Being an atheist
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! 🙂
I simply love the approach!!! Keep growing!! 🙂
Just finished reading A very short introduction – by Thomas Dixon on Science and Religion. Before taking it for reading I thought to give out a try to my frank opinion, but after reading, I hold the same opinion. It is fine to take a middle ground on the overly debated and conflicts between the science and the religion from the past few centuries, rather than supporting or taking a stand on one. Also, one should learn to question his/her own beliefs rather than blindly following ancestry beliefs.
Ever looked for disconfirming pieces of evidence? I was wondering why those don’t feature in your write up. It is great that you decided in your opinion…but like you said this seems to be your truth and following the ‘path’ seems to be your family’s truth and both truths are ‘real’ in a certain sense for each of you. And like you admit to having learnt – that ‘the truth’ or ‘the world’ as Patnaik puts it may just be an amalgamation of or completely different from both these truths/worlds.
Happy exploration, though!
Until the last two workshops, I was also feeling the same but then I realized that it is not the same as I was thinking about. I am not an atheist as I don’t deny the existence of god. It’s just that may because of my convenience or rather an inconvenience, I have stopped following rituals. But I still look up to that supreme power to answer my questions, solve my problems when I am feeling low.
I don’t think Bhakti means going to temples and asking for mercy in your difficult times. It is actually remembering him, feeling his existence, being thankful for whatever he has given to me. And, moreover, when we feel his presence around us, it helps us not to do anything wrong. Just like when someone is around us, a friend, or any other stranger, a human being, we tend to avoid doing an act which is not ethical in front of him/her. That is how it goes with feeling gods presence as well.
“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!”
The above quote is somewhere I can directly connect to my self. I do not any more feel that doing ‘Bhatki’ in a form of lighting a diya is the way to praise someone. Being ‘kind and generous’ is infact ‘Bhakti’ to me.
I can directly connect to your situation of attending ‘Mata ki chowki’, ‘Puja and pathh’ etc. just to make our family happy.
But the question still remains that are we really growing by just making our families happy by being a part of these gatherings?
What about our happiness?