Archive for April 2012
What If? : Religion
2Friday, April 13, 2012 by Sanket Chaukiyal
“What if?” is a series of articles that will
explore alternative theories for explaining existing ideologies.
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| Image Source: Godisthere |
I am someone who thinks blind faith is
illogical but that hasn't stopped me from questioning my thoughts time and
again, always trying to see things from the other points of view and at times
also seeing things from the point of view of a neutral observer without any
prejudice. From plain rejection to tolerance to indifference, my thoughts about
religion have traversed all these dimensions to now arrive to what I perceive
at this time and moment as the most logical explanation.
We don’t give our children books of Basic
Science 101 when they are little; we give them The Book of Fairy Tales. It
doesn’t mean that we want to deprive them of knowledge or intelligence, it just
means that want to do something more important for them that is required in
their age. We want to charge up their imagination and explore its very depths
because in the end, it is that very imagination that will determine where they
end up in life. It is what fires up their determination and zest for life.
We know and understand that there is a right
time for everything and therefore know when to start scientific education for a
child.
Now I had not thought of this before but it
suddenly struck me one morning when making tea for myself. What if?
Perhaps religion has a logical basis of its
formation across all societies. Maybe there is a reason that religion exists
for sentient beings.
What is it that defines what is right or
wrong for a being who is self aware and to whom the instinct of
take-only-what-you-need is second nature to the wants of a life created by the
fruits of their intelligence?
A lion in the wild kills for need and not for
greed so there is no question of moral here; on the other hand we as humans
live beyond our needs and sometimes to the extent of causing harm to others
around us.
Just as we got self awareness and
intelligence to evolve ourselves, we needed something compliment our instinct
to handle the increased awareness. We needed morals, we needed ethics. It is
said that as a person gains more knowledge, his respect for life increases and
so does tolerance and understanding. But what does he/she do at the infancy of
the quest for knowledge when there is a lack of education to bind an honourable
existence into life.
The need of religion was felt to guide humans to live up to their gift of intelligence, to be worthy of it. Just as children need parents to guide them at the infancy of their age, adults need religion to guide them at the infancy of their knowledge.
Just as children emulate the behaviour of their parents, adults emulate the behaviour of god; a righteous, selfless, kind and compassionate being to whom the meaning of happiness is bringing joy to others. It does not matter how many qualities adults emulate as long as even one of these is followed, the social purpose of the gift of intelligence is achieved.
As adults climb the ladder of knowledge, some of them leave religion behind as they do not need it anymore to teach them to be a socially productive creature, their understanding that develops with the higher level of knowledge serves that purpose now.
However, a lot of them accept religion as a way of life till the very end as they choose it over knowledge as a conduit to achieving enlightenment.
Formation of religion at the infancy of knowledge in any civilisation is inevitable.
As long as the social purpose of intelligence is achieved the path does not matter, whether it is scientific atheism, religion or spirituality.
Category alternative theory, atheism, religion, science and religion, what if?
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