My new video post -
Friday, January 21, 2022
Saturday, January 15, 2022
The Tradition
There once lived a man, he had a cat. Whenever the man did puja his cat got all excited, she jumped on the plates he used for puja and drank the milk he had placed as an offering for the god. The man had to get up a hundred times during the puja to put the cat away. One day he decided enough is enough and started to tie her on a leash in the corner.
Years passed by, the man got married, had kids, when the kids were a little older they started to tie the cat in the corner before the puja started. One day the man died and the kids started doing the puja, then the cat died and they got a new cat because a cat needed to be tied in the corner during the puja. The man probably assumed that his kids will know why the cat had to be in the corner. Generations passed and the man’s descendants were still tying a cat in the corner before puja.
I just told you the story of all our traditions. we follow them without asking - when and under what circumstances did this tradition begin? Why am I following this? is it important and relevant in today’s time?
Rakshabandhan is the tradition that I want to talk about today, where a girl does aarti of all her brothers and ties a thread on their wrists asking them to protect her, and then the brothers give her gifts, and the brothers apparently need a reminder about this once every year. Quite a tradition. This tradition started when women were distinctly seen as inferior sub-humans, who would stay confined at home, behind a veil, cook, produce children, take care of the in-laws and entertain their husbands. They were not allowed to get an education or go out and work. So if something had to go wrong with their husband or marriage then they were financially dependent on other men in their family.
I don’t need to tell you this but Women since then have challenged the stereotype, they have stepped out, surpassed in education and employment. They have asserted their independence, opinions, financial freedom and are demanding equal treatment.
And yet we are following a tradition which is a reflection of women’s dependence, helplessness and something that started because they had no other option.
I have discussed this with many women around me and some said ‘but this has to be followed, this is our tradition, We can not follow things just because our ancestors did it, because we today are more evolved and advanced species than what they were and it is only natural to do things in a more evolved and advanced way.
some women said this is how we show love for our brothers’. Respect, caring and understanding shows love in any relationship, you don’t need to tie any damn thread to show love. Just like you don’t have to celebrate valentine’s day to prove that you love your partner.
And some women I talked to also went on to say that they don’t care because they love the gifts they get on Rakshabandhan. Ladies, if you haven’t noticed then women are earning their own gifts, it is high time that you start doing that too.
Let’s see how many little girls will choose to tie a rakhi after hearing what tying a rakhi implies.
it implies that a female cannot fend for herself and is dependent upon her brother to protect her and it implies that she is weak and incapable of being independent.
There are other such festivals like “Bhau Bij” when the sister prays for the long life of her brother and padava when a wife does aarti of her husband. Don’t you see a pattern here? there are no such festivals when brother prays for sister’s long life, or a man does his wife’s aarti.
I wonder If the women from the past came to life somehow what will they think of today’s women? Wouldn’t they feel proud that we have surpassed so many obstacles and have achieved so much, reached places even been to space? Or will they feel proud that we are still following a tradition that reflects woman as a helpless dependent being?
rather than blindly following a tradition one needs to understand what the tradition stands for, what is its origination, what is the message that it conveys, is it relevant today and are we following something regressive?
If we have to then we need to leave traditions for the next generations that are a reflection of today’s society, we need to send a relevant message for them that women are strong, independent, free, we earn our own gifts and we are capable to protect ourselves, our family and for that matter our society.
Before you celebrate Raksha Bandhan next year Think about it. This change needs to happen. If not now, when? And if not you, who?
Saturday, January 8, 2022
The Cooking Chromosome
“Rasikaaaa how will you find a husband if you don’t know how to cook?” a man once asked me out of concern. I panicked, I didn’t know it was a prerequisite to get married. And I was so angry with my parents because, well, they always told me to make a career, make a living, be independent but never told me to learn how to cook.
A woman once told me “Rasika, You better learn how to cook, because the way to a man’s heart goes through his…. stomach,” yes she said stomach, I don’t know what you were thinking.
A way to a man’s heart goes through his stomach, you must have heard that before. I obviously ignored her as who even wants to marry such a shallow person whose heart revolves around his stomach?
I think you get the gist of what I am trying to say.
I often wonder why is there so much pressure on women to cook?
