Let your religion be less of a theory; and more of a love affair
-G.K. Chesterton
Well, let's face it, the definition and the purpose for the formation of religion has been ingratiated by man to no extent. While many see religion as the "redeemer",I on the other hand see the opulence of it as the cause of all anguish. My allegiance to infidelity was fueled after being a silent witness to the horrendous deeds done in the name of religion. Religion; the path of righteousness, the code for spirituality, the progenitor of noble virtues. has been cataclysmically turned on it's head. Religion, in definition speaks of the belief and worship of a superhuman controlling power. I have definite belief in this so called superhuman power but the exhaustive worship of It is what I detest. Thus, the 'infidel' in my name speaks of this particular covenant.
The fables of 'the victory of good over evil', the concepts of God and the Satan, the glory of the former and the humility of the latter; mostly all religious texts speak of this; thus in theory the practice of religion inculcates pious and noble mannerisms, thereby formulating an algorithm for seeking higher truths. But have we deciphered religion as it was meant to be? Have we read the 'mind of God' the way it was meant to? The sorry state of affairs in which we find ourselves today speaks of our completely different understanding of religion. I am not being an atheist and blaming it all on 'God' rather what I wish to bring to the forefront is the understanding of our misdirection in the way we advocate religion and the way it was meant to be, the two being purely antagonistic of each other.
All the major global tensions are fueled by this misdirection of religion, the 'believers' bent upon proving the superiority of their sect over the other; and in places where this is not the fundamental cause of conflict, the difference in religion does seep in to further add to the woes.The Crusades, the horrendous Jew massacres, and the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict speaks volumes about this. We have, for sure misread God in His essence. No religion in text preaches of rancorous behaviouralism against different sects, the basic essence in each being to instill a belief in the Creator. So where have we, as believers taken the wrong step forward? We have, I suppose over-weighed religion over other things; transfusing humbleness with temerity, replacing pristine virtues with newly acquired vices;thereby leading to such a cataclysm. The belief of co-existence has ceased to be just a reverent fantasy, as we derive a sinister joy in being a part of this self created dogma of 'theomachy'.
I, sometimes wonder in flabbergast of the actions committed in the holy war among religions, be it the 9/11 tragedy, the 26/11 attack, the innumerable Israel-Palestine confronts, each claiming innumerable innocent lives. Does religion ask of us to portray such horrendous shows of barbarism and belligerence? Is this what 'the almighty' demands of us? Thus,in accordance with the present state of affairs, we have transpired of us as not as the finest creations of 'the creator' but as belligerent machines defaming Him in this temerarious quest for control, and it would be befitting to say that the 'language of God' has been sadly transformed by us as 'the voice of Satan' himself, and we are only to be blamed for this paradox. Being an infidel would be thus, a saner choice than to be worship religion in the form that it has become.
Philosophy is questions that may never be answered;
Religion is answers that may never be questioned
-Robert G. Ingersoll
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Saturday, September 11, 2010
THE CONFUSION OF PATIENCE AND WEAKNESS
Well, as mysterious and enigmatic as the above title should sound, I often through my grave misfortunes have tried to resolve and understand this great confusion, and often the manifestation of the former to the latter. This, trait of patience exists in each one of us but the overdose of it turns us weak and fragile; sadly like our government's handling with the Mumbai massacre.
Some may refer to this as a note that is gravely belated; but unlike my fellow denizens I have finally understood the complications and this is a mere attempt to correct my stand; an apology for my inability to act. After years of this misfortune as I now try to analyse the whole story, sadly I am retreated to the title of this article. After careful examination and strict scrutiny of the myriad number of documented and well establishled facts I can satisfactorily say that I had been aloof of the enigma surrounding the event and the counter steps taken. We as a nation and the authorities had been too patient and too detached from the whole series of sinister events that took place thus, paving the way for the "attackers" to kill at will and proving our cowardice to resist future assaults that are rest assured: bound to happen. I, cannot decipher the exact chain of thoughts that run through our minds and our fleeting conscience when such squirmy events take place. Have we as citizens lost the ability to stand up to it,or are we least concerned about such issues that do not relate to us on a more personal or monetary level. I suppose it to be the handiwork of the amalgamation of both, with the latter in higher concentrations. We, who proudly claim ourselves to be the descendants of the Aryans and who have been nourished in a culture full of fables and vivid accounts of bravery and courage are in destitue of it, and therefore to be made a caricature of as a whole.
