Humanity's Religion
"These are modern times, these are hard times"...quoted my Professor while teaching us Charles Dickens "Hard Times"
Funnily these lines are universal, times are always hard.
When humanity began, the world was not globalized, we were not connected. People in Europe didn't know people in China, People in India didn't know people in The Americas. We were living in an Universe called earth where we looked into the horizon and wondered is life beyond that horizon? In the same way the Astronauts today look at the stars and wonder "Is life there beyond Earth?"
We all evolved separately, we had our different civilizations, we all had our different cultures. we all had our different belief and religion. But what binds us as one is we all had a Civilization, Culture, Belief, Religion, though different but we had a belief and religion.
So what made humans look above and pray to some one, whom we have never seen. What made humans think that there is someone more powerful than us and is watching us.
When humans came in together to form a social dwelling they had done so because of the need to stay together. We were living like a herd and not a society. But what nature took away from us in physical strength, it gave us back in Intelligence. So, we started wondering at things which were beyond our reach.
Why does it rain?
Why do we die?
Why do Volcanoes erupt?
Why do disasters happen?
But human brain doesn't stop at wondering, they question and do not rest until they find a solution. Science was not developed, people were in nature so, they came up with a common answer.
"There is someone who is more powerful than us who makes this thing happen?"
"Where is that someone?"
"Must be above in the sky because that someone can see everything from there."
"How should we tell him to make it rain when we want, not to kill us or not to cause disasters?"
"We should offer him some favours so that he returns our favour." (Barter system was prevalent then so this concept of exchange of goods came up)
"But where to make these offerings?"
"We will make a place where that some one can come and stay, like a portal from heaven to the earth.?"
Thus the first seeds of religion were sown, it was our defense mechanism for every thing beyond our reach because humans are great control freaks, and by worshiping the "Supreme Being" they felt more assured and when something went wrong they had something to fall back upon.
It slowly came up that this "Guardian" judges our actions and the fear of the "Guardian's" wrath led us to do the right thing.
How did this thing happen?
There were some people who thought humans are basically bad and the society need people who follow rules (good people). So, how to convert Basically Bad into Fundamentally Good. They came up with a simple yet effective formula:
"Basically Bad + Fear of God/ Religion= Fundamentally Good."
God came as a "Guardian" and Religion was the rule book His or Her Command.
All was well till the cultures did not clash. Beliefs did not clash. As Civilizations formed cultures mingled and Now Europe knew India, India Knew Egypt, Egypt knew China, China Knew Mesopotamia, in short everyone knew everyone. The concepts and beliefs traveled and it was mostly harmonious but then as time elapsed population grew, challenges grew, diseases grew, death grew and people more vehemently stuck to the religion as their last resort. They became agressive and religion became a clan identity.
"Either you follow what we follow or go to hell, die."
This dangerous thought came into the vein of people as the society moved from the hands of Scholars to Fighters. The religion earlier used to construct a society had now transformed as an excuse to invade people who have different set of beliefs. Religion was now used as a mask for humans greed. Humans always need a Defence Mechanism to justify their deeds and religion was a ready Defence Mechanism.
Religion is as overrated as humanity is, Religion is as overrated as human passions are.
The God we created was a part of the Social Memory of some Righteous men the society saw in early days.
The Religion we made was very much human and not a God. Like a human it has it's flaws, it changes and it needs to be corrected from time to time.
As always use your brains before jumping blindly for your belief, your religion.
Because our intelligence is only one thing that nature has given us to our advantage.
Saying that religion cannot be abolished because though we have answers to these:
Why does it rain?
Why do we die?
Why do Volcanoes erupt?
Why do disasters happen?
We need some thing to fall back on, to look up to when all hope is lost.
Signing off with these lines
"What though the field be lost?
All is not lost; th' unconquerable will,
And study of revenge, immortal hate,
And courage never to submit or yield. "
- John Milton, Paradise Lost
(Satan says this after falling from the heaven in the moment of despair when all is lost even the grace of the God he worshiped he makes "unconquerable will,And study of revenge, immortal hate,And courage never to submit or yield" his religion.
You can take away the religion of a person but you will see that person again forms a new religion to survive. Old religion is replaced by new there is never a vaccum left. The only option is mutual respect.