I wondered if women are born with a cooking gene? It can not be genetic for sure, because I and many women I know are definitely not born with that gene. So I thought it must be some sort of brainpower that can only be acquired by women? Like you know, learning multiple languages is not everyone’s cup of tea. But It can not be that too because most of the rich and famous chefs around the world are men. So there is neither a cooking gene nor a cooking chromosome.
So I don’t know why women are socialized to see cooking as their role? The problem with gender roles is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. It prescribes what we should be doing rather than recognizing what we want and do not want to do.
today women are pilots, doctors, engineers, scientists, police, construction workers, astronauts, teachers. Women have reached everywhere, but what is it about men that they are not able to reach a room called kitchen in their very own house?
I always thought that at this age We should celebrate being women and having the opportunities to do things that our grandmothers and great grandmothers were not allowed to do. Though now, of course, I realize that women are expected to do the cooking, cleaning, childcare, chores along with their ambitions… It is disheartening to see this happen.
Men should be able to Realize that women are burdened with a lot, they are equally tired as you are, they are equally looking for a break as you are, and I am not even talking about equality here, but it is basic humanity.
Also, I feel Going to restaurants, having frozen food is not the solution to this problem, it won’t let you create better health and body for yourself and your family. Fresh home-cooked food every day for kids is going to build them a strong health foundation.
This is 2019 and if you still think that it is a woman’s job to cook then you have some deep-rooted issues and it is high time you address them.
Now obviously there are many men who cook because many people evolve, advance and progress with time, age and with the world. But I have often seen that when a man cooks his wife’s attitude is judged, their relationship is questioned.
What I don’t understand is Why do people even notice it when men are cooking? See, I do not like to cook but it is an important life skill that I had to acquire for better health. And what I have realized is cooking is comparatively an easy skill to acquire, as long as you can see, have hands and can read and follow basic instructions called recipes, you are good to go. And many Men are intelligent enough to acquire these simple skills.
So Why isn’t it still seen perfectly normal and natural that a man cooks, takes care of his own child and takes care of chores around his own house?
There is nothing derogatory about cooking. The ability to feed and nourish oneself and one’s family is quite a noble task. So if a man is being responsible then why is this behavior condemned?
Do you think that it is unmanly to cook? I think it’s unmanly not to be able to cook. Because if you really want to go for the archaic gender definitions then a man spends time with his family, a man is independent, a man is healthy and strong and a man provides for himself and others.
History tells us that cooking is the woman’s job. But what we do today is also going to be history for the next generations, let's create an evolved history for them. Let our kids see mothers and fathers both cook in the kitchen.
And next time you see a man cook, remember that there is nothing wrong with his wife’s attitude, or their relationship. In fact, men who cook live in happy marriages because there is less stress, better health, more family time and more energy left to do whatever they want to do.
A woman once told me “Rasika, You better learn how to cook, because the way to a man’s heart goes through his…. stomach,” yes she said stomach, I don’t know what you were thinking.
A way to a man’s heart goes through his stomach, you must have heard that before. I obviously ignored her as who even wants to marry such a shallow person whose heart revolves around his stomach?
I think you get the gist of what I am trying to say.
I often wonder why is there so much pressure on women to cook?
I wondered if women are born with a cooking gene? It can not be genetic for sure, because I and many women I know are definitely not born with that gene. So I thought it must be some sort of brainpower that can only be acquired by women? Like you know, learning multiple languages is not everyone’s cup of tea. But It can not be that too because most of the rich and famous chefs around the world are men. So there is neither a cooking gene nor a cooking chromosome.
So I don’t know why women are socialized to see cooking as their role? The problem with gender roles is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. It prescribes what we should be doing rather than recognizing what we want and do not want to do.
today women are pilots, doctors, engineers, scientists, police, construction workers, astronauts, teachers. Women have reached everywhere, but what is it about men that they are not able to reach a room called kitchen in their very own house?
I always thought that at this age We should celebrate being women and having the opportunities to do things that our grandmothers and great grandmothers were not allowed to do. Though now, of course, I realize that women are expected to do the cooking, cleaning, childcare, chores along with their ambitions… It is disheartening to see this happen.
Men should be able to Realize that women are burdened with a lot, they are equally tired as you are, they are equally looking for a break as you are, and I am not even talking about equality here, but it is basic humanity.