The 26/11 anguish as we all know was a mere handiwork of ten terrorists and thier handlers based in terror capital, namely Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Toiba, and many other organisations the birth of which which is the clandestine work of the ISI, that breeds and nourishes such barbaric terrorists who have repeatedly tested our patience, and I sadly pronounce that they have acquainted themselves with the comforting fact that we and our authorities have the least intrest in tackling such grave issues; blame it to our patience or connect to it to our weakness the most distinguishable fact remains the same: we do not care. After witnessing the heart-rending accounts of the massacre I cannot be but ashamed of the progress made so far in dealing with the situation as a whole; let alone the possibilities of the handlers being brought to task. And I ask this to myself: "Are we too weak to even defend ourselves from an organisation that has in retrospect horrified and ridiculed us by acts of similar nature?". Well, the whole series of events took place in cold blood, and the attackers mercilessly massacred hundreds of innocent victims ranging from an age group of 5-75, killing any and everyone that they set their sights upon. 10 attacckers had killed hunderds and were roaming around the streets; without a speck of guilt let alone fear in their eyes.Their masters hurled instructions over their cellular phones and these 'brainwashed slaves' carried out the instructions to the last syllable with catastrophic accuracy. It is a well established fact that our police and other counter terrorist forces lacked the equipment as well as the foresight in order to retaliate. The gravity of the whole condition could be understood by the mere fact that it took us more than 36 hours to nullify the assaulters. A team of 400 plus N.S.G. commandos and hundreds of policemen were too fragile to face merely 10 terrorists who had killed at will.
The measures our government took were even more baffling, from treating Kasab to "biryani" platters, to begging for Afzal Saeed's(the Lahore based mainstream cleric of the L.E.T.) deportation which resulted in a mere dossier exchange program between the two antagonistic nations; one which breeds on terror and the other that continuously bleeds to it. The government's "American ingratiation" didn't help either. Nonetheless, it thefore becomes an established fact that the desire to act agressively ,and the iron-will to support it have definately receded and are not far from oblivion and the determination to covet it is in destitue.
Thus, the fundamental query that was initially raised has inexplecably come to the forefront:' Are we too weak to respond OR too patient? Are we so timid that we cannot vanquish an organisation bent upon destroying our existence and our identity as a whole?'. The inception of such questions are quite natural to arise in us. But, have we seriously looked for a sound explanation? We behave as we are not citizens but denizens; humanity and altruism are sentiments that are left only to rot in epics and scripts. The Kashmir based terrorists and the Naxalities play this hideous game of death on a daily basis. And what is our response to such acts: some of us don't even care to face the documents and broadcasted material, a majority criticise the government, others criticise the religion as a whole. Whatever be the cynosure of the whole ambiguity; mere criticism alone wouldn't lead us to a result;rather it would be an exercise in futility.
An infantry that numbers in millions,re-inforced and fortified air and naval strengh,a booming G.D.P, a highly enriched and advanced nuclear and space programme, all these are the major ingredients that tranfuse the idea of an emerging global power to reality. And the irony faces us directly in the eye; a nation almost the size of uttar pradesh repeadetly ridicules us, and makes a caricature out of us. What is lacking in us that we cannot take action; is it the 'exubrence' of patience or the sustainment of weakness that leads to the paradox; and the weakness mentioned here does not relate to a physical but more so to a mental level. We, as a collective 'herd' are to be blamed for this show of cowardice and I have specifically used the context of 'herd'; because the traits we exhibit certainly do not pertain to humans who are capable of survival via action; rather we are animals who with the passage of time have tarnsformed this boon of patience to bane.
