What is common in most religions is the fact that there is someone out there (God) to punish you if you go wrong. Its a good thing too, cause otherwise the crime rate of the world (by crime rate I mean everything from lying to thievery to murder to bomb blasts) would be 100 times more. Because the reason most people don't do these things is that their society/family/community/religion preaches that bad thins will happen to/ someone will punish you if you do stuff like that. Most people get the necessary incentive from that.
Then some times people chase to 'misinterpret' what their religion has to say ,so that they can get what want.They kill, murder, lie , all in the name of religion. So technically they preach one thing and practice quite another, But they don't look at what they are doing as bad. they comfort themselves by saying that they are doing it for the 'greater good'. Some times i wonder what is 'greater good'?Is it really necessary to kill millions of people for the greater good? Forget million is is okay to end even one innocent life for the greater good? Because what is greater good for one person , nay nit be so for another person.So whose 'greater good' are we to execute?
Coming back to the previous point, let me tell you an experience. There was this certain "ayyappa swamy" who I talked to. (Ayyappa swamies take a fast for 40 days during which they are not supposed to drink, eat non-veg etc). He was telling me the benefits he gains by taking up the "mala" for 40 days. Basically, he was a person who ate a lot of non veg. So, since on these 40 days he was not supposed to eat non-veg, he felt healthier at the end of 40 days. So then I asked him: Why start eating at the d of 40 days? If it made him feel better, then wy not make a few rules for himself like deciding not to eat non veg more than 3 times a week? he told me that though he made rules, he would break them. Those 40 days there was a fear which told him that he would be punished if he ate non veg.
That got me thinking. Even if there is a god who punishes people for doing wrong things, would he punish someone for eating non veg when they are wearing a black dress and not punish them on other days? Could god be really that inconsistent?
Another observation i made was that people find it easier to follow rules made by someone else for the fear of being punished. we observe that wherever punishment is more severe, less traffic rules for that matter any rules are broken. People can't follow rules nade by themselves because the can't really punish themselves right?Maybe thats why people decide to fast on auspicious days.Because they couldn't break it like how they break a diet they make for themselves. So does the incentiveto do good (to oursevles and others) have to come from the fear of being punished?
This reminds me of a scene in Matrix ( according to the movie, machines have taken over the world and the world we see around is just a program. So we see what they show us.) The matrix initially tried ot create or program a world where everyone was happy. There were no fears or problems.But it didn't last long. Because people started ti suspect something was wrong. They suspected that the world they lived in wasn't real. So does something have to be difficult to be real?
I suppose yes. That's why there are so many rule to be followed in every religion.Maybe initially all the prophets and the messiahs suggested " hey try this method. It really helps."but people didn't try it .Why should they? No one was going to punish them!! So that's when maybe the suggestions became a rule. If some one came up with a religion with no rules, I doubt it would be very popular. It wouldn't work because people wouldn't really believe in it. The main reason why miracles happen in any religion is that people believe they will happen. So if some one preached a religion with no rules , people would just laugh at it.
So maybe it is better for everyone if there are rules and the power us taken away from people (or so they think). Then atleast we can pretend to ourselves that God will punish us of we break them. So maybe people 'might' be kind to others with this fear.
30 November 2009
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