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180 The curse of dogma

Dear Friends,
Assalamu Alaikum,
Over the last few weeks I have been discussing the subject Religions with a view to seeking the
way to the truth. All of us believe that it is only our religion shows us the way to the truth.
So we find the Buddhist saying it is Buddhism that shows the way to seeking the truth and
similarly the Hindu the Christian and the Muslim too would say it is Hinduism, Christianity and
Islam respectively that shows us the way to seeking the truth.
But then funnily, all of us not only insist that it is only our religion that is correct, and that it is
only our religion that shows us the way to seek the truth, the only way to salvation, the only way
to enlightenment and the only way to success.
But then, all of us also say that the way of the other religions would distract us or would lead us
astray!!!
So then which religion could be described as the way to seeking the truth?
This question intrigued me.
Why is it that any follower of any religion would tell us that it is only their religion that would
show us the way to seek the truth, whilst all other religions would be the way or the path to
perdition?
How could I find out which religion would show me the way to seeking the truth?
(P)
In this quest I became curious as to what a religion really was.
So I compiled a list of the ingredients that go in to making a religion. It was really surprising to
see how every religion differed in the details to every one of those ingredients. Over the last few
weeks I was able to discuss a few of those ingredients, like the belief systems of religions and the
rituals of religions. I found the task very illuminating.
Last week I was about to discuss about the tools man has been blessed with and the nature of
these tools strongly indicated that mans purpose on earth would be to seek and it made sense that
man was meant to seek the truth.
You may ask What truth?
Well it would be the truths or the answers to what we refer to as the fundamental questions.
What are these fundamental questions? Well these are questions that every human being asks and
wants to know the answers to.

