IT’S RELIGION THAT SEEMS TO BE NEEDING ME.
The recent events dubbed as intolerance have led to award wapasi, (I am sad that it has been borrowed from ghar wapasi ) and now, as Amir Khan says, ‘thinking of leaving the country’. There must have been some reason for him to say so. Unfortunately the so called ’intolerance’ is disguised as religious threat where my religion is better than your religion prevails. When someone says his religion is better than other religions, it is implied that he is trying to say ‘leave your religion and come to my religion’. Religion is synonym with God because there can be no religion without God. Whenever we talk of religion, the concept of God or Prophet or Messiah or Lord creeps in. The two are inseparable. This therefore means that my God is better than your God. This is besides Gita’s advice ‘stick to your religion, even if it is not as you want it because others’ religion is unknown and fearful‘.
A lot has been said about religion and God. Opium of the masses-said Karl Marx, If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him-said Voltaire.
I was born as Hindu and I am happy about it. I would have been equally happy if I were born as a Muslim or Christian. I would have been, at the same time happy had my forefathers converted to any other religion. We are as born and nothing can change that not even conversion. No religion or God is needed to become a good human being.
Hinduism, if we can call it religion because we are also told that it is way of life and not a religion in the literal senses, perhaps only religion which has not grown by conversions from other religions like Islam and Christianity. On the contrary, mush against the tenets of Gita, Hindus have converted to other religions and it continues. Most of the people who converted were poor and of low castes. They were victims of exploitations by the upper castes. Still Hindus remained and prospered and never thought of increasing their numbers by conversion from other religions.
Now some Hindus want to increase their numbers by ‘ghar wapsi’, return of converted people to their original religion, Hinduism. Some have even suggested that non-Hindus should leave the country as this will help reduce the population. The other side of the border is stretching its arms to welcome people who want to cross borders. Leaving one’s country of birth is not easy and not at all if one is forced or advised to.
Humans are being treated as numerical units to help in increasing numbers of opposing sides. I f I put myself in this tug of war, I find myself needed by all religions. I am not being treated as a human but a commodity or an unit that has no other option but to be either on this side or on the other side. My opinion is of little consequence. All these years, religion was my shelter in times of my needs, now I am getting enrolled as shelter for this or that religion. Religion seems to be needing me more than I need it.
The recent events dubbed as intolerance have led to award wapasi, (I am sad that it has been borrowed from ghar wapasi ) and now, as Amir Khan says, ‘thinking of leaving the country’. There must have been some reason for him to say so. Unfortunately the so called ’intolerance’ is disguised as religious threat where my religion is better than your religion prevails. When someone says his religion is better than other religions, it is implied that he is trying to say ‘leave your religion and come to my religion’. Religion is synonym with God because there can be no religion without God. Whenever we talk of religion, the concept of God or Prophet or Messiah or Lord creeps in. The two are inseparable. This therefore means that my God is better than your God. This is besides Gita’s advice ‘stick to your religion, even if it is not as you want it because others’ religion is unknown and fearful‘.
A lot has been said about religion and God. Opium of the masses-said Karl Marx, If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him-said Voltaire.
I was born as Hindu and I am happy about it. I would have been equally happy if I were born as a Muslim or Christian. I would have been, at the same time happy had my forefathers converted to any other religion. We are as born and nothing can change that not even conversion. No religion or God is needed to become a good human being.
Hinduism, if we can call it religion because we are also told that it is way of life and not a religion in the literal senses, perhaps only religion which has not grown by conversions from other religions like Islam and Christianity. On the contrary, mush against the tenets of Gita, Hindus have converted to other religions and it continues. Most of the people who converted were poor and of low castes. They were victims of exploitations by the upper castes. Still Hindus remained and prospered and never thought of increasing their numbers by conversion from other religions.
Now some Hindus want to increase their numbers by ‘ghar wapsi’, return of converted people to their original religion, Hinduism. Some have even suggested that non-Hindus should leave the country as this will help reduce the population. The other side of the border is stretching its arms to welcome people who want to cross borders. Leaving one’s country of birth is not easy and not at all if one is forced or advised to.
Humans are being treated as numerical units to help in increasing numbers of opposing sides. I f I put myself in this tug of war, I find myself needed by all religions. I am not being treated as a human but a commodity or an unit that has no other option but to be either on this side or on the other side. My opinion is of little consequence. All these years, religion was my shelter in times of my needs, now I am getting enrolled as shelter for this or that religion. Religion seems to be needing me more than I need it.
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