As it is evident with materials, I suppose we too as human beings have a rupture point. The exhaustive search for this limit would still require the martydom of millions of more innocent lives and this would still be a futile pursuit. Millions have already given up their lives,and the quintessential action still needs to be taken. Sometimes, I question myself not as a rebel but as a comrade, not as a 'self appointed public avenger' but as a prudent and thinking citizen; is it really blood that runs through our veins? Are we really the most advanced on the evolution scale?; as the responses that we exhibit certainly points to the exact opposite.The state of quandary that we find ourselves in is a self created one owing to the absence of action when it was required, and the perpetrators have successfully intimidated us on numerous occasions and this will be a never ending process.
Well, a review of the measures taken: a myriad amount of dossiers have been exchanged; we have back-tracked on the resolve on no dialogue with Pakistan until the perpetrators are brought to task, we are thereby as a nation sickened by the aftermath of such actions. And the response given to our petty steps are evevn more humiliating; Hafiz Saeed continues to lead a normal life, his daily schedule comprising of each and every moment dedicated to anti-India activities;be it inciting the Pakistani masses by the means of hunderds of ' hate speeches', or by fornicating a large army of 'mujahideens'. Lashkar and other similar organisations are still continuing their expertise and perfecting it to the minutest detail. More startling is the fact that even news organisations have pin point co-ordiantes of these malignant machines, which they have broadcasted numerous times on "prime-time",and I am flabbergasted at our stance of no response and the lack of action.
I do not know when action would be taken, when we would break from the shackles of the mere fantasies and fairy tales that we have engrossed ourselves in and start realising the bigger picture. Will the loss of hundreds serve only as disembowed, dismembered and disfigured rotten carcasses to us; the agony of which still rots in pain.
---Dedicated to our servitude towards our inherent and incumbent traits of patience that have swallowed our courage in the process.
Some may refer to this as a note that is gravely belated; but unlike my fellow denizens I have finally understood the complications and this is a mere attempt to correct my stand; an apology for my inability to act. After years of this misfortune as I now try to analyse the whole story, sadly I am retreated to the title of this article. After careful examination and strict scrutiny of the myriad number of documented and well establishled facts I can satisfactorily say that I had been aloof of the enigma surrounding the event and the counter steps taken. We as a nation and the authorities had been too patient and too detached from the whole series of sinister events that took place thus, paving the way for the "attackers" to kill at will and proving our cowardice to resist future assaults that are rest assured: bound to happen. I, cannot decipher the exact chain of thoughts that run through our minds and our fleeting conscience when such squirmy events take place. Have we as citizens lost the ability to stand up to it,or are we least concerned about such issues that do not relate to us on a more personal or monetary level. I suppose it to be the handiwork of the amalgamation of both, with the latter in higher concentrations. We, who proudly claim ourselves to be the descendants of the Aryans and who have been nourished in a culture full of fables and vivid accounts of bravery and courage are in destitue of it, and therefore to be made a caricature of as a whole.
The 26/11 anguish as we all know was a mere handiwork of ten terrorists and thier handlers based in terror capital, namely Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Toiba, and many other organisations the birth of which which is the clandestine work of the ISI, that breeds and nourishes such barbaric terrorists who have repeatedly tested our patience, and I sadly pronounce that they have acquainted themselves with the comforting fact that we and our authorities have the least intrest in tackling such grave issues; blame it to our patience or connect to it to our weakness the most distinguishable fact remains the same: we do not care. After witnessing the heart-rending accounts of the massacre I cannot be but ashamed of the progress made so far in dealing with the situation as a whole; let alone the possibilities of the handlers being brought to task. And I ask this to myself: "Are we too weak to even defend ourselves from an organisation that has in retrospect horrified and ridiculed us by acts of similar nature?". Well, the whole series of events took place in cold blood, and the attackers mercilessly massacred hundreds of innocent victims ranging from an age group of 5-75, killing any and everyone that they set their sights upon. 10 attacckers had killed hunderds and were roaming around the streets; without a speck of guilt let alone fear in their eyes.Their masters hurled instructions over their cellular phones and these 'brainwashed slaves' carried out the instructions to the last syllable with catastrophic accuracy. It is a well established fact that our police and other counter terrorist forces lacked the equipment as well as the foresight in order to retaliate. The gravity of the whole condition could be understood by the mere fact that it took us more than 36 hours to nullify the assaulters. A team of 400 plus N.S.G. commandos and hundreds of policemen were too fragile to face merely 10 terrorists who had killed at will.
