General Interest

Ask a majority of the world this question, and they’d emphatically tell you, “Of course there is, you atheistic lunatic!” Herein lies my problem. I, of the worldly and scientific kind, have certain reservations I know none (except for, maybe God) can satisfactorily answer. Maybe it is just my background that makes me think this way – born in Libya, where religion was a cause for the country being abolished from the international arena; bred in Kenya, where fighting among the tribes over their Gods has led to instability; based in India, where thousands die each year because Muslims & Hindus cannot see eye to eye. Everyone agrees there is only one God, and that Jesus, Ram, Allah are but people’s customized images of Him. If that is the case, would He want to create so much fighting and hatred amongst people over His name?

Would he not come down and show himself to us and put the world at peace? I believe religion originally started off as a set of rules for binding society together, giving people a set of rules that would be for their benefit and would give them a sense of  belongingness. The Bible, Bhagavad-Gita and other holy scriptures were stories to give concreteness to the existence of God. God served as the figure of admonition whenever you went astray. Church, mosque, temple visits were occasions to socialize with people we would otherwise have not met. However, over centuries, people in power have used religion as a means of building wealth, threatening people into submission, and encouraging activities that would benefit themselves. Such people, in particular, have tarnished the name of Islam.

Having said this, I was once a “believer”, not your hard-core lay-my-soul-at-the-Lord’s-feet kind, but your average being that never failed to remember Him during times of crises, the regular occasion being on the verge of flunking an exam. In Hinduism, we have certain rules like not cutting our nails after sun-set, removing one’s sandals before entering any place with God’s statue, closing our eyes while praying. I have logical explanations for each of these practices outside of religion – the first for ensuring that stray nails do not pierce your skin, the second for keeping the house tidy, and the third for the perfect meditative posture. Religion is good for one, when one understands the significance of what he/she does, and does not go overboard.

Religion has fed many people through social occasions, given employment to many more, and galvanized people into thinking for their own, and society’s good. It is not the fact that I do not believe in the existence of a God, it is merely the fact that I trust myself more than I trust any religious concepts of re-incarnation, water cleaning your sins, prayer giving you all you want. How about getting a clear picture of what is right, doing right, and everything takes care of itself? I like to call this “The Law of Social Justice”. Where one is born is just the draw of the lot, but every succeeding minute is in one’s own hands and not predetermined by Fate. What you sow is what you reap; over your lifetime, what you do is what you end up getting. Be a nice person, and the world will be nice to you. Simple enough, is it not? ■

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