Also, I feel Going to restaurants, having frozen food is not the solution to this problem, it won’t let you create better health and body for yourself and your family. Fresh home-cooked food every day for kids is going to build them a strong health foundation.
This is 2019 and if you still think that it is a woman’s job to cook then you have some deep-rooted issues and it is high time you address them.
Now obviously there are many men who cook because many people evolve, advance and progress with time, age and with the world. But I have often seen that when a man cooks his wife’s attitude is judged, their relationship is questioned.
What I don’t understand is Why do people even notice it when men are cooking? See, I do not like to cook but it is an important life skill that I had to acquire for better health. And what I have realized is cooking is comparatively an easy skill to acquire, as long as you can see, have hands and can read and follow basic instructions called recipes, you are good to go. And many Men are intelligent enough to acquire these simple skills.
So Why isn’t it still seen perfectly normal and natural that a man cooks, takes care of his own child and takes care of chores around his own house?
There is nothing derogatory about cooking. The ability to feed and nourish oneself and one’s family is quite a noble task. So if a man is being responsible then why is this behavior condemned?
Do you think that it is unmanly to cook? I think it’s unmanly not to be able to cook. Because if you really want to go for the archaic gender definitions then a man spends time with his family, a man is independent, a man is healthy and strong and a man provides for himself and others.
History tells us that cooking is the woman’s job. But what we do today is also going to be history for the next generations, let's create an evolved history for them. Let our kids see mothers and fathers both cook in the kitchen.
And next time you see a man cook, remember that there is nothing wrong with his wife’s attitude, or their relationship. In fact, men who cook live in happy marriages because there is less stress, better health, more family time and more energy left to do whatever they want to do.
Sunday, December 26, 2021
Hatred
(There are many forms of hatred... some leading up to criminal activities/terrorism... and obviously, I am not talking about such in this post, I can only talk about things that are derived from my own life).
Have you ever heard anyone say "I hate Shahrukh Khan"?.
I feel people who say that are.... very 'lucky'. Why? Because hate is a very strong word and only people who haven't experienced hate can use it so casually.
So what exactly is hate? Is it extreme dislike/ disrespect/ anger/rage - yes all of these are a part of hate but then we always have an option to avoid things that make us upset/ angry/ uncomfortable/ or feel negative, how in the world do we reach that extreme state of hatred?
Let's say, you work under a manager who micromanages/ checks/ controls every single thing that you do, who demeans/ belittles/ disrespects and gossips about you. Have you ever reported to any such manager? No? Lucky Bastard! Because I have! Let's call him Synthol. I had an instant dislike towards Synthol and so did the other team members. My rage reached hatred only because... Synthol held power. I felt helpless/ powerless and I feared losing my job (and my visa) if I rebelled.
Only helplessness, powerlessness, and fear can cause hatred - which is an extreme emotion that can cause immense rage, anger, abhorrence, abomination, mental trauma and intense levels of stress. Unfortunately, I have experienced hatred a couple of times, I am not ashamed to admit it because hate is a justified reaction for a person tormenting us in the present, either physically or mentally, a person we are at the mercy of and either cannot free ourselves of, or at least believe that we cannot. As long as we are in such a state of dependency, or think we are, then hatred is the inevitable outcome.
From my experience hate is far stronger than love, it occupies your entire headspace, it affects your sleep, health, mood, and everything in a bad way. People are wrong when they say love and hate are the sides of the same coin... they are not... they are different coins altogether. I might have parted ways with people I loved but I have never hated them... not even in my wildest dreams... love, for some reason, stays intact. I have only hated things that I disliked, to begin with... but had no option to free myself from... or so I thought.
Just so you know I HAD NO COMPULSION TO HARM, ANYONE, BECAUSE OF MY FEELINGS OF HATRED, but there are people who do...Hatred is a dangerous curse, it can poison an organism, it is bad for our own health, peace of mind, and general wellbeing and in many cases, it leads to hurting others.
You will get to hear from people that 'we need to free ourselves of hatred as quickly as we can and for that forgive the tormentor, have some compassion, think about where does his behavior arise from....'. Have you heard that before? It's a great speech! But it is...garbage.
