Yeh kaun chitrakaar hain … ya scientist hain.. ya doctor hain…?
Disclaimer: Written in the last 10 minutes ð
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