Tuesday, February 12, 2008

It's all fake

Caution: Controversial post ahead. Nor recommended for people with weak hearts. Really.

The other day while having breakfast, Mum had switched on to one of those zillion ‘spiritual’ channels on TV, where some very “wise” person was ‘imparting wisdom’. I couldn’t help overhearing what she was saying. The gist of what she was preaching was something like, Christians do this, Muslims do that, but us Hindus- we are supreme, we try and bring the world together…in short, we are God’s gift to mankind. I smirked, and told my mom to stop watching that crap. Of course she disagreed with me. What are mothers for, after all?!

Anyway, I thought about that TV programme on my way to work. I thought to myself, ‘how can they allow such a thing to be aired on national TV?’ The woman was clearly instigating religious differences. She was droning about Hindus as if we were the best thing to have happened to the world, and the others were all trash! It’s not like I’m against any God, I know we’re free to practice any religion of our choice. But what irks me is why they try to compete with each other in the name of religion. Are they so insecure about their foundation, that they have to judge their ‘success’ by the number of followers they have? We all know we’re not saints. What good is a man who prays every morning, and beats his wife every night? He just lives in the illusionary world he’s created for himself, about being good and benevolent. Every time he commits a sin, he validates it by telling himself, it’s in the name of God. I’m a good man. This is not a sin at all!

You want to know what we ‘Hindus’ actually do? Well, we’re a bunch of hypocrites who stab each other in the back, the first chance we get. We rape our women, burn them, even, and treat them like dirt most of the time. We fight with our family members over frivolous, materialistic things, and we do not hesitate to murder each other if we get the opportunity. We use expletives after every second word when we talk and think it to be the most natural thing in the world. We cheat. We steal. We hate. We conspire. We kill.

Ring a bell? The funny thing about this is, you’ll find these kinds of people everywhere. In every religion. I guess there isn’t so much difference between us after all. So why do we want to create disparities, when none exist?

Disclaimer: It’s not like I’m against any religion. I’m not. And I’m not even an atheist. It’s just sad to see how we have made it a discipline that is imposed on people instead of a way of reaching God. We’ve segregated ourselves into so many communities, it’s almost like there are breeding records for animals.

32 comments:

ATAullah said...

the post said it all . everything !
spoke thoughts of another million too scared to voice their views .

Yuppie said...

Well said. Agree to each and every point made. The whole thing about religion and political correctness has gotten way too far.

Mez said...

U touched upon a very relevant topic that is of utmost concern these days. More than the religious differences, I guess having faith in God is more important rather than ging all out to proclaim the supremacy of any religion. Now look whats happnin in Mumbai…I don’t understand when ppl in India will learn to be one n overlook every other difference. Some things just don’t change…one being the mentality of few educated illiterate Indians.

Eternal Dreamer said...

heylo mirage!
I'm shy's friend, and just a beginner on blogger.I read your posts quite frequently, but was a lil shy to comment...
I found this post incredibly thought provoking.
After all,the very religions that were meant to unite people are now dividing us all.

Sandeep said...

it's all as you think
Think it's good, it is.. think it's bad, and so will it be..

Disclaimer should have been kind of a conclusion.

Shy said...

hey...it's true and recent events have just highlighted this. starkly. people...a person's path is decided by actions, not the religion. It's rather ridiculous. If you are a Hindu, a crime won't be any less cruel.

good post...

Shy said...

ps. i just posted about this. not meant for weak hearts either. sad how you need a disclaimer before posts now. where did freedom of speech go?

Lucifer said...

quite a thought provokin post...true vy true...u kno every single soul in d world knows it...thinks abt it when he thinks abt heaven n hell...is scared to admit it n yet we jus continue without tryin to change ourselves...oh yeah but we do try n change d world to our likings like d spiritual leader u heard

Mirage said...

@ataullah: Hmm...what's the point, its still gonna be the same

@Yuppie: Sure has...

@Mez: exactly...u hit bulls' eye. Until we change our mentality, it will continue to be this way.

@Jan: Hey jan, welcome! :) You're right abt it being thought provoking, and its us youngsters who have to bring abt a change. neway, hope to see more of u here...n dnt be shy, i dnt usually eat bloggers ;)

@Sandeep: It wasnt really meant to be an article...just a rant. But yea, i guess the outlook matters a lot.

@Shy: Hmm...if only ppl were as smart as u!
And about the disclaimer: Yeah! I just dnt want bloodshed on my page! ;)

@Mayz: 'Spiritual' isnt really the word for them. Religious leaders is more like it.

Gunjan Aylawadi said...

d only ppl on earth i dnt like r d ones who hav such views bou their religion being d supreme....unfortunately my dad is one...but i still love him!
dats life!

Vinesh said...

funny but i always thought hindus were the least vehement in their insistence of superiority... thanks to bajrang dal and these folks on tv, i'm proved wrong. they air EVERYTHING on national tv these days..sigh

-Poison- said...

the tv spiritual leaders are all the same. they utter the same rhetoric - my flock is better than yours.

i guess that some of them really even believe what they preach. brain washing has a lot of victims.

if the one who is doing the preaching is not a brainwashed puppet, i find it obvious that he or she is doing what they do for the same motives that drives most people. power and money.

hardly do they give a shit about the dire effects of religious fragmentation. i guess that these messages aired on tv and other platforms would stay latent in the minds of the audience, until one spark unleashes another babri masjid or another godhra. at that moment, these old words become the salt in the wounds.

sorry. i blabbed a lot!

