Religion. Well, to be honest, I've always had trouble with religion. I am originally a Hindu, but I was brought up very differently and so, naturally, the gap between my religion and me is more or less huge. I don't believe yet, I still love the aspect of religion. It's unusual for me to talk about religion and culture like this when I, myself am not a practicing Hindu, not to mention that I have no characteristics of a devout or believing person. But still, I guess it's a big part of my life nonetheless. Having that in mind, you have to acknowledge that I have very different views of what god is and what he/she represents. To most people, god is a supreme being who personifies perfection. He is almighty and has control over the fates of people, he punishes our sins and lets us redeem ourselves. He comes in a certain form, whether it may be: Jesus, Adonai, Ganesh, Allah or Buddha. But I do not agree with any of this. I think that we all accept god under the form of perfection because we need to see in the grand scheme of things. You know, see things from a bigger angle, a general perspective. Because, it's those small details that sometimes, we just don't understand and we humans, cannot live not knowing what's going on. So instead, we look at the big picture, to find a way to explain the way things are, to take away the mysteries that our minds cannot pierce through. I think that there are a billion forms of god. God is not perfection because we can't even define perfection. God is the good we do, the things in life that go the right way, those unexplainable moments of luck. Call it whatever you want, it doesn't change a thing because god, for me, is not a thing, it's a power.
Sometimes, I laugh at how vague I am about my religion. I grew up sort of an atheist, a non-believer but also in a very jewish manner. You see, all my closest friends had always been Jewish and our families were incredibly close. I spent so much time with them and at their houses over holidays and weekends that I celebrated with them, so I got good at understanding the religion and even the language. I actually understood some hebrew. This went on for over seven years and, I can really say that Judaism is quite a big part of me. Its funny because, I don't know if I can even call myself a hindu and a Jew AND an atheist, because, if we look at the big picture, I don't follow all the rules. Well, what can I tell you about a non-believer? For me, it's the simple life cycle. I am born, I live, I die, I become dirt. But there's a hitch, the death part. I think that after I die, my soul floats away and becomes a small invisible thing that travels around. But I admit, my belief of that is mainly because I'm so terrified of the prospect of dying. It's overwhelming to accept or even to consider the fact that one day, my body and soul won't be here anymore. So I can't really call myself a complete atheist either. Dakshina Chetti= One of these people who believe what they want to believe but are closer to atheist than anything else. But just for the fun of it, let me tell you a little bit about hinduism. Well, hinduism is seen by most as the most complicated religion in the world. And sorry to agree to these forms of stereotyping but those people are just about right. I understand hinduism, just like I understand christianity, islam, buddhism, mormonism or even zoroastrianism. Hindus believe in: gods, a ton of them, in all different forms with all different purposes. We usually believe in Samsara: birth, life, death and rebirth. Another of our beliefs is very popular around the world, and that is Karma: Action and Reaction, that when we do something, something else triggered by that will happen. I really want to know more about smaller links of religion like Evangelism, Shinto, Zoroastrianism, Taoism and Paganism. I think it is incredibly important to study religion. It helps you find where you fit in, and learn more about the rest of the world. The ethics of it all. At this stage we cannot remain oblivious to other religions, we have to enlarge our knowledge about others and culture is a big part of that. I cannot think of a worst situation than if there were only one religion here on earth. Maybe, there wouldn't be as much terrorism and we would be a "little" more peaceful, but how much is that worth when the world is a boring place? Either way, sooner or later, some creative man would invent a new religion (eg. Scientology). Our religions are one of the things that make us different, that gives each of us stories to tell, lessons to learn, principles to acquire. And I believe that someone who doesn't go to a place of worship can still be religious, but in another way. See, if they believe in the gods, go by the rules, apply the bases of the religion, understand the ethics and principles and consider themselves religious, then they most likely are. But someone who believes in god but doesn't do anything else like go to church every sunday or go to the temple can also be considered "spiritual" Im only a tiny bit spiritual, barely, but I think that it's okay because I have stability from my other beliefs. The most important lesson I have learned throughout life, is to accept all religions, to understand them and NEVER to discriminate or place stereotypes.
But now I want to go into the funny bits of religion. See it on the next post :P
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