To be or not to be

Whether or not one believes in god is one of the most important moral questions we come across in life.One way or the other though,it always tends to end up in an inordinately biased judgement.It has a lot to do with the way one has been brought up.Its in human nature to unquestioningly trust elders on their judgement.From an evolutionary perspective<winks at zarroc>this helps our survival.But like any other system it is not without its flaws.Sometimes this mechanism misfires and in the case of religion,so much so that one does not see the blatant fact that it isnt different from any other superstition.The only thing that gives religion the illusion of credibility is the fact that its an epidemic of sorts.

Being an atheist or at least sceptical almost always indicates an active and healthy mind. That some of the most brilliant minds of our generation are atheists is testimony to this fact. Oscar Wilde put it brilliantly when he said If god existed religion would seem much more of an insult to him than atheism. Consider the scams that happen in our country in the name of religion.Whether or not god exists may be open to debate but the notion of god manifesting himself in human form is ludicrous and outrageous at the very least.Sathya Sai Baba(said to have performed several miracles) declared himself the re-incarnation of Sai Baba of shirdi (who was a famous saint who died a few years prior to babas birth) around 1940.People/followers were so nave that they didnt see through what was very obvious sleight of hand.And it seems his death(curiously off the date he had predicted) was god showing off his sleight of hand.The amount of publicity and following such a person (arguably a giant fraud) gets in our country is appalling.In a country like India this event seems to draw parallels with the apotheosis of Tendulkar in which case the man did not ask for the adulation he receives moreover, it is warranted.

Sometimes people in an effort to validate the existence of god argue that there are many questions science still cant answer.But such a question raises another-how is god any better?How is the concept of god by any stretch of imagination, a better alternative?.Creation was the great deed that god had supposedly performed.Darwin gave us something else entirely.Science has always been asked to back up its claims but when it comes to god,it smugly asks us to get rid of our rational mind, abandon all reason and embrace blind faith.Science hasnt shown us that god doesnt exist but,it has shown us that he does not have to exist.

Right from the beginning the human mind has been plagued by a baseless entity-an entity that is omnipotent and omniscient at the same time.For some people it is a figure to be feared,feared because hes always watching,keeping count.I mean,some creep this god is! Considering the things people do/dont do in fear of god wouldnt life be easier without him to worry about,to just let go?If you are confused as to where you stand and if god existed wouldnt he respect you more for showing some spine and firmly believing in his non-existence than some nut job pretending to be a staunch believer for fear of retribution?The world might not be ready for a massive spiritual and religious revolution just yet though.Most people are so hopelessly dependant on religion that they will fight to protect it.

Like Douglas Adams said-Isnt it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe there are fairies at the bottom of it too?Enough said.