Category: Critical Thinking

Disclaimer: Written in the last 10 minutes 🙂

I dont know about my belief in God but what I do believe in is that (at the cost of sounding very “right winged”) is that we come from a rich, cultural heritage. Here’s my hypothesis: I believe that our ancestors held a lot of wisdom and this wisdom was shared with the common people. Somewhere, there was a need to wrap this wisdom in a more palatable form or make some “good practices” common practices.. and BINGO.. there came religion and a set of associated beliefs and superstitions. We all must have heard the story of the Buddhist monastery which meditated while tying a cat to a lamppost. The story of religion and superstitions would follow a similar trajectory of evolution.

Let me give you a few examples to further help you understand where I am coming from:
1. The Indian cow: “gau rakshaks” have earned a notorious name in recent times but do we understand what value the Indian cow holds? If you google it, you will understand what I am saying. Can we use our newly acquired critical thinking skills to separate the noise and the message?

2. I shared an article about it recently . Deep breathing is good for you. Stanford medical school now confirms it. but hello! I mean Baba Ramdev made an entire nation do the “kapalbhaati” and from time immemorial, yogic breathing is a part of our tradition

There are many other examples that I have!

My request to my fellow critical thinkers is that “THINK, Look for confirming and disconfirming evidence” but dont dismiss the native wisdom that we possess.

Now, where does god and religion come here? These same “learned, wise men and women” devised religion / God/ scriptures to guide us on the right way of life (for example: i am doing a gita class and one learning that has really stuck is that “i need to be free from becoming a smaller person. I understand this as always being or attempting to be large hearted, generous, forgiving, gratitude. Works for me! If this is what religion will teach me, I am willing to buy it. I am equipped with a rational and thinking mind and what i call as a “bullshit filter” which will help me cut the noise from the message.) I acknowledge that education (and specifically a “western” education has equipped me to do so)

But if I am at a well placed position that allows me to enjoy the benefits of a Western Education and our native wisdom, I intend to make full use of it and selectively adopt certain “religious” practices or tenets which will do me only good

Is there a God? I have heard and infact questioned myself several times. After digging deep, I start questioning God himself…are you there. Then ultimately realise….there is God, may be not physically present but yes, I believe, there is a supreme power, some energy that brings positivity in me and strives me to stay and keep my calm, helps me come out during my hardships.

I used to believe that yes – God does exist and a ledger is being maintained by him. Idol worship was practiced by me and I wholeheartedly participated in a lot of pujas, havan and many other such practices. I used to observe fasts, pray, visit temples religiously and have done many more things in the name of God. Today I do question the existence of God (I don’t know is someone really there sitting up in the sky; keeping an eye on me and maintaining my ledger). But yes – there is some supreme power which is over and above human power. 

My belief! – A confused one now but earlier i firmly believed that there are many God/s as seen in different religious stories and tv shows, I always believed that yes they are exactly how they are shown( Different kind of faces / multiple hands / miraculous powers and much more).

The question which still resolves is Who is God?” I mean I always read Ramayana and seen so many tv shows because of which I have various images and types of GOD in mind. But, Now i believe that no one has seen god, all these stories are assumptions that something of this sort must have happened and people are believing it since ages.” I want to search how these stories and other scriptures came from and how true are they?How do these scriptures were written i mean who all told them that this all happened (e.g Ramayan & Mahabharat).

I never doubted on the existence of God! There is some creator and destroyer, there is some supreme being.

Religion what I believe is all man – made, people of same beliefs and location came together to form a group and then they made their own rituals and traditions and then domination started.

I don’t believe much in rituals and traditions, I question myself every time, before doing something the concept of Causation Vs Correlation starts to move around my head. I have seen so many examples where not doing a particular ritual or not following a tradition did not had a bad effect, thus making my belief more strong.

Now after the session my thought process goes like that people still believe in all the rituals and are continuing to follow the rituals / poojas / etc irrespective of the logic or a reason.

I wish if God really existed and somehow he completed my task of writing this reflection! I know someone may argue God has many other important things to do… Really?? What important things?

Till now my stand was very clear. I will not interfere with ideas and opinion people have about God, rituals or religion as they really don’t affect me. I had the liberty to follow things I wished to and never forced into anything against my wish. However out of love and respect I do follow some of the rituals or visiting fire temples with family. This is just to spend time with family and I feel there is no harm in doing so.

