It’s a secure feeling, isn’t it? We have someone to turn to in crisis, someone to blame at in our failures and most importantly someone to look up to for HOPE- the omnipotent, the omnipresent, the omniscient- the GOD. It’s a secure feeling to believe that he exists and not many can reject it. So let me express my feelings not about GOD, but about religion and the reality in religion.
Diwali, Holi, Sankranthi, etc. - this is what religion is for many of the Hindus. All through our childhood we are made to believe that X, Y, Z etc are the Gods and that we should respect and follow the traditions of our religion. As children we were supposed to believe them and when we come to an age capable enough to think, understand and then believe, none of us has the time or courage to verify the authenticity of those childhood beliefs.
Though many of the practices we follow can be explained scientifically, how can we ignore the atrocities happening in the name of religion, the caste system, the male domination, the superstitions? Why are people donating crores of rupees to temples when there are crores of people without shelter?
But, let me tell you all this is not religion. According to me, the foundations of any religion lie in the core values not practices. Dharmam, Sathyam, Ahimsa etc. -this is the real religion. The form it is in now is as a result of the transformation it has undergone for the past 3000 years. It’s the same religion that told us that ‘Manavaseve Madhavaseva’. So, let’s accept our religion as a set of values and relate it to today’s world. Let’s learn to respect our religion and make it real and relevant.
“I’m a human and yes I’m a Hindu,
Inspired by the preachings not traditions.
I’m an agnostic, yet I’m a Hindu,
Bound to the religion by values not practices.”
totally agreed...good call to accept religion as a set of values[:-)] which definitely is the need of the hour...yes we don't need to donate crores to temples when millions r on the street...but wat do u thnk can be done to get the change in the mindsets...is it d primary education fr all or parents inculcating the values in the child's mind...for the latter to happen the parent need to be educated...so in either case its the education that's making the difference...that's wat i feel !!
ReplyDeleteVery nice first blog... but d point u made bout donations to temples... whr do u think all the donation goes!!!
ReplyDeletetemples r a means of collective community service...rather than an individual charity.A person might not b able to help d needy otherwise, even he desires to...
well said.pity that people do not relate science with religion .I have seen educated parents themselves asking children not to question religious superstitions. :(
ReplyDelete@tejasvi: im not very sure if all the money donated to a temple is used just for community service..donating to an NGO seems more reliable if the intention is to serve people..i just wanted to highlight the attitude of people..
ReplyDelete@zero: from my experience the family n society have a greater impact than schools atleast in this aspect..lets spread the word and expect it to bring the change
ReplyDeleteyaa... i agree...
ReplyDeleteso, it should b a collective effort.. considering the fact that v r a huge population, no single entity can serve the whole community. U should give due respect to all d institutions doing social service, whether in the name of god or otherwise.
nice shot at an important topic ra.. but what is your idea of making religion real and relevant..??
ReplyDeleteand coming to donating money, NGO is not a bad idea.. but it wud be more satisfactory if you do personally whatever thing you are planning to do.. big or small.. dont you think so..?
i know everybody cant do things personally, but when you plan to invest some huge amount on service, its good if u see to that the money is properly being utilized right infront of your eyes.. what more is more reliable than personal involvement..
by making religion real and relevant i mean one should give priority to following religion by practicing values (as much as applicable to today's world) rather than by believing in superstitions.
ReplyDeleteAnd ya, serving someone at an individual level is most satisfactory. However, service done through an organization is more effective from the beneficiaries point of view. Within the constraints of time and money, one can choose whether to do things at an individual level or dedicate time/donate money/both for some organization.
hmm rite..
ReplyDeleteGod: someone whom you can blame or look for solace when you fail. I am no atheist. Also no one deserves to be an atheist because noone can complete explain our existance.
ReplyDeleteComing to religion, in my view it is just a medium to promote morality and peace. Its just the narrow mindedness of the ppl that they are driven away by certain superstitions. Even the educated have failed to believe truely in god. Believing in god doesnt mean to follow any religion, go to temples, wear a thread, burkha etc etc. having faith in yourself and have true moral values is beileving in god for me.
I would give a thumbs up to the principles of arya samaj which condemns idol worship or worship of any person as god. It is the force within you which should be worshipped.
About the donations being made, I would support the argument that the donations should be either made directly to the beneficiaries or to any organisations which has certain liability to the government about the proper utilization of the funds.
ReplyDeleteI pity those who follow few babas and donate things to them, most of em bussiness men who hardly pay any taxes and feel that their sins will be washed away.
The irony is that the thousands of ppl who believe in such babas like nityananda lose faith just becos he had ***. How insane. all of a sudden a god became a human or even worse.
I look at these babas with great respect. They are the true businessmen who have marketed something which is invalueable: FAITH.
@bpk: thanks for sharing your views :)
ReplyDeleteNice views macha :-)
ReplyDeleteEven I've always seen religion as a thought process rather than a set of practices. But, I firmly believe that this should not be misinterpreted by youth as an excuse to not believe in God. I strongly believe, there should be some supreme power from whom a man should fear. It's totally a personal perspective to render this power as some form.
PS: This is not contradicting your view, just appending mine :-)
jus wanted 2 join in apreciation 4 d post :)
ReplyDeleteb it science or religion.. v jus need 2 focus on d aplication part.. positiv thinkers n good wishers obviously choose paths dt ultimately lead 2 serve mankind.. usin these thngz 2 divide ppl is insane..
Absolutely correct!!
ReplyDeleteI'm also an agnostic who believes in the values and ideals of Hinduism and Christianity (haven't had the opportunity to study the other religions). One should bear in mind that God (or the 'concept' of God, as some might call it) is not a physical entity, but a result of our own collective consciousness which enables us to happily go through this mysterious realm called "life".
@robin, raviteja n krish: thanks for ur comments..nice to know that u all agree to my views..
ReplyDelete