Religion and morality constantly prize forgiveness and suppressing our feelings as a virtue. What kind of person would I be if I could not react, temporarily at least, to injustice, presumption, evil, or arrogant idiocy with feelings of anger or rage? Would that not be an amputation of my emotional life?
I have learned to understand my feelings rather than condemn them, to regard them as friends and protectors instead of fearing them as something alien that needs to be fought against. Though our parents or teachers may have taught us to practice such self-amputation, I think we must ultimately realize that it is in fact very dangerous.
I recently read it in an article that no teacher will beat the children entrusted to his care unless he himself was beaten as a child and forced to learn to suppress his anger. He will take it out on the children in the class without knowing why he does so. I believe that awareness of this fact could save many children from exposure to such brutality. It is not our feelings that make us a danger to ourselves and our environment, it is the dissociation of those feelings caused by our fear of them.
If we hate some characteristics... let's say...hypocrisy, insincerity, male chauvinism, mendacity or anything for that matter, then we grant ourselves the right to fight them wherever we can, or to withdraw from people who show those traits. But if we pretend that we are impervious to these things, then we are betraying ourselves.
Hatred or for that matter any emotion that we go through - sadness, fear, depression, anger or anything is a logical consequence of what happened to us... it tries to tell us something about the injuries we have been subjected to, and also about ourselves, our values, our specific sensitivity. We must learn to pay heed to it and understand the message it conveys. If we can do that, we no longer need to fear hatred. I feel it is important to ask yourself whom your hatred is directed at, and recognize why it is in fact justified? Then we have a chance of living responsibly with our feelings.
Any uncomfortable emotion is trying to convey to us that something needs to change, and for that, we need to take action. In all my hatred scenarios the person did not hold any power over me, but I thought they did, it was all in my head... so what if I hated my manager? I could have changed jobs any day and in other cases, I had the option to burn the bridges and move on but I lingered on trying to save relationships and trying to save people around me from being hurt and all that crap. I was the kind of person, who didn't want to say anything even if I experienced bad behavior, I shed tears. I no longer do that. If I ever feel suffocated with a person/ place/ object I move away from it before it turns into hatred or fear... but here is the thing, I don't forgive tormentor/ bad behavior/ cruelty with or around me, evil or bad behavior cannot be forgiven, otherwise, it prevails, now I confront people, I tell them how bad their behavior has been.
Hatred fades away with time... but the way to deal with it when one is actually subjected to it is by accepting that what you are experiencing is that feeling, and take action, make a change, confront the tormentors, you are helpless only if you believe you are...you are powerless - only if you think you are.
There are many stages in my life that I consider as 'growing up' experiences, but every time I had to take an action or make a change in my life to fix an unpleasant emotion that I was going through...are what I consider my metamorphosis... it built inner strength... because I had to push all that weight to the corner. Nothing holds power over me anymore...
So the thought of the day is: Bite your tongue next time when you say I hate Shahrukh Khan because you are not at a gunpoint to watch his movies.... you always have options.
Hatred is a feeling, albeit a very strong and assertive one, I must tell you that it is the WORST feeling that I have experienced so far. I do not want to experience hate again...ever in my life, it is a very nasty feeling and nothing in the world is worth going through it...but don't fight the feeling, fight the cause of it... head-on.
Have you ever heard anyone say "I hate Shahrukh Khan"?.
I feel people who say that are.... very 'lucky'. Why? Because hate is a very strong word and only people who haven't experienced hate can use it so casually.
So what exactly is hate? Is it extreme dislike/ disrespect/ anger/rage - yes all of these are a part of hate but then we always have an option to avoid things that make us upset/ angry/ uncomfortable/ or feel negative, how in the world do we reach that extreme state of hatred?
Let's say, you work under a manager who micromanages/ checks/ controls every single thing that you do, who demeans/ belittles/ disrespects and gossips about you. Have you ever reported to any such manager? No? Lucky Bastard! Because I have! Let's call him Synthol. I had an instant dislike towards Synthol and so did the other team members. My rage reached hatred only because... Synthol held power. I felt helpless/ powerless and I feared losing my job (and my visa) if I rebelled.