Unknown said...

The very fact that someone needs to preach to everyone that their religion is supreme confirms that the religion isn't supreme.

This is why I hate religion. It's supposed to be all about values. It's supposed to help the world. And look what it has become. If you want to compete with others, why hide behind the mask of religion? Why not go ahead and compete rationally?
We shouldn't need to say that ours is the best civilization/religion/whatever. It should be obvious.

Naresh said...

Wonderful post! Just penned a post on religion too, and landed on ur blog, read this and couldnt agree less wid u...

Amazing words to thots so practical. This isnt cynicism or sarcasm, it is rationale and practical thinking.

R said...

Agree with everything. Might sound strange, but am really proud of you, your lines here. We all know this but not many are vocal about it.

unforgiven said...

But we 'are' supreme! Didn't you know that?

Just like everyone else :)

dwaipayan said...

couldn't agree more!!! a well written post!!

Mirage said...

@Gunj: Yea well, my bro's somewhat like that too, wht to do...

@Vinesh: Yep...unfortunately. Neway, thanks for visiting!

@Poison: Hehe that's ok. Shudnt keep all that in!

@Alok: Yep, ur absolutely right. It's no longer for God now... Neway, thanks for dropping by!

@Naresh: Thanks ya! :) Will go thru ur post soon...

@Rohit: Yea well...guess it makes a difference.

@Unforgiven: Haha, point taken :). Thanks for visiting!

@Dwaipayan: Thanks! :)

Stone said...

You said it!!

--

I like the label of this post :-)

Lucifer said...

hey u changed d header???
lookin good...now its more like illusion, mirage kinda thing...cool

radiohead said...

yes its all sad .. so so sad.
and even educated people and so called modern '21st centry' guyz gals do that ..

people havent really given up on the superiority factor really .. thy still dnt know if the word 'humanity' is just a dictionary wrd or it really exists.

manuscrypts said...

hmmm, imho, the part of the 'we hindus do...' was a sweeping generalisation which you yourself proved a couple of sentences later by saying all religions have such people.... hinduism was never meant to be a religion, only a way of life, somewhere we got side tracked...

Mirage said...

@Stone: Hehe...me too! ;)

@Mayz: Er no...its exactly how it was.

@Anuj: Really, I wonder how can they even think of calling themselves 'educated'. *Smirk*

@Manuscrypts: Hmm exactly...it's a shame really.

Anonymous said...

Just so I dont get any undue credit, Im no longer at SmartOxymoron.

-SOxy

P.S. Glad to see youre still kicking.

Anonymous said...

point very well said....

Harshit Gupta said...

Just no words.
saved ur blog url hoping there 'd be something that good again.
Still going through the rest of blog.

Mirage said...

SOxy: Oh ok, I figured as much....whts the current address then?

@Ashu: Thanksh :)

@Harshit Gupta: Gee thanks *blush blush* Visit agen! :P

John F said...

this is my last attempt at posting this comment...aarrgghh!

I know I would be slaughtered for this but what the heck. Before I go on with anything else, do you know Hinduism is not really a religion? Hinduism is more of a "culture" a "way of life"than a religion. What is (was) a religion was "Sanatan Dharm" which often is mistaken for hinduism.

To quote you

"You want to know what we ‘Hindus’ actually do? Well, we’re a bunch of hypocrites who stab each other in the back, the first chance we get. We rape our women, burn them, even, and treat them like dirt most of the time. We fight with our family members over frivolous, materialistic things, and we do not hesitate to murder each other if we get the opportunity. We use expletives after every second word when we talk and think it to be the most natural thing in the world. We cheat. We steal. We hate. We conspire. We kill."

You can take the word Hindus out of this sentence and substitute any, "ANY" religion or sect in this sentence and this shall still hold true. You have made this statement about Hinduism but if I draw your attention to all the mystery over Church, its powers and the infamous Witch hunts of medival times what would you say about Chritianity? What about Islam which still is world infamous for its inhumanities over women?
What about Sikhism where a matter like family honor leads to ethnic cleansing and killings?

Nahhh Mirage, usually you write bang on but this time sweets you are way of the target. Relax, Hinduism is really a very peaceful culture. Dont let a luny woman's ravings distract you from the truth.

Mirage said...

@John F: Welcome back! :)

You're absolutely right in wht u said up there. But if u'd read the very next para, that said:

"Ring a bell? The funny thing about this is, you’ll find these kinds of people everywhere. In every religion. I guess there isn’t so much difference between us after all..."

...you would know that I wasn't cursing 'Hinduism' per se. :) I have nothing against it ya, as long as everything remains how its meant to be.

Anonymous said...

Address to cloathe my edentity? Im enudist.

-SmartOxymoron(erst)

Solitaire said...

I think that when religions were created, it was to keep mankind under control from doing the wrong things and following a virtuous path. Alas! People have made their own sweet modifications and interpretations of all that holy books preach in every religion, over the years.

Mirage said...

SOxy: Good lord, so much bhao! What r u, a girl!?

@Solitaire: True. Funny how people mould these things to their liking.