I denounce religion. Religion is an attempt to institutionalise spirituality. It is a one-size-fits-all approach to reach the supreme. I despise it. I despise the idea that people can be 'born' into a religion. I find it repugnant that people who are born, or converted into a religion, are saved, and the rest are condemned to eternal damnation. The idea itself is an insult to mankind. Religion has always been trying to subjugate people - from the caste system to the crusades, from the idea of punishing apostasy with death to conversion by the sword. Religion has done more to enslave people than emancipating them, it has brought more harm than good. Religion, in short, has killed spirituality.
A man of reason, on careful scrutiny, will discover that religion has its roots in the witch doctors and high priests of tribal societies. It is based in fear and ignorance, and sometimes, in the failure to understand death. The organised religions that cropped up later were no better, perhaps worse. The Hindu Brahmin dominates the Dalit for no apparent reason. What kind of dignity does religion provide to the Dalit? Of what use is religion to him? The Brahmin has hundred tricks up his sleeve to defraud you. The Church has an army of missionaries to convert the world, to spread Jesus's message of love, and does it through deceit and bloodshed. In its quest for saving mankind, the Church brought down the Incas and the Aztecs, and sowed the seeds of eternal hatred in the Middle east. The Mohammedans named their religion Islam, which means peace. There has never been peace since then in the Middle east. They put Central Asia to fire and sword in the middle ages, and slaughterers of men were honoured as 'Ghazis'. Mohammedans call anybody who is not a Muslim a 'kaffir', and a 'kaffir' is better killed if he does not convert. And yet, they have not brought peace even where the shariah has been implemented. Where do I see love in religion? And they ask us to love God? Sorry, the modern man does not need it.
Of what use are religion's scriptures, words said long time back in a different age, by men long gone? Most are not philosophies but diktats, no different from the rules of an autocratic club. People continue to believe them, long after science has exposed them to be a bunch of wild guesses. Man is not the beloved creation of God but a product of evolution. Such scriptures are no better than the manuals of an outdated computer.
Man needs to break free of these shackles and find his own path. Spirituality should come from within. Not all men need it, and neither does everybody deserve it. For the rest, it is better to live as atheists. For even if you live as a good Hindu, you will be tortured in the Christian and Muslim hells. Do not be afraid. Even Jesus Christ and the Prophet changed the religion they were born in. The truth lies somewhere else.
A man of reason, on careful scrutiny, will discover that religion has its roots in the witch doctors and high priests of tribal societies. It is based in fear and ignorance, and sometimes, in the failure to understand death. The organised religions that cropped up later were no better, perhaps worse. The Hindu Brahmin dominates the Dalit for no apparent reason. What kind of dignity does religion provide to the Dalit? Of what use is religion to him? The Brahmin has hundred tricks up his sleeve to defraud you. The Church has an army of missionaries to convert the world, to spread Jesus's message of love, and does it through deceit and bloodshed. In its quest for saving mankind, the Church brought down the Incas and the Aztecs, and sowed the seeds of eternal hatred in the Middle east. The Mohammedans named their religion Islam, which means peace. There has never been peace since then in the Middle east. They put Central Asia to fire and sword in the middle ages, and slaughterers of men were honoured as 'Ghazis'. Mohammedans call anybody who is not a Muslim a 'kaffir', and a 'kaffir' is better killed if he does not convert. And yet, they have not brought peace even where the shariah has been implemented. Where do I see love in religion? And they ask us to love God? Sorry, the modern man does not need it.
Of what use are religion's scriptures, words said long time back in a different age, by men long gone? Most are not philosophies but diktats, no different from the rules of an autocratic club. People continue to believe them, long after science has exposed them to be a bunch of wild guesses. Man is not the beloved creation of God but a product of evolution. Such scriptures are no better than the manuals of an outdated computer.
Man needs to break free of these shackles and find his own path. Spirituality should come from within. Not all men need it, and neither does everybody deserve it. For the rest, it is better to live as atheists. For even if you live as a good Hindu, you will be tortured in the Christian and Muslim hells. Do not be afraid. Even Jesus Christ and the Prophet changed the religion they were born in. The truth lies somewhere else.