Only helplessness, powerlessness, and fear can cause hatred - which is an extreme emotion that can cause immense rage, anger, abhorrence, abomination, mental trauma and intense levels of stress. Unfortunately, I have experienced hatred a couple of times, I am not ashamed to admit it because hate is a justified reaction for a person tormenting us in the present, either physically or mentally, a person we are at the mercy of and either cannot free ourselves of, or at least believe that we cannot. As long as we are in such a state of dependency, or think we are, then hatred is the inevitable outcome.
From my experience hate is far stronger than love, it occupies your entire headspace, it affects your sleep, health, mood, and everything in a bad way. People are wrong when they say love and hate are the sides of the same coin... they are not... they are different coins altogether. I might have parted ways with people I loved but I have never hated them... not even in my wildest dreams... love, for some reason, stays intact. I have only hated things that I disliked, to begin with... but had no option to free myself from... or so I thought.
Just so you know I HAD NO COMPULSION TO HARM, ANYONE, BECAUSE OF MY FEELINGS OF HATRED, but there are people who do...Hatred is a dangerous curse, it can poison an organism, it is bad for our own health, peace of mind, and general wellbeing and in many cases, it leads to hurting others.
You will get to hear from people that 'we need to free ourselves of hatred as quickly as we can and for that forgive the tormentor, have some compassion, think about where does his behavior arise from....'. Have you heard that before? It's a great speech! But it is...garbage.
Religion and morality constantly prize forgiveness and suppressing our feelings as a virtue. What kind of person would I be if I could not react, temporarily at least, to injustice, presumption, evil, or arrogant idiocy with feelings of anger or rage? Would that not be an amputation of my emotional life?
I have learned to understand my feelings rather than condemn them, to regard them as friends and protectors instead of fearing them as something alien that needs to be fought against. Though our parents or teachers may have taught us to practice such self-amputation, I think we must ultimately realize that it is in fact very dangerous.
I recently read it in an article that no teacher will beat the children entrusted to his care unless he himself was beaten as a child and forced to learn to suppress his anger. He will take it out on the children in the class without knowing why he does so. I believe that awareness of this fact could save many children from exposure to such brutality. It is not our feelings that make us a danger to ourselves and our environment, it is the dissociation of those feelings caused by our fear of them.
If we hate some characteristics... let's say...hypocrisy, insincerity, male chauvinism, mendacity or anything for that matter, then we grant ourselves the right to fight them wherever we can, or to withdraw from people who show those traits. But if we pretend that we are impervious to these things, then we are betraying ourselves.
Hatred or for that matter any emotion that we go through - sadness, fear, depression, anger or anything is a logical consequence of what happened to us... it tries to tell us something about the injuries we have been subjected to, and also about ourselves, our values, our specific sensitivity. We must learn to pay heed to it and understand the message it conveys. If we can do that, we no longer need to fear hatred. I feel it is important to ask yourself whom your hatred is directed at, and recognize why it is in fact justified? Then we have a chance of living responsibly with our feelings.
Any uncomfortable emotion is trying to convey to us that something needs to change, and for that, we need to take action. In all my hatred scenarios the person did not hold any power over me, but I thought they did, it was all in my head... so what if I hated my manager? I could have changed jobs any day and in other cases, I had the option to burn the bridges and move on but I lingered on trying to save relationships and trying to save people around me from being hurt and all that crap. I was the kind of person, who didn't want to say anything even if I experienced bad behavior, I shed tears. I no longer do that. If I ever feel suffocated with a person/ place/ object I move away from it before it turns into hatred or fear... but here is the thing, I don't forgive tormentor/ bad behavior/ cruelty with or around me, evil or bad behavior cannot be forgiven, otherwise, it prevails, now I confront people, I tell them how bad their behavior has been.
Hatred fades away with time... but the way to deal with it when one is actually subjected to it is by accepting that what you are experiencing is that feeling, and take action, make a change, confront the tormentors, you are helpless only if you believe you are...you are powerless - only if you think you are.
There are many stages in my life that I consider as 'growing up' experiences, but every time I had to take an action or make a change in my life to fix an unpleasant emotion that I was going through...are what I consider my metamorphosis... it built inner strength... because I had to push all that weight to the corner. Nothing holds power over me anymore...
So the thought of the day is: Bite your tongue next time when you say I hate Shahrukh Khan because you are not at a gunpoint to watch his movies.... you always have options.
