Truth is my God, rationality my religion and my faith in it is the worship.
Most of the humans follow some or the other religion, but I doubt if even a meager percentage of them knows the real meaning of and purpose behind a religion. If they did then there wouldn’t be fights on the name of religions and no one would be considering one’s own religion better than the other. There are many things that are just passed on to us from generations and have lost meaning in the process. Religions are one of them.
As this entire blog is only for truth-seekers here we strive for the truth alone, and the only way to reach truth is by being rational. So let’s assume a rational perspective and find out what religions are.
Why religion?
For as long as the humankind has survived it has been our constant endeavor to look for an ideal way of living. The living which is most suitable for all existence can be called an ideal living.
The basic purpose of a religion is to prevent humans from being harmful to the world by showing them the right way. A religion is a set of beliefs aiming at giving humans an ideal life. It guides us to do right things by stating things in a way that it’s the God’s wish.
How are religions formed?
There have been countless religions and preachers in the history of humankind for the purpose of guiding people towards ideal living. The need for religions arose because at some point of time humans realized that they have strayed away from the truth, the ideal way of living. In all their worldly pursuits they have forgotten the "God’s will". Hence some genius took upon himself the task of reminding humankind of their duties towards the world. He observed the world and made his notes. He foresaw the problems and devised ways to prevent them. Then he wrote a book similar to the scriptures we have. That is how the first religion is born. In time, at different places on the earth truth came to be explained in different ways. That is how there are about three hundred religions, and different theories today. The way and the approach might differ in them, but the purpose of all the religions is one and the same. After all, humans need something to tell them only one thing, that is, how to live ideally.
How do religions function?
Let’s understand how these religions work. Imagine the kindergarten children who are told stories with some moral attached at the end. Little stories which infuse in their mind the sense of what is right and what is wrong. They inspire the children to be good and do right things in life. For example, if you tell a child not to be abusive then perhaps he will not take your advice seriously. He might, rather, come upon you abusing! It’s the human nature. But if you tell him an interesting story of a boy who gets God’s blessings for being nice to everyone then he will be inspired to be nice! He just needed to know the benefit of being nice. Religions work the same way. Humans are the youngest children of God. They are so immature. They wouldn’t understand simple things told simply. They wouldn’t do something which requires them to give up convenience and comfort. That is why some genius took upon the task of writing down “stories” which we see today as religious scriptures. They wrote books and preached truth as it is the God’s wish so that humans will be better motivated to follow it. The concept of God as the governing superpower appeals, and is comforting to the human mind.
Where do humans stand today?
This whole concept of God and the religions might have been successful for a while and to some extent, but upon the whole it miserably fails. Instead of learning the “moral of the story” which is the same in all religious scriptures, humans have become so engrossed with the story itself, and its characters (which we see as Gods), that today they are fighting for proving their own religion right! No one, in truth, sees the moral of the religion. Everyone takes the moral which suits their own way. That is the reason humans are still living unhappy, harmful, miserable and destructive life.
Conclusion
You do not have to belong to any religion as long as you know in your mind the purpose behind the religions, which is, making you an ideal creature. When you already understand the “moral of the story” what’s the need for the story!
I believe in no religion and no God as people around me do. I visit no temple, do no worship. People say I am atheist, a non-believer, and look down upon me. I just want to tell them this: Truth is my God, rationality my religion and my faith in it is the worship. You are so wrong.
2 Comment(s):
Good that u r a deep thinker... but i guess u have to study how all religions evolved.. so that u reach to a conclusion as in how religion formed.. Time to study and rethink deeply as u are doing it beautifully now.
I too used to think purpose of religions was to guide people to better lives, but I no longer think that, especially, after I read a bit of history of the ancient religions.
Yes true, relatively more intelligent people deviced stories to manipulate people at large, but what I very recently realized was that this was done not for the selfless larger good, but rather for personal selfish gains.
That's why religions historically had always been deeply associated with politics and power struggles. Best way to win over a territory was to convert people religiously en masse. That's why almost all the major religions that had displaced some other religion 'expansivist' attitudes.
Imagine, none of the religions ever talked of fundamental 'equality' of humans. They never talked of democracy. They never said a king's progeny, if undeserving should not become the next king. They almost never said both genders should be treated equally. And never did they promote rational inquiry? Why? :)
But then what I pointed out in my current comment is immaterial because if people become more independent thinkers by coming across your ideas, the goal would be served much better than telling them - the religion you have fallen in love with is crass! ;)
I might put up a more elaborate comment later.
In the meantime, IF YOU FIND TIME, please go through my following posts:
1. A few responses to criticism of atheism (click) - very close to your post in dealing with religion, morality and immorality.
2. Are (a few) religious leaders atheists? (click) - deals with the same idea of religious leaders being wiser than common people, and more importantly, themselves knowing that the religion they teach is crap!
3. Educational post (click) - takes a lighthearted view of why people (and in the past, even I myself) believe in God. Almost unrelated to your post. But it's another reason for people to believe in God. For people it's NOT sufficient to just know that God exists, but also HOW to book one's seat in the heaven! ;) That's where rituals ( = religion) come into play.
Well written article!
TC.
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