However now after so much of discussion on this topic in CT class, I have started reconsidering my way of dealing with these situations. I have become more conscious, I am not sure if just going with the flow will cause any harm in long run? I am unsure if it is really required to seek answers to questions like “Is it really essential to know if God exists or not? God created us or we created Him? Is it fear of unknown or just to get peace and happiness? If I don’t follow or worship God will he/she/it harm people around me? Is it really worth experimenting with God and beliefs associated with God?”

It was all smooth till now. I was happy with my beliefs, but thanks to this workshop!

Regards,

Shezin

I do have a faith that there is a supreme power- who looks after us and whole universe. I go for worship and I also believe in helping needy people. It is a way of worshiping god . I believe that  God is someone who is looking after me and is with me all the time. I also believe that  ‘God helps those, who help themselves.’

I am not sure what power does the god have or is there a god or gods??? But I do have a faith that there is some sort of supreme power- who is a creator of everything and looks after us- so that means do I believe in God- Yes- but for me God is someone who is looking after me and reminding me it’s you who have to work for yourself- as I truly believe in this statement- ‘God helps those, those who help themselves.’

Religion- I never understood what the religion is doing for me- well other than making me weak- I have been told that if there is any problem do some sort of pujas or certain mantras it will solve it- but it never has!! For past 20 years, I prayed I did all sort of Pujas that my life would be better but nothing happened. When I think now I just lost my time, money. And when I took corrective steps myself – I was able to handle my life and certain situations are not in our hand so I left them. Taking charge of my life helped me- I felt strong, responsible for my life. But then these are my thoughts. While my family follows certain rituals and does various pujas and I never stopped them.

I also believe religions divide us and not only different religions but the same religion with sub-division make us superior-or inferior from one another. I doubt whether religion plays a major role in one’s beliefs and values as according to me all religion says we are one and we all have god within us then why a rich person is been respected and a poor person disrespected???? Why has a man all right to take decisions while a woman is just for cooking food?

If I talk about myself I believe my beliefs and values are derived from the situations I have faced. And it’s all about humanitarian grounds – where for me all are equal, and both have equal rights and brain (which many of us don’t believe). So do I believe in religion- Yes as for me my religion says- be courageous, believe in yourself and show kindness.

To sum up- I do believe in God who is a creator- I do participate in certain religious affairs and sometimes I do enjoy meeting my distant relatives during those occasions. But mostly I participate because of my mother as she gets happy with my participation.

After the workshop, I will question myself will I continue participating in religious affairs which I don’t believe; and the answer is- I don’t know. But yes I will think critically and maybe have the courage to questions their belief too!!

I always believed that there is one supreme power, i.e God and followed some or just few practices/prayers or fasts. I never used to believe in going temples or doing Pooja daily but if asked never thought to oppose it.

Religion was never an issue for me because my family doesn’t believe in it. Hence, they always kept it open for me and I made my own choice of not following it at all.

I’m aware that whatever happens with us is just because of our lack of efforts or sometimes things are not in our hands and everything just revolve based on our thoughts like placebo effect.  I hold the thought of, “What goes around, comes around(Karma.)” I still believe that god has definitely thought of something good about us and everything is destined. It’s just a matter of time. We need to have patience. But then the question is when will that time come? Should I really wait for it or accept it or think differently and search a different way out of it? Or just wait for the destiny to decide?

Last two sessions were very enlightening. I still believe that there is God, “Being on safer side” but have my own set of questions, so still confused little bit. But definitely I’ll seek for reasons before following anything blindly. No questions as of now, but yes bit confused, probably with the passage of time it’ll get sorted.

I do not believe in GOD or follow any religious beliefs and I have no doubt about my views my beliefs. This may sound a little straight, but that’s how it is.

I believe that my beliefs are my own creations with some logical and illogical ideas. I have never tried to impose my beliefs/thoughts on anyone. In fact, I never propagate my ideas too.