Hatred is a feeling, albeit a very strong and assertive one, I must tell you that it is the WORST feeling that I have experienced so far. I do not want to experience hate again...ever in my life, it is a very nasty feeling and nothing in the world is worth going through it...but don't fight the feeling, fight the cause of it... head-on.
Saturday, December 25, 2021
Dawkins
Since I was little I asked many questions like why is there any existence, you know life, stars, planets, universe. What is the purpose of existence? Is there even a purpose? And How does it make a difference because there is something, what if there was nothing?
Why do people worship these idols? How come a figure with a human body and an elephant head is a known god in the East and the West has no idea about it, if they are gods then how come they didn’t make themselves known throughout the universe?
When I asked people 'if God made us then what made god', they looked at me as if I was an idiot. They told me that the creator created itself. And I wondered If something can create itself out of nothing then maybe there is a possibility that the universe could have created itself out of nothing, it is its own creator.
In my teenage years, I felt a disconnect with the world. Temples, churches, mosques, god, rituals, religions, prayers... I did not understand its necessity. And to be honest with you I felt inferior. I felt as if I am one of these lowly creatures as I lacked the most important thing that drives the world - faith. I lacked faith and I still do. While believing strongly, without evidence, is considered a mark of madness or stupidity in any other area of our lives, faith in God still holds immense prestige in our society. Religion is the one area of our discourse where it is considered noble to pretend to be certain about things no human being could possibly be certain about.
(before I continue here is the definition of faith - Any belief that is devoid of logic, reason, rational, evidence or witness - is called faith.)
My teenage years were a frustrating phase for me as I was forced to take part in rituals and customs that I didn’t believe in and sadly I had no courage to speak about my lack of faith.
When I was around 19-20 one of my older brother introduced me to books by Richard Dawkins, When I read them it dawned on me that I wasn’t abnormal, but it is quite normal to wonder and ponder over the various aspects of existence and moreover to question the thousands of years old belief system. Then there was no looking back for me, I read all his books, and by many other scientists. Even though we learn science in school/ college I feel I started learning science and became interested in science in its true sense when I started reading books by Dawkins. reading books related to science (and not just textbooks) makes one realize the pettiness of religions, gods, wars and all that crap.
Yes, I am an atheist, I have no religion. Did Dawkins turn me into an atheist? No! I always was a non-believer. The only difference is now I admit it openly. And I feel atheism is a person’s default state. Every single person is born an atheist, every baby you meet is a non-believer, it has no clue whatsoever about the concept of god, if it is born in Arkansas then it is taught or pressurized to believe in one thing and if it is born in Kabul then it is taught or pressurized to believe in another thing.
Humans are the only animals with imagination, on planet Earth and the godly figures were born thousands of years ago through people’s imagination, through the stories that they told. I do not think that God created man but I believe that it is the man who created God.
So there is a possibility that thousands of years from now people might think that Harry Potter really happened. Maybe they will build temples of Harry Potter and burn Voldemort's effigy once every year like they currently do with Ravana.
I feel in awe of this technologically advanced world. There is so much intelligence around, I feel honored to even have coexisted the Earth with people like Dawkins and Hawking, but then I also see these overzealous, religious people who believe, follow and fight over thousands of years old traditions/scriptures/customs/rituals/gods and superstitions… Thousands of years ago humans were so primitive… all they could do was imagine and tell stories. and it really is perplexing for me to see that we still follow the customs/ rituals/ scriptures/ traditions/ superstitions/religions and gods created by these primitive people.
Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for people who are religious and so-called spiritual and in spite of that they are good humans.
I do believe that science will one day conquer all the ignorance in the world. It might not happen in our lifetime but all gods will die off one by one as their relevance outlive our evolving intellect.
I am sure I wasn’t the only kid who went through a frustrating phase, there are many more out there. All I can say is Encourage your kids to ask why, let them follow logic over thousands of years old beliefs, rather than trying to mold them let them just blossom, and make them learn science in its true sense.
And here are some great books by Richard Dawkins that I highly recommend.
The Selfish Gene, The God Delusion, The Blind Watchmaker, The Greatest Show on Earth, Ancestor's Tale and one of my favorite is 'the magic of reality'.
