Monday, August 28, 2017

Are we really that dumb?

“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."

These words came from the renowned German philosopher and economist, Karl Marx. According to Wikipedia, “Marx believed that religion had certain practical functions in society that were similar to the function of opium in a sick or injured person: it reduced people's immediate suffering and provided them with pleasant illusions, but it also reduced their energy and their willingness to confront the oppressive, heartless, and soulless reality that capitalism had forced them into.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_of_the_people)

Since time immemorial, human beings have felt this urge to worship. We have a long history of being devotees of nature, animals, idols, mythological characters, men and women who came out of scriptures that were written by men themselves, and random people claiming to be the prophets of God.


Why this urge to believe in a force greater than us, is still a mystery. Maybe as Marx opinioned, it just made people feel better. They had something hopeful and positive to cling to – to blank out the misery and dark reality of life and existence. Religion probably gave them strength to face fears and tough situations.

But since when did we sacrifice our brains at the altar of the gods? Was that the condition they put forward to become a devotee? Why have we become an army of robots – unquestioning, blind, illogical, unscientific and plain dumb? Does the degree of our dumbness define the depth of our faith? Yes, the word ‘faith’ means absolute surrender to what you believe in, but since religion is mostly ‘man-made’, can we trust it to be 100% infallible and devoid of faults?

Why are we so engrossed in fighting for our human representatives of God (godmen and women), that we forget the basic tenets of religion? Love one another. Be kind. Spread peace. Do not hurt another being with your actions or words. Do not use violence; a lot greater can be achieved through love. Aren’t these more important than the idiots who claim to do all this, but only in words?

Yes, the people need someone to turn to. But then, let them not switch off their brains and at least place their trust in the right persons. A blatant rapist and murderer hardly cuts a fine figure to worship and trust. It’s like being in a relationship with a toxic someone who constantly cheats behind your back, physically and sexually abuses you and claims your life to be his/her own – and you saying, “But I can’t leave him/her because I love him so and I know he/she loves me too.” That’s when you know that you’ve stopped THINKING.

You want to cling on to something? Cling on to love. To peace. To non-violence. To the ‘live and let live’ mantra. These are so much better than the rubbish these false godpeople feed us. No human being deserves to be put up on a pedestal that high, that they are above the law and no longer accountable for their actions.

Let us switch on our brains. Keep them where they should be. Polish them regularly through analysis, logical reasoning and questions. Keep them running. Let us never be complacent, naïve fools – ripe for being used by the Ram Rahims who emerge from hell.

Faith is one thing, being ridiculously dumb is another.

--> Never stop thinking.

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