I Could Invent a Religion…

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A great opportunity for Revathy didi to write her next article on the importance of faith, and in that context, irrelevance of reason.

``The comfort of faith is tremendous.``

That is a good summary of the faith of Hindu liberals. And a good summry of this article.

Re: # 100

And what to do if the religion itself is anti-human and insulting to human sensitivities? Buleh Shah, a Punjabi sage-poet says:

Masjid dhaa de, Mandir dhaa de, dhaa de jo kujh dheyindaa
Ik bande da dil nah dhaavein rab dillan wich rehnda

(You may destroy every Mosque and Mandir but do not humble a human being`s heart as god lives in the hearts of human beings)

Re: # 98
[#86 LOL kal, you got a sweet churri.]
Always the sharpest.

From Kaal`s viewpoint then we shouldn`t have any discussions on religion since we may express,
`` .... hurtful sentiments unmindfull of the pain they cause to so many people`s sacred sensitivities.``

So pardon me Kaal, but have you got your tongue firmly cloven to your cheek or do you really mean this?
No questioning any religion?

Re: #80 by Farzana Varsey

[[The last thing I want to see is killjoys such as evangelical Christians and jihadi Muslims take over India. I have an escape valve to the US but what about the rest of the folks here?]

You worry too much. They are doing just fine. The only reason they might want to escape is because they want to be where the real jihadi/evangelical action is -- the USA. There is no threat of Christians or Jihadis taking over India because in time they do get torched to death or killed by `easy-going` people, who claim to be Hindus when they are only a bunch of nutcases. The `killjoys` may be spoiling your CNN moment of virtual reality, but learn to live with it. ]

As I have mentioned before - I have a colleage who is an Indosesian Christian. Very peaceful, decent and quiet type of character. Once he was telling me that he is going to retire in Bali in Indonesia. I asked him why Bali - he came from a different island. After hesitating for a while, he said in his quiet manner - ``because we`ll just feel more relaxed there``. After some more questioning he revealed that it was because Bali was majority Hindu - he would feel ``safer`` in his own country in Bali!

Kashmiri political parties are currently discussing possible ``self-rule`` based on current Kashmir religious demographics, which is majority Muslim. In Assam, already they are 30% of the population and firmly in control the political process in that state. And illegal Bangladeshis (yes, those who felt they needed their own country under Allah) are flooding in every day. The UPA govt is too chicken to stop it. The same fate as Kashmir awaits Assam, Tripura, and West Bengal. I have talked to many Indian Muslims. The HUGE MAJORITY of them - educated, well-spoken etc. COMPLETELY support Kashmir self-rule based on their religious majority. Indian Muslims in India don`t say it out loud, but their good wishes are with the Hurriyat.

The Europeans have realized the menace. Already, immigration reforms are sweeping Europe - France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany. Privately the politicians in Europe admit that the time might be past to sterm the rot. Turkey is never going to be included in the EU.

America is going to do the same eventually. But it`ll probably happen after another terrorist activity, and after a decrease in their dependence on Saudi oil.

Only India, after being butchered by Islamic invaders for millenia, is still chewing the cud like the proverbial holy cow. The FVs and the Salim Chauhans of the world serve the useful purpose of lulling the enemy into a feeling of false security, following the time-honored Islamic principle of taqqiyah - lying for the Ummah. If we Hindus wait too long, we will meet the same fate as the Hindus who chose to stay back in Pakistan or Bangladesh.

And as I have said many times before, the ONLY consolation in all of this is that liberal ``intellectuals`` like this Revathy Gopal will be the first to be done away with in the coming Islamic regime in India - check out their plight in every Muslim majority country in the world. I`ll be enjoying their plight from the US. Of course, they would have earned every bit of what they get.

#86 LOL kal, you got a sweet churri.

#91 by FarzanaVersey

[Of course most Hindus are nice people – and they carry knives under their armpits only when the barber gives them a shave, which is also the time they have to take Ram’s name. ]

This is much like the ebola virus saying that humans are nice people for the most part.

[#95 by masanamuthu
quoting the `writer`:
He loved the Urdu language and long after we were grown, practiced its prescribed courtesies when guests entered the house.]

---

Why surprised?
She never went to Paat Shaala or Madressa, she went to convent hence her education level.

She belongs to the wretched Ba Ba Blacksheep class...Kalloo outside, beige inside (like eggplants).

They need to be sheared often. They cannot be Halaaled because they are Haraam even in the hindu religion.

Lakhh Laa`nUT(Fie) on goray kay ghulaams/Laundees or ChiTTaaDaases./Dasees.

He loved the Urdu language and long after we were grown, practiced its prescribed courtesies when guests entered the house. ..

Urdu`s prescribed courtesies???.. I`m confused. Urdu is a language, right??.. It can have rules about grammar, but courtesies...

it is hilarious... the author and her editor write about opressive ``hindu`` customs about women-on-the-rag, but get real offended when harimau talks about women in rags (tents)..LOL.

i thoroughly enjoyed the exchange, very telling.

