The Delusion Of Being...

“I fear one day I'll meet God, he'll sneeze and I won't know what to say.”- Ronnie Shakes

So after much hullabaloo and constant delay, the judgment on the six decades old Ayodhya title suite is out. And seemingly it seems balanced and logical. A three way division (2:1 to Hindus), to be enforced after 3 months. All in all a balanced and sensible verdict which certainly did cause none of the brouhaha the government thought it would. But this not what the post is about. That is for all the “learned” and “informed” panelists who are busy TV studio hopping from one channel to another, dissecting the verdict and giving each other congratulatory jhappies.Personally (and I’m sure it finds resonance amongst my peers), I couldn’t care less with what happens with the disputed area. Heck, erect a KFC there for all I care! And understandably enough, the same opinion is shared by most Indians which obviously also includes the eponymous “common man”, everyone’s favourite fall guy.

All this made me reflect on the bigger issue. How religion provokes and ignites such vehement and inflammatory opinions. Isn’t it supposed to unite and preach tolerance? But id you look at all the strife in the world, you’ll realize how foolhardy that notion is- whether it’s Islamic xenophobia, or the imperialist ways of right wing Hindu groups seeped in an Aryan mindset. And I haven’t even mentioned the race tensions in Spain, Israel, China etc.

To understand how we have arrived at what seems like a paradox, one must evaluate the basis and evolution organized religion. The first organized religions appear to have been based on fertility. They were focused on the worship of the great Earth Goddess. Religion evolved to include male Gods who were gradually given increased importance by the priests. Along with this different factors like the size of the human brain, increasing use of tools and increased prevalence of group living- also contributed to it. Expansion of the neocortex, which is involved in processing higher order cognitive functions that are necessary for human religiosity. According to Dunbar's theory, the relative neocortex size of any species correlates with the level of social complexity of the particular species. For example, in chimpanzees the neocortex occupies 50% of the brain, whereas in modern humans it occupies 80% of the brain. That may explain why humans have a more pronounced religious system than apes!

This may be the historical bedrock on which different faiths were founded but when you look at the present state of almost major modern-day religions, you’ll notice that they are largely a response to human fear. Their main function is to provide their followers with a feeling of security while living in a dangerous and volatile environment in which a person can be injured, killed or murdered at any time due to natural causes, accidents or human hatred and intolerance. This is the basic flaw. If something is founded on the exploitation of insecurity it is bound to breed insecurity. And people living in such an atmosphere or fear and virulence can’t get along. This cuts across all religions, whether it is the Maulvis who talk of the constant threat from Western powers or the equally terrifying prospect of Saffron extremism. We have ample evidence historically, which proves that such kind of hate-mongering, once mass bred, can lead to horrifying and catastrophic consequences (The Holocaust anyone?). Once man evolved to a slightly higher level of understanding, it created a concept of faith, an inner and personal belief in a supreme being or creator. Since this time, this has been hijacked by people looking to control the masses and represent a ‘greater power' to their own effect, this is where modern religions were born.

Contrary to what it may seem till now, I am not against religion. To the point that it provides someone with a sense of inner calm and belief, it’s fine, but the moment these vested interests turn it into a forceful and vicious propaganda, it loses all meaning. The scariest thing to me is the blind zealots which continue to use religion as a means of power and control. It’s then that you realize that religion is a man made concept created to fill the void of the unknown. As a species we are generally quite weak and very fearful of the unknown. Over the millennia, mankind has passed these theories and stories down from generation to generation, and the truth has become blurred and no longer truly recognizable.Where we are now is at a contradiction to the basic ethos on which these belief systems were founded. It was meant for a sense of spiritual upliftment, certainly not for furthering of malicious ideals. In today's debate, religion blurs everything, dividing our population like nothing else on earth. It is guilty of mass murder, slavery and hypocrisy and continues to drive a wedge between continents and societies.

A couple of weeks ago while travelling in the Delhi Metro I came across this old Sikh lady who was having incredible difficulty in standing. She was very frail and kept hobbling as if being weighed down something in contrast to her wiry frame. Then she proceeded to extract a heavy knife which she was carrying under her clothes. This was the Kirpan, a dagger carried by Sikh followers and a part of their five Ks. At once she felt at ease and was able to stand comfortably. This probably sums up the conundrum. You know something becomes a liability when it holds you down and becomes a handicap.

Eskimo: "If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?”

Priest: "No, not if you did not know.”

Eskimo: "Then why did you tell me?”

:D