Why do people worship these idols? How come a figure with a human body and an elephant head is a known god in the East and the West has no idea about it, if they are gods then how come they didn’t make themselves known throughout the universe?
When I asked people 'if God made us then what made god', they looked at me as if I was an idiot. They told me that the creator created itself. And I wondered If something can create itself out of nothing then maybe there is a possibility that the universe could have created itself out of nothing, it is its own creator.
In my teenage years, I felt a disconnect with the world. Temples, churches, mosques, god, rituals, religions, prayers... I did not understand its necessity. And to be honest with you I felt inferior. I felt as if I am one of these lowly creatures as I lacked the most important thing that drives the world - faith. I lacked faith and I still do. While believing strongly, without evidence, is considered a mark of madness or stupidity in any other area of our lives, faith in God still holds immense prestige in our society. Religion is the one area of our discourse where it is considered noble to pretend to be certain about things no human being could possibly be certain about.
(before I continue here is the definition of faith - Any belief that is devoid of logic, reason, rational, evidence or witness - is called faith.)
My teenage years were a frustrating phase for me as I was forced to take part in rituals and customs that I didn’t believe in and sadly I had no courage to speak about my lack of faith.
When I was around 19-20 one of my older brother introduced me to books by Richard Dawkins, When I read them it dawned on me that I wasn’t abnormal, but it is quite normal to wonder and ponder over the various aspects of existence and moreover to question the thousands of years old belief system. Then there was no looking back for me, I read all his books, and by many other scientists. Even though we learn science in school/ college I feel I started learning science and became interested in science in its true sense when I started reading books by Dawkins. reading books related to science (and not just textbooks) makes one realize the pettiness of religions, gods, wars and all that crap.
Yes, I am an atheist, I have no religion. Did Dawkins turn me into an atheist? No! I always was a non-believer. The only difference is now I admit it openly. And I feel atheism is a person’s default state. Every single person is born an atheist, every baby you meet is a non-believer, it has no clue whatsoever about the concept of god, if it is born in Arkansas then it is taught or pressurized to believe in one thing and if it is born in Kabul then it is taught or pressurized to believe in another thing.
Humans are the only animals with imagination, on planet Earth and the godly figures were born thousands of years ago through people’s imagination, through the stories that they told. I do not think that God created man but I believe that it is the man who created God.
So there is a possibility that thousands of years from now people might think that Harry Potter really happened. Maybe they will build temples of Harry Potter and burn Voldemort's effigy once every year like they currently do with Ravana.
I feel in awe of this technologically advanced world. There is so much intelligence around, I feel honored to even have coexisted the Earth with people like Dawkins and Hawking, but then I also see these overzealous, religious people who believe, follow and fight over thousands of years old traditions/scriptures/customs/rituals/gods and superstitions… Thousands of years ago humans were so primitive… all they could do was imagine and tell stories. and it really is perplexing for me to see that we still follow the customs/ rituals/ scriptures/ traditions/ superstitions/religions and gods created by these primitive people.
Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for people who are religious and so-called spiritual and in spite of that they are good humans.
I do believe that science will one day conquer all the ignorance in the world. It might not happen in our lifetime but all gods will die off one by one as their relevance outlive our evolving intellect.
I am sure I wasn’t the only kid who went through a frustrating phase, there are many more out there. All I can say is Encourage your kids to ask why, let them follow logic over thousands of years old beliefs, rather than trying to mold them let them just blossom, and make them learn science in its true sense.
And here are some great books by Richard Dawkins that I highly recommend.
The Selfish Gene, The God Delusion, The Blind Watchmaker, The Greatest Show on Earth, Ancestor's Tale and one of my favorite is 'the magic of reality'.
Friday, November 26, 2021
Random thoughts again
As the area of our knowledge grows so does our perimeter of our ignorance
What’s bad for our ego is good for science
If you are not actively dismantling patriarchy then you are factually benefiting from it.
Updating just our wardrobe does not make us modern. Our ideology needs to catch up with our technology too.
Anybody that does not see how phenomenal and beautiful you are and that does not value the fullness of you as you are essentially does not deserve to share space and time with you.
Drawn in by my smile but repelled by my boldness
Wednesday, November 17, 2021
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