These questions are many, and the more prominent of them are;
What is the purpose of my life on earth?
Is there a God?
What happens after death?
Why did God place me on earth?
So not only do we have this natural curiosity to find out the truth, but we are also blessed with
some very powerful tools for seeking.
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But then here is a paradox; if we are naturally possessed with this curiosity to seek the truth, and
at the same time we also possess these powerful tools to seek, then why do we not know the truth?
Why are we still asking those questions? Why are we still seeking the answers?
Interesting isnt it?
The fact is that from the day we are born we are told by our parents that the way to this truth is the
way shown by our religion. So the Buddhist seeks the way to the truth by following Buddhism,
the Hindu seeks the way to the truth by following Hinduism, the Christian seeks the way to the
truth by following Christianity and the Muslim seeks the way to the truth by following Islam.
Why do these 4 people follow these 4 religions or why do these 4 people follow ways that are
differently labeled?
The core reason would be that each one of us follows the religion or the way to seeking the truth
as introduced to us or described to us by our Fathers or our parents.
I am a Muslim because I am born in to a Muslim family and my parents have been instructing me,
I could even say from birth, for me to seek the truth, and they have always insisted that that way is
only in the way as shown by the religion Islam.
So I have this great yearning to seek the truth, in fact I claim that this yearning is natural, every
human being is programmed or gifted with this yearning to learn the truths of life and the truths of
this world. In fact I would even say that that is the purpose of life, the objective of life to seek
the truths of this life and the truths of this world.
So dear listeners, all of us have this great yearning this great thirst to learn the truth and on top of
that we also have been naturally gifted with many powerful tools for this learning and for this
seeking, and we are told by our parents that that path of seeking the truth is the path of our
religion.
Actually I think this is the hold our religion has on us.
It should be a very comforting hold, but in fact it is actually a terrible hold.
We cannot realize or understand this terribleness of this hold because we are so thirsty or eager to
learn these truths, but then the modern day versions of all religions just cannot deliver.
Is this not obvious to all of us? Then where are we to turn to?
How are we to seek the truths?
How are we to find the way to seeking the truths?
Surely these are very very important?
Surely these are the objectives of our life, so how are we to fulfill these objectives?
Just look around, observe all the religions, and observe them from as many different viewpoints as
possible. Would you not agree that the most atrocious or the most irreligious of acts and practices
are perpetrated in the name of religion?
How could these be the way to the truths when so much of deceit and deception are
institutionalized in to their teachings?
It is easy to detect the faults or the weaknesses in the teachings of other religions but it needs
courage, levelheadedness and clear thinking to detect this malady in our own religion.
In our own religion as described to us by our own beloved parents.
Isnt there a huge sadness in this realization?
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The fact is that the original teachings of all our religions have been indicating the pure path to
seeking the truth. To me, that is obvious, or else how could Lord Buddha and Jesus Christ and
Prophet Muhammad change their lives and their lifestyles and then be the focal point for thousand
or even hundreds of thousands of others changing their lives and lifestyles too? And we find all
these followers claiming with such certainty that they are on the course to seeking the truth.
They feel it in their bones.
We feel it from their words and their actions.
Today I do not hear anyone claiming that he is seeking the truth and then giving me sensible
answers or explanations to this truth that he has sought and discovered.
Where have we gone wrong?
Why is it that the modern day versions of our religions, whatever the religion, do not deliver the
truth?
One ingredient that is negatively impacting all religions is that factor that we refer to as dogma
All modern day religions suffer from this malady.
Dogma prevents us from using our God given tools of seeking, for seeking the truths.
If we do not use these tools then we are never going to realize the truths.
Now how do I describe or explain Dogma?
To understand the negative impact of dogma it is necessary that I first describe (in brief) some of
the tools we have been gifted for seeking, and then describe the results of using these tools, and
thereafter let me try to describe this huge malady that we refer to as dogma.
So first let me try to describe some of those wonderful tools that we have been gifted with for
seeking.
As I have described in my earlier talks, man has been gifted with the tools for seeking and this is
not for ordinary casual seeking but for serious dedicated and devoted seeking, the seeking of the
truths of life and of this world.
We possess a brain and we also have a mind. The brain collects input or information from all our
senses and then feeds the mind with this information.
What does the mind do?
The mind processes this information and tries to make sense or to draw out reason from what it
receives.
Just listen to a brief point form description of what the mind does!
The mind is thought to be the seat of;
Perception,
Self consciousness,
Thought,
Belief,
Memory,
Hope,
Desire,
Will,
Judgment,
Analysis,
Evaluation,
Reason, etc.
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In general, the mind can be defined as an entity that has the nature of experience, that is, "clarity,
knowledge, and wisdom"
Now man uses his mind and his intellect to rationally and intelligently, we even use the world
scientifically, to forward the cause of many disciplines.
The fields of Science, Physics, Chemistry, Cosmology, Medicine, Law, Mathematics and so many
others have greatly benefitted by this quality of man to sensibly and rationally research in to the
logic and the workings of so many systems and processes in this world.
It is amazing.
I always cite this example of there being hundreds of Millions of Mobile Phones in the world
today, but if I were to dial a particular number only one out of those hundreds of millions of
phones would ring.
Why?
The reason is because man has meticulously implemented the findings of many years of dedicated
research by many teams of scientists that have been working for many decades around the world.
It is the law of physics that is acting or performing with mathematical precision.
It is really astonishing to find that man who is so particular in the meticulous intricacies of science
and law, can be blinded by dogmas in so many other fields.
Dogmas are irrational. Dogmas are illogical.
How could this be?
Have you wondered at how gullible humans become at the time of elections?
Intelligent, educated personages are blinded by party loyalties.
How can this be?
We observe it all over the world.
At a time of a crucial election we see even the most intelligent of people divided in to two camps.
One camp says that candidate A is the best for the country.
His economic policies would save the country. His plans for defense would ensure security.
Everything about candidate A is wonderful.
If we were to remind these people about a weakness on the part of that candidate or even of a past
folly, these supporters would just brush it off by saying, that is the past, he is no more like that, in
fact he has learnt from that mistake
Similar is the support Candidate B enjoys.
To supporters of Candidate A, Candidate B would ensure ruin and similarly to supporters of
Candidate B, Candidate A would spell ruin.
How can intelligent, intellectual people be blinded and carried by mere sentiments?
Especially those people who are so particular not to be moved by influencing factors when they
do their research in their chosen discipline?
Now from describing or pointing out this rather irrational behavior or thinking of people at times
of elections, I now move on to a similar type of thinking in the field of religions.
The original teachings of all religions have clearly indicated the way to seeking the truth.
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The original teachings of all religions do espouse or encourage every follower to use his God
given senses or faculties of inquiry and reasoning to seek out the truth. These have to be the very
fundamental of teachings in all religions. It has to be.
As a Muslim, let me read to you a few Aayaths out of the many such Aayaths of the Quran that
point out this seeking.
[016:078] And Allah has brought you
forth
from the wombs of your mothers
when ye knew nothing;
and made for you the hearing and
feelings:
so that you may be appreciative
Abc
(024:044) Surely, in that there is a lesson for
those who have eyes to see
Abc
(015:075) Surely, in that there are signs for
those who read signs
Abc
(002:242) Thus doth Allah Make clear His
Signs to you: In order that ye may use your
Aql (intelligence).

Because I am a Muslim to illustrate my point I could quote Aayaths from the Quran.
I am sure those who profess other religions could quote teachings or instructions from their
scriptures that reflect the same sentiments.
But then, we do not do this seeking.
What we do is that we blindly accept teachings of our religion and stick to them and defend them
even though they just do not make sense to us.
What has been happening is that since the advent of the original teachings of all our religions or
we could even say since the advent of the original scriptures of all our religions some well
recognized sages have written commentaries or explanations to the instructions of the scriptures.
Then gradually over the years, you could even say over the centuries other recognized sages have
written commentaries to these commentaries, and then commentaries to these commentaries on
commentaries and so on. Sounds confusing, doesnt it?
So we are now in a position where we think it is not necessary for us to use our thinking and
seeking tools, the gifts that we are endowed with; because all the thinking and all the explaining
necessary has been prepared and given to us - readymade!
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So we stick to it and defend it dogmatically.