I`ve been trying to picture myself barefoot, pregnant, cooking in a hot kitchen dressed in a burqa, and burst out laughing at the ludicrousness of it all. I know women who have opted for the burqa perfectly attuned to their environment and culture, going out to study and work, at peace with themselves. They have not been coerced into it. You really must rid yourself of these stereotypes, dear Harimau. For you the comfort of being Tam Brahm and raising it at every juncture is the same as someone in a burqa feeling protected and safe and complete.
Thank you Farzana, for standing up for my right to say what I please. Thank goodness, this country still offers that great privilege. I am in no way stomping on any one else`s right to believe in whoever or whatever they will. Just don`t get taken in by the hollow claptrap offered by gurus and godmen and yes, godwomen too. Being rational and still a believer is quite possible. The comfort of faith is tremendous.

#86 by Kaalchakra

[Only they have the confident, presumptuous gall to express such hurtful sentiments, unmindful of the pain they cause to so many people`s sacred sensitivities. ]

This is what the Nazi Party followers said about their critics.


And btw, Kaalchakra, with this post #86 you have now been forgiven by that other Chowk luminary, stellar humanitarian and a ``ground realities`` intellectual - HP.

You would put Laloo, Paswan, Arjun Singh etc. to shame.

#83 by hamidm2:

Good luck with your desi bar. Would you like to name it ‘Houri Heaven’? Or ‘Ghilman’s Den’?

Of course most Hindus are nice people – and they carry knives under their armpits only when the barber gives them a shave, which is also the time they have to take Ram’s name.

Don’t know much about Pakistanis in the West, but in India we are used to everyone preparing for the next life. Reincarnation is an established philosophical ideology specially created for lazy people to have an option to delay the onset of puberty, among other things.
- - -
#85, #90 by Harimau:

Please don’t do this. I want a proper fight. Anyway, how can anyone use this chuttar-puttar with good wine?

[It was front-page article…So I am pretty sure that the person in question was eating the Holy Cow.]

And does that validate anything?

[Doctor Artist Leader Chief Minister the Fund of Compassion does not need me to put him in any kind of Islamic garb. He attends Iftar parties with a skullcap on his head and breaks bread with the ``secular`` Muslims and calls Hindus thieves.

By the way, he allocated three seats to some Muslim party during the elections on condition they run under the DMK symbol and then yanked one seat away from them to give it to his own party. That is the extent of his solidarity with Muslims.]

So, what is different about it? This is the reality of our politics and has nothing to do with his personal atheism. Just as many people pretend to be upholders of religion but negate it in every which way.
- - -
Revathy:

I am pretty much ideologically with this article, although all my dreams of starting an ashram spa have taken a beating (the drop in sensex has contributed too).

However, when you say, “The most unlikely people go to ashrams. Only recently a friend, who I’ve always regarded as the epitome of common-sense and practicality, confessed rather shamefacedly that she found going to a well-known ashram in South India, of great comfort”, I disagree.

I do not think common sense and practicality are the preserves of non-believers.

I have always said my motto is,
“Khudee ko kar buland itna
ke har taqdeer se pehle
Khudaa bandey se khud poochhe
bataa teri raza kya hai…”

In principle, it is great. Problem is: what if I don’t know what I want? In such situations, you just leave yourself to the elements. There are times there has been a crisis. I have been unable to decide on simple things in life like take-away pizzas or paneer tikka. And god is waiting for an answer. I have to meekly submit to superior decision-makers. It is another matter that I end up with pan pizza with cottage cheese topping.

It was G. K. Chesterton who said, “If there was no god, there would be no atheists.”

I kind of agree with kaalchakra (#86) to an extent. I think it is very comforting for many people to believe that there is a personal god (preferably monogrammed) floating in the clouds, watching over us (better than some American satellite trying to zero in on hair follicles).

Even if god is fiction, like in any good story, the character can come alive and become a part of one’s psyche. If we can happily connect with the ‘Outsider’, ‘Anna Karenina’, ‘Lolita’, ‘Madame Bovary’, ‘The Tramp’, then some people find god in God.

I have always maintained that Nature is god. Just as some of us need hope, dreams, a good Chardonnay, a soft pillow, a Swarovski vase, others need a god, sometimes several…as a sort of exigency plan.

I do not think this article has mocked any particular belief, but in some early posts Zeena had talked about letting others live with their beliefs. I agree with that. I think what some of us non-practising people do is become holier-than-thou, quite in the literal sense. We turn proselytisers.

And trust me, agnostics and atheists are not above superstitions. You think I am oblivious when a black cat crosses my path? Nah. I am worried sick for the feline…

Ref FarzanaVersey #80

[And before I forget, what will you do with your state`s new chief minister now? He is an atheist...put him inside a burqa?]

Doctor Artist Leader Chief Minister the Fund of Compassion does not need me to put him in any kind of Islamic garb. He attends Iftar parties with a skullcap on his head and breaks bread with the ``secular`` Muslims and calls Hindus thieves.

By the way, he allocated three seats to some Muslim party during the elections on condition they run under the DMK symbol and then yanked one seat away from them to give it to his own party. That is the extent of his solidarity with Muslims.

Re: # 86
Kaal
I don`t think Revathy meant to insult any religion with that statement. It`s her belief. It`s just as real as somebody`s god. Just as real as my struggle to want to believe but reason telling me it is utter hogwash.
Besides any great religion that has wishes and dictates of non-substantive apparitions has far outlived it`s usefulness. We have enough confusion in ourselves without having to draw on religion to add to it.
There is no apparition, no dictates, no heaven, no hell. Why should this belief insult anybody when it is personal?