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Religion has terrified me for
the larger part of my life. The Christian crusades and the inquisitions of the
medieval period, the endless Islamic jihads, and other historic atrocities are
not the only causes. The present Hindutva versions of some of those atrocities
are bigger nightmares for me since they happen in my own country – not in some
distant land and ancient time. But even they are not the chief reasons why the
very mention of religion sends shivers down my spine.
The most
tragic things that happened in my personal life were all caused by certain
religious people. First it was some Christian missionaries who took upon
themselves the arduous mission of salvaging my soul from perdition. I managed
to save myself from them after about five long years of hellish ordeals they
put me through. A decade and a half after that came a Hindu cult with its
unique style of subjecting a whole school to slow death out of sheer greed for
land. This latter missionaries damaged my soul more than anyone else. They
stifled the little trust I had in humanity’s potential for goodness.
What does
religion mean to me today? A painful nightmare. Honestly, I’m more scared of
religious people than any roguish politician or a street thug. I know what to
expect from rogues and thugs. But I can never predict what the religious
do-gooder is going to do.
Religion is
like a breeze that caresses you softly but carries within it deadly toxins that
are invisible and unpalpable. You recognise the damage done to you too late,
much after the corrosion has eaten away some vital part of your soul.
This is
written from my personal experience. I’m sure there are a lot of people for
whom religion means totally something else. I have friends who are religious by
profession – priests, for example. Most of them lead lives just like you and me
except that they practise certain rituals at regular intervals. I’m not
speaking about such people. They are harmless.
The harms
come from those who arrogate to themselves the mission of salvaging amorphous things
like souls, culture, national pride… When any individual or group sets up
themselves as the redeemer of others, trouble begins. This tendency to be
redeemers is irresistible to many religious people. The worst thing that can
happen to a nation is when such people enter politics too. When politics and
religion mingle, it is like swine stepping into slush. Just pay attention to
the utterances of some of India’s contemporary politicians to understand better
what I’m saying. For example, when the ruminants in other parts of the world
release methane into the environment, in India they release oxygen, thanks to
our religious politicians. That’s just one example. If you start observing
India’s religious politicians seriously, you’ll die laughing.
That laughter
is my nightmare nowadays. Once upon a time, the nightmare was a personal one: missionaries
trying to redeem my soul. Then it was my school: a cult killing it slowly. Now
it is my country. I have no escape from redeemers.
PS. Written
for Indispire Edition 395: What does religion mean to
you? #ReligionForMe
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteTrue this is your own very personal view - but on one thing we most certainly can agree..."When politics and religion mingle, it is like swine stepping into slush." It is an abomination that has reigned in the Middle and Near East for centuries and now pervades India. What angers me to the degree you describe in this post is that such verminous characters have abused a noble faith and made of it an object of hate; it has to be remembered that whatever creed is spouted, it is men, egoistic, lustful men who carry out these acts or incite others to it. YAM xx
It's very saddening too that a great vision like advaita and fraternity of the world is being converted into such a parochial view merely for the sake of politics. The biggest tragedy may be that it will take decades now to heal the perversion of Indian minds.
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