Somebody stated on social media that with rapid progress in science and technology, religions will slowly wither away. My answer to it was, it’s wishful thinking. Religions won’t ever vanish. Even after 1000 years religions will not only survive but thrive. They might even be stronger than they are today.
The exact timeline of origin of religions in rudimentary form on the planet is not known. What is known is that religions were not present before the evolution of a divergent line of apes into humans. Apes of that era didn’t have religion. Neither did animals ever have religion. Even today there is no evidence of organised religions in animals.
How religions came into being is not known. When they came into being is also not known. What is known is that religions arose almost simultaneously at multiple places on earth. They could have started with 5 odd followers or more than 50 followers. Slowly they grew by defeating or assimilating other religions till they grew to gigantic proportions. And there is no chance that with steady progress in science and technology religions will take a back seat. In fact the opposite might happen.
Science and technology is not so straightforward and simple nowadays. It’s becoming more and more complex. Add to it the increasing complexities of life. Like growing up, education, jobs, family, kids, relatives, daily commute, social pressures, peer pressures, politics, violence, crime, etc., We fly in planes but don’t know the rationale behind the safety instruction. We take medicines but don’t know how they work. Use mobiles and laptops but hardly know anything about the hardware and software. Not that it is important to know everything. But not knowing creates a subconscious anxiety, a lot of doubts and also a lot of conflicts in our mind. Now understanding all these complexities in totality, is extremely difficult. Even for a normal person. So people go for the easy way. A way, where they won’t have to think too much. A way, that won’t exert or stress their capable yet overtaxed brains. These simple ways can be addictions or religions or living like a zombie.
Religions are extremely easy. One doesn’t have to do anything to gain religion. That job is usually done by parents. The religion of parents becomes the religion of the child. Birth can be called an accident. Where one is born is never in our hands. In poverty, in riches, in war, in strife or in a beautiful place or a desolate land, is never a choice we have. It’s a hand we are dealt. By a random accident. And religion is the result of that accident for almost all of us.
Following any religion is just too easy. You just need to have some belief and some faith. Also pray from time to time and celebrate with joy, a few holy days. One can even keep their hair in a specific way and wear a specific way of clothing. Making it easy to blend with the faithful’s. And then hand over all your troubles to that supreme being living high above in the clouds and chill. That’s it. Super simple and super easy. No brains required.
Though science is difficult, its theories and results can be replicated by anyone, anywhere, anytime and even multiple times. Provided one has the requisite equipment and/or conditions necessary for experiments, a scientific bend of mind and a lot of perseverance.
Faith and belief can’t be quantified. Cannot be analysed with the help of basic logic or reasoning. Cannot be put to vigorous testing and nor can be argued with. If one cannot experience God then there’s something lacking in their faith. They need to increase the level of their faith. Follow the scriptures to the “t”. And just like that they will experience God.
It’s more or less same with narcotics. If one is not hallucinating well or not getting a high, then just increase the dose.
©️ShashikantDudhgaonkar
P.S : by the way things happen because that’s the way they have to happen. Anything happening in one’s life is a product of lot parameters of their own life( mental make up, emotional state, intelligence, past experiences) and also their family, the people around them, country one lives in, region of the country one lives in, so on and so forth. If the incident that happened is positive, then it’s gods gift. If the incident that happened is negative then it’s god’s will or a test. If everything is determined by the supreme power then what are we. And that also leaves a delicate question unanswered. If everything is predetermined or ordained, should we be held responsible for our actions. If all our actions are decided up there, somewhere high up in the clouds, why should we be granted blessings for good deeds and punishment for bad deeds. Question and a lot of questions. And we need to seek answers, with a little bit of common sense and dollops of honesty. In the other hand thinking exactly the other way round, do we really need to seek answers? Think or not to think, seek or not to seek, is a choice. That’s for each one to decide. For there’s no middle path. There’s no compromise that can be had.
“having some faith” isn’t so easy for everyone, Shashi.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
~David
Agreed. But it’s also not too difficult. With the conditioning we have undergone during growing up it becomes quite easy.
Actually seeing a lot of normal, sane and otherwise intelligent people talking about faith. Don’t know about the western world but in the eastern world there is a surprising increase in the faithfuls.
I dedicated much of my life, after being raised by non-religious parents, to studying my religion and immersing myself in it, and, ultimately, I’ve come to the realization that I simply don’t believe the most fundamental tenets of any religion, beyond the possible existence of a supernatural being who may have created all of existencfe.
That’s great.
I had an exactly opposite path. Had religious parents. And it took a long time to rise above my conditioning and look at everything afresh. Almost at the age of 50. Lost a lot of time. No regrets about that. In fact a lot of joy about finally being set free.
I’m happy for you <3
I agree that religions will never go away. Humans have a fundamental need to believe in something bigger than themselves. Science and technology just don’t fit the bill.
Yes. Also they require simplistic explanations to everything.