Why do I say and feel like a free thinker as I age? There are several reasons for this but the following are the main ones: (1) Religions are supposed to make people better and more humane but throughout history wars have been fought in the name of religion right up to the present age. Thus religion to me is more of a disuniting rather than unifying force so long as the wicked, war mongering, opportunistic and divisive forces continue to have the upper hand. You can see people trying to convert others even when they are dying. To these people who try to convert others at the moment of their weakest, these religious people think they are doing a good deed so as to lead others to the Kingdom of God but actually they should just leave others to die peacefully and allow the dying to spend every precious moment with their loved ones. (2) Many religions continue to misinterpret the teachings of the great sages and prophets and worse twist it or capitalize on it to suit their convenience and/or agenda. In Islam, Prophet Mohammad allowed men to marry more than one wife because during those days there were more women than men as most of the men were killed in wars. If I am correct, marrying four women whose husbands have been killed in battles was seen as a kind deed but these days, Muslim men I believe did it more out of lust than anything. I also see a lot of hypocrisy in Buddhist and Christian teachings. For example, when Buddha said one should not kill, many so-called ardent Buddhists especially those of the Tibetan faiths take it to the extreme. They dare not kill a fly or mosquito but their servants/maids happily do it for them. So do you allow termites to destroy your home and not try your best to exterminate them or any pests for that matter. When you take antibiotics/medicine you are also destroying bacteria which are also living creatures inside your body! I see plenty of hypocrisy in Christian denominations too. An archaic rule is that Catholics must not and cannot divorce. Bullshit! (3) Islam and Christianity pray to Allah and God respectively. Arent they one and the same or are they different? If they are different, you mean to say there are two Almighty Allah/God in the Universe? If they are one and the same, so why fight over a simple thing like you cannot call my Allah as Allah etc? (4) I see the major religions all sharing certain things in common- everyone of them promises some kind of salvation. Buddhism shows you the path to Enlightenment which of course is extremely difficult to achieve, although sometimes there are organizations that tell people that if you donate to a stupa etc, you can achieve instant Enlightenment. Similarly Christianity promises you salvation and live in the Kingdom of God! Almost all major religions also threaten you in one way or another - in Taoism, your souls will be banished deep down the underworld and of course it is the same with the other religions where you too also go to Hell. In many Buddhist sects like Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism etc, you are to revere your spiritual leaders..even chant prayers for the living as well as the dead teachers (gurus). Many believers have to learn difficult liturgies and chant long Tibetan, Japanese etc mantras. To me, it is a waste of time when such time can be better use for actual generous deeds. No point leading a dual life - one of religious piety and the other cheating people etc. There are many more examples but suffice to say, I believe in myself even during my most difficult period of my life.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Oct 2013 00:59:23 +0000
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