although it is personal choice to have this imaginary friend, yet I feel this imagination is a lure towards not seeing reality and an escapism from the truth. I am against the concept of religion itself, but God...I chose to believe that God is just not a magical sky thingy...u know.
:)

Kartz said...

Welcome to Contorted Reality...

Yes, I do get what you mean... And it is an interesting school of thought. And I have interacted with people who just want to abolish the concept of religion on 'humanistic' grounds...

Peace.

Heart'n'Soul said...

Nice Post

U know i belv tht religion is actully just a way of life... u live differently thn i do n tht dosn make me or u better thn the other rite?.... wish ppl cud undrstnd tht :)

Kartz said...

Thanks... What you said was spot-on.

And welcome to Contorted Reality. :)

Praveen said...

"When you pray, do you close your eyes and strike a deal with Him? And try make a bargain out of it? What would you call that, friend?"

this and that analogy with water..awesome thoughts

am still wondering y so many people doesn't understand simple truths like this..when will these guys grow up?

Preeti said...

brilliant post :) knocked some sense into this mortal :)

Kartz said...

@Praveen
Thanks bro'... Oh yeah, grow-up indeed. :D

Kartz said...

@Preeti
:D Good if it did... ;)

Unknown said...

isnt that what my arguments were all about :)

lovely post though..
and must say we all are hypocrites.. hehe i am not in anyways ashamed to say.. sometimes i do strike a deal with the almighty.. because i am not sure about my capabilities but sure of his/her.. how ever one wants to argue that aspect :)

another food for thought isnt it ??

Kartz said...

@Ani
:) Which is why I asked u to read this... ;)

Heh heh heh...No need to be ashamed dear. We are after all, humans. It is a fact, not just an excuse!! :D

Peace.

Unknown said...

hehe made sense.. :)


oh well thats how we are.. cant help it.. thats how we were created :)

Kartz said...

Heh heh heh...

Just tht last nite, as I wrote tht article, I knew it'd be kinda contradicting with this (in some way!). I shd ve linked this with tht post. :D

Lest someone else comes to a conclusion that I am a looney twit/weirdo or something... :D

Unknown said...

R u telling me that you are not..

hehe because i think you are.. lol ;) same species flock together u see. lol

Kartz said...

:-) aaaaahhhhhhhhh..!! Welcome to the congregation! ;-)

Unknown said...

ha ha ha

thank u thank u ;)

Kartz said...

Welcome senorita... :D

Anonymous said...

Since when did your 'God' require an agent? Nonsense...
I liked this the best ;) hope everyone realizes it. It was a good read quite in tandem with my thoughts..I name my God just coz I'm used that way and I can be more free with a known identity than a foreign one you know!

Kartz said...

@verbivorehere
:) Thanks for reading...

Nivedita said...

Disbelief in God needn't only be about questioning God with science. I consider every kind of delusional comfort as an escape from what is real.And escapism is fundamentally flawed. Ultimately, we are all alone, each one of us. Isn't it better to be well aquainted with the gentle indifference of the world? Isn't investing faith in ourselves other than someone else, however omnipotent that person might be, a better option anytime?
So even if there is a God up there I'd still like to think that I'm the one controlling my life and making choices even if the consequences kill me. Belief comes so easily when we want our mistakes and decisions to be justified. I know you did disclaim any homily on atheism, but, well, I'm all for these little speeches.
Religion, or what it preaches, is a necessity for the well being of a society. How badly it has been misread shows the pathetic power seeking side of human beings. What exactly did the Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's words mean?
The truth for each is what they choose to believe in. There could be just one, or maybe a million different kinds :| Love and the strength that comes from unconditionally loving someone other than oneself is a very appealing definiton for God.
Ok, I could go on forever.

Kartz said...

Bingo... Faith in one's innate faculty.

**The truth for each is what they choose to believe in.
- Indeed... That is when interpretation comes in.

And unconditional love... Do you think there really is *unconditional* love? Well, as I see it, any relationship is built on tainted-pure trust. Tainted by that liiiitle bit of possessiveness/selfishness...

Thanks for the read.

Nivedita said...

That is why I mentioned that it is 'appealing'. It is near impossible, but God could come with unconditional love.It does bring about some hope if not belief. If someone can compromise their wishes for anothers, it would make them all-powerful.

Kartz said...

Indeed...

**God and Unconditional Love
- Ha ha, yeah... Takes me back to my Scripture Classes in lower school. But then again, fiery wrath is opposed to such unconditional love.

Good/Evil need to exist. Heaven and Hell needn't. Cos, well, in life, we definitely aren't gonna know about an "after-life". Better off *living*...

Trust you have done well in your exams...

Peace.

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