Skip to main content

Good and Evil

“There is no good and evil, there is only power and those too weak to seek it.” 
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Examine history and we will be amazed by enormity of the evil that man has inflicted upon his fellow creatures mostly in the name of gods and creeds.  A lot of good people perished being labelled as heretics and witches.  Thousands of innocent people have died and continue to do so to please the gods of fanatics and radicals.

The Pope has apologised for his Church's inhuman attitude towards homosexuals.  Pope John Paul II had made quite a number of apologies.  Most religions will have infinite sins to atone for if they are willing to undertake an honest introspection.

And yet religion is about goodness, compassion, and what not?  That's what we have been told at least.

The plain truth is that religion, like most other man-made institutions, is about power. If you have power, what you do is right and good!  Rather, it's not about good and evil; it's about who wants to be the boss.


Indian Bloggers

Comments

  1. Durga Prasad DashJune 29, 2016 at 8:08 AM

    Yes. Manay religious organisations are becoming power centric in stead of propagating human values.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pranju chakrapaniJune 29, 2016 at 8:23 AM

    This reminds me of Grand Inquisitor in Brother Karamazov who reprimands even Jesus of depriving church of its full power.But that's just fiction and the truth is much more harsh, I guess

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJune 29, 2016 at 9:05 AM

      Dostoyevsky was a genuinely spiritual person who was tormented by the problem of evil. Ivan Karamazov's quest is spiritual though he is an atheist. Real spiritual seekers are tormented souls who will not run after power. Yes, truth is much more harsh...

      Delete
  3. Anupam PatraJune 29, 2016 at 11:49 AM

    The examples of the brutality you speak of are numerous. It's always good to remind ourselves of these evils. Makes us want to change things.

    Nice write up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJune 29, 2016 at 12:56 PM

      The atrocities still go on. The common people are helpless, powerless.

      Delete
  4. RoysonJune 29, 2016 at 2:45 PM

    Very well said.

    Religion might have been born to unite people under the fear of god. But now it is causing division. Its time to evolve to humanity.

    ReplyDelete
  5. CYNOSUREJune 29, 2016 at 11:42 PM

    well, rightly said, religion is nothing but just a glorified and fancy name to hide the dirty game of power and politics.
    Very much like terrorism, religion also every year kills large amount of people, but no-one bothers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJune 30, 2016 at 7:17 AM

      You gave it the right name: "a glorified and fancy name to hide the dirty game of power and politics."

      Delete
  6. Chaitali BhattacharjeeJune 30, 2016 at 12:08 AM

    Now this reminds me of a quote by Gibran, which I mention:
    Your daily life is your temple and your religion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJune 30, 2016 at 7:18 AM

      If only the religionists understood that, Chaitali!

      Delete
  7. umashankarJune 30, 2016 at 8:51 AM

    That is the crux of the matter, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  8. indu chhibberJune 30, 2016 at 11:43 AM

    Religion did not start as a way to grab power but it has become a short cut to it now.

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownJune 30, 2016 at 1:07 PM

    You have rightly threw a light Sir but question in my mind is the religion is wrong or the humans who involved in it are ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tomichan MatheikalJune 30, 2016 at 4:12 PM

      The problem is wit people. Give any system to them and they will pervert it.

      Delete
  10. DebopamJuly 4, 2016 at 12:09 PM

    Some people are using religion to remain in power......

    Natureram

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Adventures of Toto as a comic strip

  'The Adventures of Toto' is an amusing story by Ruskin Bond. It is prescribed as a lesson in CBSE's English course for class 9. Maggie asked her students to do a project on some of the lessons and Femi George's work is what I would like to present here. Femi converted the story into a beautiful comic strip. Her work will speak for itself and let me present it below.  Femi George Student of Carmel Public School, Vazhakulam, Kerala Similar post: The Little Girl
47 comments
Read more

The Little Girl

The Little Girl is a short story by Katherine Mansfield given in the class 9 English course of NCERT. Maggie gave an assignment to her students based on the story and one of her students, Athena Baby Sabu, presented a brilliant job. She converted the story into a delightful comic strip. Mansfield tells the story of Kezia who is the eponymous little girl. Kezia is scared of her father who wields a lot of control on the entire family. She is punished severely for an unwitting mistake which makes her even more scared of her father. Her grandmother is fond of her and is her emotional succour. The grandmother is away from home one day with Kezia's mother who is hospitalised. Kezia gets her usual nightmare and is terrified. There is no one at home to console her except her father from whom she does not expect any consolation. But the father rises to the occasion and lets the little girl sleep beside him that night. She rests her head on her father's chest and can feel his heart...
18 comments
Read more

War and Meaning of Victory

In the summer of 1999, while the rest of India was soaked in monsoon and Cricket World Cup, the country’s soldiers were clawing up frozen cliffs daring the bullets that came shooting from above. India’s incorrigible neighbour had sent its soldiers and militants to capture the snow-covered peaks of Kargil. It was an act of deception, a capture of India’s land stealthily. The terrain was harsh and hostile, testing the limits of human courage with every jagged step. The Kargil War was not just against a human enemy, but against peaks of stones and snow where the air itself was an adversary. Three months of bitter conflict and subhuman killing ended in India’s victory over the invading Pakistan. Victory! July 26 is celebrated ever after as Kargil Vijay Diwas by India. What is victory, however? Philosophically, I mean. We are supposed to be rational (philosophical) creatures, after all. “ W ar does not determine who is right,” Bertrand Russell said famously, “but who is left.” Every...
8 comments
Read more

Stories from the North-East

Book Review Title: Lapbah: Stories from the North-East (2 volumes) Editors: Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih & Rimi Nath Publisher: Penguin Random House India 2025 Pages: 366 + 358   Nestled among the eastern Himalayas and some breathtakingly charming valleys, the Northeastern region of India is home to hundreds of indigenous communities, each with distinct traditions, attire, music, and festivals. Languages spoken range from Tibeto-Burman and Austroasiatic tongues to Indo-Aryan dialects, reflecting centuries of migration and interaction. Tribal matrilineal societies thrive in Meghalaya, while Nagaland and Mizoram showcase rich Christian tribal traditions. Manipur is famed for classical dance and martial arts, and Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh add further layers of ethnic plurality and ecological richness. Sikkim blends Buddhist heritage with mountainous serenity, and Assam is known for its tea gardens and vibrant Vaishnavite culture. Collectively, the Northeast is a uni...
8 comments
Read more

The RSS and Paradoxes

The oldest racist organisation in the world is all set to celebrate the centenary of its existence. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was founded in 1925 with the specific goal of unifying the Hindus in India under a religious and cultural banner. The Indian Independence struggle that was going on in full force at that time was no concern of the RSS. Though it gave the liberty to its individual members to take part in the struggle, the organisation’s official policy was to stay clear of it altogether. That was only one of the many paradoxical ironies that marked the RSS which was a nationalist organisation that cared little for the Independence of the nation. Today, the Prime Minister of India is a man who was trained and nurtured by the RSS. Shashi Tharoor wrote a massive book on the paradoxes that underscore the personality of Mr Narendra Modi. The RSS and paradoxes go hand in hand, if we take Modi as a specimen of the organisation’s great achievements. Tharoor’s final asses...
8 comments
Read more