The setting is perfect for me to put some thoughts in writing. Some thoughts that have been troubling me for a while now. Thoughts about religion, caste, segregation, atrocity and of course love.
To a great extent, the trigger for this post is a sermon I was exposed to on Christmas day this year. A good one, no doubt, it put the fear of God in your heart and promised a lot of good to come. There were some scared and worried people out there (when the sermon was on) - of course, the love of God was promised along with the complete benefits package, so there was nothing but happiness on the faces afterwards.
This seems to be the pattern, I observe, in any religion or religious exercise. There are 2 distinct parts to it: 1. The threat & 2. The hook.
Let me explain: 'the threat' tells you what happens if you get distracted, get any 'strange' thoughts. It is the promise of bad things to come, if you aren't 'careful'. At the least, it is the promise that 'good' will never reach you, or that existing 'good' will go away.
The hook is the complement to the threat. This is where you get promised forgiveness, profits and eternal life. This is your assurance of a ticket to a great life & after-life.
And all you have to do for the package to work is - wait for it - 'you just have to stop thinking'.
Truly.
I was wanting to ask the preacher that day, what happens to all the other people, who do not subscribe to the same beliefs, who have their own faith? These people believe in something too, same as you do. Their faith is every bit as strong as yours.
And I realized something I hadn't quite understood before - the difference between tolerance and love.
What each religion practices or recommends practicing, is tolerance. Now, to put this in another way, you could probably just call it ignorance. 'Ignore the poor souls' - they have no idea what they are doing. Or worser yet - 'pray for their forgiveness' (what high-handedness!).
And this is where we lose out on life, and the meaning of it all. In our constant need for confirmation and assurance, the plot is lost. And we miss out on love.
This constant need for something to believe in, for something to adhere to is human nature. In fact any rebellious nature or 'questioning tendency' is constantly suppressed - through fear, threat of love and happiness.
However, here's the rub - Love cannot arise out of fear.
I remember getting distracted during that sermon that day (-50 ounces of honey in the afterlife for me)
I decided a long time time ago, to stop subscribing to religion. The 'subscription stoppage' was caused in part by some revolutionary thoughts and to a large extent due to the man-kill-man Religious riots that were on at that time in north-western India.
I decided I was going to ignore religious thought, that I would live by my conscience. I decided to live by love. I decided to step out the trappings of a 'tolerance' based living.
I have made some stupid decisions in my life, but I firmly believe this was the best decision I have taken till date. And If God was going to send me to hell, just because I chose to love without limits, then so be it. I can betcha Hell is going to be way better than heaven.
I believe I am lucky in a lot of ways, there is so much love enveloping me. I would not have been able to pursue these decisions in earnest otherwise.
10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1
and the new year is here.. (the Jazz band is playing Auld Lang Syne - beautiful)
So here is my new year wish:
May we be able to open out our minds a little more. May our need for confirmation be satisfied by our conscience and through love. And may this new year bring great joy to each one of us and to the entire world.
Happy New Year!
-Jerome.
