The World View of an Atheist

"God made me an atheist. Who are you to question his wisdom."
(Unknown)

Iam not a very religious person. I do go to the temple once in a while but those of you who may have read my previous posts on this subject ('Swargathile Leela Vilasangal' and 'The Gods Must Be Crazy' ) would have typecasted me as a non believer.And you would have been right.

I have been inspired to post this after going through some very religious-cloaked-in-the-garb-of-spiritualism posts that I came across various blogs. Isnt it an irony of fate ( Duh!!! What am I talking about , there is no Fate ), that the more we seem to progress , the more we seem to be sinking in the mire of new found beliefs
that defy all logic. Religion indeed seems to be like the mythological Hydra , a poisonous new head springing up for every old one we cut.

The earlier century superstitions have been replaced by the new age Godmen ( and women ) , who having learnt the tricks of the trade from the less revered P C Sorcar and his ilk, would now ascend the throne, commit the ultimate blasphemy of claiming to be God himself ( or herself, depending on which con artist you are talking about ) , all this accompanied to the cheers of their delirious supporters. And the saddest part is these supporters do not consist of the rabble that formed a major part of such charlatans support base in the earlier centuries. No, the new supporters are supposedly educated men and women who should know better.

Is this our vision for 21st Century India? An India driven by IT to take on the world, still keeping one feet firmly planted in the puja room , always ready to give alms to the prayer book armed , sagely looking con artists, all the while ignoring the really needy , the downtrodden , who are not mentioned like the Elephant in The Room.

I can believe in a God who asks me to help my neighbour, not in one who demands I show my loyalty by regular prayer. I can believe in a God who says I will be saved if I do good to others, not in one who claims my only road to salvation is through my belief in Him. If God indeed be so insecure that he feels the need for me to pander to his ego by regularly singing paens of praise, "Sorry , but No Thanks".