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For a world of thinking people


After reading a blog post of mine (Legal Lawbreakers), an ex-colleague of mine sent me a message yesterday that the criminals would be punished by God.  She has absolute faith in her God, she wrote. 

Is there any justification for such faith?  Nowhere in the history of mankind do we get any reason to believe that divine intervention has awarded justice to any people at any time.  On the contrary, we have infinite examples to show how the wicked flourish and the naive perish. 

It is easy to delude ourselves with such beliefs as divine justice after death.  Hell and heaven, the Judgment Day, Karmic consequences, and other such religious carrots-and-sticks don’t serve any purpose to make human life more equitable on the planet.  Religions also offer believers ways to circumvent the stick and secure the carrot: a confession or a bath in the Ganga or some other ritual can wash away your sins. 

If religion were indeed effective in helping people resist evil with the carrot-and-stick eschatology, the world would have been a holy place long, long ago.  For centuries, religions brought terrifying notions about life after death.  But the evil in the world has only increased by diabolic leaps and bounds. The situation is as hilarious today as it is alarming because it is the religious people themselves who are the biggest swindlers.  Examine the assets of some of the religious institutions in India, for example, and one will be astounded by their enormity.  Even the Ambanis and Adanis would want to rethink about their entrepreneurial strategies!

That’s why I always recommend the cultivation of rational skills.  People should be taught to use their rational faculties in order to understand why evil is undesirable and how goodness can be cultivated if we all choose to leave gods and demons to themselves and exercise our reason and imagination. 

Have you ever wondered why religions never encourage people to think?



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Comments

  1. Ankita VermaMay 26, 2016 at 7:53 AM

    AGreed

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pranju chakrapaniMay 26, 2016 at 8:36 AM

    Very true, sir. Carl Sagan in contact said the exact same thing. I believe an alien invasion would definitely end the blindfaith people carry towards their religion. Life in other planets would make them believe in the theory of evolution and Big Bang :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalMay 26, 2016 at 10:18 PM

      Quite many people want to remain blind when it comes to scientific truths. They prefer the delusion provided by religions and their gods. Psychological reasons. I think only an evolutionary mutation will change people. :(

      Delete
  3. UppalMay 26, 2016 at 10:47 AM

    Religion is only a palliative to promote enduring injustice in the hope of better days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalMay 26, 2016 at 10:20 PM

      Very correct, Uppal ji. I hope more and more people realize that.

      Delete
  4. RakeshMay 26, 2016 at 8:55 PM

    It's funny what people will believe! God may exist, but it's really hard to believe that first He makes one commit 1 crime, then goes about punishing one. I mean, there doesn't seem any logic to it! It's like I first ask my son to kill a kitten, then starve him for doing that!

    Religion is just an opium and the religious are simply an addict to believe those narcotic induced hallucinations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalMay 26, 2016 at 10:22 PM

      There's no logic in religion, Rakesh ji. Look at the religious stories. God sending his own son to save the world which he created in his omniscience and omnipotence... It's all so absurd.

      I agree with you that it's just a narcotic with which people delude themselves.

      Delete
    2. RakeshJune 1, 2016 at 8:29 PM

      Agreed!

      Delete
  5. UnknownMay 27, 2016 at 11:37 AM

    i think the same is the thinking of our Rushi's ,these are concepts to understand common people & to correct their understanding stories are created .

    ReplyDelete
  6. Neha SharmaMay 27, 2016 at 1:05 PM

    Couldn't agree more!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Alok singhalMay 28, 2016 at 1:35 AM

    I think if we all do what is logically, practically, and morally correct, we would all do better collectively...and the world would be a better place!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sneh AsnaniMay 30, 2016 at 10:40 AM

    I think more than belief, it is consolation. Sometimes we are unable to punish those who wronged us. And at that moment we want to push it to God!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownJune 1, 2016 at 9:11 AM

    It was okay till we were told the stories about God and his justice and love. All of it went wrong as soon as we were made to believe that we belong to a religion and this is how we need to pray, think, eat and shit.

    We have forgotten that the God lives within us. Our decisions and choices matter.

    I agree to all that you said.

    ReplyDelete

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