I Am The Maitreya

I was watching Christiana Amanpour’s ‘God’s Warriors’ on CNN, and it dawned on me that as a human kind we haven’t progressed much since the middle ages. We have taken far flung strides in science and technology, inventing and discovering new things, but when it comes to belief/faith, we haven’t buzzed an inch for millenniums. Incredibly no one finds it a burden to drag these religious dogmas for thousands of years, yet they seem even more resolve to do so, for the sake of GOD. And, I can understand since I was one of them.

For the believers, regardless of the religion they follow, but mostly Abrahamic, nothing much has changed in the last few thousand years. They would have fitted perfectly anywhere in the past, and it seems they would have been happier to do so, since all they find in the present is the degraded and eroded moral values, they are the revisionists, want to mould their lives according to their respective religious teachings, and what’s scarier is that they subscribe the same for everyone else.

Trouble began for the whole mankind, when these children of Abraham started to pan out of deserts into other ancient civilizations of the world. The conquistadors virtually wiped Mayans and Aztecs under the banner of Jesus. The pilgrims, the misfits even among the Christians were driven out of England landed in the US, invited the natives for the picnic, and took all their lands, to build the nation under the God. Under the flag of Islam, part of Europe, whole of Middle East and Central Asia was proselytized, their pillage spread till Indus valley. Muslims and Christians fought over the Holy Land for centuries, but in the recent history, the Zionist movement usurped the Palestinians out of there land, just because god promised them so. It’s nothing but been trouble once they started folding their tent and dust off the sand (*), and started moving out, since than it has been devastating for rest of the mankind, especially for woman kind.       

Ah! Just don’t think that since Abrahamic religions have had miserable side effects, other non-Abrahamic religions are better and milder–Hinduism, Buddhism and other off-shoots of these. I shouldn’t be wasting my word regurgitating the ‘side effects’ of Hinduism in social issues, well everyone grew up in that (most of the readers), if you still fail to see it, then Pawan Putra Hanuman save you of your ignorance. Besides the social politics, it’s very interesting to note the rise of the Hindu right wing organizations like VHS with its political/militant arms of RSS, to resurrect India under the shield of Hinduvta, and I believe there is a side kick of RSS in Nepal too. Leaders of such organizations go on chariot march across the country, pandering to majority populace sentiment to raze the Masjid down and build a temple over it, which were supposed to be their thousands of year back.

I’m ignorant about the atrocities caused by the Buddhist elsewhere, but I am pretty sure, there are atrocities where Buddhists must have been the perpetrators, probably where they are in majority. I guess that’s the case in Sri-Lanka, majority of Buddhist Sinhalese against the minorities of north—the Hindu Tamils. But, I haven’t done any comprehensive (as if I do on anything else) study on that, so I might be wrong on that.

And we thought such religious persecutions are only possible in the Middle Ages, but alas, 90% of all conflicts (no data to corroborate this, just my sentiment) are somehow related to some religious scriptures. Sad, and very sad, religion is here to stay, for long long time, with even uglier face. Just a humble urge to the readers, do objectively ask yourself, how you view the followers of other religions, just another human with different philosophy or with contempt or with indifference? More important, how do you see the minorities in your own religion. If somehow, you find yourself superior to others, then my friend it’s time for you too take that Dr. Who’s time portal Telephone-Booth and go back to caves.

But does it mean that the Atheists have the higher moral grounds? I guess not, the competing philosophy to age old religious dogmas were the Marxism in the first half of the century. What it took thousands of years for religious institutions; Marxism just did that in half the centuries, tantamount to the loss of lives for its cause.

I have come to believe, there need not be a central ideology to guide your moral compass, in its absence too, one can be a moral being. And it’s yet another topic on the sets and standards of morals, let’s not get into it. By moral standard I mean ‘Good and Bad’ as perceived by all the religions, beside the political nuances of contentious issues like abortions, gay marriage etc. etc. Which I believe, they fall more into social politics than the religion, yet far far from spirituality (yet one needs to have a definite explantion on it, which would satisfy every seeker). I would like to believe, if there is God, that God is above all this. And if he did create us, then he must be cringing and crying in dismay at the state of his creation. But, personally I doubt the existence of God. Ironic, isn’t it, I have put all my Gods in CAPITAL Gs for the soul who doesn’t believe in him.

* Apropos to dusting off of sand: I was watching Robin Williams stand up comedy the other day. He says the reason all Muslim and Jews get circumcised is that so they don’t carry sand in their penis foreskin. Primarily, they are the desert dwelling people. Pretty practical practice, I would have no trouble seeing the rational behind the practice had somebody told me that, instead of obfuscating it with coats of religious paintings. And some of my friends think the practice prevent STDs like AIDS and et al. Which is true, since I read the white paper on the research. But, I would like to get circumcised for the former than the later cause, for there is something called CONDOM for STDs. But, hey, what can be more effective than the Divine Condom–Abstinence.

Jite raho, pyare, jite raho, my crazy religious nuts.