Funnily these lines are universal, times are always hard.
When humanity began, the world was not globalized, we were not connected. People in Europe didn't know people in China, People in India didn't know people in The Americas. We were living in an Universe called earth where we looked into the horizon and wondered is life beyond that horizon? In the same way the Astronauts today look at the stars and wonder "Is life there beyond Earth?"
We all evolved separately, we had our different civilizations, we all had our different cultures. we all had our different belief and religion. But what binds us as one is we all had a Civilization, Culture, Belief, Religion, though different but we had a belief and religion.
So what made humans look above and pray to some one, whom we have never seen. What made humans think that there is someone more powerful than us and is watching us.
When humans came in together to form a social dwelling they had done so because of the need to stay together. We were living like a herd and not a society. But what nature took away from us in physical strength, it gave us back in Intelligence. So, we started wondering at things which were beyond our reach.
Why does it rain?
Why do we die?
Why do Volcanoes erupt?
Why do disasters happen?
But human brain doesn't stop at wondering, they question and do not rest until they find a solution. Science was not developed, people were in nature so, they came up with a common answer.
"There is someone who is more powerful than us who makes this thing happen?"
"Where is that someone?"
"Must be above in the sky because that someone can see everything from there."
"How should we tell him to make it rain when we want, not to kill us or not to cause disasters?"
"We should offer him some favours so that he returns our favour." (Barter system was prevalent then so this concept of exchange of goods came up)
"But where to make these offerings?"
"We will make a place where that some one can come and stay, like a portal from heaven to the earth.?"
Thus the first seeds of religion were sown, it was our defense mechanism for every thing beyond our reach because humans are great control freaks, and by worshiping the "Supreme Being" they felt more assured and when something went wrong they had something to fall back upon.
It slowly came up that this "Guardian" judges our actions and the fear of the "Guardian's" wrath led us to do the right thing.
How did this thing happen?
There were some people who thought humans are basically bad and the society need people who follow rules (good people). So, how to convert Basically Bad into Fundamentally Good. They came up with a simple yet effective formula:
"Basically Bad + Fear of God/ Religion= Fundamentally Good."
God came as a "Guardian" and Religion was the rule book His or Her Command.
All was well till the cultures did not clash. Beliefs did not clash. As Civilizations formed cultures mingled and Now Europe knew India, India Knew Egypt, Egypt knew China, China Knew Mesopotamia, in short everyone knew everyone. The concepts and beliefs traveled and it was mostly harmonious but then as time elapsed population grew, challenges grew, diseases grew, death grew and people more vehemently stuck to the religion as their last resort. They became agressive and religion became a clan identity.
"Either you follow what we follow or go to hell, die."
This dangerous thought came into the vein of people as the society moved from the hands of Scholars to Fighters. The religion earlier used to construct a society had now transformed as an excuse to invade people who have different set of beliefs. Religion was now used as a mask for humans greed. Humans always need a Defence Mechanism to justify their deeds and religion was a ready Defence Mechanism.
Religion is as overrated as humanity is, Religion is as overrated as human passions are.
The God we created was a part of the Social Memory of some Righteous men the society saw in early days.
The Religion we made was very much human and not a God. Like a human it has it's flaws, it changes and it needs to be corrected from time to time.
As always use your brains before jumping blindly for your belief, your religion.
Because our intelligence is only one thing that nature has given us to our advantage.
Saying that religion cannot be abolished because though we have answers to these:
Why does it rain?
Why do we die?
Why do Volcanoes erupt?
Why do disasters happen?
We need some thing to fall back on, to look up to when all hope is lost.
Signing off with these lines
"What though the field be lost?
All is not lost; th' unconquerable will,
And study of revenge, immortal hate,
And courage never to submit or yield. "
- John Milton, Paradise Lost
(Satan says this after falling from the heaven in the moment of despair when all is lost even the grace of the God he worshiped he makes "unconquerable will,And study of revenge, immortal hate,And courage never to submit or yield" his religion.
You can take away the religion of a person but you will see that person again forms a new religion to survive. Old religion is replaced by new there is never a vaccum left. The only option is mutual respect.
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