I was born a Hindu in a moderately religious family. Well, my father is a communist, but he never actively told us not to follow religion. He did mock all the so called Sadhus and Saints though. Anyway, I was taught to pray, to believe in God. I did. I prayed, I performed religious rituals, I fasted and I very obediently did not displease God lest he smite me.
I went to a missionary school, where I learnt hymns and grew close to Jesus. I started going to churches, I made a Muslim friend, so I went to mosques too. I grew up around religion. I respected religion. I believed in God.
I prayed for me, my family, all the people close to me. I made it to my teens with the belief that praying helps. I met awful people along the way, had my teen naive heart broken, was betrayed by close friends, read about rapes and murders on paper and still prayed. I prayed for goodness. I prayed for relief. I prayed for sanity.
Along the way to adulthood, I met new people, I was privy to new ideas, I questioned everything. I questioned rituals, religion, rationales and motivation. I started forming my own opinions instead of conforming to my family's. At 21, I gave my belief. I started a new life away from home, at University, studying literature and cultural studies, debating social norms and effects of religion on people.
It's funny that theism is taken for granted, but atheism offends people. It does not become a way of life. My family still thinks it's a phase. It's as if I am flirting with atheism and will come to my senses eventually. I have just lost the way. Often I was and still am asked, "Who taught you atheism?" I laugh every time. I am annoyed that they think I do not have an individual opinion. I ask you, who taught you theism? Would you still believe in god if no one taught you to? If a person was bred and brought up in an environment without religion, would he/she still pray? Would the person believe in an entity larger than the universe, the creator?
I started not believing, when I started believing in something more than my faith. I started believing in myself. I stopped relying on prayers and relied on actions. My mother told me, "Don't say God does not exist. God will punish you for it." The irony in that sentence still baffles me. It's hilarious that people threaten us with hell and the wrath of god. We don't care!
Living in India, right now, is the superstitious hell for us Atheists. We seem to have been pushed aside even in politics due to our lack of religion or faith in a creator. The politics of India as it is now is more than just the welfare of people. It is religion. It used to be a battle of ideologies. Now it is a battle of intolerance and ignorance. It is also a battle armed with myths and religious scriptures that are so misconstrued that it is almost believable.
I am not taking pot shots at just one religion. I am not selling atheism to anyone. I am just voicing my opinion against the organised corruption in the higher ranks of all religious organisations. Yes. I say organisations. It seems that everyone is out to prove who the better God is and whose God loves them the most and it is always at the cost of bringing some other religion down.
It does not matter when you practice your own faith in your home not bothering or hurting other people and their sentiments. It is when you bring religion into the open, shoving it into people's faces and up their noses, disrupting lives and livelihood that it becomes an issue.
Recently an NGO in Delhi could not help the Christian parents of a terminally ill girl monetarily. The trustee of the organisation later said, "Agar aap hindu hote toh phir bhi kuchh ho sakta tha" (We could have still done something if you were hindu) Since when does religion matter more than the life of a 21 year old who is lying paralysed on a bed?
With all the Ghar Wapsi campaigns by the Hindus, there is also a Muslim leader saying, all children are born Muslims and then converted to other religions. I continue to see the urge to make people conform to the religion one person or a group of people think is superior. There is always someone trying to convert someone else. What happened to free will? What happened to respecting other people's choices and beliefs?
I object to your dehumanisation of people due to their religion. I object to your crassness in the celebration of your religion. I object to your inhumanity. I object to your racism, sexism, elitism based just on your religion. I object to your society.
I am an atheist and happier for it.
I went to a missionary school, where I learnt hymns and grew close to Jesus. I started going to churches, I made a Muslim friend, so I went to mosques too. I grew up around religion. I respected religion. I believed in God.
I prayed for me, my family, all the people close to me. I made it to my teens with the belief that praying helps. I met awful people along the way, had my teen naive heart broken, was betrayed by close friends, read about rapes and murders on paper and still prayed. I prayed for goodness. I prayed for relief. I prayed for sanity.
Along the way to adulthood, I met new people, I was privy to new ideas, I questioned everything. I questioned rituals, religion, rationales and motivation. I started forming my own opinions instead of conforming to my family's. At 21, I gave my belief. I started a new life away from home, at University, studying literature and cultural studies, debating social norms and effects of religion on people.
It's funny that theism is taken for granted, but atheism offends people. It does not become a way of life. My family still thinks it's a phase. It's as if I am flirting with atheism and will come to my senses eventually. I have just lost the way. Often I was and still am asked, "Who taught you atheism?" I laugh every time. I am annoyed that they think I do not have an individual opinion. I ask you, who taught you theism? Would you still believe in god if no one taught you to? If a person was bred and brought up in an environment without religion, would he/she still pray? Would the person believe in an entity larger than the universe, the creator?
I started not believing, when I started believing in something more than my faith. I started believing in myself. I stopped relying on prayers and relied on actions. My mother told me, "Don't say God does not exist. God will punish you for it." The irony in that sentence still baffles me. It's hilarious that people threaten us with hell and the wrath of god. We don't care!
Living in India, right now, is the superstitious hell for us Atheists. We seem to have been pushed aside even in politics due to our lack of religion or faith in a creator. The politics of India as it is now is more than just the welfare of people. It is religion. It used to be a battle of ideologies. Now it is a battle of intolerance and ignorance. It is also a battle armed with myths and religious scriptures that are so misconstrued that it is almost believable.
I am not taking pot shots at just one religion. I am not selling atheism to anyone. I am just voicing my opinion against the organised corruption in the higher ranks of all religious organisations. Yes. I say organisations. It seems that everyone is out to prove who the better God is and whose God loves them the most and it is always at the cost of bringing some other religion down.
It does not matter when you practice your own faith in your home not bothering or hurting other people and their sentiments. It is when you bring religion into the open, shoving it into people's faces and up their noses, disrupting lives and livelihood that it becomes an issue.
Recently an NGO in Delhi could not help the Christian parents of a terminally ill girl monetarily. The trustee of the organisation later said, "Agar aap hindu hote toh phir bhi kuchh ho sakta tha" (We could have still done something if you were hindu) Since when does religion matter more than the life of a 21 year old who is lying paralysed on a bed?
With all the Ghar Wapsi campaigns by the Hindus, there is also a Muslim leader saying, all children are born Muslims and then converted to other religions. I continue to see the urge to make people conform to the religion one person or a group of people think is superior. There is always someone trying to convert someone else. What happened to free will? What happened to respecting other people's choices and beliefs?
I object to your dehumanisation of people due to their religion. I object to your crassness in the celebration of your religion. I object to your inhumanity. I object to your racism, sexism, elitism based just on your religion. I object to your society.
I am an atheist and happier for it.
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