That is where all of us are losing out on our quest to seek the truths of life and the truths of the
world. We are trapped by the short cuts and we dare not question these teachings nor go out of our
way to seek meaning to the scriptures.
It is a great tragedy isnt it?
So how could we define dogma?
Wikipedia defines dogma as, Dogma is a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority
as incontrovertibly true
Dogmata are found in religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam, where they
are considered core principles that must be upheld by all believers of that religion.
This is what Steve Jobs the co founder of Apple Incorporated had to say about dogma:
Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let
the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the
courage to follow your heart and intuition
That is what Steve Jobs the co founder of Apple Incorporated had to say about dogma.
To seek the truth each seeker has to use the special seekers tools tools that he has been blessed
with and born with, for seeking.
This thinking needs stimulus.
Sometimes the stimulus comes from unexpected sources.
Recently I was viewing You Tube Videos of Richard Dawkins and Dr Dan Dennet on the topic of
Atheism. Some of their arguments are very illuminating. Their criticism does highlight to us the
weaknesses of modern day religions.
Richard Dawkins says Religion is about turning untested belief into unshakable truth through the
power of institutions and the passage of time
Now that does describe modern day religion, doesnt it?
Let me also quote Dr. Dan Dennet
Dan Dennet is an American philosopher, writer, and cognitive scientist whose research centers on
the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those
fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. His quotes about dogma are indeed
illuminating.
He says;
And to me the really interesting thing about religion is that it gives people a gold plated excuse
to stop thinking.
To say I dont have to think about that, because, my religion says this is right, this is wrong, its as
clear as that, its black and white, I dont have to think about this anymore.
Its just a matter of faith, and we honor that.
We say Oh its a matter of faith.
I think we have to stop honoring people for stopping thinking. I think we have to say to people
Fine, you have your faith, great!
Your job then and your duty to your own faith is to explain to those of us who do not share your
faith, why youre right about this.
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Let it be true, that God told you, let it be absolutely true, god told you this is the right way and
these ways are wrong.
Right! Your problem now is to explain to those of us that God didnt speak to,
Why? Why thats just right?
It seems to me that those people who have their faith, who believe so strongly in god, if they
really believe strongly they believe theyre right, they believe that they occupy the moral high
ground, they should be only too willing to sit down and put this, not to the scientific test, but to
the political moral discussion test of talking about why they believe what they believe.
Well those were a few quotes from an interview with Dan Dennet, that I viewed and listened to on
YouTube..
That is what dogma is all about.
Dear listeners look around us.
Look at the many religions that we observe being practiced around us.
Look at our own religion.
Why do we believe?
Is it through reasoning?
Is it thorough logic?
Are our arguments rationale?
Do not all our scriptures repeatedly instruct us on rational reason and logic?
Then why have we fallen in to this horrible trap of not reasoning out the message that our
religions are pronouncing?
Why is it that we say Oh our preachers told us! We Muslims have so many terms for these
preachers.
But then whether it be an Imam, or an Ayathullah, or a Mufthi or a Moulavi or whatever surely
the teachings or the message must be based on reason.
Why do we fool ourselves in to thinking that these teachings have been conveyed to us by so and
so and this so and so is very pious so he cannot be wrong, so we need not question his
instructions, let us blindly believe and let us blindly follow, then we just cannot go wrong!
Crazy isnt it?
Is this not what all of us are doing under the guise or even under the belief that we are following
the teachings or our religion. So because we follow dogma, because we cannot rationalize the
teachings, we find that we are seeped in evil, but because we think these are religious teachings
we think that these sins are actually the embodiments of good!
Crazy isnt it?
Look around, many evils are being enacted in the name of religion.
Many evils are being enacted in the name of my religion.
Is it not time we woke up and decide that we have to find the way of truth and this way has to be
found with our eyes and our minds opened.
So dear listeners I pray and hope that all of us, from whatever religion we profess to follow, let us
now try to seek the truth in these religions, the truth in these teachings and it is necessary for us to
always bear in mind that the truth cannot be some obscure teachings.
The truth has to be sought.
The truth has to be worked on.
But we must always remember that truth has to make sense.
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If it does not make sense then it cannot be the truth.

Using the same argument dogma just cannot be the truth or the way to the truth.
I sincerely pray and hope that all you listeners benefit from these talks as much as I benefit from
preparing and then presenting these talks to you.
May Allah Taaalah guide us all and accept us all.
Jazza Kalla Khairan.
Assalamu Alaikum

Imtiaz Muhsin
Colombo Sri Lanka
crescent786@hotmail.com
You Tube Channel - HaneefanMusliman