Religion, they say, has killed more people than all wars put together. Irrespective of whether this statement is accurate or not, one has to admit that organised religion has caused at least as many problems as it has solved ; and if it takes the credit of having saved many souls, the blame of a large number of deaths also lies at its door.
Ironically, the word ‘religion’ is said to have roots in the Latin word ‘religare’ which means ‘to bind again’. The very reason man developed something called religion was to bind all his fellow-men by a common thread – God. What turned out was quite different however. Religion instead, formed the basis for turning man against man and for fighting on behalf of their respective gods. We consider God to be omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent but rush to pick up cudgels on His behalf. Is this all-powerful God not capable of taking care of Himself?
The Rig Veda says –“Ekam Sadvipra bahudha vadanti” meaning ‘There is one truth, sages call it by different names.’ In the Old Testament when Moses asked God his name, the reply was “I am who I am”. So the Supreme Power pervading the universe has no name. But since ancient times, man has foolishly fought over the different names and forms which he has attributed to this Being.
Leave aside history; we are committing the same mistake even now. We usually classify people on the basis of religion. We absurdly feel –“My religion is the best”, “my God” is better than yours or “my God” is the only God. We are quick to point out the shortcomings of other religions but not interested in reforming our own. We look down on people of other religions denouncing them as pagans, ‘kafir’, ‘mlechcha’ and so on.
Many laws laid down in texts of various religions are archaic. They were probably suited for the times when the religion came into being and are not relevant today. Yet we wish to cling on to them and fight for them. Instead of doing our utmost to contribute positively to society, to meet the basic needs of the deprived, we would rather waste valuable time putting down other religions and converting the poor of other religions to our own. It would be however fallacious to assume that if there was only one religion, all would be well. Not only are there quarrels between religions, there is bickering among different sects of the same religion.
For most of us, piety is limited to visiting places of worship. What good are these visits, when we carry along with us our vanity, greed and selfishness? Will God appreciate this visit? The time spent at these places is meant for contemplation, getting to be aware of our inner self. The ancients introduced rituals to signify these, but with time, only the rituals remained. The spirit behind them is long lost. Not only that, just think over what we pray for – success and riches for oneself and one’s immediate family.
We humans have given a grand name to the power that governs the universe – ‘God’. Seeing the behaviour of the so-called believers and the inhumanities perpetrated in the name of religion, surely God would rather we were non-believers!
Author: Pratibha Shenoy (Basavanagudi, Bengaluru)