The measures our government took were even more baffling, from treating Kasab to "biryani" platters, to begging for Afzal Saeed's(the Lahore based mainstream cleric of the L.E.T.) deportation which resulted in a mere dossier exchange program between the two antagonistic nations; one which breeds on terror and the other that continuously bleeds to it. The government's "American ingratiation" didn't help either. Nonetheless, it thefore becomes an established fact that the desire to act agressively ,and the iron-will to support it have definately receded and are not far from oblivion and the determination to covet it is in destitue.
Thus, the fundamental query that was initially raised has inexplecably come to the forefront:' Are we too weak to respond OR too patient? Are we so timid that we cannot vanquish an organisation bent upon destroying our existence and our identity as a whole?'. The inception of such questions are quite natural to arise in us. But, have we seriously looked for a sound explanation? We behave as we are not citizens but denizens; humanity and altruism are sentiments that are left only to rot in epics and scripts. The Kashmir based terrorists and the Naxalities play this hideous game of death on a daily basis. And what is our response to such acts: some of us don't even care to face the documents and broadcasted material, a majority criticise the government, others criticise the religion as a whole. Whatever be the cynosure of the whole ambiguity; mere criticism alone wouldn't lead us to a result;rather it would be an exercise in futility.
An infantry that numbers in millions,re-inforced and fortified air and naval strengh,a booming G.D.P, a highly enriched and advanced nuclear and space programme, all these are the major ingredients that tranfuse the idea of an emerging global power to reality. And the irony faces us directly in the eye; a nation almost the size of uttar pradesh repeadetly ridicules us, and makes a caricature out of us. What is lacking in us that we cannot take action; is it the 'exubrence' of patience or the sustainment of weakness that leads to the paradox; and the weakness mentioned here does not relate to a physical but more so to a mental level. We, as a collective 'herd' are to be blamed for this show of cowardice and I have specifically used the context of 'herd'; because the traits we exhibit certainly do not pertain to humans who are capable of survival via action; rather we are animals who with the passage of time have tarnsformed this boon of patience to bane.
As it is evident with materials, I suppose we too as human beings have a rupture point. The exhaustive search for this limit would still require the martydom of millions of more innocent lives and this would still be a futile pursuit. Millions have already given up their lives,and the quintessential action still needs to be taken. Sometimes, I question myself not as a rebel but as a comrade, not as a 'self appointed public avenger' but as a prudent and thinking citizen; is it really blood that runs through our veins? Are we really the most advanced on the evolution scale?; as the responses that we exhibit certainly points to the exact opposite.The state of quandary that we find ourselves in is a self created one owing to the absence of action when it was required, and the perpetrators have successfully intimidated us on numerous occasions and this will be a never ending process.
Well, a review of the measures taken: a myriad amount of dossiers have been exchanged; we have back-tracked on the resolve on no dialogue with Pakistan until the perpetrators are brought to task, we are thereby as a nation sickened by the aftermath of such actions. And the response given to our petty steps are evevn more humiliating; Hafiz Saeed continues to lead a normal life, his daily schedule comprising of each and every moment dedicated to anti-India activities;be it inciting the Pakistani masses by the means of hunderds of ' hate speeches', or by fornicating a large army of 'mujahideens'. Lashkar and other similar organisations are still continuing their expertise and perfecting it to the minutest detail. More startling is the fact that even news organisations have pin point co-ordiantes of these malignant machines, which they have broadcasted numerous times on "prime-time",and I am flabbergasted at our stance of no response and the lack of action.
I do not know when action would be taken, when we would break from the shackles of the mere fantasies and fairy tales that we have engrossed ourselves in and start realising the bigger picture. Will the loss of hundreds serve only as disembowed, dismembered and disfigured rotten carcasses to us; the agony of which still rots in pain.
---Dedicated to our servitude towards our inherent and incumbent traits of patience that have swallowed our courage in the process.
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