So, I actually thought about what to write in this post, 'cos for all you know, I might not be inclined to write another post before the month gives through. At this point, I am still unsure on what to pen here, but I guess it's time to improvise, and quickly.
Here goes: I have been thinking about something that kind of crept on me when I was having a
discussion with two of my friends of differing faiths. We were discussing books that made the interpretation of diety-figures as mortals who have been elevated to a higher level because of something they have done or achieved. The books in question were the (at presnt) incomplete Shiva Triology by Amish Tripathi and The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.
My debating parties were of the same faiths that were in question in the books. What I noticed was that, while each of them found the mortal interpretation of the diety of the opposing faith fascinating and interestingly told and they had questions about the various myths, legends and lores associated with; the same people had not even read and vehemently refused to read the books that spoke of their own dieties as ascended mortals.
That fascinates me!
So, I have a believer who refuses to consider the possibility that, even for the love (or the lack thereof) of fiction, that Shiva could have been a mortal who performed some incredible deeds that were sung of for ages later, that eventually led him to be considered a founding pillar of the Hindu mythology.
On the other hand, I have a follower of Christ who considers blasphemous, the very act of a fellow Christian having written something in this vein, even if it has been extensively declared as nothing but a work of fiction.
These points of view were enlightening and personally saddening to see. The reason I say this is because, we as humans fail to remember that religions are creations of the infinite and vast expanses of the human minds. A bond to unify and hold a mass of people to create a society. A means to organize and do away with lawlessness and to give them a reason to answer questions that the ages of humans in the past held no answer to.
The fact that faith in the unanswerable and unseen has driven masses of people to embrace the notion of divinity and godliness is proof of the polar nature of the human mind. Think about the evolution of the faiths, for instance: pagan rituals gave way to organized and popularized faiths that has led to wars and mass destuction in many cases. What started off as skirmishes to gain territory in the past, slowly evolved to infuencing and instilling pride in the minds of people of a region with a superior unknown power which resulted in fear and boundaries being set for the actions of men. Acts that broke the threshold of acceptance were considered treason and blasphemised by the leading head of the faith. Angels and demons were created. The notion of right and wrong were now strengthened by the thread of religion, which as age passed was reinforced into a thicker and stronger binding factor.
Yes, there is a need for a common belief amongst a vast and diverse species such as ours but, in the present day, we need to think: do we need to be fanatics?
We need to have an open mind and be firm in our beliefs, that's what gives us an advantage over the other 5-sensed creatures that live alongside us. But, we don't have to be rigid in our beliefs and not lose sight of the greater, collective good: that's what keeps the animals alive and something that we need to learn, to survive. Else, it would be a waste of an additional sense that we have the advantage of being born with.
This couplet I created could summarise what I want to put across.
"Live with an open mind, and we may yet survive;
Think of a mind to manipulate, we end up living a lie."
Cheers,
Aamen.
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