Surprisingly, you will always find me surrounded with the people, who are involved in ‘Satsang’, ‘Gita’, ‘Kirtan’, ‘Mata ki chowki’, ‘Puja and pathh’ etc. With due respect to all those people, but my presence makes no difference in my opinion or ideas about me being an ‘atheist.’ I do participate in most of the events at my place, but with a pure intention, to enjoy and make my family members happy. That’s it. No other vested interest.  Infact, my family is well aware about my beliefs, but they are extremely positive that one day, God will show me the right path of ‘Bhakti.’

It seems, in most cases, people do ‘Bhakti’ when they experience the inconvenience of mind or out of fear of losing something. They will visit religious places to ask baba/mata rani, to give them their peace of mind, help them settle in business, good results for their children, and for many other reasons. However, I accompany them to spend good time with my family. I don’t talk much, instead enjoy their talks, seeing my son playing and having fun, and that togetherness, is what I cherish the most. Therefore, I experience comparatively less inconvenience of my mind. 🙂

A religious belief any for that matter, were all created by humans in the past. So what if I have created my own? So what, if I enjoy the wholeness in myself looking at my friends and family in a state of happiness and well-being? So what, if I accept the difference between YOUR WORLD, MY WORLD and THE WORLD? (Thanks to Devdutt Pattanaik for helping me understand the difference).

These questions, when asked at my workplace, it creates a healthy environment and exchange of thoughts. But when I ask the same questions to my family, the situation gets completely opposite, as they think I come from a different world. And with my sheer simplicity and smile, I reiterate my same old dialogue, ‘Difference does not mean wrong’ Nevertheless, I decided, let me be open in listening to both the views and eventually stay with my own thoughts and form my own belief system.

I am personally a very easy going person. I prefer to explore and learn at my own pace and space. Hence, at this time, I do not have any specific question for the ones who believe or do not believe in God. Instead, I wonder, how and when did I realize the need to form my own beliefs? How and when did I start forming them? My parents and at my in-laws place, everyone is damn religious and a believer of God. How come I got an entry to live in their world which is completely different than mine? Anyway, until I explore further and think about the questions to hold, let me confess, my experiences in life have taught me a lot, and I being an enthusiastic learner :), have learned and grown positively. I know with each passing year, I have groomed into a beautiful person. My thoughts, my values, my script/rescripts of my life have made me who I am! 🙂

My father visits Gurudwara everyday and my mother spends an hour reading Sukhmani sahib since 40 years. This should say something right away about my religious upbringing. Transitioning from a believer who prayed in silence everyday to a skeptic/atheist, was not just a challenge for me but for my family as well.

So is it my pride and vanity that made me question the omnipresent or I ceased to believe in God after thinking deep on the matter? I remember reading this story a couple of years back which took place in my head’s “Need to rethink” database.

“Somewhere in the world, a little girl has been abducted. There has been no phone call for any sort of ransom. In the matter of days she will be tortured, raped and probably killed by the delinquent, that is kind of confidence we can draw when something so barbaric happens, on the other side, the parents of the same girl are clinging on to a hope that some omnipresent god will save her and she will return without a scratch?” Trying to put myself in the shoes of a parent, I would be frightened significantly especially when I don’t have anything/anyone to pray to. The emptiness and the wait for time to unfold the unknown might also make me unstable.

Then, why choose this route which will make the circumstances even harsher? I asked that question numerous times during the years when I realized I am turning from a staunch believer to an atheist. Being a little mystical would have made the circumstances slightly easier but I wanted to overpower this and be realistic instead. Honestly, I am not always successful.

Reaffirming that I don’t consider myself as a semi god or some superior person who knows and understands everything. I am a normal human being who would like to ask a simple question to the majority (approximately 5.5 billion people) who incidentally I also feel should be obliged to give some proof of the existence of God especially when the stakes are so high in our time. Taking courage, I also wish to ask, “What was God doing when good men and good women during wars, earthquakes, etc etc who had been praying for years and years asked the almighty to show them light during destruction?” Not just that, I think it is morally objectionable for the survivors to think they were saved by the God. So either he couldn’t do much in such radical circumstances or he doesn’t care much.

Either way, my faith couldn’t withstand the onslaught of reason. And even-though I love fantasy world in many ways, I still want to try and be nit-picky for the story I want to fantasize about.

Grappling to hope, faith, direction from God? Is it that bad then? I am not sure. Honestly, I tried to find proof all over internet, books, research papers and finally I couldn’t fight with my own derived conclusion.

Regards,

Linkee Arora