religion for me has never really been about being a hindu,muslim,sikh or christian etc. we get our religion by birth and we cant really control that.ofcourse do we follow it?? is a matter of choice and though it can be forced upon us by our society,friends,parents,etc. i really dont think if we are not following what our hearts wants us to any religion will ever make any sense to us.i have always been fascinated by all the religions,their stories which always basically give us the same lessons though ofcourse with different names and characters.i respect every religion for its customs and teachings because i firmly believe walking on gods chosen path can never do you any harm.
i am a proud hindu.i think all our stories right from mahabharat to ramayan are absolutely awesome.i recently read mrityunjay a marathi book on karna’s character.i absolutely fell in love with the book.karna was easily one the most unluckiest guys i have ever known.reading through his life was a different experience altogether.just like all the other religions hinduism also teaches us to be tolerant,non-violent,honest and all the qualities which help you lead a great life.we have had great preachers and saints who have left us with so much of knowledge and wisdom.tukaram,dyaneshwar to name a few have inspired generations.saying all this i am not a very religious person.i mean i know there is a supreme power up there but i dont necessarily worship it as allah,ram or jesus.i say my shlokas,and go to temples with a firm belief that ganapati bappa or hanuman ji is listening but i also believe that if i go to a church with an honest heart and ask something from jesus he too will help.
i have some friends who are atheists.we have had some interesting discussions on existence of god.the obvious questions raised by them is there is so much poverty and natural calamities happening around.they have seen the most religious people who go to the temple everyday doing the most hideous of crimes.so they say rather than following something just for the sake of it and in reality doing everything against it,which is the height of hypocrisy from which they want to spare themselves .hindusim doesnt really allow drinking or smoking but most of us still do that so technically most of us are doing immoral things most of the times.also most of the successful people are those who believe only and only in karma,they dont believe in things like a ring,or taking gods name 100times will give you success.they do their work and believe that if they are honest enough they will reach their goals.being true to yourself and doing your job well is their religion.one of my atheist friends chose to stand outside the temple as rest of us decided to proceed in,as we were going in he called me close and said “you guys go and meet him inside.though you should know one thing he comes to meet me outside and thanks me everyday as he is glad that there is someone who can take care of himself and doesnt need any help from him.i relieve him from some of his burden.” i couldnt stop smiling on that thought for the whole day.
i hate it when religion is used as an excuse to not to do the right thing.things like sati,killing girls just because you have to give dowries which you cant afford,each and every injustice towards women on the name of religion is just not fair.religion for ages now has been used by politicians as a tool to get their votes. we have killed each other on the name of allah and ram and we still continue to do so.i dont know how can you explain killing someone as moral and say its god’s will.its just so bloody stupid.i dont think osama was told by allah to go and destroy the world trade centre,because bush is an asshole.nobody gives him that right and definitely not allah.bush is a criminal, can be proven without taking innocent lives for god sake.the recent menace of all are so called babas and gurus using sex as a medium of reaching god and actually raping young girls is one of the hideous examples of our faiths being questioned.there are number of examples of using religion for all the wrong things.i think basically doing the right thing has got nothing got to do with religion.it always comes down to who you are and what you are made up of.
i firmly believe that religion is only a tool which helps you walk the right path.it tells you what is right and what is not but it leaves it upto you to chose.thats the whole beauty of it ‘free will’.i love what god tells bruce in the movie bruce almighty,he says “DONT EXPECT MIRACLES FROM ME.I HAVE GIVEN YOU ALL THE POWER.BE THE MIRACLE.”i absolutely love the line.i firmly believe that we have all the power in ourselves to achieve success.if we use religion as the petrol to our cars which helps take us home and not the car itself we will one day or the other reach home.for me life without religion is like a flower without the smell.its just incomplete.no matter how stubborn you are,how ignorant you are about it at the end of the day we need our god whatever and whomever it may be to push us through in our darkest times.religion is all about faith,and if you have that the world is all yours and nothing seems impossible to achieve.
i really want all my atheist friends to believe in HIS existence and see the beauty of it.are end mein toh film deewar mein amitabh bacchan ko bhi man na pada tha ki bhagwan hai aur woh hamari baatein sun raha hai!!!…:):)
Aditi Mutatkar 
well 1st of all I'm a believer in god, but I dont just go to god for the sake of asking things from HIM. I believe there is a power, a strength which is above all and helps us in some way. we find things wrong if they dont go the way we like it. well what if the same time the same thing is helping some other in a positive way. so pray with belief that HE's with you, HE's protecting you. Its not god who has created differences between us, we people are the same for him what ever cast or religion we may be.
Well i like the comment Mr.Atheist said. didnt know people thought like that too. Well it just take a small incident to make people like him believe in a super power.. he'l have his day..
well as for the blog could have arranged your thoughts in some way. its scattered in a disorderly way..just my opinion..:) But a nice way to share what you feel..
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thnks arjun for reading.abt it not being structured properly.i guess its majorly because i just go with my instincts and go with the flow.i write a draft and post it dont really think too much.
will try to better tht next time!
thnks again….:)
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Loved the active style of writing. Randomness has it's own beauty and it clearly mirrors above. The topic is extremely personal i guess, but I cud certainly relate to ur most expressions. Keep it up !
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thanks for reading!…i like the line randomness has its own beauty…its pretty true..:)and as you said one should follow one's own religion.its very subjective!to each his own.
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Thats nice.
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dhanyavad sir…..:)
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a good catch here the ironies, the mockeries. Nice reading.
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thanks for reading…..:)
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Good article aditi, your goodness comes across from the article…though i have very different views on the subject.
Main reason people need God: Fear.
Wrong solution: Temples/Churches etc.i.e.faith
Correct solution: To remove the fear (it comes from being attached)
This wrong solution, helps people cope with & even solves their problems (till the next problem comes along)
The correct solution removes the concept of 'problem' forever, making men free to 'discover' God.
this space is too short to explain this last line.
will have a discussion with you some day on this, if you like.
nice article, once again!
🙂
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