Dear Alpana My observations are not to the point, random thoughts only. hope you can use it in some way bhuban Baruah We’re nourished by what our parents believe in, in the society we grow up and then if we are lucky to have higher education we may develop our own ideas. Why religion? Because, is not religion the bastion of superstitions? In other words, superstition is integral to religion. There are only a handful of men and women in the world who, after years of serious study, had changed the religion of their parents. A person may change religion just because he marries a girl belonging to another faith. Tony Blair, a popular ex-Prime Minister of Great Britain converted to Roman Catholicism but I understand he now regularly reads the Quran. Mahatma Gandhi quoted the Geeta:. Swadharme Nidhanam sreyoh porodharmo voyabohah (It is better to die in one’s own faith, a different one is dreadful). The ancient religions abound in superstitions. Enlightened Christians do not believe in things like virgin birth, reappearance of Christ on earth and the miracles performed by Jesus in his prayer meetings.. Bilat-ferrots are not necessarily enlightened people. A few years back when the phenomenon of milk-drinking Ganesh occurred in many places, a TV station asked a retired Harvard-educated professor of physics his opinion. The South Indian gentleman said he shared the popular belief held by the Ganesh-worshippers. The moral of this is that superstition is deep-seated. I hear scientists say that it is even in our DNA meaning we are born with it not unlike Abhimanyu’s mother in the Mahabharata.. One religious head was asked how can a highly-educated man like himself believe a lot of superstitious things written in the Bible?. His reply was that his religion did many good things as well. It civilised, educated and enlightened the society and above all brought peace and happiness to mankind. A humanist, however, could say that religion is the root of all evil.. A very distinguished Muslim scholar once said to me that the Quran consists of many incredible things and that he dare not discuss them in public. However, an ex-Bishop of Durham held certain views which did not fall in line with the written word, but he was not taken to task as he was a very learned intellectual... I am not a bilat-ferrot, literally speaking, as I did not go back to live in the country of my origin. But I think netters will easily come to a conclusion about my superstitions; I have many of them. I think if I were a candidate in the last general election to the State assembly, I would not have missed any religious shrine in my constituency. There are two things here: 1. To seek the blessings of the particular God or Goddess for my election success 2. To show that I share religious affinity with my constituents. Oh! No, there is another point.. My wife will not leave me behind when she visits any temple. And some time I find an honest historical interest in these places of worship. Most Hindus living in India do not eat beef. It is considered to be a deadly sin. If a Hindu eats beef, he has to undergo certain rites of purification. But many young men living abroad do eat beef. Their justification is, sort of , if I can eat mutton, why not beef? He certainly does not believe that God will punish him for his sin of eating brief. Besides, it is England, a foreign land; a matter of non- jurisdiction perhaps
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