ATHEIST! I Am The One

First published 6 September 2015

The road is hard, it's cold, the winds are icy. 

It is better as the hard road accelerates the driving; cold and icy winds give you encouragement to move.

Slowly I am preferring to become a part non-believer in religion. I am a strong believer in religion, but I am not a sheep. I define me myself.

Part non-believer? I call it partly because I believe in God, in his power, and in the need of having a faith, which I am proud of. But with the time, it appears that rather than having a religion, it is much more important to display the religion and display in such a way as if to prove to the crowd that I am more devoted than others. 

And there is fierce competition in this, which is made too complicated by the rising number of paths, godmen/women, both local and imported, both from their own religion and others. 

There is a competition to tell, what my belief offers you is absent in your belief. Everyone talks of Karma, results and prayers and want to teach that my path us better. Nobody wants to learn what treasures his own path has. The grass is always said to be greener on the other side. 

The sustained increase of influence of unheard (so-called) Buddhist Gods in India, the influence of unheard (so-called) Indian Saints out of India, is really disturbing and confusing my mind. And another concept of disowning members of the community unless they are ready to display the religion is also disturbing.

A Church will disown a Christian's child if not baptized, a Mosque will disown a Child if not gone through a selection procedure, A Temple will disown a Hindu if he has not been through another process!! 

When the child gets a birth certificate from Municipal authorities that he is born to parents of a particular religion/community, why the hell he needs to get another certificate from a religious leader that he exists!!! He will exist even without the religious leader. A child exists because the God has chosen the child to exist, how can the religious leaders deny the existence.

Besides, religious leaders and organizations are becoming too commercial, focusing only on money, leaving social justice far behind. And the more I observe these things, the more I get disenchanted! A high class priest will be fine if the floor of church is cleaned and washed by a non-believer, but willl be violent if the cleaner chooses to take a breather inside the hall. Or opts to drink water from the upper class tap. It's the case with across the religion spectrum.

In all religions, the display has become a very important part. And that is aided by high decibel advertisement in the commercial world. 

'Eid is not celebrated if you do not do your shopping from a particular shop'.

 'Akshay Tritiya will bring 'bad omen' if you do not buy gold from XYZ'. 

'Jesus will be sad if you do not buy stuff from ABC shop'. 

The organizer will tell you, ' your neighbour has given a donation of Rs.10000, how you can offer Rs.1000?' 

The display is limitless, I prefer to be a NASTIK publicly. I am an atheist by compulsion, a deeply religious person by choice.